BIST-Based Test and Diagnosis of FPGA Logic Blocks

We present a Built-In Self Test (BIST) approach able to detect and diagnose any single and most multiple faulty programmable logic blocks (PLBs) in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) with maximum diagnostic resolution. 

This is the first reported diagnosis method for multiple faulty PBLs; for any faulty PLB, we also identify its internal faulty modules or modes of operation. Our accurate diagnosis provides the basis for both failure analysis used for yield improvement and for any repair strategy used for fault-tolerance. We present experimental results showing detection and identification of faulty PLBs in actual defective FPGAs.