Digital Systems Design with FPGAs and CPLDs

CHAPTER 9 Testing the Electronic System

9.1 Introduction

If the world were perfect, there would be no need to test. A perfect design would not contain functional errors, and a manufacturing process would not include defects that lead to faults. However, the world is not perfect, and with ever-advancing design complexities, the use of smaller device geometries and new materials, there has never been a greater need for testing.

Testing an electronic system, both the hardware and software, is essential to ensuring that the design meets the requirements of the end-user, meets quality requirements, adheres to standards, and is actually complete [1–3]. The three basic engineering actions are design, manufacture, and testing (Figure 9.1); the testing ...