Circuit and method for testing a data memory
AssigneeInfineon Technologies AG
InventorUdo Hartmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A data memory to be tested is connected to a processing unit. Data items to be stored are produced from a test pattern data item in the processing unit and are stored in the data memory. The data memory is tested in that the test pattern data items are received from a test device, processed using a first function to form data items to be stored, and the data items are then stored. After the stored data items are read from the memory they are processed with a second function to form test data items whose number is once more smaller than the stored data items that are read from the memory.
Claims13
A circuit for testing a data memory, comprising:
- a processing unit connected to the data memory, said processing unit applying a first function to a predetermined test pattern for generating therefrom data items to be written to the data memory, said processing unit reading the data items from the data memory and applying a second function to the data items read from the data memory for generating therefrom test data items;
- wherein the second function is a reciprocal function of the first function and a number of the data items is greater than a number of test data items;
- and
- a test device connected to and outputting to said processing unit function data items defining the first function and the second function for said processing unit.
A method of testing a data memory, which comprises the following steps:
- receiving a predetermined test pattern data item;
- processing the test pattern data item with a first function to produce data items for the data memory with a greater data width than the test pattern data item;
- storing the data items in the data memory;
- reading the stored data items from the data memory;
- processing the stored data items with a second function being a reciprocal function of the first function, to produce test data items and to check a functionality of the data memory, and thereby defining the first function and the second function by function data items predetermined by a test device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.