System-level test’s expanding role in producing complex chips

By Davette Berry

July 10, 2025

EDN | July 10, 2025

System-level test (SLT), once used largely as a stopgap measure to catch issues missed by automated test equipment (ATE), has evolved into a necessary test insertion for high-performance processors, chiplets, and other advanced computational devices. Today, SLT is critical for ensuring that chips function correctly in real-world conditions, and all major CPUs, APUs, and GPUs now go through an SLT insertion before shipment.

Adding SLT in production is being considered for network processors and automotive processors for driver assistance. However, implementing SLT techniques effectively at scale poses key challenges in terms of managing costs, test times, and manufacturers’ expectations.

One of the biggest misconceptions about SLT is that it functions like ATE. ATE primarily uses pre-defined test patterns to stimulate circuit paths and check expected responses within individual cores or circuit blocks. On the other hand, SLT focuses on system interactions that occur between those cores or outside the chip.

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