A method for testing a data path for a semiconductor memory device, in
accordance with the present invention, includes providing a semiconductor
memory device including a plurality of stages in a data path, and
transferring data into the data path. Components are disabled to isolate
at least one stage of the plurality of stages such that data written to or
read from the at least one stage is available at an output. The data at
the output is preferably compared to expected data. Alternately, system
level calibration between devices may be performed to ensure proper
communication between devices without destroying data in a memory array
and making a dynamic data skew calibration possibly while running an
application.
