DFT / ATPG · All levels

Shift vs Capture Timing: Review Checklist

Review Checklist for Shift vs Capture Timing.

Review checklist

Review Checklist for Shift vs Capture Timing focuses on shift hold violations, capture setup failures, at-speed pattern pass rate. The goal is to convert metric movement into mechanism, owner, and release decision.

  • Run tags and scenario context are explicit.

  • Constraints and legality assumptions are documented.

  • Quality, timing, and test-power checks are included.

  • Diagnosis evidence supports residual-risk decision.

  • Owners signed: STA owner, DFT owner, PD owner.

Signoff ownership

diagram
OWNERSHIP MAP - Shift vs Capture Timing

artifact              owner
----------------      -----------------
architecture/report STA owner
constraints/setup   DFT owner
physical/test       PD owner

Name an owner for each failing metric cluster.

DFT deep dive

Test signoff fails when shift/capture timing and test power are treated independently.

Concept diagram

diagram
TEST SIGNOFF LOOP

test SDC -> shift/capture timing -> power-aware ATPG -> IR validation -> release

Metric graph

diagram
TEST CURRENT

functional current  baseline
scan shift current  peak-risk zone

Reports and artifacts

  • test-mode STA report

  • shift/capture split

  • test power IR map

  • waiver tracker

Mini case study

At-speed patterns passed timing but failed in production due to peak shift IR; staggered capture and power-aware fill resolved.

Debug branches

  • Tag test and functional corners separately

  • Check hold in shift mode

  • Correlate fail bins with power hotspots

Senior review question

Ask: what evidence proves this DFT decision is safe for production?

Key takeaways

  • State metric, lot/corner context, and pattern tag with every claim.

  • Treat timing, power, and quality as one signoff problem.

Common pitfalls

  • Chasing coverage without legality checks.

  • Ignoring test-power side effects of pattern changes.

  • Debugging silicon without reproducible tags.

Principal DFT review addendum

Shift mode is hold-sensitive while capture mode is setup-sensitive; closure must preserve both under test clocking assumptions.

Metric: shift hold violations, capture setup failures, at-speed pattern pass rate