Selecting Power-Optimal SBST Routines for On-Line Processor Testing

Software-Based Self-Test (SBST) has emerged as an effective strategy for on-line testing of processors integrated in non-safety critical embedded system applications. Among the most popular applications falling in this category are the various mobile devices. However, in-field testing of processors integrated in mobile devices has the extra requirement of minimum energy consumption, since these devices are operating on battery. In this paper initially we present the parameters contributing to energy consumption in order to set the scope of the problem and make a qualitative analysis about the efficiency of the SBST routines from a low energy perspective. Then we propose a power evaluation framework based on a combination of tools from the testing and computer architecture technical areas. Utilizing this framework we evaluate for the first time the most effective structural SBST strategies in terms of energy consumption for three representative processor configurations, showing the val...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: ETS
• Authors: Andreas Merentitis, Nektarios Kranitis, Antonis M. Paschalis, Dimitris Gizopoulos
• Keywords: Energy Consumption, ETS 2007, Hardware, Mobile Devices, On-line Testing