Design verification on a speech synthesizer using electron beam testing techniques.
The use of Electron Beam Testing (EBT) techniques in the verification both of the circuit and of electric simulation tools turns out to be very powerful and promises to improve the reliability and performance of VLSI circuit design by providing an effective feedback from measurements to circuit design. That is true within the traditional design environment and, more effectively, in a standard cell design approach, characterized by a fast development and update time. In the latter case it is really possible to take strong advantage of tools and circuit improvements. The design tool taken into account is the world-wide used electrical simulator SPICE. The EBT system used, allows in sampling mode 1 ns time resolution and applies an oscilloscope with programmable digitizer to display the acquired waveforms. The actual example is carried out on a 2-phase generator inside a VLSI circuit: a speech synthesizer (Linear Predicting Code technique) designed in CSELT and implemented in a N-MOS 4 micron process by SGS-ATES.
D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D003201:Computers; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D013997:Time Factors