Testability features of the SuperSPARC microprocessor

The Texas Instruments SuperSPARC is a high performance BiCMOS superscalar microprocessor containing 3.1 M transistors. This paper describes the testability features of this highly integrated processor aiming towards achieving a highly manufacturable design. Many of the features described can also be used to test the chip in a system environment. The discussion also includes test pattern generation methods and tools used in generating the test vectors. Pitfalls and benefits of the techniques used have been summarized in the final section.<<ETX>>