DFT / ATPG · All levels
Shift vs Capture Timing: Reports & Metrics
Reports & Metrics for Shift vs Capture Timing.
Reports and metrics
Reports & Metrics 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.
A report should support a release decision for shift hold violations, capture setup failures, at-speed pattern pass rate. One headline number is rarely enough without setup tags and bucket-level evidence.
Metric movement
METRIC GRAPH - shift hold violations, capture setup failures, at-speed pattern pass rate
quality metric
^
| target
| - - - - - - -
| o after fix + regression
| o
| o baseline
| o regressed run
+--------------------------------------> closure iteration
input audit focused fix signoff review
Readout:
- explain what moved, why it moved, and who approved itDistribution view
PATTERN HISTOGRAM - Shift vs Capture Timing
pattern count
| ***
| *******
| ***********
|************* <- high-volume tail (optimize here)
+--------------------> pattern buckets
smoke stuck-at transition diagnosis
Balance quality and tester limits together.Track shift hold violations, capture setup failures, at-speed pattern pass rate by context and pattern class.
Review trend and bucket detail together.
Keep quality, timing, and power metrics in one dashboard.
Store each metric next to the artifact and run tag.
DFT deep dive
Test signoff fails when shift/capture timing and test power are treated independently.
Concept diagram
TEST SIGNOFF LOOP
test SDC -> shift/capture timing -> power-aware ATPG -> IR validation -> releaseMetric graph
TEST CURRENT
functional current baseline
scan shift current peak-risk zoneReports 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.