Microprocessor based testing for core-based system on chip

The purpose of this paper is to develop a flexible design for test methodology for testing a core-based system on chip (SOC). The novel feature of the approach is the use an embedded microprocessor/memory pair to test the remaining components of the SOC. Test data is downloaded using DMA techniques directly into memory while the microprocessor uses the test data to test the core. The test results are transferred to a MISR for evaluation. The approach has several important advantages over conventional ATPG such as achieving at-speed testing, not limiting the chip speed to the tester speed during test and achieving great flexibility since most of the testing process is based on software. Experimental results on an example system are discussed.