SynTest Receives "Computer-aided design system to automate scan synthesis at register-transfer level" Patent for RTL Scan Synthesis Invention
Elevating Scan Synthesis to RTL helps improve design quality and reduce design time
SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct 25, 2005 -- SynTest Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of Design-for-Test (DFT) tools, was granted 68 claims on Oct. 18, 2005 under United States Patent # 6,957,403 for its invention of inserting scan structures in RTL (register-transfer level) description of synchronous and asynchronous multi-clock, multi-frequency designs.
The patented invention makes a profound impact on the current design implementation methodology and flow from RTL to GDS II. By moving scan synthesis to RTL, it helps improve design quality and reduce development time. Scan synthesis in asynchronous multi-clock, multi-frequency designs forces most of the current flows to deal with gate-level of abstraction. The patented method provides interactive scan debug, interactive scan repair, and flush/random test bench generation at the RTL. In addition, it facilitates hierarchical scan synthesis by performing scan synthesis module-by-module and then stitching these scanned modules together at the top-level.
Furthermore, this patented scan synthesis scheme (1) performs RTL testability analysis and RTL scan selection/repair/stitching, (2) reduces the number of clocks and ATPG patterns by allowing scan flip-flops in non-interacting clock domains to perform scan testing simultaneously, and (3) facilitates test point selection and insertion at the RTL for ease of future test point ECO at the gate-level.
About SynTest:
SynTest Technologies, Inc., established in 1990, develops IPs for advanced design-for-test (DFT) and design-for-debug/diagnosis (DFD) applications and markets them throughout the world, to semiconductor companies, system houses and design service providers. The company has filed more than 20 US patents. The Company's products improve an electronic design's quality and reduce overall design and test costs. Various applications that use these IPs include logic BIST, memory BIST, boundary-scan synthesis, Scan/ATPG with test compression, concurrent fault simulation, silicon debug and diagnosis. The company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, has offices in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and distributors in Europe and Asia including Israel. More information is available at www.syntest.com.
SynTest Technologies Inc. is headquartered at 505 South Pastoria Ave., Suite 101, Sunnyvale, California 94086, Phone: 408-720-9956, E-Mail: Email Contact
SynTest is a trademark of SynTest Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Press Contact:
Nayan Pradhan,
408-720-9956 x 301
Acronyms:
ATPG: Automatic Test Program Generation
ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuits
BIST: Built-In Self-Test
DFT: Design-for-Test
DFD: Design-for-Debug/Diagnosis
ECO: Engineering Change Order
IP: Intellectual Property
RTL: Register Transfer Level
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