DFT Digest

Just a quick note to say that I added several new books to the DFT bookcase, which brings the number to over 40 - go have a look. There’s some interesting things in there. And if you’re going to but, well, click through from the DFT Bookcase, and support the cause!

As I was perusing through amazon for new DFT bookcase candidates, a couple of books stood out (to me). First, it appears as though a new book from SynTest’s L.T. Wang. It’s called “System-on-Chip Test Architectures“, and it seems to be a continuation of sorts, of his last book “VLSI Test Principles and Architectures: Design for Testability“. As was the case in that book, Dr. Wang is acting as editor/author (many people contribute chapters). Due to be released next month, its description promises material on newer test technology, including: fault-tolerance, low-power test, NOC test, and nanotechnology test - a part of which is described as “Quantum-dots” and “Cellular-Automata” - which segues right into the next book that caught my eye…

“Design and Test of Digital Circuits by Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata” by Fabrizo Lombardi. OK, two references to quantum dots and cellular automata. What the…? I think I’ve been too caught up in my daily DFT tasks to have noticed this latest trend. I’d heard of cellular automata, with relation to logic BIST, many years ago, but I hadn’t heard of quantum dots. A brief google search later, I find that this technology has been around since about 1992. Not new. New to ME… but not new.

Anyway, “Design and Test of Digital Circuits by Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata” is due to come out later this month, and still has no description on Amazon yet, but I’ll be interested to see what it’s all about. Any of you readers familiar with this technology?

Fill us in…