As described in earlier blogs, the new Intel Innovation Engine (IE) makes an ideal host for validation, debug, trace and test applications on Intel platforms. This article details the implementation of a JTAG execution engine on the IE for the purposes of printed circuit board structural and functional testing.
In the blog Intel Innovation Engine with ScanWorks Embedded Diagnostics, some technical material on the IE was presented, and a mechanism by which the IE could connect into the processor scan chain was provided. Presuming this connection has been undertaken, a new realm of possibilities opens up for structural and functional test.
Using ScanWorks Embedded Diagnostics (SED) for Test, small “action players” are embedded in the IE. An action player is the runtime engine, and the actions themselves consist of the necessary vector sets for a given Unit Under Test (UUT).
The following boundary-scan test action types are supported:
- Scan Path Verify (SPV)
- IEEE 1149.1 interconnect testing
- IEEE 1149.6 interconnect testing
- Memory Access Verification (MAV)
- CPLD/FPGA Programming/Configuration
- Flash Programming
Both the action players and actions themselves can either be embedded within the system (resident), or non-resident. In the latter case, they are downloaded dynamically as required, for application at the prototype stage, as part of manufacturing production test, at the repair & return depot, or in a customer field system. The power of this implementation is that it eliminates the need for external cabling, hardware controllers, and fixtures.
Presuming that the IE can access the XDP sideband signals in addition to the JTAG Test Access Port (TAP), full hardware-assisted functional test can also be provided. The benchtop version of this is described within our Processor-Controlled Test suite. The IE takes control of the system right out of reset, before the board boots, and runs an at-speed series of functional tests on devices, memory and I/O interconnects. This utility runs prior to and independent of the BIOS, so it is ideal for no-boot, dark-screen rejects from the production line or at the debug and repair “bone pile”. Since it is an embedded utility, and does not require any external paraphernalia to provide access, it can also be used remotely within field systems.
As can be seen, a combination of embedded boundary-scan test and embedded processor-controlled test can be used to provide in-situ test and diagnostics far beyond what is available within legacy benchtop and bed-of-nails testers.
For more information on SED for Test applications, please feel free to Contact Us.
