ATE (automatic test equipment)-based DSP (digital signal processor) off-line repeated loading program test method

Abstract

The invention relates to an ATE (automatic test equipment)-based DSP (digital signal processor) off-line repeated loading program test method. The test method comprises the following steps: firstly, performing hardware connection on automatic test equipment, a memory and a to-be-tested DSP chip; afterwards, the test method executes the following test steps on one or more DSP programs one by one: S1, the automatic test equipment writes an ATE vector file corresponding to the DSP program for the test into a memory; s2, the automatic test equipment releases a memory read-write bus, and controls the to-be-tested DSP chip to be powered on and reset to enter an external memory boot mode; s3, after the to-be-tested DSP chip automatically loads the ATE vector file in the memory and starts to execute the code, the automatic test equipment sends a test instruction to the to-be-tested DSP chip to complete the test; and S4, after the to-be-tested DSP chip is tested, resetting the to-be-tested DSP chip by the automatic test equipment. According to the method, testing is flexible, testing program code streams can be changed offline at any time according to testing requirements, targeted programs can be loaded repeatedly, and the testing coverage rate is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of testing, in particular to an ATE-based DSP off-line repeated loading program testing method. Background Art

[0002] In the current ATE-based DSP testing process, each test covering graphics and module-specific testing requires online program downloading through an emulator or re-burning the board-level external FLASH chip through a burner before the next test can be performed. The process is quite cumbersome and time-consuming.

[0003] ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) is mainly used for automated testing of digital integrated circuits and is the most important testing equipment in the integrated circuit testing industry. For digital integrated circuit testing, the ATE machine is generally used to directly apply stimulus to the device under test, and the output response of the device under test is observed to be consistent with the expected result. For unprogrammed DSP chip testing, it is not possible to directly apply stimulus and capture the response through the ATE machine. Before the test begins, the configuration program must be pre-written and downloaded through the emulator connection or burned into the external FLASH through the burner. After power-on, the DSP will boot and start automatically before it can be tested through the ATE test system.

[0004] In addition, in DSP test development, DSP program boot loading is an extremely important step. Before the test begins, the successful startup of the DSP is a prerequisite for testing. Currently in the field of integrated circuit testing, the mainstream method is to burn the test program into the external FLASH through a burner or DSP burning program before the test begins, and then control the DSP power-on reset through ATE to read the program in the external FLASH for testing.

[0005] With regard to the above-mentioned burning test method, only one DSP program is often loaded, and this program needs to cover all the functions of the DSP, so the DSP program appears to be very bloated, and the storage capacity of the external FLASH is limited, so the test coverage of the functional modules must be compromised when writing the program. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE, which is flexible in testing and improves test coverage.

[0007] The objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0008] A DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE, the testing method firstly connects the automated testing equipment, the memory and the DSP chip to be tested by hardware; then the testing method performs the following testing steps on one or more DSP programs one by one:

[0009] S1: The automated test equipment writes the ATE vector file corresponding to the DSP program used for this test into the memory;

[0010] S2: The automated test equipment releases the memory read / write bus and controls the DSP chip to be tested to power on and reset to enter the external memory boot mode;

[0011] S3: After the DSP chip under test automatically loads the ATE vector file in the memory and starts to execute the code, the automated test equipment sends a test instruction to the DSP chip under test to complete the test;

[0012] S4: After the DSP chip to be tested completes the test, the automated test equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested.

[0013] Furthermore, the memory is an external FLASH; and the external memory boot startup mode is an external FLASH boot startup mode.

[0014] Furthermore, in step S1, the automated test equipment first erases the memory before writing the ATE vector file into the memory.

[0015] Furthermore, in step S2, the automated test equipment powers on and starts the DSP chip to be tested according to the power-on timing of the DSP chip to be tested, and controls the boot pin and reset pin of the DSP chip to be tested, so that the DSP chip to be tested enters the external memory boot mode.

[0016] Furthermore, in step S3, the DSP chip to be tested automatically loads the 1K byte code in the memory, and by running the secondary bootloader code, loads all subsequent test codes into the internal RAM of the DSP chip to be tested and executes them.

[0017] Furthermore, in step S4, the DSP chip to be tested sends a test success instruction to the automated testing equipment after the test is completed; after receiving the test success instruction, the automated testing equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested.

[0018] Furthermore, the DSP program is obtained by creating and compiling a DSP program project using CCS software.

[0019] Further, the ATE vector file is obtained by processing the DSP program; the processing method of the DSP program includes the following steps:

[0020] 1) Allocate each code segment to the DSP program through the CMD constraint file;

[0021] 2) Compile the DSP program to generate an out executable file;

[0022] 3) Convert the out executable file to a hex file;

[0023] 4) Add the hex file to the memory programming sequence and convert it into a vector file for the ATE test machine.

[0024] Furthermore, in the step 1), a secondary bootloader segment and a user program segment are allocated to the DSP program.

[0025] Further, in step 3), the conversion is performed using the Hex6x.exe conversion tool;

[0026] The step 4) is completed by using the hex2stil.exe conversion software.

[0027] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0028] The present invention is flexible in testing and can change the test program code stream offline at any time according to the test requirements without re-connecting the PC through the simulator to burn it into the memory again, thereby reducing the preliminary preparation work of the DSP test and can repeatedly load programs with targeted tests respectively, thereby improving the test coverage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 is a flow chart of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a processing method for a DSP program;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware connection structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention by specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0033] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present invention, and thus the drawings only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0034] Embodiment 1:

[0035] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, a DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE, the testing method firstly connects the automated testing equipment, the memory and the DSP chip to be tested by hardware;

[0036] The DSP chip to be tested establishes an electrical connection with the automated testing equipment.

[0037] The memory is external FLASH.

[0038] Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) controls the power supply channel to supply power to the DSP and external FLASH, as well as the power-on sequence.

[0039] The digital channel is mainly connected to the storage interface and other IOs. ATE controls the storage interface to perform operations such as reading, writing and erasing on the external FLASH, and repeatedly burns the DSP program into the external FLASH.

[0040] Through hardware connection, ATE can be used to control DSP and external FLASH.

[0041] The test method then performs the following test steps on one or more DSP programs one by one:

[0042] S1: The automated test equipment writes the ATE vector file corresponding to the DSP program used for this test into the memory;

[0043] In step S1, the automated test equipment uses the memory interface to write the ATE vector file into the memory, thereby preferentially writing the DSP program into the external FLASH.

[0044] In the step S1, the automated test equipment first performs an erasing operation on the memory before writing the ATE vector file into the memory.

[0045] The automated test equipment first sends an erase command to erase the memory (i.e., external FLASH). After the memory (i.e., external FLASH) is successfully erased, the automated test equipment burns the ATE vector file (i.e., the prepared vector with DSP program) into the memory (i.e., external FLASH).

[0046] S2: The automated test equipment releases the memory read / write bus and controls the DSP chip to be tested to power on and reset to enter the external memory boot mode;

[0047] The external memory boot startup mode is an external FLASH boot startup mode.

[0048] That is, ATE releases the memory interface and powers on and resets the DSP chip to be tested.

[0049] In step S2, the automated test equipment powers on and starts the DSP chip to be tested according to the power-on timing of the DSP chip to be tested, and controls the boot pin and reset pin of the DSP chip to be tested, so that the DSP chip to be tested enters the external memory boot mode.

[0050] The automated test equipment controls the power supply board to power on and reset the DSP chip to be tested.

[0051] S3: After the DSP chip under test automatically loads the ATE vector file in the memory and starts to execute the code, the automated test equipment sends a test instruction to the DSP chip under test to complete the test;

[0052] In step S3, the DSP chip to be tested automatically loads the 1K-byte code in the memory, and by running the 1K-byte secondary bootloader code, all subsequent test codes are loaded into the internal RAM of the DSP chip to be tested and executed.

[0053] The automated test equipment determines whether the DSP function verification has passed by capturing the response of the corresponding test DSP program.

[0054] S4: After the DSP chip to be tested completes the test, the automated test equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested.

[0055] After the DSP chip to be tested completes the test, it sends a test success instruction to the automatic test equipment; after receiving the test success instruction, the automatic test equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested.

[0056] The automated test equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested and then erases the memory, and then writes the next DSP program into the memory, repeating this cycle to achieve offline repeated loading of the DSP test program for DSP testing.

[0057] ATE takes over the external FLASH read and write bus again and re-executes the erase step. When the test is completed or an error occurs, the system is powered off.

[0058] Different DSP programs are burned into the memory respectively through the automated testing equipment, and the DSP chip to be tested is powered on to perform functional verification, thereby realizing offline repeated loading program testing of the DSP.

[0059] When executing the above offline repeated loading procedure, you need to prepare the ATE vector file (i.e., configure the Vector file) in advance.

[0060] The DSP program is obtained by creating a new DSP program project and writing it using CCS software.

[0061] The ATE vector file is obtained by processing the DSP program; the processing method of the DSP program includes the following steps:

[0062] 1) Allocate each code segment to the DSP program through the CMD constraint file;

[0063] In the step 1), a secondary bootloader segment and a user program segment are allocated to the DSP program.

[0064] 2) Compile the DSP program to generate an out executable file;

[0065] 3) Convert the out executable file to a hex file;

[0066] In the step 3), the conversion is performed using the Hex6x.exe conversion tool provided by TI.

[0067] 4) Add the hex file to the programming sequence of the memory (external FLASH) and convert it into a vector file for the ATE test machine.

[0068] For ATE test machines, hex files cannot be directly used for external FLASH programming, but need to be converted into vector files of ATE test machines (ie ATE vector files).

[0069] The step 4) is completed by using the hex2stil.exe conversion software.

[0070] By communicating with the external FLASH asynchronous interface, the ATE vector file corresponding to the DSP program is repeatedly burned into the external FLASH, and the DSP chip under test is controlled to power on and reset to enter the external FLASH boot mode. Then, the function of the DSP chip under test is verified to achieve offline repeated configuration testing of the DSP based on ATE.

[0071] According to the research on the external FLASH boot startup mode, after the power-on reset of the DSP chip to be tested, the DSP chip to be tested preferentially executes the factory-provided bootloader program. The factory-provided bootloader mainly serves different startup modes. For the external FLASH startup, it mainly initializes the bit width and rate of the storage interface module in the DSP chip to be tested, so it is necessary to plug in an external FLASH chip that is compatible with it. After the execution of the initialization of the DSP chip to be tested is completed, the copy code is executed to copy the 1K byte code starting from the external FLASH starting address. For DSP testing, copying the 1K byte code is far from enough, so it is necessary to add a secondary bootloader when writing the DSP test program, and copy all the test programs to the internal RAM through the secondary bootloader, and then jump to the main function for execution.

[0072] Based on ATE, the external FLASH storing the DSP program can be repeatedly burned, and the code of the external FLASH can be loaded by controlling the DSP power-on reset, and then the DSP can be tested. Compared with the method of burning FLASH through DSP online GEL or burning program in DSP testing, it is more flexible, and the test program code stream can be changed offline at any time according to the test requirements, without re-connecting the PC through the emulator to burn it into the memory again, thereby reducing the preliminary preparation work of DSP testing, and the programs with targeted tests can be repeatedly loaded separately to improve the test coverage.

[0073] The above-mentioned embodiments only express the specific implementation of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE, characterized by: The test method firstly connects the automated test equipment, the memory and the DSP chip to be tested by hardware; then the test method performs the following test steps on one or more DSP programs one by one: S1: The automated test equipment writes the ATE vector file corresponding to the DSP program used for this test into the memory; S2: The automated test equipment releases the memory read / write bus and controls the DSP chip to be tested to power on and reset to enter the external memory boot mode; S3: After the DSP chip under test automatically loads the ATE vector file in the memory and starts to execute the code, the automated test equipment sends a test instruction to the DSP chip under test to complete the test; S4: After the DSP chip to be tested completes the test, the automated test equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested.

2. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The memory is an external FLASH; and the external memory boot startup mode is an external FLASH boot startup mode.

3. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In the step S1, the automated test equipment first performs an erasing operation on the memory before writing the ATE vector file into the memory.

4. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S2, the automated test equipment powers on and starts the DSP chip to be tested according to the power-on timing of the DSP chip to be tested, and controls the boot pin and reset pin of the DSP chip to be tested, so that the DSP chip to be tested enters the external memory boot mode.

5. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S3, the DSP chip to be tested automatically loads the 1K byte code in the memory, and by running the secondary bootloader code, loads all subsequent test codes into the internal RAM of the DSP chip to be tested and executes them.

6. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In the step S4, the DSP chip to be tested sends a test success instruction to the automatic test equipment after the test is completed; after receiving the test success instruction, the automatic test equipment resets the DSP chip to be tested.

7. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The DSP program is obtained by creating a new DSP program project and writing it using CCS software.

8. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The ATE vector file is obtained by processing the DSP program; the processing method of the DSP program includes the following steps: 1) Allocate each code segment to the DSP program through the CMD constraint file; 2) Compile the DSP program to generate an out executable file; 3) Convert the out executable file to a hex file; 4) Add the hex file to the memory programming sequence and convert it into a vector file for the ATE test machine.

9. The ATE-based DSP offline repeated loading program testing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the step 1), a secondary bootloader segment and a user program segment are allocated to the DSP program.

10. The DSP offline repeated loading program testing method based on ATE according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the step 3), the conversion is performed by using the Hex6x.exe conversion tool; and in the step 4), the conversion is completed by using the hex2stil.exe conversion software.

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