Determining the test sources/sinks for NoC TAMs

Conventional approaches using the Network-on-Chip (NoC) as Test Access Mechanism (TAM), called NoC TAM, model the test sources/sinks and the routing algorithm as constraints to the test scheduling, reducing its efficiency. This paper is based on a new NoC TAM model where these constraints do not exist, potentially resulting in shorter tests. The contribution of this paper is to present the part of the test flow which determines the optimal number and location of the test sources and sinks in a NoC TAM without constraining the test scheduler. Searching the minimal number of sources/sinks can minimize the silicon area overhead since each NoC source/sink requires about 4300 gates for a NoC channel with 32-bit width.