Dual Use Circuitry for Early Failure Warning and Test

Alexander Coyle1, Hui Jiang1, Jennifer Dworak1, Theodore Manikas1, Kundan Nepal2
1Southern Methodist University, 2University of St Thomas


Abstract

Incorrect circuit timing often leads to errors in the field, including silent data corruption. Once a circuit violates timing, recovery can be difficult even when the violation is detected. Canary flip-flops have previously been proposed to identify when the desired slack of a path has first been violated in functional mode even before failure occurs. We show how such flip-flops can be combined in a MISR to also provide enhanced coverage during manufacturing test and scan-based field test.