Faster fault isolation using a dichotomy reduction of node candidates

Abstract When an integrated circuit fails, it is very important to understand why in order to take the necessary corrective action. Fault isolation requires not only external testing but also internal testing in order to check some signals at the heart of a circuit that cannot otherwise be located. In order to insure faster fault isolation, we have developed a new approach which calculates the most appropriate and accessible point to be measured. This method is much faster than the traditional backtracing approach and does not require any circuit knowledge to insure successful fault isolation.