A method of simulating a differential cascode voltage switch circuit (domino circuit) by replacing each switch-level logic tree by a three-section Boolean tree. In each section, a switch is replaced by an AND gate. The first and third section pass signals in one direction and the second section passes signals in the opposite directions. The three sections are interconnected end to end. Various faults can be simulated by holding selected internal signals at faulty values.

A shift register connected to elementary gates is added to a digital network to form a fault simulator. The shift register and the additional gates can select a connection from the digital network and simulate a fault on the selected connection. Connection selection is done at a speed comparable to that at which the digital network operates and fault simulation is nondestructive. By resetting the shift register the fault simulator performs as if the digital network were fault-free. To simulate certain faults in the digital network a predetermined fault injection pattern for the faults to be simulated is entered into the shift register.

A scheme for generating test patterns for logic circuits which can generate the test patterns effectively and efficiently by making the assignments of the fewer logic values at earlier stages, so as to reduce the number of backtracking operations required. A test pattern for a logic circuit given by primary input logic values for setting a logic value of a specified signal line within the logic circuit at a specified level is generated by: checking whether a fault can be propagated to the specified signal line or not; deriving other signal lines whose logic values are uniquely determinable from the specified level of the specified signal line, only when it is judged that the fault cannot be propagated to the specified signal line; judging whether the primary inputs are contained among the derived other signal lines; and making an assignment of the specified level to the specified signal line, and setting the uniquely determinable logic values for those of the other signal lines which are judged as the primary inputs as the primary input logic values giving the test pattern.

An automatic test pattern generator and process assigns value-strength number to selected nodes representing the electrical characteristic strength of integrated circuits including field effect transistors and the logic state values at those nodes. These value-strength numbers become sensitized to the inputs of the selected node and become propagated to outputs of the selected node for establishing patterns for test signals. The test signals later become used in chip testers for determining good and bad integrated circuit chips. The value-strength numbers also become used in dynamic testing of the integrated circuit nodes by using clock signals of the integrated circuit to establish a transition at a start node of a test path. Within a known clock period later, the transition should become captured at an end node of the test path.

A method for developing a test sequence and for testing manufactured digital circuits. Test vectors are developed based on a simulation-based, directed-search approach. Specifically, from a given test vector, a next test vector is developed by altering the given test vector and determining the utility of the altered trial vector in propagating circuit faults to the primary outputs, based on a simulation of the circuit and a preselected cost function. The vector set is created through an iterative process of altering an accepted test vestor to develop a next trial vector. The vector set is efficiently developed by employing one phase that treats the entire set of circuit faults as the target, followed by another phase that targets specific faults that have not been detected in the previous phase.