5. Testing digital integrated circuits

A digital integrated circuit can comprise tens of millions of transistors. Even with one faulty transistor, a circuit can run for years without any problems. However, the day the faulty part is activated, the circuit will produce an erroneous result, which can have disastrous consequences in the application where it is used.

The aim of structural testing of integrated circuits is to detect circuits with manufacturing faults that make them unsuitable for the desired function.

The circuits tested are assumed to be functionally correct. It is therefore important to differentiate between these end-of-production tests and functional development tests, the aim of which is to find functional errors in prototype circuits. In the former case, the aim is to detect faults, while in the latter it is to verify the function (which may also detect faults...