The 2003 Best in Test Awards

Inovys, www.inovys.com

Ocelot takes advantage of on-chip design-for-test (DFT) structures such as scan chains to test the gamut of logic ICs, ranging from low-cost consumer devices to complex digital SOCs and microprocessors. A production-floor version provides up to 1536 signal pins to handle high-I/O-count SOC devices or to test more than 32 low-pin-count devices in parallel. A desktop version supports 256 pins. Both can apply scan data rates to 50 MHz. The vendor's operating system uses the IEEE 1450 Standard Test Interface Language (STIL) to link to commercial automatic-test-pattern-generation (ATPG) products, and it can link failure information back to ATPG diagnostic tools for gate-level diagnosis of device defects.

LeCroy, www.lecroy.com

With 6-GHz bandwidth, the WaveMaster measures fast signals using SiGe converters and amplifiers. It can process data at high speeds using a technology the vendor calls X-Stream. With X-Stream, the scope moves data directly from cache memory into a processor, which in turn performs clock and timing analysis, wave-shape analysis, advanced math operations, and disk-drive signal measurements. The scope's analog persistence and 3-D displays let users see the density distribution of a waveform, making it easier to isolate irregularities.

Vectron, www.vectroninc.com

A large-format, full-color digital still camera provides the K2-AOI with the ability to detect minute defects yet capture an image as large as 4x6 in.—enabling the system to inspect a 4x6 in. board in as little as 8 s. Unlike traditional systems that employ cameras designed for high-speed motion capture and have 1.3 million pixel resolution, the K2-AOI achieves 6 million-pixel resolution, which means it can detect features measuring less than 1 mil. Instead of relying on comparisons between a board under test and a golden board, the K2-AOI analyzes acquired images with respect to CAD data and surface-mount-component libraries.

National Instruments, www.ni.com

This compact 3U PXI instrument incorporates a 14-bit RF digitizer with better than 80-dB dynamic range to perform the gamut of RF power and frequency measurements. The instrument leverages gigahertz-rate processors, I/Q digital downconversion ASICs, ultraminiature acoustic filters, up to 20 MHz of real-time bandwidth, and an onboard oven-controlled oscillator to deliver high-throughput and stable measurements from 9 kHz to 2.7 GHz. With the board's virtual-instrumentation architecture, engineers can define applications within NI's LabView graphical development software. LabView's Spectral Measurement Toolkit simplifies PXI-5660 measurements of parameters such as in-band and adjacent-channel power.

OriginLab, www.originlab.com

OriginPro 7.0 data-analysis and plotting software adds features such as support for COM objects, letting you use Origin Lab's C compiler to interact with other programs. Users can, for instance, use COM objects to acquire data directly into OriginPro. A peak-fitting module finds peaks buried in data. Version 7.0 also provides numerous formatting options for exporting plots. A new annotation feature lets users click on a plot and immediately add notes, and a new nonlinear curve-fitting wizard makes it easy to view data. (Eds. note: In our print version, we mistakenly referred to this product as simply Origin 7.0--a different product.  We apologize for our error.)

IFR Systems, www.ifrsys.com

Operating from 250 kHz to 2 GHz, 3 GHz, and 4 GHz, the 3410 Series signal generators pack digital, vector, and analog modulation capabilities in a 2U rack size (107x419x510 mm) and offer RF level accuracy of ±0.5 dB. The units include IEEE 488 and USB 1.1 interfaces and can switch carrier frequencies and RF levels in less than 5 ms. A touch-screen user interface enables selection of more than 30 modulation combinations and output signal levels and frequencies. RF modulation bandwidth extends to 100 MHz. Wide-bandwidth FM and AM come standard, allowing the instrument to be used for applications such as jitter tolerance assessment. The 3410 Series ARB can store 22.5 Msamples allocated among as many as 180 files.

Yokogawa, www.yokogawa.com

Packing extensive I/O capabilities into a small (355x250x180 mm) package, the DL 750 measures up to 16 analog inputs with optional cards, and it can accept 16 digital inputs. It incorporates every computer port that a scope user is likely to need, including serial, parallel, IEEE 488, LAN, and USB ports. In addition, it incorporates an internal hard drive and choice of floppy or zip disk. It even has a built-in printer. Acquisition memory starts at 2.5 Msamples/channnel and extends to 50 Msamples/channel. Maximum sample rate is 10 Msamples/s, depending on input module.

NPTest, www.nptest.com

With masks costing $1M per set, engineers need assurance that proposed revisions will work before committing to a new set. One way to gain such assurance is to test out changes by locating defects on prototype silicon and editing them to make working devices. To help with that task, the IDS OptiFIB combines an optical microscope and a focused ion beam (FIB), both aligned on one axis. The combination allows quick navigation to points of interest on the backside of a thinned silicon device. When used with CAD navigation tools, the noninvasive optical microscope helps locate defects that the FIB can repair. The system provides FIB edit placement with better than 1-mm precision.

Synopsys, www.synopsys.com

Compared with full-scan implementations, SoCBIST offers deterministic logic BIST capabilities that cut tester time tenfold and reduce test-data volume up to 400 times while retaining scan's high fault coverage. SoCBIST needs 20 or fewer ATE pins and requires less than 1% of the vector memory of a full-scan approach. SoCBIST supports multiple internal scan chains, encoding scan-test inputs as seeds and scan-test outputs as signatures. SoCBIST—transparently integrated within the vendor's Design Compiler, DFT Compiler, and Physical Compiler flows—eliminates iterations between design synthesis and test implementation, and it enables IC designers to achieve timing and DFT closure simultaneously.

Teradyne, www.teradyne.com

Supporting logic design-for-test techniques while also handling conventional test of analog and mixed-signal devices, the Integra FLEX includes a universal-slot architecture that lets users mix the test resources applied to each DUT pin. Unlike conventional testers with centralized clocks and restricted instrument arrangements, Integra FLEX enables users to reconfigure the system when test needs change. DC-to-microwave analog instrumentation, high-density CMOS differential-digital capability, logic-scan capability, and memory test features can all reside in the air-cooled test head. Integra FLEX comes with multilevel IG-XL5 software, which enables test engineers to mix graphical template programming, high-level test procedures, and low-level code for precise control.

Agilent Technologies, www.agilent.com

The 81250 ParBERT instrument lets engineers test SONET OC-768 (40-Gbits/s) optical transmission networks and network components, including those designed for 10-Gbits/s Ethernet applications. With the 81250, users can test telecom line cards on both the serial optical side and on the electrical parallel side. The instrument can perform bit error ratio (BER) tests and analyze signals through eye diagrams and jitter measurements. An eye-mask capability enables quick pass/fail tests for the production floor. The instrument can test receivers by generating PRBS signals, and it can test transmitters by making BER and jitter measurements.

Fluke, www.fluke.com

The 8508A replaces as many as eight calibration instruments: DMMs, null detectors, dividers, resistance bridges, current comparators, AC/DC transfer standards, thermometers, and multifunction transfer standards. The meter's 8½ -digit resolution and 2.9 ppm/year stability place the 8508A at the top of the calibration chain in most labs. Its current-measurement circuits bring input resistance to nearly zero, minimizing the invasiveness of calibration operations. The 8508A can serve to calibrate multifunction calibrators and transfer standards that engineers in turn use to calibrate other instruments.