Fault Testing and Diagnosis in Combinational Digital Circuits

Abstract

—he problem of designing test schedules for the testing or diagnosis of a small number of nontransient faults in combinational digital circuits (switching networks) is considered in detail. By testing and diagnosis we mean the following: 1) detection of a fault, 2) location of a fault, and 3) location of a fault within the confines of a prescribed package or module. It is shown that minimal test schedules can be readily derived–using procedures already worked out for solving certain problems in pattern recognition and switching theory–under the assumption that the selection of the test inputs in the schedule is independent of the response of the circuit under test. When this assumption is not made, it is shown that much shorter test schedules are sometimes possible, and procedures are offered for obtaining good ones. Finally, the general status of diagnostics for digital circuits is reviewed and evaluated, and specific problems remaining to be solved are described.