Product Update

Mentor Graphics' TestKompress product, the first member of the company's Embedded Deterministic Test family, employs compression technology that allows semiconductor manufacturers to achieve tenfold reductions in ATE scan-memory requirements for testing ASICs and system-on-chip (SOC) devices. The goal is to eliminate the need for expensive ATE scan-buffer-memory upgrades and time-consuming multiple-pass test scenarios.

The product aims to reduce the ATE investment companies must make in order to increase digital-IC test capacity—an investment that was pegged at $2.9 billion in 2000 by Prime Research Group (Jacksonville, FL; www.primeresearchgroup.com). That annual investment rate could increase as manufacturers shift from 200-mm to 300-mm wafers and as they begin employing new fault models to detect failure mechanisms associated with deep sub-micron (DSM) designs.

TestKompress embeds within a DUT test logic that provides an interface between DUT scan chains and ATE tester pins without changing the system logic. TestKompress also employs deterministic test-pattern-generation algorithms that are tightly coupled with the DUT-resident test logic to eliminate the need for test-point insertions. The embedded logic decompresses ATE-supplied test patterns to serve as scan-chain inputs and compacts scan-chain outputs for transfer back to the ATE.

TestKompress is compatible with scan-insertion and automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) design for test (DFT) flows, using the same scan DFT methods, script files, and ATPG libraries as Mentor's FastScan product. TestKompress comes in two versions: TestKompress 5X for fivefold compression and TestKompress 10X for tenfold compression.

Base price: $2 million. Mentor Graphics, Wilsonville, OR. 503-685-7000; www.mentor.com/dft.

When your need to rapidly transfer data between I/O ports and a PC outstrips the performance of your system, the CompactChicoPlus board may offer a solution. This CompactPCI board can autonomously stream data from I/O ports to a PC's memory at speeds as high as 64 Mbytes/s. Typical applications include dataloggers, arbitrary waveform generators, high-speed waveform data acquisition, and pattern generators for ATE.

The PXI-compatible board furnishes add-in connectors for two industry-standard Omnibus modules, so you can add special functions such as timers, DSPs, synthesizers, and so on, based on your needs. The board's built-in data-streaming engine handles the transfer of data to and from the devices on the board and the host CompactPCI processor. The board comes with a software-development library that's compatible with Microsoft Visual C++, Visual Basic, Borland C++ Builder, Labview, and Agilent VEE.

Price: $645. Innovative Integration, Simi Valley, CA. 805-520-3300; www.innovative-dsp.com.

Nicolet has combined its 12-bit DSO front end with sister company Gould's Windows-based scope to create the Accura 100. This scope samples at 100 Msamples/s, a fivefold increase over Nicolet's other 12-bit scopes.

The Accura 100's 12-bit resolution, 100-Msample/s digitizing speed, 25-MHz bandwidth, 0.25% accuracy, and 1-Msample (2-Msamples optional) memory will find use in measurements of pulsed-width-modulated (PWM) motors and switching power supplies. The long memory will let you view start-up and stop sequences with sufficient resolution and samples.

Because it's a Windows-based PC, the Accura 100 lets you connect any PC peripheral to the scope (mouse, keyboard, LAN, printer, USB device, even speakers and a microphone), but an IEEE 488 port is optional. It also includes the analysis software you've come to expect in a DSO, which includes math, statistics, and FFTs. Triggers include pulse width, skew, missing event, signal gates, and divide-by-N events.

Base price: $20,490. A high-voltage version is available for $21,490. Add $2900 for 2-Msamples memory and $795 for an IEEE 488 port. Nicolet Technologies, Madison, WI. 608-276-5600; www.niti.com.

When you need a small data-acquisition or test system, take a look at the PDXI-4 chassis, which includes an embedded controller and three CompactPCI/PXI slots for instrument cards. You can run the system from Windows NT or Linux, as it comes with both operating systems installed in separate partitions on its 6-Gbyte hard drive. The controller includes all PC I/O ports plus an IEEE 488 port and a floppy disk drive. A 275-W power supply will handle any combination of instrument cards. The chassis comes with predrilled holes for attaching it to a National Instruments SCXI signal-conditioning chassis.

United Electronic Industries has also ported its line of data-acquisition cards to the PXI bus. These include 20 models of multifunction cards, 12 models of simultaneous sampling analog-input cards, 3 analog-output cards, and 3 digital I/O and counter-timer cards.

Prices: PDXI-4 chassis—$5995. I/O cards start at $995 except for the digital I/O cards, which start at $395. United Electronic Industries, Watertown, MA. 617-924-1155; www.ueidaq.com.

Tektronix has brought the Windows user interface from its high-end TDS 7000 series into a lower-priced, smaller-footprint, TDS 5000 series. These scopes, three in all, sample at up to 5 Gsamples/s. There's a 1-GHz, four-channel model and two 500-MHz models (two and four channels). The TDS 5000 scopes take up about half as much bench space as the TDS 7000 series scopes. The 5000 scopes include options such as a thermal printer, a CD-RW drive, and a touch-screen display.

The TDS 5000 includes connections for a mouse, a keyboard, a LAN, a USB, a printer, and two monitors. You also can control the DSO over a serial port or an IEEE 488 port. The "digital phosphor" screens let you view intermittent events such as glitches in digital signals and lets you measure clock jitter.

If you develop and debug video equipment, you'll find the TDS 5000 video trigger useful. The scope can trigger on analog- and digital-video signals. You can trigger the scope on individual lines in a video signal and display that signal in millivolts or in IRE units.

Prices range from $10,500 to $15,990. Tektronix, Beaverton, OR. 800-426-2200, request code 1258; www.tektronix.com/TDS5000 .

You can use Mitutoyo's dimensional gages with a Compaq Pocket PC to collect and analyze mechanical measurements anywhere. The MeasurLink Pocket ML data-collection software, which comes installed on a Pocket PC, calculates statistics such as minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation. It also gives you histograms and lets you enter text drawings and voice into your measurements for documentation purposes. MeasurLink also lets you export your data, calculations, and graphics into Word or Excel. Price: $1195 (black-and-white screen) and $1495 (color screen). Measuring gage not included. Mitutoyo, Aurora, IL. 630-820-0966; www.mitutoyo.com.

The VGA-Plus lets you diagnose, repair, and test VGA type monitors, projectors, LCDs, and video-capture equipment without a computer. The VGA-Plus tests for purity, blank raster, high-voltage regulation, pincushion, convergence, linearity, color balance, and sync rate. Powered by a 9-V battery, the tester also has a DC power jack. It connects to a monitor through a 15-pin female connector. Price: $79. Jensen Tools, Phoenix, AZ. 602-453-3169; www.jensentools.com.