TABLE OF CONTENTS Since the mid-1980s, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have become a dominant implementation medium for digital systems. During that time, FPGAs have grown in complexity as their ability to implement system functions has increased from a few thousand logic gates to tens of millions of logic gates. The largest FPGAs currently available exceed a billion transistors. The ability to program, or configure, FPGAs to perform virtually any digital logic function provides an attractive choice, not only for rapid prototyping of digital systems but also for low-to-moderate volume or fast time-to-market systems. The ability to reconfigure FPGAs to perform different dig advanced system applications such as adaptive computing and fault tolerance.ital logic functions without modifying the physical system facilitates implementation of advanced system applications such as adaptive computing and fault tolerance.
The chapter begins with an overview of the typical architecture and configuration features of FPGAs as well as the testing challenges posed by these complex devices. We follow this discussion with a review of the various approaches to testing FPGAs that have been proposed and implemented. The remaining sections discuss testing and diagnosis of various resources incorporated in FPGAs, including programmable logic and routing resources as well as specialized cores such as memories and digital signal processors (DSPs). The chapter concludes with a discussion of one of the new frontiers in FPGA testing in which embedded processor cores within the FPGA are used to test and...
