WO2004003583A1 - Communication lancee par des instruments et destinee a un equipement de test automatique - Google Patents

Communication lancee par des instruments et destinee a un equipement de test automatique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2004003583A1
WO2004003583A1 PCT/US2003/018485 US0318485W WO2004003583A1 WO 2004003583 A1 WO2004003583 A1 WO 2004003583A1 US 0318485 W US0318485 W US 0318485W WO 2004003583 A1 WO2004003583 A1 WO 2004003583A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
data
circuit
measure
processing
packaged
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2003/018485
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Dominic Viens
Larry Klein
Gregory P. Brown
Francois Labonte
Original Assignee
Teradyne, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US10/185,195 external-priority patent/US7051218B1/en
Application filed by Teradyne, Inc. filed Critical Teradyne, Inc.
Priority to AU2003280452A priority Critical patent/AU2003280452A1/en
Publication of WO2004003583A1 publication Critical patent/WO2004003583A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
    • G06F11/22—Detection or location of defective computer hardware by testing during standby operation or during idle time, e.g. start-up testing
    • G06F11/2294—Detection or location of defective computer hardware by testing during standby operation or during idle time, e.g. start-up testing by remote test
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R31/00—Arrangements for testing electric properties; Arrangements for locating electric faults; Arrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere
    • G01R31/28—Testing of electronic circuits, e.g. by signal tracer
    • G01R31/317—Testing of digital circuits
    • G01R31/3181—Functional testing
    • G01R31/319—Tester hardware, i.e. output processing circuits
    • G01R31/31903—Tester hardware, i.e. output processing circuits tester configuration
    • G01R31/31912—Tester/user interface
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R31/00—Arrangements for testing electric properties; Arrangements for locating electric faults; Arrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere
    • G01R31/28—Testing of electronic circuits, e.g. by signal tracer
    • G01R31/317—Testing of digital circuits
    • G01R31/3181—Functional testing
    • G01R31/319—Tester hardware, i.e. output processing circuits
    • G01R31/31917—Stimuli generation or application of test patterns to the device under test [DUT]
    • G01R31/31926—Routing signals to or from the device under test [DUT], e.g. switch matrix, pin multiplexing

Definitions

  • This invention relates generally to automatic test equipment (ATE) used to test electronic circuits.
  • ATE automatic test equipment
  • IC integrated circuit
  • DUT device under test
  • handling equipment physically manipulates the DUTs to provide a coupling between the DUTs and the ATE.
  • handling equipment provides a rapid feed of packaged ICs, sequentially coupling each IC to the ATE.
  • the handling equipment utilizes step and repeat miniature probes that couple the ATE to individual IC dies on a wafer, thereby allowing the dies to be sequentially tested by the ATE.
  • state-of-the-art ATE systems typically include a host computer coupled to one or more test instruments.
  • Each of the one or more test instruments is typically coupled to a moveable test head.
  • the host computer can be a personal computer, a workstation, or any digital computing platform.
  • the one or more test instruments, responsive to the host computer can include both generic test equipment, for example a conventional voltmeter, and also specialized test equipment integrated with the ATE, for example a digital pattern generator.
  • the one or more test instruments can receive signals from and provide signals to a DUT through THE test head.
  • the test head includes a group of test pins typically referred to as a "pin field.”
  • the pin field includes one or more pins, (e.g. so-called pogo pins) through which the one or more test instruments are coupled to one or more DUTs provided by the handling equipment.
  • the one or more test instruments can provide one or more "source signals" to respective pins within the pin field.
  • the source signals may include, for example, one or more analog signals or one or more digital signals or a combination of one or more analog signals and one or more digital signals.
  • the source signals are this coupled through the pin field to the DUT.
  • the one or more test instruments can also receive "measure signals" from the DUTs through respective pins within the pin field.
  • the measure signals may include, for example, one or more analog signals or one or more digital signals or a combination of one or more analog signals and one or more digital signals.
  • the measure signals are coupled to the one or more test instruments from the DUT through the pin field.
  • the ATE in conjunction with the handling equipment, can provide signals to and receive signals from either dies upon a wafer or packaged ICs.
  • a source signal can be represented as "source data."
  • source data can correspond, for example, to digital samples of a sine wave.
  • the source data is transferred to one or more of the test instruments and used by the test instruments to provide the source signals. It should be appreciated that there can be a large amount of source data.
  • a measure signal whether analog or digital, can be represented as digital samples referred to as "measure data.”
  • the measure signals are typically converted to "measure data" by the test instrument. It is often necessary to transfer the measure data from the test instrument to the host computer. It should be appreciated that there can be a relatively large amount of measure data.
  • the host computer executes a test program that includes instructions for setup and control of the test instruments, instructions for generation of the source data, instructions for transfer of the source data to the test instrument, instructions for capture of the measure data received from the DUT, instructions for transfer of the measure data to the host computer, instructions for processing the measure data to generate "processed data, " and instructions to process the processed data to generate "binned data.” Processed and binned data are described below.
  • Each of the above instructions can be categorized according to function categories associated with the test program, the function categories including a) setup, b) execution, c) data move, d) processing, and e) binning. It should be noted that a conventional test program can include instructions corresponding to each of these function categories. It will also be noted that each different test program takes a different amount of time to setup, execute, data move, process and bin.
  • the instructions for setup and control of the test instruments, the instructions for generation of the source data, and the instructions for transfer of the source data to the test instrument each correspond to the setup function category.
  • Each of these instructions are generally provided only once at the beginning of the test program.
  • the instructions for capture of the measure signals are associated with acquisition of data by the test instrument, the time duration of which is determined by the characteristics of the test instrument.
  • the instructions for capture of measure signals, associated with the execution function category are generally repeated a number of times within the test program.
  • the instructions for transfer of the measure data to the host computer, associated with the data move function category also are generally repeated a number of times within the test program.
  • the instructions for processing of the measure signals to generate the processed data, associated with the processing function category, also are generally repeated a number of times within the test program.
  • the instructions for processing the processed data to generate binned data, associated with the binning function category, are generally provided only once at the end of the test program.
  • the data processing and the binning operations are often performed by the host computer.
  • the execution time (or "run time") of a test program which implements one individual test on an IC is typically about several seconds. It is often necessary, however, to perform hundreds or thousands of individual tests on each IC.
  • any one or more of the function categories described above can dominate the total amount of testing time associated with the test program.
  • the lengthiest time durations are often those associated with functions that must be repeated a number of times within the test program, rather than with those functions that are performed only one time per test program.
  • the instructions associated with the execution, data move, and processing function categories are typically repeated a number of times within the test program. Thus, the processes carried out in these function categories are often associated with the longest time durations of the test program.
  • the time durations associated with the above-mentioned execution function category are influenced by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the test instrument acquisition speed and the number of measure samples required for a particular test.
  • the test instrument can be a high speed digital signal capture instrument that can capture 8 digital states (one byte) in parallel at a rate of 100 Mbytes per second having a total number of captured bytes of 256,000. This capture would take 0.256 milliseconds. If this data capture were repeated a number of times in the test program, a large amount of time could be devoted to the data capture.
  • the time durations associated with the above-mentioned data move function category are also influenced by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the amount of measure data to be transferred and the speed of the data bus upon which the transfer is done. For example, a transfer of one thousand digital bytes can be associated with an instruction for transfer of measure data, and the measure data can be transferred on a one bit wide serial bus having a bus speed of 10 Mbits per second. In this example, the data transfer would take 0.8 milliseconds. If this data transfer were repeated a number of times in the test program, a large amount of time could be devoted to the transfer of measure data.
  • the time durations associated with the above-mentioned processing function category are also influenced by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the type of processing, the processing speed of the processor that performs the processing, and the amount of data to process.
  • the processing can be a fast Fourier transform performed on one thousand measure samples with a personal computer.
  • ATE is often configured having a single data bus coupled between the host computer and the one or more test instruments.
  • the single data bus is a relatively slow data bus.
  • the time duration associated with the instructions for transfer of measure data from the one or more test instruments to the host computer often has the longest duration.
  • the test program upon reaching an instruction requesting the transfer of the measure data, must wait until the measure data transfer is completed before proceeding to the next test program instruction.
  • the measure data is often processed with functions, for example FFTs, which are most rapidly performed using floating-point arithmetic.
  • functions for example FFTs
  • Many ATE systems are provided having a host computer that is not optimized to perform floating-point arithmetic on the measure data.
  • a circuit testing apparatus includes at least one test instrument and a bus master circuit coupled to the at least one test instrument.
  • an ATE system is provided which automatically transfers measure data from the one or more test instruments to a processor.
  • One or more bus master circuits are adapted to receive measure data from respective ones of the at least one test instruments.
  • the respective bus master circuit packages the measure data in accordance with a predetermined protocol to provide packaged data and transfers the packaged data to a switching/processing circuit.
  • the switching/processing circuit is adapted to receive the packaged data and to process the packaged data to provide processed data and to communicate the processed data to a host computer. In this manner, the test program need not provide instructions for the transfer of measure data nor wait for the transfer to complete before proceeding.
  • the circuit testing apparatus can test circuits relatively rapidly.
  • a circuit testing method includes capturing measure data in a test instrument, the measure data generated in response to the test instrument implementing one or more tests to an electronic circuit.
  • the method also includes initiating, with the test instrument, operations upon the measure data.
  • the operations include packaging the measure data with a bus master circuit to provide packaged data having a data packet and a data header.
  • the operations also include transferring the packaged data to a switching/processing circuit, routing the packaged data with the switching/processing circuit to a processor, and processing the packaged data with the processor to provide processed data. The processing is responsive to the data header.
  • a method of manufacturing an electronic circuit includes fabricating an integrated circuit and testing the integrated circuit with a circuit testing apparatus by capturing, in a test instrument, measure data provided by the electronic circuit, and initiating, with the test instrument, operations upon the measure data.
  • the operations include packaging the measure data with a bus master circuit to provide packaged data having a data packet and a data header.
  • the operations also include transferring the packaged data to a switching/processing circuit, routing the packaged data with the switching/processing circuit to a processor, and processing the packaged data with the processor to provide processed data. The processing is responsive to the data header.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art automatic test equipment (ATE);
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary ATE in accordance with the present invention
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit provided as part of the ATE shown in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 3 A is a block diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit provided as part of the exemplary ATE shown in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 3B is a block diagram of yet another exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit provided as part of the exemplary ATE shown in FIG. 2
  • FIG. 3C is a block diagram of yet another exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit provided as part of the exemplary ATE shown in FIG. 2
  • FIG. 3B is a block diagram of yet another exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit provided as part of the exemplary ATE shown in FIG. 2
  • FIG. 3C is a block diagram of yet another exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit provided as part of the exemplary ATE shown in FIG. 2
  • FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary process for measure data capture and measure data transfer provided in association with the exemplary ATE shown in FIG. 2
  • ATE automatic test equipment
  • tester tester
  • the terms “ATE” and “tester,” as used herein, are used to describe automatic test equipment that can be used to electrically test a device under test (DUT).
  • the DUT can be an electronic system, an integrated circuit (IC), a discrete circuit, for example a transistor, a populated circuit board, or a bare circuit board.
  • IC integrated circuit
  • bare circuit board a discrete circuit
  • Many examples used herein refer to an ATE that is used to test an IC.
  • the concepts described herein apply equally well to an ATE used to test any of the aforementioned DUTs.
  • source signal' refers to a signal applied to the DUT.
  • the same signal may be provided as any type of signal including but not limited to an electrical signal, an electronic signal, a radio frequency (RF) signal or an optical signal.
  • the source signal can be either an analog source signal or a digital source signal.
  • the source signal is often a sampled signal constructed from "source data.”
  • the source data may be provided, for example, as digital samples of a sine wave. Through a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter, the source data can be used to generate a source signal sine wave.
  • the source data can be digital bits and, through a buffer and/or a level translator, the source data can be used to generate a source digital waveform.
  • the term "measure signal,” as used herein, refers to a signal provided by the DUT in response to one or more source signals.
  • the measure signal can be either an analog measure signal or a digital measure signal.
  • An analog measure signal can be digitally sampled with an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter or the like and converted into "measure data.”
  • a digital measure signal can be constructed into digital bytes, the digital bytes corresponding to the measure data.
  • an exemplary embodiment of a prior art tester 10 includes a host computer 12.
  • the host computer 12 can be a personal computer (PC), a workstation, or any computing platform.
  • the host computer 12 includes a display 14, a processing portion 16 and a keyboard 18.
  • the processing portion 16 includes a program memory 16a having stored therein test program code 17 executable by the processing portion 16.
  • the host computer 12 also includes a bus interface circuit board 16b.
  • test program 17 communicates with a test head 22 through a test computer input/output (TCIO) bus 20.
  • the test head 22 includes a support circuit board 23 including a TCIO circuit 24.
  • the TCIO circuit 24 is coupled to the TCIO bus 20.
  • the TCIO circuit 24 is also coupled to one or more test instruments 28a-28k through respective test instrument busses 26a-26k. While eleven test instruments 28a-28k, associated with eleven respective test instrument busses 26a-26k are here shown, it should be appreciated that any number of test instruments and associated test instrument busses can be used.
  • the test instrument 28a includes a setup/interface circuit 30a coupled to both a source memory 32a and to a source circuit 34a.
  • the source memory 32a is also coupled to the source circuit 34a.
  • the source memory 32a is a storage resource in which source data generated by the test program 17 can be stored.
  • the source data described above, is provided to the source circuit 34a and is used to generate a source signal 40a.
  • the source signal 40a is coupled to a device interface board 44 that is further coupled to a group of test pins 46, also called a pin field 46.
  • the device interface board 44 provides connection switching of the source signal 40a to one or more of the test pins 46.
  • the test pins 46 are coupled to a DUT (not shown).
  • the source signal 40a can be an analog or digital source signal, or a combination of an analog and a digital source signal.
  • the test pins 46 and the device interface board 44 coupled thereto are also coupled to a measure circuit 38a.
  • the measure circuit 38a is coupled to a measure memory 36a, and both the measure circuit 38a and the measure memory 36a are coupled to the setup/interface circuit 30a.
  • the DUT provides one or more measure signals 42a through the test pins 46 to the measure circuit 38a.
  • the one or more measure signals 42a can be analog or digital measure signals, or a combination of an analog and a digital measure signals.
  • the measure circuit 38a converts the one or more measure signals 42a to measure data which are stored in the measure memory 36a.
  • the host computer 12 runs the test program 17 that includes instructions for setup and control of the test instruments 28a-28k, instructions for generation of the source data, instructions for transfer of the source data to the test instruments 28a-28k, instructions for capture of the measure data in the measure memory 36a-36k, instructions for transfer of the measure data to the host computer 12, instructions for processing the measure data in the host computer 12 to generate "processed data,” and instructions to process the processed data in the host computer 12 to generate "binned data.”
  • the processed data and the binned data are further described below.
  • Signals generated by the test program 17 can be transmitted over the TCIO bus 20 and also the test instrument bus 26a.
  • signals corresponding to instructions for setup and control of the test instrument 28a including setup of the source circuit 34a and the measure circuit 38a can be transmitted over the TCIO bus 20 and the test instrument bus 26a.
  • signals corresponding to instructions for transfer of the source data to the source memory 32a, instructions for capture of the measure data in the measure memory 36a, and instructions for transfer of the measure data from the measure memory 36a to the host computer 12 can also be transmitted over the TCIO bus 20 and the test instrument bus 26a.
  • the TCIO bus 20 and the test instrument bus 26a are bi-directional busses (or functionally equivalent transmission paths) which allow signals to be transmitted in two directions.
  • the host computer 12 provides signals corresponding to the instructions for setup and control of the test instrument 28a to the setup/interface circuit 30a.
  • the test instrument 28a is adapted to receive the signals corresponding to instructions for setup and control of the test instrument 28a and to act upon the instructions in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, setup of D/A converters within the source circuit 34a, setup of amplifier gains within the source circuit 34a, setup of filters within the source circuit 34a, setup of A/D converters within the measure circuit 38a, setup of amplifier gains within the measure circuit 38a, and setup of filters within the measure circuit 38a.
  • the setup can also include setup of timing edge placement of digital source signals.
  • the signals corresponding to the instructions for transfer of the source data to the test instrument 28a are also provided by the host computer 12 to the setup/interface circuit 30a. These signals can include transfer of source data that can be reconstructed into a sampled analog waveform.
  • the source data can be samples of a sine wave that are converted to a sampled sine wave at the test instrument 28a by a D/A converter or the like.
  • the 28a can also include instructions for transfer of a source pattern, the source pattern corresponding to a pattern of digital signals that are provided by the test program and stored in the source memory 32a.
  • the source pattern corresponds to a particular desired pattern of digital source signal 40a.
  • the DUT (not shown) is expected to provide a particular measure signal 42a associated with processed data having particular predetermined processed data thresholds.
  • the pre-determined processed data thresholds can include a variety of thresholds, including, but not limited to, magnitude thresholds, timing thresholds, and measured digital pattern thresholds.
  • the measure circuit 38a Upon receiving the measure signal 42a from the DUT, the measure circuit 38a converts the measure signals to measure data as required for storage in the measure memory 36a.
  • the measure data Upon receipt of an instruction from the test program 17 corresponding to a transfer of the measure data from the measure memory 36a, the measure data is transferred on the test instrument bus 26a to the TCIO circuit 24 and further transferred to the host computer 12 on the TCIO bus 20. It should be understood that the measure data is transferred from the measure memory 36a upon initiation from the test program 17.
  • the measure data is then processed by the host computer 12 to provide the processed data.
  • the processed data is then processed by the host computer to provide the binned data.
  • the host computer 12 by processing the measure data to provide the processed data, and then associating the processed data with the processed data thresholds, generates a pass/fail determination associated with each particular test of the test program 17.
  • the pass/fail determination is referred to herein as "binned data.”
  • the test program can provide a plurality of tests, a plurality of binned data can be associated with the test program.
  • the measured data can be 1024 measured data values and the measured data can be processed via a fast Fourier transform (FFT), for example, to generate processed data having 512 FFT processed data points.
  • FFT fast Fourier transform
  • the processed data can be associated with magnitude data thresholds to provide binned data having a single pass or fail value. From this example, it should be appreciated that the amount of processed data is often less than the amount of measured data, and the amount of binned data is often less than the amount of processed data.
  • the TCIO bus 20 is provided as a serial bus having a bit rate of 100 Mbits per second and the test instrument data bus 26a is provided as a serial data bus having a bit rate of 100 Mbits per second.
  • 12.5 million 8-bit bytes per second can be carried on each of the two data busses.
  • the host computer 12 executes the test program 17 having a variety of function categories. Also, as described above, a long time duration is often associated with the data move function category, specifically the time duration associated with the instructions for transfer of the measure data to the host computer.
  • the measure data is transferred from the measure memory 36a, through the setup/interface circuit 30a, to the test instrument bus 26a, through the TCIO circuit portion 24, to the TCIO bus 20, to the host computer.
  • the test program 17, upon reaching an instruction requesting the transfer of the measure data, must wait until the measure data is transfer is completed before proceeding to the next test program instruction.
  • test instruments 28a-28k are shown each having respective source memories 32a- 32k source circuits 34a-34k, measure memories 36a-36k, and measure circuits 38a-38k, in an alternate embodiment, one or more of the test instruments have only source memories and source circuits or only measure memories and measure circuits.
  • an exemplary ATE 100 in accordance with the present invention includes one or more test instruments 101 a- 101k, each of the test instruments 101a- 101k including a bus master circuit 102a- 102k.
  • Each of the respective bus master circuits 102a- 102k is coupled to a corresponding one of measure memories 36a'-36k' and measure circuits 38a'- 38k'.
  • the measure circuits 38a'-38k' receive measure signals 42a-42k from the DUT, converts the measure signals to measure data, and provides the measure data to the measure memories 36a'-36k'.
  • the measure circuits 38a'-38k' and the measure memories 36a'-36k' are distinguished from the measure circuits 38a-38k and the measure memories 36a-36k shown in FIG. 1, since they are provided each having a coupling to respective ones of the bus master circuits 102a- 120k mentioned above.
  • the bus master circuit 102a receives the measure data from the measure memory 36a'.
  • the bus master circuit formats and transfers the measure data from the measure memory 36a' upon initiation by the measure circuit 38a'.
  • the measure circuit 38a' initiates a transfer once a particular measurement has completed.
  • the measure circuit 38a' initiates the transfer of data from the memory 36a' to the bus master circuit 102a as well as the transfer of data from the bus master circuit 102a to a switching/processing circuit 106.
  • the measure circuit 38a' recognizes when testing is complete, the measure circuit 38a' is able to initiate all further processing of the data.
  • the test program must wait until the measure data is transferred.
  • the measure data is formatted and transferred by the bus master circuit 102a upon initiation from the measure circuit 38a', and no instruction for the transfer of measure data need be written into the test program.
  • the test program need not wait for the transfer to complete prior to executing its next instruction.
  • the bus master circuit 102a formats the measure data to provide formatted data.
  • the formatted data includes a data header and a data packet.
  • the data packet corresponds to the measure data.
  • the data header includes a variety of descriptors including but not limited to descriptors which identify the particular test instrument 101a, the amount of measure data, and the type of processing that is to be performed upon the measure data.
  • the header information corresponding to the type of processing that is to be performed upon the data packet will be referred to as an "extended header descriptor.”
  • the particular content of the header is selected in accordance with a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, a desire to minimize the header size so that the formatted data can subsequently be rapidly transferred, as well as the particular application in which the ATE is being used.
  • bus master circuits 102a- 102k are shown in this exemplary embodiment to be part of the test mstruments lOla-lOlk, it should be apparent that all or part of the bus master circuits 102a-102k can be provided apart from the test instruments lOla-lOlk.
  • the formatted data is transferred by the bus master circuit 102a through a move data bus 104a to the switching/processing circuit 106.
  • the switching/processing circuit will be described in more detail in FIGS. 3-3C. However, let it suffice here to say that the switching/processing circuit 106 routes the formatted data to a processor within the switching/processing circuit 106.
  • the formatted data is then processed within the switching/processing circuit 106 in response to the processing specified in the extended header descriptor.
  • the output of the switching/processing circuit 106 provides the processed data described above.
  • the circuit 106 may be provided as a switching fabric which may be implemented using any one of a variety of techniques including but not limited to bus architecture, crossbar switch, or a cross point switch.
  • switching/processing circuit 106 is shown to be separate from the test instruments lOla-lOlk, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments it maybe desirable or even necessary that all or part of the switching/processing circuit 106 be provided as part of the test instruments lOla-lOlk. Also, while the switching/processing circuit 106 is shown as part of the support board 23, in another alternate embodiment, the switching/processing circuit is on another circuit board (not shown).
  • the processed data is transferred on a switching/processing circuit bus 108 to the TCIO circuit 24, whereupon the processed data is transferred on the TCIO bus 20 to the host computer 12.
  • the host computer processes the processed data to provide binned data. In an alternate embodiment, part or all of the binning can be performed by the switching/processing circuit 106, and binned data is transferred to the host computer 12 on the TCIO bus 20.
  • the processed data and the binned data often correspond to less data than the measured data.
  • less data is transferred on the TCIO bus 20 in the direction of the host computer by the ATE 100.
  • a conventional test program used with the prior art ATE 10 of FIG. 1 includes a variety of instructions that can be categorized according to function categories within the test program, the function categories including a) setup, b) execution, c) data move, d) processing, and e) binning.
  • the exemplary ATE 100 provides transfer of the measure data to the switching/processing circuit 106 upon initiation by the measure circuit 38a in combination with the bus master circuit 102a, rather than initiation by the test program 17. With this particular arrangement, it is also not necessary that the test program stop execution to wait for the measure data transfer.
  • the processing is provided by the switching/processing circuit 106 in response to the extended header descriptor.
  • Information for the extended header descriptor is provided to the test instrument by the test program as part of the setup instructions. It should therefore be recognized that the test program need not provide instructions to process the measure data.
  • the exemplary ATE 100 can include instructions that can be categorized into fewer function categories within the test program, the function categories including a) setup, b) execution, and c) binning.
  • each of the test instruments here the test instruments lOla-lOlk, can transfer at the same time (i.e. simultaneously or concurrently transfer) their respective measure data on respective more data busses 104a-104k to the switching processing circuit 106 for processing.
  • the move data busses 104a- 104k can be provided as high speed parallel data busses each having seven conductors, four of the conductors having data bits, two of the conductors having a differential clock signal, and one of the conductors having a synchronization signal.
  • the formatted data generated by each of the bus master circuits 102a- 102k can include a 32 bit by 32-bit header and a 32-bit wide data packet, the data packet corresponding to the measure data.
  • the move data busses 104a- 104k are provided as Ethernet busses and the formatted data is provided as Ethernet format data, both known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
  • the switching/processing bus 108 can be provided having any high-speed bus architecture.
  • test instruments 101 a- 101k are shown each having respective source memories 32a-32k, source circuits 34a-34k measure memories 36a'-36k', measure circuits 38a'-38k', and bus master circuits 102a- 102k, in an alternate embodiment, one or more of the test instruments have only source memories and source circuits or only measure memories, measure circuits, and bus master circuits.
  • the measure data provided by the measure circuit for example, the measure circuit 38 a', is provided directly to the bus master circuit 102a without first being stored in the measure memory 36a'.
  • no measure memory 36a' need be provided.
  • a first exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit 120 includes a cross point switch circuit 122 coupled to the move data busses 104a- 104k.
  • the cross point switch 122 is also coupled to a memory 124 and to four DSP circuits 126a-126d.
  • the four DSP circuits 126a-126d are also coupled to the switching/processing bus 108.
  • the cross point switch 122 switches the formatted data carried on one or more of the move data busses 104a- 104k to either the memory 124 or to one or more respective DSP circuits 126a-126d, (also referred to herein as DSP processors) or to both the memory 124 and to the one or more respective DSP processor 126a-126d.
  • a DSP processor for example the DSP processor 126a, generates the processed data and provides the processed data on the switching/processor bus 108 to the TCIO circuit 24. The processed data is then transferred to the host computer 12 on the TCIO bus 20 (FIG. 2).
  • DSP processors 126a-126d While four DSP processors 126a-126d are shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG 3, it should be recognized that fewer or more than four DSP processor can be used. Having multiple DSP processors, for example, the four DSP processors 124a-124d, the ATE 100 (FIG. 2) can do parallel processing to enhance the processing speed.
  • the number of DSP processors to use in circuit 120 is selected in accordance with a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, cost, speed, function to be performed, and the application in which this circuit is used.
  • the size, speed and other characteristics of the memory 124 are selected in accordance with a variety of factors including but not limited to cost, speed, and bandwidth.
  • the DSP processors 126a-126d can also provide the binning function, and binned data is provided to the host computer 12.
  • a second exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit 140 includes a cross point switch circuit 142 coupled to the move data busses 104a- 104k.
  • the cross point switch 142 is coupled to a memory 144.
  • the memory 144 is coupled to four DSP processors 146a-146d, which are coupled to the switching/processing bus 108.
  • the cross point switch 142 allows formatted data provided by the move data busses 104a- 104k to first be stored in the memory 144.
  • the formatted data stored within the memory 144 is withdrawn from the memory 144 by the DSP processors 146a-146d.
  • formatted data corresponding to one or more test instruments (not shown) is withdrawn from the memory 144 by one or more DSP processors.
  • the DSP processors 146a- 146d provide the processed data on the switching/processing bus 108 to the TCIO circuit 24.
  • the size, speed and other characteristics of the memory 144 are selected in accordance with a variety of factors including but not limited to cost, speed, and bandwidth.
  • DSP processors 146a-146d While four DSP processors 146a-146d are shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG 3 A, it should be recognized that fewer or more than four DSP processor can be used. The number of DSP processors to use is selected in accordance with a variety of factors including but not limited to cost, speed, function to be performed, and the application in which this circuit is used.
  • 146a-146d can also provide the binning function, and binned data is provided to the host computer 12.
  • a third exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit 160 includes DSP processors 162a- 162k coupled directly to respective move data busses 104a- 104k.
  • the DSP processors 162a-162k are also coupled to the switching/processing bus 108.
  • the DSP processors 162a- 162k receive measure data directly from the move data busses 104a- 104k and provide the processed data to the switching processing bus 108.
  • the number of the DSP processors 162a- 162k is selected in accordance with the number of move data busses 104a-104k coupled thereto, i.e., the number of test instruments. While eleven DSP processors 162a- 162k are shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3B, it will be appreciated that fewer than or more than eleven DSP processors can be used. The particular DSP characteristics are selected in accordance with a variety of factors including but not limited to cost, speed, function to be performed, and application in which this circuit is used. In an alternate embodiment, in addition to the processing function, the DSP processors 162a- 162k can also provide the binning function, and binned data is provided to the host computer 12.
  • a fourth exemplary embodiment of a switching/processing circuit 180 includes DSP processors 182a-182k.
  • the DSP processors 182a-182k are coupled to a memory 184.
  • the memory 184 is coupled to the switching/processing bus 108.
  • the DSP processors 182a-l 82k receive measure data directly from the move data busses 104a- 104k and provide the processed data to the memory 108.
  • the memory 184 serves as a buffer. The memory 184 then provides the processed data to the switching/processing bus 108.
  • the number of the DSP processors 182a- 182k is selected in accordance with the number of move data busses 104a-104k coupled thereto, i.e., the number of test instruments. While eleven DSP processors 182a-182k are shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3C, it will be appreciated that fewer than or more than eleven DSP processors can be used.
  • the particular DSP characteristics are selected in accordance with a variety of factors including but not limited to cost, speed, function to be performed, and the application in which this circuit is used.
  • the size, speed and other characteristics of the memory 184 are selected in accordance with a variety of factors including but not limited to cost, speed and bandwidth.
  • the DSP processors 182a- 182k can also provide the binning function, and binned data is provided to the host computer 12.
  • an exemplary process 200 for testing an electronic circuit includes a first step 202 at which one or more test instruments are initialized.
  • the initialization can include a variety of setup functions, including, but not limited to setup of D/A converters within the source circuit (e.g., 34a, FIG 2), setup of amplifier gains within the source circuit, setup of filters within the source circuit, setup of A/D converters within the measure circuit (e.g., 38a', FIG. 2), setup of amplifier gains within the measure circuit, and setup of filters within the measure circuit.
  • the step 202 can also include providing source data to the one or more test instruments, the source data converted to one or more source signals by the one or more test instruments as described above.
  • measure data associated with a DUT is captured by a test instrument.
  • the DUT provides one or more measure signals (e.g., 42a-42d, FIG. 2) in response to one or more source signals (e.g., 40a-40k, FIG 2).
  • the one or more measure signals are converted by the test instrument (e.g., by the measure circuit 34a'-34k', FIG. 2) to measure data and stored accordingly in one or more measure memories (e.g., the measure memories, 36a'-36k' of FIG 2).
  • step 204 the process waits until all of the measure data associated with the test instrument has been completed. When the measure data has been completely captured, the process continues at step 208.
  • the measure data is provided to a bus master circuit associated with the test instrument that has completed measurement, for example, the bus master circuit 102a of FIG. 2.
  • the data is provided to the bus master circuit upon initiation by the test instrument, the initiation commencing when the test instrument is ready. It should be recognized that each of the bus master circuits (e.g., 102a-102k, FIG. 2) can be initiated at different times.
  • the measure data is packaged by the bus master circuit, thereby providing packaged data.
  • the packaged data includes, but is not limited to, a header and a data packet corresponding to the measured data.
  • the header can include a variety of information associated with the data packet, including, but not limited to an extended header descriptor that describes the type of processing that is to be performed upon the data package.
  • the packaged data includes only a data packet corresponding to the measure data.
  • the packaged data is automatically transferred by the bus master circuit to a switching/processing circuit.
  • the switching processing circuit is described above in FIGS. 3- 3C.
  • the packaged data is routed by the switching/processor circuit either to a DSP processor or to a memory for temporary storage until a processor is free to operate upon the packaged data.
  • the switching/processing circuit processes the packaged data to provide processed data, the processing responsive to the header.
  • the amount of processed data can be less than the amount of measured data corresponding to the data packet.
  • the measured data can correspond to 1024 samples of a time domain analog signal
  • the processing can be an FFT
  • the output of the processing can correspond to 512 samples of a frequency domain FFT output.
  • the type of processing is not responsive to the header, instead being pre-determined.
  • the type of processing is communicated to the switching processor circuit by a host computer.
  • the processed data is transferred to the host computer.
  • the host computer can be of a type described as the host computer 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • the host computer processes the processed data to provided binned data.
  • the binned data is provided by a comparison of the processed data to pre-determined thresholds.
  • the amount of the binned data can be less than the amount of the processed data.
  • the processed data can correspond to 512 samples of a frequency domain FFT output
  • the thresholds can correspond to FFT magnitude thresholds
  • the binned data can correspond to one FFT frequency bin value that exceed the pre-determined thresholds.
  • the binned data provided at step 220 is generated along with the processed data at step 216 and the binned data is transferred to the host computer at step 218.
  • each of the functional steps 202-220 can be categorized according to the function categories of setup 222, execution 224, and binning 230.
  • the function categories of data move 226 and processing 228 are shown parenthetically to indicate that these functions, generated by the test program for a conventional ATE, are instead automatically provided with this invention. It should be appreciated that a subjective decision is made with respect to which steps to include in each of the categories. Thus, each of the categories may include different steps that those shown in FIG. 4. For example, it is possible to consider step 214 as part of the data move category 226 rather than the processing category 228. Similarly, steps 208 and 210 could be considered as part of the execution category 224 rather than as part of the data move category 226.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
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  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Tests Of Electronic Circuits (AREA)

Abstract

Un système de test automatique transfère les données de mesure d'un ou de plusieurs instruments de test à un processeur et traite les données mesurées, la mise en paquets, le transfert et le traitement des données de mesure, lancés par un ou plusieurs instruments. Un procédé pour tester un dispositif sous test consiste à capter les données de mesure au moyen d'un instrument de test et à lancer au moyen de l'instrument de test l'opération de mesure de données. Les opérations comprennent la mise en paquets des données de mesure, qui permet d'obtenir des données en paquets, et le transfert des données en paquets à un circuit de commutation / de traitement, pour le traitement. L'invention concerne un procédé de fabrication d'un circuit électronique et de test, selon la technique de l'invention.
PCT/US2003/018485 2002-06-28 2003-06-12 Communication lancee par des instruments et destinee a un equipement de test automatique WO2004003583A1 (fr)

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AU2003280452A AU2003280452A1 (en) 2002-06-28 2003-06-12 Instrument initiated communication for automatic test equipment

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US10/185,195 US7051218B1 (en) 2001-07-18 2002-06-28 Message based power management

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CN111258836A (zh) * 2020-03-02 2020-06-09 浙江万里学院 一种多功能车辆总线一致性测试装置及方法

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WO2008131814A1 (fr) * 2007-04-25 2008-11-06 Rohde & Schwarz Gmbh & Co. Kg Appareil de mesure comprenant une interface numérique série
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CN111258836B (zh) * 2020-03-02 2024-01-23 浙江万里学院 一种多功能车辆总线一致性测试装置及方法

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