Fab-in-the-loop verification method using on-chip virtual clock management unit and built-in test vector generation unit for fast IC-level test of sensor-integrated system-on-chip

Fast test environment for the sensor-based embedded system, which is integrated on the system-on- chip (SoC), is proposed by adopting fab-in-the-loop verification methodology based on virtual clock management unit. As a fabricated SoC, proximity sensor system includes the internal IR sensor tightly coupled with the processing unit like embedded microcontrollers. The integrated circuits (ICs) manufacturer of the proximity sensor performs the physical testing for the IR sensor functionality in the mass production. The test vector of IR signal patterns in the real applications are loaded to the chip under test, but it has very long duration between the pulses, causing the corresponding test time. In this paper, we present the fast IR-based IC test method by utilizing the on-chip built-in test vector generation unit, which is synchronized on virtual clock management unit and also introduce the fab-in- the-loop test environment for the interoperation with test equipment in the host-computer side.