International Business Machines Corporation

John L Sinchak

Franco Motika

Edward B Eichelberger

John A Waicukauski

Eric Lindbloom

Roger N Langmaid

Sang Hoo Dhong

Kirk David Peterson

Alain F Loiseau

Jonathan James DeMent

Gilles Gervais

A voltage identifier (VID) sorting system is provided that optimizes processor power and operating voltage guardband at a constant processor frequency. The VID sorting system determines a voltage versus current curve for the processor. The VID sorting system then uses the voltage versus current characteristics to calculate the power for each VID to determine an acceptable range of VIDs within the maximum power criteria. The VID sorting system then tests VIDs in the range and selects a VID from the range to optimize for minimum power and/or maximum voltage guardband at a constant processor frequency.

Voltage identifier sorting

A method and apparatus for testing very large scale integrated circuit devices, most particularly Level Sensitive Scan Design (LSSD) devices, by applying differently configured sequences of pseudo-random patterns in parallel to each of the input terminals of the device under test, collecting the output responses from each of the output terminals in parallel, combining these outputs to obtain a signature which is a predetermined function of all of the sequences of parallel outputs and comparing the test signature with a known good signature obtained by computer simulation. The input test stimuli are further altered in a predetermined fashion as a function of the structure of the device to be tested, to individually weight the inputs in favor of more or less binary ones or zeros.

Weighted random pattern testing apparatus and method

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Wappingers Falls, NY, United States of America

John L Sinchak