Beyond structural test, the rising need for system-level test
Harry H. Chen · 2018
The steady march of Moore's Law in semiconductors has enabled the creation of ever more complex systems with electronics playing a central role. As a result, thorough testing of individual components is no longer adequate to ensure overall system performance, quality, and reliability. The rising importance of system-level test (SLT) to supplement traditional component structural test has gained wide recognition recently. To understand this trend, we examine where traditional testing falls short and where SLT fills the gap. In many cases, system failures are the result of complex component interactions leading to abnormal scenarios not attributable to simple and single root causes. Rather than being confined by traditional gate-level fault models, it might be more appropriate to develop a system-level fault model derived as an emergent property of complex systems. New definitions of fault coverage and how to automate high-coverage test generation are obvious challenges in the system domain. Recent developments in design verification which faces similar challenges in dealing with system complexity may offer possible solutions for SLT to draw on. The aim is to stimulate new ideas and directions for future research in system-based testing as upcoming 5G/IoT/AI-based applications penetrate deeper and pervasively into our daily lives.