Method and circuitry for an undisturbed scannable state element

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the testing of electronic circuits, and more specifically, to circuit level testing of integrated circuits.

2. Description of the Related Art

One important aspect that must be considered in the design of any integrated circuit is testability. In recent years, design for testability has become an even greater challenge due to the ever-increasing density of integrated circuits. Because of the high density of many integrated circuits, testing their internal logic solely by applying external stimuli has become impractical. An alternate method of testing the internal logic of an integrated circuit is to use scan chains.

A scan chain is created using the flip-flops (or latches or other clocked storage devices) of an integrated circuit. The output of a given flip-flop is coupled to the input of another flip-flop. A large number of flip-flops are connected in this manner, forming a scan chain that passes through the internal logic of an integrated circuit. The scan chain may be thought of as a serial shift register, in which values are shifted from one register flop to the next. Using this method, multiple scan chains may be formed in a given integrated circuit.

In order to test an integrated circuit using a scan chain, scan data (i.e. the test data, or test vector) is shifted into the chain, loading each element of the chain with a predetermined value. Following the initial loading, the circuit is then reverted to its normal operating mode, allowing the individual circuits to respond to the scan data. After allowing the circuits a sufficient time to respond, the scan data is shifted out of the scan chain, where it is compared with expected results to determine whether the chip is faulty.

One common type of flip-flop (or latch) circuit used in the formation of scan chains is the dual-ported flop. A dual-ported flop possesses both a data input and a scan data input, as well as a data output and a scan data output. In addition to the system clock input, a dual-ported flop also may include two scan clock inputs. One scan clock is used to load scan data into the flop, while the other is used to shift data out of the flop.

Despite the advantages provided by testing through scan chains, problems can arise when shifting scan data through the chain. One such problem arises when the state of a flop data output is disturbed during scan shifting. Scanning scan data through the flop can cause arbitrary changes in the state of the flop's data output. Such state changes can have undesired effects and may even cause damage to the circuit FIG. 1 is a schematic of a one-hot multiplexer circuit (or passgate multiplexer circuit), and is used to illustrate a potential problem that can occur during scan shifting. The logic surrounding the one-hot multiplexer is designed so that only one of the three select inputs (S 0 , S 1 , or S 2 ) is asserted at any given time. However, during scan shifting, a state change in a flop output may override the surrounding logic, causing two or more select inputs to be asserted at the same time. This can result in excess current being drawn from the output inverter. The excess current may damage or destroy the output inverter.

Problems such as the above example can force compromises in the design of an integrated circuit, compromise its testability, or both. For example, the problem illustrated above may be prevented by using traditional multiplexer circuits at the cost of using more circuit area to implement the same function. Alternatively, testing sequences can be designed to avoid these areas of the circuit, compromising its testability.

The problems outlined above are in large part solved by a method and circuitry for an undisturbed scannable state element. In one embodiment, the scannable state element includes a dual-ported level sensitive scan design (LSSD) style flop/latch circuit which is augmented with a shadow flop circuit. The dual-ported flop circuit includes both a master cell and a slave cell. A shadow flop circuit is coupled to the dual-ported flop circuit. The shadow flop circuit includes a master cell, and utilizes the slave cell of the dual-ported flop circuit. During scan operations, the scan data bypasses the master cell of the dual-ported flop, passing instead through the shadow flop circuit and the slave cell of the dual-ported flop. Scan data is then passed on to the next link in the scan chain through a scan data out (SDO) output coupled to the slave cell. Since, during scan, the scan data bypasses the master cell of the dual-ported flop (to which the data output of the flop is coupled), the state of the flop remains unchanged. Thus, the data output of the dual-ported flop is held steady, which may allow any circuit constraints to be met during the scan.

Control of scan operations, in one embodiment, is accomplished through the use of a shadow control logic circuit. The shadow control logic is configured to receive two clock inputs (scan clock one, or SC 1 , and scan clock two, or SC 2 ), and a scan enable input. When the scan enable input is asserted, the two scan clock inputs may be used to latch scan data through the shadow flop, thus bypassing the master cell of the dual-ported flop. As a result, the state of the dual-ported flop may not be disturbed. If the scan enable input is not asserted, the two scan clock inputs may be used to load a predetermined state into the master cell of the dual-ported flop and shift data out of the flop for observation upon completion of the test. Each shadow control logic circuit can be used to control a plurality of shadow/dual-ported flop circuit combinations.

Thus, in various embodiments, the method and circuitry of a scannable state element allows scan operations to take place without disturbing the state of the dual-ported flop circuit During scan operations, scan data bypasses the master cell of the dual-ported latch circuit, passing through the shadow flop circuit instead. Since the state of the dual-ported flop circuit is not disturbed during the scan, the scannable state element may be able to meet the constraints of the circuitry under test, thus allowing greater testability without compromising circuit design. Since the shadow flop utilizes the slave cell of the dual-ported flop, shadow flop and shadow control circuitry may be implemented in designs containing dual-ported flops.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a one-hot multiplexer circuit;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of a chain of scannable state elements in which scan data may be shifted through the circuit under test;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a scannable state element;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of one embodiment of a dual-ported flop circuit;

FIG. 5 is a schematic of one embodiment of a shadow flop circuit;

FIG. 6 is a schematic of one embodiment of a shadow control logic circuit;

FIG. 7 is a schematic of one embodiment of a scannable state element, including the shadow control logic circuit, the shadow flop, and the dual-ported flop circuit;

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram for illustrating the operation of one embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 7 .

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling with the spirit and scoped of the present invention as defined be the appended claims.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a diagram of one embodiment of a chain of scannable state elements in which scan data may be shifted through the circuit under test is shown. A plurality of scannable state elements 100 are chained together by coupling the scan data out (SDO) output of one scannable state element to the scan data in (SDI) input of the next scannable state element. The data input, D, and data output, Q, of each scannable state element 100 are coupled to other logic elements of the integrated circuit. In order to test the integrated circuit, a test vector including of a plurality of individual data bits is serially shifted into each of the scannable state elements 100 through the SDI and SDO ports. Subsequent to the shift, the state of each scannable state element 100 is loaded through the SDI input, setting the data output Q to a known state. The integrated circuit is then returned to a normal operating state, allowing the surrounding circuits to respond to the scan data Responding to the scan data may cause the state of individual scannable state elements to change, depending on the surrounding circuitry and the design of the test Once the circuitry has been given sufficient time to respond to the test vector, scanning is resumed. The modified test vector is shifted out of the integrated circuit where it is observed and a determination is made as to whether the circuit is faulty or not.

Generally, a scannable state element may be any clocked storage device having scan functionality. Flip-flops, latches, registers, or other devices may be used to implement a scannable state element.

Moving on to FIG. 3, a block diagram of one embodiment of a scannable state element 100 is shown. Scannable state element 100 includes a dual-ported flop circuit 101 , a shadow flop circuit 102 , and a shadow control logic circuit 103 . Shadow control logic circuit 103 is configured to receive two scan clock signals, SC 1 , and SC 2 , as well as a scan enable (SCEN) signal. Shadow control logic circuit 103 can drive one of four different clock signals to either the shadow flop circuit 102 or the dual-ported flop 101 . During scan shifting, shadow control logic circuit 103 drives clock signals SC 1 _SCEN and SC 2 _SCEN to shadow flop circuit 102 . Clock signal SC 1 _SCENX is driven to the dual-ported flop circuit 101 to load it with a designated state, while clock signal SC 2 _SCENX is driven to dual-ported flop circuit in order to latch the flop state to the SDO output.

Shadow flop circuit 102 , as stated above, is configured to receive scan clock signals SC 1 _SCEN and SC 2 _SCEN. Shadow flop circuit 102 is also includes an SDI input for receiving scan data signals. Scan data signals are driven out of shadow flop circuit 102 to the dual-ported flop circuit 101 through the SDOX output. In some embodiments, the signal driven through the SDOX output may be a complement of the signal received through the SDI port. In such cases, the signal is re-inverted to its original state prior to being driven through the SDO output of dual-ported flop circuit 101 . In other embodiments, the signal is not inverted.

Dual-ported flop circuit 101 is configured to receive both data signals and scan data signals through inputs D and SDI, respectively. Dual-ported flop circuit 101 is also configured to receive three clock signals: CLK, SC 1 _SCENX, and SC 2 _SCENX. The clock signal received at the CLK input is the system clock signal, and is used during normal circuit operations. As described above, clock signals SC 1 _SCENX and SC 2 _SCENX are used to latch data within the flop. Dual-ported flop circuit 101 also has a second input, SDOX, for receiving scan data signals. During scan shifting operations, dual-ported flop circuit 101 does not receive scan data signals through the SDI input. Instead, scan data signals bypass the master cell of dual-ported flop circuit 101 (to be explained in further detail below) and are driven through shadow flop circuit 102 . These signals are then driven to dual-ported flop circuit 101 through the SDOX input. Dual-ported flop circuit 101 also has two output ports, Q B and SDO. During normal operations, data signals are driven from dual-ported flop circuit 101 through Q B . When scan-shifting operations are in progress, scan data signals are driven from dual-ported flop circuit 101 through the SDO port.

Turning next to FIG. 4, a schematic of one embodiment of a dual-ported flop circuit 101 is illustrated. Flop logic 1011 may be either a latch or an edge-triggered flip-flop. The embodiment shown is for a D-type flip-flop/latch and is configured to receive a data signal at input D, as well as a clock signal at input CLK. In this embodiment, the complement of the data signal is driven through Q B -bar although alternate embodiments may take the uncomplemented data signal as an output. The dual-ported flop circuit 101 also includes a master cell 101 M and a slave cell 101 S. Master cell 101 M is configured to receive scan data signals through input SDI and scan clock signals through input SC 1 . When a clock pulse is asserted at SC 1 , transistor Q 3 is activated, thereby passing the data signal present on SDI into master cell 101 M. The data signal can then be driven to the slave cell 101 S, or flop output Q B through inverter 1012 .

In addition to the data input from the master cell, slave cell 101 S is configured to receive a scan data signal through input SDOX and a scan clock signal through input SC 2 . Slave cell 101 S is configured to drive scan data signals through output SDO. Data signals received from master cell 101 M may also be driven through the SDO output when a clock pulse is asserted on the SC 2 input. When the clock pulse is asserted at SC 2 , transistor Q 9 is activated, thereby passing the data signal into the slave cell from the master cell.

Turning now to FIG. 5 a schematic of one embodiment of shadow flop circuit 102 is shown. Shadow flop circuit 102 is configured to receive a scan data signal through input SDI, and two scan clock signals through inputs SC 1 —SCEN and SC 2 _SCEN respectively. Scan data signals are driven by shadow flop circuit 102 through output SDOX. During scan-shifting operations, a clock pulse received at input SC 1 _SCEN activates transistor Q 1 , passing the scan data signal into the flop. When a clock pulse is received at input SC 2 _SCEN, transistors Q 4 and Q 5 are activated and the scan data signal is then driven to the SDOX output.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of one embodiment of a shadow control logic circuit 103 . Shadow control logic 103 is configured to receive a scan enable (SCEN) signal, and two scan clock signals (SC 1 and SC 2 ). Shadow control logic circuit 103 is configured to drive four output clock signals through outputs SC 1 _SCEN, SC 2 _SCEN, SC 1 _SCENX and SC 2 _SCENX. Two of these clock signals may be driven to a shadow flop circuit 102 through outputs SC 1 _SCEN and SC 2 _SCEN when the scan enable signal is asserted on the SCEN input and clock pulses are received on the corresponding inputs. If the scan enable signal is not asserted, clock signals may be driven to a dual-ported flop circuit 101 through outputs SC 1 _SCENX and SC 2 _SCENX when input clock signals are received on the corresponding inputs. A single shadow control logic circuit 103 may control a plurality of shadow/dual-ported flop circuit combinations.

Moving now to FIG. 7, a schematic of one embodiment of the scannable state element 100 , including the shadow control logic circuit 103 of FIG. 6, the shadow flop circuit 102 of FIG. 5, and the dual-ported flop circuit 101 of FIG. 4 is illustrated. Shadow control circuit 103 is coupled to both shadow flop circuit 102 and dual-ported flop circuit 101 , as shown in FIG. 3 . Dual-ported flop circuit 101 is shown as including a master cell 101 M, and a slave cell, 101 S. In the embodiment shown, shadow flop circuit 102 does not include a slave cell, but instead utilizes the slave cell 101 S of the dual-ported flop. Dual-ported flop circuit 101 includes logic for a D-type latch in this embodiment. Other types of circuits may be used in alternate embodiments, such as edge-triggered flip-flops, or other types of clocked storage device.

During the shifting in or out of a test vector, the CLK input of the dual-ported flop is held in a known state. Scan shifting can then commence once the scan enable signal is asserted on SCEN input of shadow control logic 103 . When the scan enable signal is asserted, output signals from the SC 1 _SCENX and SC 2 _SCENX inputs are held in a low state, causing transistors Q 3 and Q 9 to remain off. By keeping these two transistors deactivated, scan data passing through the scan chain is isolated from the data output Q B of the dual-ported flop. Consequently, the state of the data output from the dual-ported flop is not disturbed by the scanning in or out of scan data.

Instead of passing through the master cell 101 M of the dual-ported flop circuit 101 , and possibly disturbing the flop state, scan data instead is passed through shadow flop circuit 102 . With a scan enable signal asserted on the SCEN input and the receipt of a clock pulse on the SC 1 input, the shadow control logic drives a corresponding clock pulse through the SC 1 _SCEN output, activating Q 4 for the duration of the pulse. Activating Q 4 allows the data signal present on the SDI input to be loaded into shadow flop 102 . Once loaded, the data is held even after Q 4 is deactivated. When a clock pulse is received at the SC 2 input of shadow control logic 103 , a corresponding clock pulse is driven through output SC 2 _SCEN. Transistors Q 7 and Q 8 are activated in response to this clock pulse, and the scan data signal is then driven to the slave cell 101 S, and subsequently driven through the SDO output of the dual-ported flop. It should be noted that the inverters shown in the schematic, which complement the various signals, are not required, but rather, are a feature of this particular embodiment.

Shadow control logic circuit 103 may also cause dual-ported flop circuit 101 to be loaded with a predetermined state, as well as having the flop data state (i.e. the signal state of Q B ) loaded into the scan chain. For either of these events to occur, the CLK input may be held to a known state, and the scan enable signal on the SCEN input is de-asserted. With the scan enable signal de-asserted, a clock pulse received on the SC 1 input of shadow control logic circuit 103 drives a corresponding clock signal on the SC 1 _SCENX output, which activates transistor Q 3 . With Q 3 activated, a data signal present at the SDI input of the dual-ported flop is loaded into the master cell, setting its state. To load the current state of the flop into the scan chain, transistor Q 9 is activated. This occurs when a clock pulse is received on the SC 2 input of shadow control logic 103 while the scan enable signal is de-asserted.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram that further illustrates the operation of the scannable state element illustrated in FIG. 7 . Prior to the beginning of scan operations, the system clock signal, CLK, will cycle between high and low states as normal. In order for any scan operations to take place CLK is held in a known state, asserted high in this embodiment After the clock is asserted high and held, a scan clock pulse is received on the SC 2 input, asserting the SC 2 _SCENX signal (since SCEN is still held low), allowing data from the flop to be latched into the slave cell 101 S. A scan enable signal, SCEN, is then asserted to begin the scanning. With the scan enable signal asserted, receipt of a clock pulse at the SC 1 input causes the shadow control logic circuit 103 of FIG. 7 to drive a corresponding clock pulse on the SC 1 _SCEN output. This results in the loading of scan data into the shadow flop circuit 102 . The first clock pulse (received at SC 1 _SCEN) then falls. A second clock pulse is then received on the SC 2 input of shadow control logic circuit 103 . This results in shadow control logic circuit 103 driving a corresponding clock pulse on the SC 2 _SCEN output, causing shadow flop circuit 102 to drive loaded scan data from to the slave cell 101 S of dual-ported flop circuit 101 . Slave cell 101 S then drives the scan data signal to the next element of the scan chain through the SDO output.

When the scan enable signal is de-asserted (with CLK still held high), a clock pulse received at the SC 1 input of shadow control logic circuit 103 causes a corresponding clock pulse to be driven through the SC 1 _SCENX output. The data signal present at the SDI input of the dual-ported flop is then loaded into the flop, setting its state. The state of the dual-ported flop may also be loaded into the scan chain for shifting out test results. When a clock pulse is asserted at the SC 2 input of shadow control logic circuit 103 , a corresponding clock pulse is driven at the SC 2 _SCENX output. This results in the loading of the current data state of the dual-ported flop circuit 103 (i.e. the state of the data output) to the to slave cell 101 S. The data signal may then be driven through the SDO output and shifted through the scan chain.

The timing diagram of FIG. 8 also illustrates how scan data may pass through the scannable state element without disturbing the data output of the dual-ported flop. Upon assertion of the SC 2 signal, the SC 2 _SCEN signal is asserted and the scan data in the shadow flop circuit is allowed to pass through, which may cause the SDOX and SDO signals to change state. Since the scan data output (SDO) of the scannable state element is electrically separate from the data output (Q B ) of the dual-ported flop, the state of the data output may remain undisturbed as scan data passes through.

While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be understood that the embodiments are illustrative and that the invention scope is not so limited. Any variations, modifications, additions, and improvements to the embodiments described are possible. These variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the inventions as detailed within the following claims.