An Effective technique for the Automatic Generation of Diagnosis-oriented Programs for Processor Cores

A large part of microprocessor cores in use today are de- signed to be cheap and mass produced. The diagnostic process, which is fundamental to improve yield, has to be as cost effective as possible. This paper presents a novel approach to the construction of diagnosis-oriented software-based test sets for microprocessors. The methodology exploits existing manufacturing test sets designed for software-based self-test and improves them by using a new diagnosis-oriented approach. Experimental results are reported in this paper showing the feasibility, robustness, and effectiveness of the approach for diagnosing stuck-at faults on an Intel i8051 processor cor