- Knowledge of the concepts of testing and dependability. - Knowledge of the main techniques used for testing an electronic circuit. - Knowledge of the main techniques used for testing an embedded system. - Knowledge of the basic techniques used for hardening an electronic product with respect to possible faults. - Knowledge of the main techniques for estimating the reliability of an electronic system. - Capability of developing the test plan for a digital device or embedded system - Capability to use the main software tools for testing an embedded system, such as fault simulators, automatic test pattern generators, automatic scan chain inserters. - Knowledge of the concept of Built-In Self-Test (BIST) and Boundary Scan (BS). - Knowledge of the concept of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). - Capability of designing simple BIST hardware modules.

The course is better followed if the student owns some basic knowledge about • Digital system design • Microelectronics • Computer architectures.

1. Introduction to test and dependability (1 credit) a. Dependability: definition, threats, attributes b. Fault models (temporary and transient): stuck-at, bridge, open, delay, SEU, SET c. Test of Integrated Circuits, boards and systems d. Defect level: definition and evaluation e. Automatic Test Equipment 2. Techniques and tools for generating test stimuli for combinational and sequential modules (1 credit) a. Fault simulation b. Automatic Test Pattern Generation 3. Techniques and tools for testing specific modules (1 credit) a. Memory test b. Processor test 4. Design for Testability techniques (1 credit) a. Scan b. BIST c. Boundary Scan d. System on Chip test 5. Board test (0.5 credit) a. Main steps in PCB test b. IEEE 1149.1 6. Basics in fault tolerant system design (1.5 credits) a. Basic fault tolerant design solutions (hw redundancy, information redundancy, time redundancy) b. Reliability evaluation and risk assessment (FMEA, radiation experiments, fault injection)

The course will be composed of - lectures - lab sessions - activities autonomously performed by students (assignments). Laboratory activities are an integral part of this course. During the lab sessions students will face the practical aspects introduced by lectures. Lab sessions will allow students to work with commercial tools for Fault Simulation, Scan Insertion, Automatic Test Pattern Generation and Boundary Scan test development. Students will also be asked to develop assignments concerning the course subjects. Only students who regularly followed the lab sessions can work on assignments. A typical assignment consists in implementing a given test solution (whose main characteristics have been described in the lectures) for a specific case study.

Students may benefit of the following textbook: M. Bushnell, V. Agrawal: Essentials of Electronic Testing for Digital, Memory, and Mixed-Signal VLSI Circuits Kluwer Academic Publisher, 2000 Slides will be provided to students registered to the course through the Student Teaching Portal, as well as any additional non-copyrighted information material that will be used in the course.

Lecture slides; Text book; Exercises; Exercise with solutions ; Lab exercises; Lab exercises with solutions; Video lectures (current year); Video lectures (previous years); Simulation tools; Self-assessment tools;

You can take this exam before attending the course

Exam: Optional oral exam; Group project; Computer-based written test in class using POLITO platform;

The exam aims at verifying the student's knowledge about the course topics and his/her ability to apply the presented techniques to some specific cases. The exam will be based on a written part in which the students will be asked to answer to some (about 5) open questions and exercises. Each question/exercise contributes with up to 5 points to the final score. The exam will last for about 90 minutes. Students will not be allowed to access any material during the exam. If the student achieves at least 18 points in the written exam, he/she can ask for an oral exam. During the oral exam the student will be asked to report about issues and solutions described during the course, or solve specific problems related to the course topics. At the end of the oral exam the student receives the final score, taking into account his/her performance in both the written and oral exams. If the student achieves at least 18 points in the written exam, he/she can directly ask for recording the score. Any student who successfully worked (in groups of 1 to 3 people) to the assignments can get up to 6 extra points which will be added to the exam score (if this is greater or equal than 18). The maximum score that a student can achieve without the assignment is 25/30.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.