Category: Boundary Scan

I was reflecting on how much processor speeds, memory, and data transmission rates have increased over the last few decades. And yet the same old tools and techniques are often used to bring up new designs. When do you think we fall off the cliff?
Ever heard the old saw about the guy (gal) that โ€œwent to a fight and a hockey game broke outโ€? Iโ€™d characterize the ongoing debate on the value and longevity of In-Circuit Test (ICT) as a bit of a brawlโ€ฆ
Board bring up of an early prototype is one of the most important steps for a design team. The first boards must pass through a battery of tests to demonstrate that the hardware is rock-solid. Non-intrusive technologies can be used to accelerate this process.
Tired of that old bed-of-nails? Legacy In-Circuit Test (ICT) has been diminishing in value for a long time. Letโ€™s explore some of the current technical issues with ICT as test access on new circuit board designs continues to disappear.
Those of you with a telecom background are no doubt aware of the โ€œOSI Network Modelโ€, also known as the OSI pyramid or stack. It is a way of sub-dividing a communications system into smaller parts called layers. A layer is a collection of similar functions that provide services to the layer above it and receives services from the layer below it. A decade ago, the telecommunications test industry underwent a revolution when platforms emerged that could cover multiple layers of the OSI stack. Now, the same thing is happening in the circuit board test industry...
It is a well-known fact that manufacturing test strategies must involve a combination of inspection, structural, and functional test technologies in order to yield highest quality and minimize customer returns. But a new breed of non-intrusive, software-based technologies promises to disrupt legacy test solutions by guaranteeing the highest test coverage at the lowest cost. These technologies leverage off of the embedded instruments within silicon to achieve this goal in the following ways...
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