Low Power Testing

Abstract

Portable computer systems and embedded systems are examples of electronic devices which are powered from batteries; therefore, they are designed with the goal of low power consumption. Low power consumption becomes important not only during normal operational mode, but during test application as well when switching activity is higher than in normal mode. In this chapter, a survey of basic concepts and methodologies from the area of low power testing is provided. It is explained here how power consumption is related to switching activities during test application. The concepts of static and dynamic power consumption are discussed together with metrics which can be possibly used to evaluate power consumption. The survey of methods, the goal of which is to reduce dynamic power consumption during test application, is then provided followed by a short survey of power-constrained test scheduling methods.