UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Test and Testability

Homework 4. Critical Path Tracing PLI routine

Description: The fault simulation methods discussed so far were fault-oriented, which means that faults are injected and tests are applied to check for their detection. In critical path tracing (CPT), for a given test vector, the circuit is traced from outputs to inputs, and faults that can be detected are identified. We present definitions regarding critical paths before discussing the implementation of CPT PLI routine. Critical Lines. With a set of logic values at a gates input and output, an input line is critical if the output is critical and toggling the input toggles the output value. Figure 4.42a shows several critical and noncritical gate inputs. Lines driving primary outputs are always critical. Critical Path. Critical path is a continuous sequence of critical lines starting from a line in a circuit leading to a primary output, from a critical path. Critical Path Faults. Stuck-at faults along a critical path, with fault values that are complement of those of the critical lines of the path, can be detected by the test vector causing the critical path. Develop a PLI routine that finds all critical path faults related to test vector t1. The routines are used in a verilog testbench as follows: 1. Apply t1 2. wait until all the outputs are stabilized 3. invoke PLI-Routine ( module_name, output_file_name ) The test vector is applied and the circuit is allowed to stabilize its output values. Then PLI-Routine is invoked to find all critical paths and record all critical path faults in a file. Handle reconvergent fanouts properly. Develop a verilog testbench and verify the operation of your pli routine.

Deliverables:

1. C code of the PLI routines 2. All Verilog codes 3. A comprehensive report on data structures and algorithms used in your c codes. Attention: Compress all the files and documents mentioned in the "Deliverables" section into a zip file and upload it to the course page. The name of the final zip file must be in this format: "YourFirstName_YourLastName_HW#4"