Functional tests for ring-address SRAM-type FIFOs

Abstract

First-In-First-Out (FTFO) memories are becoming increasingly popular as buffer storage between subsystems operating at different data rates. One way to implement a FIFO is to use a dual-port SRAM memory with a ring-address mechanism consisting of an n-bit shift register (n is the number of words in the FIFO). This saves the address decoder circuitry and allows for higher speed operation, which makes this type of FIFO very popular, especially for embedded applications. The well-known functional tests for SRAMs cannot be applied to FIFOs, because of their built-in access restrictions. Functional fault models and functional tests for ring-address SRAM-type FIFOs have not been documented before; this paper aims at filling in this gap. It introduces functional fault models and presents a set of tests for ring-address SRAM-type FIFOs.<>