Sapphire D-6432DFT combines loop-back, jitter test
-- Test & Measurement World, 8/7/2007 10:48:00 AM
Credence Systems is targeting the test of the microprocessor, gaming, and graphics devices used in emerging high-speed computing and consumer applications with its new Sapphire D-6432DFT instrument. Designed to test PCI Express, HyperTransport, XAUI, XDR, RapidIO, InfiniBand and other high-speed serial interfaces, the D-6432DFT integrates at-speed loop-back testing with jitter measurement and injection to permit high-speed-serial-bus tests along with scan/functional tests and DC parametric tests in a single insertion.
Credence reports that the new instrument was developed in partnership with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), whose engineers are leveraging the Sapphire platform and the D-6432DFT to help accelerate the time-to-test and time-to-market of advanced microprocessor products. Credence further reports that AMD us using more than 200 D-6432DFT instruments in production.
"The increasing design challenges of high-speed bus interfaces together with even faster data rates necessitates more robust testing than what is possible with simple loadboard loopback techniques," stated Pete Hodakievic, senior member of technical staff and manager of ATE technology at AMD. "At the same time, the need to control the cost of test rules out conventional instrument methods. The Sapphire D-6432DFT enables us to perform high-speed loop-back tests, DC parametric tests, and scan and functional tests—all in the same socketing—on our most advanced microprocessors. In addition to helping enable better test coverage compared to full-functional test, the D-6432DFT delivers a very attractive cost-of-test proposition."
The Sapphire D-6432DFT implements far-end loop-back techniques that combine DFT functionality with the in-depth diagnostic capability of functional testing. Lengthening the feedback path by placing the DUT in communication with an intelligent tester channel makes production-level testing of high-speed buses viable, Credence reports. Unlike piecemeal approaches requiring investment in multiple instruments to test a handful of lanes, the D-6432DFT enables testing of up to 16 lanes on a single instrument.
Features include
• simultaneous, parallel jitter injection and jitter measurement per lane through integrated electronics rather than additional instruments
• full eye closure testing in the voltage and time domain with an integrated 400/800-Mbps data subsystem for scan/functional test;
• access to device pins for full DC parametric testing;
• sufficient coverage for detecting signal integrity problems; and
• the ability to use receiver and transmitter channels to deliver test vectors to a DUT’s core logic and protocol stack.
"Partnerships with industry leaders like AMD enable us to deliver solutions to the marketplace that help our customers innovate with confidence and meet the twin challenges of time-to-market and cost pressures," said Chetan Desai, VP and GM of ATE products at Credence. "With the Sapphire D-6432 DFT, we are pleased to introduce the only viable solution for production testing of high-speed devices that not only meets today's requirements, but is adaptable for multiple product generations."
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