Antirandom Testing: Beyond Random Testing

Random testing is a well known concept that requires that each test is selected randomly regardless of the test previously applied. In actual practice it takes the form of pseudo-random testing, where each test pattern is a shifted version of the previous one with one new bit added. This paper introduces the concept of antirandom testing. In this testing strategy each test applied is chosen such that its total distance from all previous tests is maximum. This spans the test vector space to the maximum extent possible for a given number of vectors. This strategy results in a higher fault coverage when the number of vectors that are applied is limited. Algorithm for generating antirandom tests is presented. A Reed-Solomon code based test set is also introduced that results in test vectors with antirandom characteristics. Results comparing the different test strategies on ISCAS benchmarks show these strategies to be very effective when a high fault coverage needs to be achieved with a limited number of test vectors. The superiority of the antirandom testing approach is even more significant for testing bridging faults.

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