A Novel Fault Detection Method in Fpgas

Abstract

Field-programmable gate-array (FPGA) devices are becoming the most suitable platform for implementing modern electronic systems due to their high level of reconfigurability, low cost and wide availability. FPGA devices are programmable logic circuits that can be programmed or reprogrammed with almost any circuit or system. They are now- a- days being used for coprocessors in high-performance systems to speed-up difficult tasks, for various embedded systems, systems on a chip, networks on a chip, or as a platform to design-circuit prototypes, etc. The FPGA devices are also increasingly being used in critical systems like space avionics, exploration missions, security systems, banking systems, secure servers, etc. Faults are very common in FPGA devices.  A fault defined as a substantial occurrence within an FPGA that causes to malfunction, for example, a broken wire caused during manufacture by a dust particle. Faults can occur at the beginning and end of a chip’s life cycle. This paper presents a novel BIST based fault detection method for detecting faults in FPGA devices