Parametric and Catastrophic Fault Coverage of Analog Circuits in Oscillation-Test Methodology

This paper investigates parametric and catastrophic fault coverage of the oscillation-test strategy. A set of definitions to evaluate the efficiency of a test technique and to quantify the parametric fault coverage is therefore introduced. The oscillation-test strategy is a low-cost and practical test method which is very efficient for built-in self-testing of mixed-signal integrated circuits. Active analog filters are used as test vehicle and therefore design for testability techniques to convert them to oscillators have been presented. Discrete practical realizations and extensive simulations based on CMOS 1.2 micron technology parameters affirm that the test technique presented for active analog filters ensures high fault coverage and requires a negligible area overhead.