As the complexity of digital circuits increases continuously_the Intel Pentium-P6 processor (1995), for example, has 5.5 million transistors while the 80386 (1989) had less than one-half million_the cost of device testing has also increased sharply. The rising complexity of testing has shifted more and more of the testing responsibility toward the design engineer. Today, many of the testing issues must be planned within the earlier design phase. This project introduces the various issues and corresponding techniques employed in testing to digital design courses. To implement this idea, the department is developing an innovative laboratory for linking design and testing through hands-on experiments. The integration of testing with design is an important attribute within the range of abilities of a modern day undergraduate computer engineering student. Thus, the project addresses this emerging need through the use of a laboratory with a computer-assisted design (CAD) tools and testing facility. Students can implement their ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) designs through a set of PLDs (Programmable Logic Device) without the waiting period for IC fabrication. Many of the testing techniques such as DFT (Design for Testability) and BIST (Build-in-Self-Test) must be planned in the design phase by students. Converting the simulation data into test programs and performing the actual testing on ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) for students' own designs can not only offer hands-on experience, but also provide them an integral perspective of the design of digital systems. The laboratory infrastructure is capable of meeting the demands of design and test as an integral unit. This facility can provide three courses in the digital system area for more than 100 undergraduate students annually. This department's approach and experience can help other ECE/CS programs to offer an enriched education in digital design to their students.
