Abstract:
In the past few years we have seen an explosion in the market for “Internet of Things” which will continue into the future. In the current market, one of the most important factors to success is time to market for any new technology. This paper will cover methods to decrease the time to market by reducing the lag in pattern delivery by utilizing software infrastructure to support dynamic pattern data. It will also present future-looking ideas that focus on using this infrastructure to bridge the gap between test and design.
The root behind dynamic pattern data is creating a software abstraction of the device that will provide an API for engineers. This goal of this abstraction is to simplify the way users think about the device by providing them a view. This simplified view then manifests into an efficient way to test the device by providing a means to dynamically modify and generate pattern data. By incorporating this API into an already existing test program, testers will have endless opportunities for optimizations with direct access design data. Debugging patterns is a time consuming process when you need multiple iterations to determine why a pattern is not functioning. The debug cycle can often take hours to days between collecting fail data, receiving a new pattern, and loading that pattern onto the tester. Dynamic pattern data will allow for test engineers to easily generate new patterns for debug, bypassing the need to contact design for support. For example, integrating a test software with design data and dynamic pattern data can be used to edit patterns on the fly to test different subsystems of the Device under Test.
As we move into the future this technology only has room for more growth. The software abstraction of a design could be expanded to potentially automatically read fail data and map it back to specific subsystems of the DUT. Further down the road, the potential of generating entire test programs from design becomes closer as we find efficient ways to generate a complete software representation of devices. By integrating design into current test technology and by providing a powerful infrastructure of software APIs to test engineers, the possibilities for design driven test are endless.