The current offer of tutorials is for the following conference:
IEEE International Test Conference (ITC 2026) — https://www.itctestweek.org/ — October 11–16, 2026 · Grand Hyatt River Walk · San Antonio, TX
Quick view of tutorials by day and session.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday |
1
2
The Evolution of DFT Techniques for AI Devices from Tiled based design, in-field Testing and Beyond
Lee Harrison (Siemens EDA), Peter Orlando (Siemens EDA) |
3
4
Advances in IEEE 1687.x for Modern Access and Instrumentation Architectures
Sai Varun Puligilla, Stephen Sunter, Jason Doege, Jonathan Gaudet, Martin Keim (Siemens EDA) |
| Monday |
5
From LLMs to AI Agents: Foundations for Semiconductor Engineering
Li-C. Wang (UC Santa Barbara), Seoyeon Kim (UC Santa Barbara)
6
7
Timing Tests, Process Variations, Circuit Marginalities and Silent Data Corruption
Adit Singh (Auburn University)
8
Beyond Standard DFT and Test: What Is Needed for Today
Rubin Parekhji, Mudasir Kawoosa (Texas Instruments India) |
9
From LLMs to Agentic AI: Applications and Architectures for Test Data Analytics
Li-C. Wang (UC Santa Barbara)
10
11
12
In-Field System Test & Debug
Amit Pandey (Amazon), Karthik Natarjan (Synopsys), Sankaran Menon (Ericsson) |
Below is the current list of tutorials planned for ITC 2026. Accepted tutorials will be announced and updated here.
Abstract: TBD
Speakers' bios:
Dr. Adit D. Singh is Godbold Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Auburn University. Before joining Auburn in 1991, he served on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He has held several visiting positions during sabbaticals, including at the University of Tokyo in Japan, the Universities of Freiburg and Potsdam in Germany, the Indian Institutes of Technology, and as Fulbright Awardee at the University Polytechnic of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. He has also conducted over 70 tutorials and short courses at conferences, universities and industry worldwide. His technical interests span all aspects of VLSI technology, in particular integrated circuit test and reliability. He has published over two hundred and fifty research papers and holds international patents that have been licensed to industry. He is particularly recognized for his pioneering contributions to statistical methods in test and adaptive testing. He has served as a consultant to many major semiconductor, test and EDA companies around the world. Professor Singh was elected Fellow of IEEE in 2002.
Abstract: In this tutorial, we will give an overview of how the use and development of AI is driving the evolution of advanced AI hardware. It will cover the critical and special characteristics and the architecture of the popular AI chips. Next we will summarize the features of the AI chips from design-for-test (DFT) perspective and introduce the DFT technologies that can help testing AI chips. We will also cover how additional monitoring techniques that are available today are addressing the requirements of the AI hardware, developing reliability and resilience. Finally, we will present a few case studies on how DFT is implemented in real AI chips.
Speakers' bios:
Lee Harrison is Automotive IC Test Solutions Manager with Siemens EDA. He has over 20 years of industry experience with Mentor DFT products and has been involved in specifying new test features and methodologies, focusing on Automotive requirements. Lee received his BEng in MicroElectronic Engineering from Brunel University London in 1996 and regularly presents at conferences such as DAC, ITC, VTS, ETS, and DATE.
Peter Orlando is a Technical Marketing Engineer at Siemens EDA.
Abstract: Faults are inevitable in integrated circuit (IC) fabrication due to many factors such as manufacturing process variability. By adding testability features at design time, scan-based design makes test pattern generation, application and evaluation cost-effective to screen out defective ICs. It has become a common design structure for modern chips. However, the unrestrictive and ease of access to the internal states of the circuit under test makes scan chains an exploitable side channel for attacker to steal sensitive information such as cipher key of cryptographic core through in-field testing. In this tutorial, after a brief introduction of scan-based DfT, we will focus on its security vulnerabilities, the attacks based on these vulnerabilities, and corresponding countermeasures. We will also discuss DfT-based solutions to some of the hardware security problems, including digital watermarking, fingerprinting, IC metering, physical unclonable function, and random number generation.
Speakers' bios:
Gang Qu is a professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Maryland at College Park. He leads the Maryland Embedded Systems and Hardware Security lab and the Wireless Sensor Laboratory. Dr. Qu has made significant contributions to hardware security and trust, co-founded multiple workshops and symposiums in the field, developed a popular hardware security MOOC on Coursera, and is a Fellow of IEEE.
Abstract: This tutorial provides a comprehensive introduction to IEEE 1687 (IJTAG), a standard designed for scalable access to embedded instruments within complex SoCs. It explains how 1687 builds on IEEE 1149.1 boundary scan. In addition, it outlines the emerging extensions P1687 (1687 refresh), P1687.1 and P1687.2. Key concepts such as instrument networks, ICL, and the procedural description framework are highlighted. The tutorial includes the different types of PDL used to describe instrument procedures and test sequences. It emphasizes how IJTAG improves flexibility, reuse, and interoperability across modern test and debug infrastructures.
Speakers' bios:
Sai Varun Puligilla is a Technology Enablement Engineer at Siemens EDA, specializing in DFT methodologies, multi-die architectures, and advanced test automation for modern semiconductor designs. Since joining Siemens in 2023, he has developed high-impact test flows, validated tool interoperability, authored application notes, and supported customers through technical guidance, demos, and training content. He holds an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from California State University, Fresno.
Steve Sunter graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1978 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering. He worked in mixed-signal IC design from 1977 to 1990 at Bell-Northern Research and Nortel. In 1996, he became Engineering Director of mixed-signal DfT at LogicVision, later part of Mentor Graphics and Siemens. Over his career he was granted 30 U.S. patents, authored many papers and book chapters, chaired IEEE working groups and served on multiple program committees. He is a Life Senior Member of IEEE and an Associate Editor of JETTA.
Jason Doege graduated from DeVry Institute of Technology in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology. He is a Product Manager at Siemens EDA, responsible for SiliconInsight products, with 30+ years in Design For Test and Debug. He was a core contributor to IEEE P1500 and P1687 and currently holds roles in multiple IEEE working groups.
Jonathan Gaudet is a Senior Engineering Manager at Siemens EDA, leading the Tessent IJTAG development team. He has contributed to IJTAG and multi-die products since 2008 and is co-inventor of High-Bandwidth IJTAG. He has authored several ITC publications and leads development for Tessent IJTAG.
Dr. Martin Keim joined Mentor Graphics' Silicon Test Solutions group in 2001 and is currently a senior technical marketing engineer. He previously worked as a Test Engineer at Infineon and is active in IEEE P1687 working group and test/failure analysis communities.
Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) and agentic AI systems are rapidly transforming how engineers interact with software, information, and complex workflows. These technologies are beginning to reshape many aspects of semiconductor engineering. This tutorial introduces the foundations of modern LLM technologies and explains how they evolve into goal-oriented AI agents capable of reasoning, tool usage, memory management, and multi-step task execution. The tutorial is designed for semiconductor engineering professionals who want to develop a deeper understanding of why modern LLMs have become so powerful, how agentic AI systems work, and how practical AI agents can now be rapidly prototyped using modern LLM tools and effective context engineering.
Topics covered include:
The tutorial emphasizes intuition, engineering perspectives, and practical understanding rather than low-level mathematical derivations. A brief hands-on demonstration is also included to show how modern coding agents and LLM-assisted development tools can now enable rapid prototyping of end-to-end AI agents within only a few hours through effective prompting and context engineering.
Speakers' bios:
Li-C. Wang is a professor at ECE department at University of CA, Santa Barbara. He received PhD in 1996 from University of Texas, Austin, and was previously with Motorola PowerPC Design Center. Starting from 2003, his research has focused on investigating how machine learning could be utilized in design and test flows, where he had published more than 120 papers and supervised 23 PhD theses on topics in this area. Prior to that, his research spanned across multiple topics in EDA and test, including microprocessor test and verification, statistical timing analysis, defect-oriented testing, and SAT solvers. He received 12 Best Paper Awards and 2 Honorable Mentioned Paper Awards from major conferences, including recent best paper awards from ITC. He is the recipient of the 2010 Technical Excellence Award from Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) for his research contributions in data mining for test and validation. He is the recipient of the 2017 IEEE-TTTC Bob Madge Innovation Award. He is an IEEE fellow and serve as the General Chair of the International Test Conference (ITC) in 2017, 2018, and 2023.
Abstract: Advancements in process technology have enabled the creation of chips with billions of transistors, significantly enhancing power and performance for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI applications. This complexity has spurred the development of various 3D integration and packaging techniques utilizing multi-die/chiplet-based designs. Advanced 3D integration technologies allow for the construction of multi-die systems, each offering specific advantages and trade-offs in terms of performance, application, and cost. Similar to traditional chips, all 3DICs must be rigorously tested for manufacturing defects. This includes Known-Good Die (KGD) testing before stacking, Known-Good-Stack (KGS) testing after stacking, final tests, and system-level tests. Furthermore, given the complexity of the stacking process, in-silicon monitoring solutions are necessary to continuously check silicon health during in-field operation. This tutorial offers an overview of the advanced packaging technologies and explores the associated test flow challenges. An example of how the 3Dblox open standard simplifies the description of a 3D stack, enabling interoperability between EDA tools and allowing various test optimizations, is presented. Additionally, it covers various Design-for-Test (DFT) schemes, sensors/monitors and embedded test & repair solutions to facilitate efficient testing across different packaging configurations.
Speakers' bios:
Dr. Sandeep K Goel is an academician and senior director at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), USA. He previously held research and management roles at LSI, Magma Design Automation, and Philips Research. Dr. Goel earned his M.Tech. in VLSI from IIT Delhi in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Twente in 2005. He has co-authored multiple book chapters, published over 90 conference/journal papers, and holds more than 100 US patents. He received the Most Significant Paper Award at ITC in 2010 and the Distinguished Contributor Award from the IEEE Computer Society in 2022. He is the chair of IEEE Std. P3537 standard for 3Dblox: Chiplet connectivity and physical properties description language. His research focuses on design verification, testing, diagnosis, and defect modeling of 2D/3D SOCs.
Dr. Yervant Zorian is a Chief Architect and Fellow at Synopsys, as well as President of Synopsys Armenia. Formerly, he was Vice President and Chief Scientist of Virage Logic, Chief Technologist at LogicVision, and a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is currently the President of IEEE Test Technology Technical Council (TTTC), the founder and chair of the IEEE 1500 Standardization Working Group, and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of IEEE Design and Test of Computers. Dr. Zorian holds 35 US patents, has authored four books, published over 350 refereed papers and received numerous awards; he is a Fellow of IEEE.
Abstract: This tutorial aims at understanding the effectiveness of functional system level tests (SLTs) as an additional final defect screen before processor SOCs are shipped for assembly. It takes an in-depth look at traditional scan based Stuck-at and TDF tests to understand potential sources of test escapes, and discusses new test generation methodologies such as Cell Aware, Gate Exhaustive, Transistor Stuck-Open, and Timing Aware tests. The tutorial identifies failures that can remain undetected by scan structural tests and require the use of functional SLTs, and suggests strategies to minimize SLTs without impacting defect levels.
Speakers' bios:
Dr. Adit D. Singh is Godbold Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Auburn University. Before joining Auburn in 1991, he served on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He has held several visiting positions during sabbaticals, including at the University of Tokyo in Japan, the Universities of Freiburg and Potsdam in Germany, the Indian Institutes of Technology, and as Fulbright Awardee at the University Polytechnic of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. He has also conducted over 70 tutorials and short courses at conferences, universities and industry worldwide. His technical interests span all aspects of VLSI technology, in particular integrated circuit test and reliability. He has published over two hundred and fifty research papers and holds international patents that have been licensed to industry. He is particularly recognized for his pioneering contributions to statistical methods in test and adaptive testing. He has served as a consultant to many major semiconductor, test and EDA companies around the world. Professor Singh was elected Fellow of IEEE in 2002.
Abstract: This tutorial provides an industry perspective on (i) design affordability and test economics, (ii) illustrations of custom methods for DFT and test required to meet challenges due to technology, architecture and end application, and (iii) current gaps in standard methods and how to fix them through customizations and emerging landscapes in EDA and agentic AI.
Speakers' bios:
Rubin Parekhji has been with Texas Instruments (India) since 1996, mentoring and leading DFT teams and delivering DFT innovations across multiple groups. He is a distinguished member of technical staff, has published and delivered tutorials at leading conferences, and holds a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Mudasir Kawoosa is a DFT Architect at Texas Instruments (India) Pvt. Ltd., leading centralized DFT efforts in the Connectivity Business Unit. He has architected DFT and test solutions for over fifteen complex SoC programs and holds a master's degree from IIT Madras.
Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are fundamentally changing how semiconductor test data analytics systems can be designed and deployed. Modern LLMs can generate code, analyze CSV tables, create plots, summarize engineering data, and perform multi-step reasoning. However, reliable semiconductor analytics requires far more than simply connecting an LLM to raw test data.
This tutorial presents a new paradigm for agentic semiconductor test-data analytics based on workflow grounding, context engineering, and analytic-ready tables (ARTs). The tutorial introduces the evolution of the Intelligent Engineering Assistant (IEA) platform toward IEA-Notebook and IEA-Sentia, a scalable agentic analytics architecture that combines workflow knowledge with LLM-based reasoning.
The tutorial discusses how modern AI agents interact with engineering environments through iterative reasoning loops involving table retrieval, code generation, tool usage, plot interpretation, contextual memory, and workflow-guided execution. A central theme of the tutorial is that the primary engineering challenge in the LLM era is no longer merely implementing analytic algorithms, but constructing grounded analytic environments that enable reliable AI reasoning over semiconductor engineering data.
Real industrial examples and deployment experiences will be discussed throughout the tutorial. The tutorial will also include demonstrations showing how modern LLM systems can now generate substantial portions of analytics workflows and software components directly from high-level engineering specifications.
The tutorial is intended for semiconductor test, product, and data engineers who want to understand how modern LLM and agentic AI technologies are reshaping the future of engineering analytics systems and semiconductor data analysis workflows.
Speakers' bios:
Li-C. Wang is a professor at ECE department at University of CA, Santa Barbara. He received PhD in 1996 from University of Texas, Austin, and was previously with Motorola PowerPC Design Center. Starting from 2003, his research has focused on investigating how machine learning could be utilized in design and test flows, where he had published more than 120 papers and supervised 23 PhD theses on topics in this area. Prior to that, his research spanned across multiple topics in EDA and test, including microprocessor test and verification, statistical timing analysis, defect-oriented testing, and SAT solvers. He received 12 Best Paper Awards and 2 Honorable Mentioned Paper Awards from major conferences, including recent best paper awards from ITC. He is the recipient of the 2010 Technical Excellence Award from Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) for his research contributions in data mining for test and validation. He is the recipient of the 2017 IEEE-TTTC Bob Madge Innovation Award. He is an IEEE fellow and serve as the General Chair of the International Test Conference (ITC) in 2017, 2018, and 2023.
Abstract: High-performance and power efficiency needs of emerging workloads demand on-package integration of heterogeneous processing units, memory, and electrical and optical interconnects. Applications such as artificial intelligence/machine learning, data analytics, 5G, automotive, and high-performance computing are driving these demands to meet the needs of cloud computing, intelligent edge, enterprise, client, and hand-held computing infrastructure. On-package interconnects are a critical component to deliver the power-efficient performance with the right feature set in this evolving landscape. UCIe is an open industry standard with a fully specified stack that comprehends plug-and-play interoperability of chiplets on a package; like the seamless interoperability on board with well-established and successful off-package interconnect standards such PCI Express®, Universal Serial Bus (USB)®, and Compute Express Link (CXL)®. Recently, UCIe added significant enhancements for the test and debug infrastructure to work seamlessly across the silicon life cycle. In this tutorial, we will discuss the usages and key metrics of UCIe, both planar as well as 3D. We will delve into electrical, packaging, protocol, RAS, debug, testability, manageability, and software aspects along with the compliance and interoperability mechanisms. This will address inter die and intra die requirements. The intended audience of this tutorial are architects, SoC developers, chip designers, DFT & test engineers, researchers, and system integrators.
Speakers' bios:
Dr. Yervant Zorian is a Chief Architect and Fellow at Synopsys, as well as President of Synopsys Armenia. Formerly, he was Vice President and Chief Scientist of Virage Logic, Chief Technologist at LogicVision, and a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is currently the President of IEEE Test Technology Technical Council (TTTC), the founder and chair of the IEEE 1500 Standardization Working Group, and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of IEEE Design and Test of Computers. Dr. Zorian holds 35 US patents, has authored four books, published over 350 refereed papers and received numerous awards; he is a Fellow of IEEE.
Abstract: This tutorial discusses the Device-Aware Test (DAT) approach designed to close the gap between legacy fault models and real-world defects, demonstrated on emerging industrial memory designs. DAT incorporates the impact of physical defects into technology parameters and electrical models, performs systematic fault analysis, derives appropriate fault models, and develops test solutions. Demonstrations include STT-MRAM, RRAM, FeFET, and logic chips, showing DAT sensitizes realistic and unique defects not caught by traditional approaches.
Speakers' bios:
Said Hamdioui is Chair Professor on Dependable and Emerging Computer Technologies and Head of the Quantum and Computer Engineering department at Delft University of Technology. He is a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering and recipient of the European Innovation Council (EIC) grant in 2025. Hamdioui received the MSEE and PhD degrees with honors from TU Delft, has authored over 350 publications, holds multiple patents, and has received numerous awards for research and technology transfer. He serves on editorial boards and has extensive industry collaborations.
Abstract: Infield Test and Debug provides deeper insights into the system behavior and structural quality while the system is running in mission-mode. It provides a non-intrusive method for testing and debug of complex computer systems. This is specifically useful in mission-critical applications such as space applications, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), for various industrial/robotic applications as well as virtually all real-time and datacenter/AI applications. In this tutorial we will establish the motivation for Infield system Test & Debug such as inadequacies of structural testing, and we will cover the various testing and debug techniques that are available today. We will then introduce the Infield system testing and debug mechanisms available for the closed-chassis systems using USB Type-C, PCIe and any other high-speed interfaces. We will cover the efficient design planning mechanism that would consume as much of the available bandwidth for designs using high-speed interfaces. We will conclude with results from an Infield system test and Debug used in real-world applications across the various industries.