Knowledge Center
Navigation
Knowledge Center

Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG)

The generation of tests that can be used for functional or manufacturing verification
popularity

Description

ATPG (Automatic Test Pattern Generation and Automatic Test Pattern Generator) is an EDA method/technology used to find an input or test sequence.

When applied to a digital circuit, ATPG enables automatic test equipment to distinguish between the correct circuit behavior and the faulty circuit behavior caused by defects. The generated patterns are used to test semiconductor devices after manufacture, or to assist with determining the cause of failure (failure analysis[1]).

The effectiveness of ATPG is measured by the number of modeled defects, or fault models, detectable and by the number of generated patterns. These metrics generally indicate test quality (higher with more fault detections) and test application time (higher with more patterns).

ATPG efficiency is another important consideration that is influenced by the fault model under consideration, the type of circuit under test (full scan, synchronous sequential, or asynchronous sequential), the level of abstraction used to represent the circuit under test (gate, register-transfer, switch), and the required test quality.

Multimedia

Scan Diagnosis