Low-cost IP core test using multiple-mode loading scan chain and scan chain clusters

A fixing-shifting encoding (FSE) method is proposed to reduce test cost of IP cores. The FSE method reduces test cost by supporting multiple-mode loading test data, i.e., parallel loading, left-direction, and right-direction serial loading for each test slice data. Furthermore, the FSE that utilizes only two test channels can support a large number of internal scan chains and achieve further reduction in test cost by combining with scan chain clustering method. As a non-intrusive and automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) independent solution, the approach is applicable to IP core testing because it requires neither redesign of the core under test (CUT) nor running any additional ATPG for the encoding procedure. In addition, the decoder has low hardware overhead, and its design is independent of the CUT. Experimental results for some large ISCAS 89 benchmarks and an industry ASIC design have proven the efficiency of the proposed approach.