DFT Digest

As I was putting together a post with some recent DFT-related news, I came across a couple of links referencing recent work on an extension to the IEEE 1149.1 (a.k.a. JTAG). As I read about this impending standard, my interest was piqued, so I embarked on a hyper-google for “IEEE 1149.7″, and came to realize I had only experienced the tip of an iceberg of press releases and product announcements - all from this month!

Here’s a sampling:

TI driving development, ratification of IEEE 1149.7 embedded system standard
Freescale supports ratification of the IEEE 1149.7™ industry standard
ASSET brings JTAG test tools perspective to IEEE 1149.7
IPextreme Announces Availability of Market’s First IEEE 1149.7 cJTAG Semiconductor IP Core
Globetech Solutions’ verification IP for latest IEEE test and debug standard selected by STMicroelectronics

All in the last 2 weeks.  I smell a conspiracy

The 1149.7, or cJTAG (for “compact” JTAG) standard is set to be ratified in Q1 2009, and it appears the tool and IP vendors are lining up to supply it.  So why is this standard so compelling?

In the article “Reinventing JTAG for SoC Debugging“, Stephen Lau of Texas Instruments outlines the benefitsof the new standard: Debug-logic power control, efficiency of access to a single device in a system, the addition of a star topology, and a reduced-pin TAP (hence “compact”).  All these will make it easier to extend  the use of JTAG methods into the future of more complex SoCs and Systems-in-Package (SIP).

Being the semi-curious person I am, I started searching for more detail on the emerging standard.  normally, as a working group makes progress toward a standard, one can see some of what is happening by looking through the group’s website (check out http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/).  I suppose this must be optional, because I’ve never been able to find any information on 1149.7 at the IEEE site.  I’m guessing, like the OCI standard I blogged about recently, this standard will be approved by an entity-only ballot.

But I do wonder: when a standard gets this clse to a ratification, why not give the interested world a peek?  Competitive advantage for the companies whose personnel have put in the work on the standard?  Judging from the slew of product announcements and press releases this month, I’d say that’s exactly the case.

You snooze, you lose…