Practice Design Complexity And Overhead (6.3.1) - Implementation and Optimization of Scan Chains for Improved Testability

Practice: Design Complexity and Overhead

Lesson 6.3.1Implementation and Optimization of Scan Chains for Improved Testability

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8 questions

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6 questions · about 4 min · pass mark 70%. Hints available.
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2 questions · about 1 min · pass mark 70%. Hints available.
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6 sample questions

Question 1.
What does area overhead refer to in the context of scan chains?
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Think about the extra components and their spatial requirements.
Question 2.
How does scan chain implementation affect performance?
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Consider the time taken to move bits through the chain.
3Question 3.
What is area overhead?
- Cost of manufacturing
- Extra space used on the chip
- Test coverage ratio
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Think about what happens physically to the chip.
4Question 4.
True or False: Longer scan chains always improve fault detection.
- True
- False
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Reflect on the negative impacts of extending scan chains.
Question 5.
You are designing a test circuit that uses a scan chain with 50 flip-flops. Calculate the expected area overhead if each flip-flop consumes 2 mm², and suggest optimization strategies to mitigate this.
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Focus on assessing necessity versus efficiency.
Question 6.
A scan chain design has led to a 30% decrease in performance in a circuit. Suggest and justify three modifications to improve performance while maintaining test coverage.
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Consider approaches that can simultaneously address both issues.

4 more questions in this section. Enroll free to practise them all.