Input switching arrangement for a semiconductor circuit and test method for unidirectional input drivers in semiconductor circuits

US7308628B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Infineon Technologies AG · DE

Inventors

• Wolfgang Anton Spirkl · Germering, DE
• Ralf Arnold · Aalen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 16, 2004
• Grant date: Dec 11, 2007
• Expiry date: Jul 24, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R31/318533
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Transfer switching devices, which supplement unidirectional input switching arrangements or pad circuits are employed to route an internal test signal to the input of an input driver in the unidirectional input switching arrangement and to couple the internal test signal to an internal switching logic unit. The transfer switching devices are controlled via a multiplexer unit, which can be programmed directly using boundary scan registers. The present invention allows all unidirectional pad circuits or input drivers to be tested in the course of a reduced I/O test method for semiconductor circuits, in which testing internal circuits in the semiconductor circuit involves only a subset of the signal connections associated with the input drivers being coupled to a test apparatus.