An automated commissioning calibration method for digital lane boards

Abstract

The present application relates to chip testing technical field, specifically disclose a kind of for digital channel board card's automated debugging calibration method, comprising the following steps: step 1: in machine in all digital board card and automated debugging board card are inserted, the automated debugging board card is connected with the connector above motherboard;Step 2: utilize automated debugging device in automated debugging board card to all digital channel is carried out waveform capture and records all time delay;Step 3: time delay data is recorded in the FPGA of calibration board card, automated debugging board card is removed, installs calibration board card and carries out the calibration of the digital channel of all digital board card;Step 4: if the digital channel time delay deviation of the connector of some area in calibration process exceeds error range, then again capture the time delay of the digital channel of the connector of this area, it is recorded in the FPGA of calibration board card and recalibration, until the digital channel calibration data of all digital board card meet error requirement.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the chip testing technical field, and in particular to an automatic debugging and calibration method for a digital channel board card. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the process of testing the memory-related chip, with the increase of the number of pins to be tested and the number of tests in a single DUT (Device Under Test), the number of digital channel board cards in the machine and the number of digital channels thereon will also increase. Especially in the aging test process of the chip, the number of digital channels required by the digital board card in the aging machine increases dramatically, and the number of digital channels of a single board card can reach nearly one thousand. All the above-mentioned digital channels are signals from different chip pins, and after passing through the wiring in the board card and the external cable, the rising or falling time of the signals will naturally be inconsistent. We need to use the AC calibration method to align the rising and falling edges of all digital signals. Before the calibration of the board card, we need to capture and record the time delay data of the rising and falling edges of each digital channel and record them in the FPGA for calibration.

[0003] In the process of debugging and calibration, the commonly used method is to use an oscilloscope to capture signals one by one manually. With the increase of the number of digital board cards in the machine and the number of digital channels in a single digital board card, the debugging process has the following problems:

[0004] 1. Using manual debugging method consumes a lot of time and labor cost.

[0005] 2. In the process of manual debugging, the channels on the connector need to be compared with the schematic diagram, and in the case of a lot of repetitive labor, the probability of making mistakes increases. SUMMARY

[0006] The purpose of the present application is to provide an automatic debugging and calibration method for a digital channel board card to solve the above technical problems.

[0007] The purpose of the present application can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0008] An automatic debugging and calibration method for a digital channel board card, comprising the following steps:

[0009] Step 1: Insert all digital board cards and automatic debugging board cards in the machine, wherein the automatic debugging board cards are connected to the connectors on the motherboard;

[0010] Step 2: Use the automatic debugging device to capture waveforms of all digital channels in the automatic debugging board card and record all time delays.

[0011] Step 3: Record the latency data in the FPGA of the calibration board, remove the automated debugging board, install the calibration board, and calibrate the digital channels of all digital boards;

[0012] Step 4: If the delay deviation of the digital channel of a connector in a certain area exceeds the error range during the calibration process, the delay of the digital channel of the connector in that area is captured again, recorded in the calibration board FPGA, and recalibrated until the digital channel calibration data of all digital boards meet the error requirements.

[0013] As a further aspect of the present invention: the automated debugging board includes:

[0014] The pin dimensions are matched to the probe dimensions in automated debugging equipment;

[0015] The front side is the side that directly contacts the probe, and the back side is the connector side that connects to the motherboard. The pin spacing on the connector has been increased by an automated debugging board.

[0016] As a further aspect of the present invention, the automated debugging board also includes:

[0017] All pins are fan-out via a hole in the disk;

[0018] Each signal pin fanout hole has a corresponding ground fanout hole;

[0019] All pins on the front are covered with green solder mask to allow for direct contact with the probes.

[0020] As a further aspect of the present invention: the automated debugging board also includes:

[0021] Each row of Ground pins is interconnected;

[0022] All signal pins are equally spaced from the ground pin, and all signal pins in the same group are equally spaced.

[0023] The coordinates of all signal pins are output as a txt file, with the reference origin being the center point of the board;

[0024] A circular green oil window is added to the center origin of the board and around the board to help the automated debugging device identify the reference point.

[0025] The coordinate points are output through the green windows on all sides, which are used for position accuracy calibration of automated debugging devices.

[0026] As a further aspect of the present invention: the automated debugging device includes an external mechanical fixing frame, an oscilloscope assembly, a PLC assembly, and a workstation;

[0027] The external mechanical fixing frame is used to fix the automated debugging device to the upper end of the automated debugging board;

[0028] The oscilloscope assembly includes an oscilloscope, a probe, and a network cable;

[0029] The PLC component is used to control the clamping fixture for the oscilloscope probe to move horizontally and move up and down in the Z-axis direction. It uses a displacement sensor to calibrate the distance between the probe and the automated debugging board, and uses an infrared sensor to determine the position of the center origin of the board and the green oil window calibration points around it.

[0030] The workstation, acting as a host computer, is connected to an oscilloscope and PLC via a network cable to capture and collect waveform information captured each time.

[0031] As a further aspect of the present invention, the usage process of the automated debugging device includes:

[0032] Step a: Install the external mechanical fixing frame on the top of the automation debugging board;

[0033] Step b: Connect the oscilloscope to the workstation via a network cable, connect the calibrated probe to the oscilloscope input port, and fix the probe in the fixture of the PLC assembly;

[0034] Step c: Power on all devices and output waveforms;

[0035] Step d: The PLC assembly performs positioning calibration and displacement calibration of the probe fixed in the fixture based on the origin and the green oil window positions around it.

[0036] Step e: The probe captures waveforms sequentially according to the coordinates of the signal pins in the automated debugging board, and uploads the images and their delay information to the workstation;

[0037] Step f: After the workstation has collected all signal pin delay information, it stops all automated operations.

[0038] The beneficial effects of this invention are: it automates the debugging and calibration of digital channel boards, avoids repetitive manual operations, significantly shortens debugging time, and reduces labor costs; it reduces errors caused by manual operation and improves the accuracy and reliability of debugging; the special design of the automated debugging board and the precise control of the automated debugging device ensure the accuracy and efficiency of waveform capture, further improving the efficiency of debugging and calibration. Attached Figure Description

[0039] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the conventional AC calibration and debugging process in this invention;

[0041] Figure 2 This is an automated flowchart of AC calibration and debugging in this invention;

[0042] Figure 3 This is a simplified diagram of the board structure in the machine tool of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of some channels on the automated debugging board of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 5 This is a simplified diagram of the automated debugging device of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0045] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0046] Referring to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410833079X, a calibration principle in a calibration board method for a memory chip FT test machine; and referring to Chinese Patent Application No. 2023110833044, a specific board structure in a test machine for a 512DUT memory device; the conventional debugging process of the board is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, a detailed introduction is as follows:

[0047] 1. After the machine is installed, insert a separate digital board into one of the slots of the machine, and use a cable to connect one of the connectors of the digital board through the channel in the motherboard;

[0048] 2. Plug the small connector board for debugging into the other end of the cable, set channel 0 as the reference channel, and use an oscilloscope to capture and lock the rising edge waveform of this reference channel; a digital board has hundreds of channels, named with numerical numbers, and channel 0 refers to the first channel in a single digital board.

[0049] 3. Capture the rising edge waveforms of other digital channels and record their delay relative to digital channel 0. A leading value is positive, and a lagging value is negative.

[0050] 4. After the digital channel in the first digital board connector is recorded, record the digital channels in the other digital boards connected to the machine. After recording is complete, write this delay data into the FPGA of the digital board.

[0051] 5. By controlling the PE chip through the FPGA, adjust the output result of the recorded delay data to the digital signal, and repeat process 2 and 3 to capture such delay data once more. Stop debugging when the delay data is within the error range. If it exceeds the error range, the delay data needs to be written again to capture data in process 2 and 3.

[0052] 6. When the rising edges of the digital signals in the digital board in the first slot are all within the error range, insert the digital board into the second slot and repeat steps 2 to 5 until the delay data in all slots has been collected.

[0053] 7. Store the latency information of all slots into the FPGA of the calibration board, fill the digital boards of the machine, and use the calibration board to perform calibration. After calibration, if a slot board has a calibration error, capture the latency of the faulty slot again and put it into the FPGA of the calibration board for debugging until the data in all slots meets the latency requirements.

[0054] pass Figure 1 In the conventional debugging and calibration process, it is easy to see that manual debugging using an oscilloscope takes up the majority of the time. This repetitive work inevitably increases the error rate in digital signal acquisition. In this invention, reference... Figure 2 This paper provides an automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards to solve the problems of repetitive manual operations and high error rates. The specific steps are as follows:

[0055] 1. Insert all the digital boards and automatic debugging boards into the machine. The automatic debugging boards are newly added boards, which will be described in detail in the next section. Here, we only describe their usage.

[0056] 2. Use an automated debugging device to capture waveforms and record all delays of all digital channels in the automated debugging board. The automated debugging device will be described in detail in the following sections and will not be repeated in this process.

[0057] 3. Record the latency data in the FPGA of the calibration board, remove the automated debugging board from the machine, install the calibration board, and calibrate the digital channels of all digital boards;

[0058] 4. If a large deviation in the delay of the digital channel on a connector in a certain area occurs during the calibration process and exceeds the error range, the delay of the digital channel of the connector with the large deviation will be captured again, and this delay will be recorded in the calibration board FPGA again. The digital board with the large deviation will be calibrated again until the calibration data of the digital channels in all digital boards meet the error requirements.

[0059] like Figure 3 The diagram shown is a simplified representation of the circuit board structure in the machine tool of this invention, and a detailed description follows:

[0060] Digital boards are inserted into different slots in the machine and connected to the motherboard below using connectors to transmit digital signals.

[0061] The connectors on the motherboard integrate and output the digital channels in the digital boards. The motherboard is used to integrate the signal channels of different boards inside the machine.

[0062] The connector in the automated debugging board is connected to the connector on the top of the motherboard. It is used to collect the delay data of the digital channel and the reference digital channel in each board and send it to the host computer.

[0063] The connectors on the calibration board are also connected to the connectors on the motherboard. After calibration and debugging are completed, the reference latency data is recorded in the FPGA of the calibration board. During the debugging process, it needs to be replaced by the automated debugging board. In other words, the automated debugging board first collects latency data, and after this latency data is written into the FPGA of the calibration board, the automated debugging board is replaced by the calibration board to perform AC calibration on all digital boards in the machine.

[0064] Figure 4 The diagram shows a partial view of the channels on an automated debugging board. The circles represent digital signal channel pins, and the elongated bars adjacent to them represent ground pins. Each bold black box contains a signal from the same connector. The diagram is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent actual dimensions. The pin sizes have been enlarged for clarity, and the number and size of signals within the bold black boxes are for reference only.

[0065] The automated debugging board has the following characteristics:

[0066] 1. The dimensions of the pins in the diagram meet the probe dimensions in the automatic debugging device;

[0067] 2. The side shown is defined as the front, which is the side that directly contacts the probe. The back side is the connector side that connects to the motherboard. The pins on the connector have had their pin spacing increased by an automated debugging board.

[0068] 3. All pins are fan-out via a hole in the disk;

[0069] 4. Each signal pin fanout hole must have a corresponding ground fanout hole;

[0070] 5. All pins on the front side need to have green solder mask windows added (green solder mask windows are a term in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing, which refers to opening windows in the solder mask layer (usually green, so it is also called green solder mask layer) of the PCB to expose the copper foil of the parts that need to be soldered or other electrical connections) so that the probes can make direct contact with them.

[0071] 6. All the ground pins in each row are connected together;

[0072] 7. The spacing between all signal pins and the ground pin is the same, and the spacing between all signal pins in the same group is also the same;

[0073] 8. The coordinates of all signal pins need to be output as a txt file, with the reference origin being the center point of the board;

[0074] 9. Circular green oil windows need to be added to the center origin of the board and around the board for the automated debugging device to identify the reference point;

[0075] 10. The coordinates of the windows around the greenery also need to be output for the automated debugging device to calibrate the position accuracy.

[0076] like Figure 5 As shown, an automated debugging device comprises the following parts:

[0077] 1. External mechanical fixing frame: used to fix the automated debugging device on the top of the automated debugging board for automated debugging;

[0078] 2. Oscilloscope assembly: including oscilloscope, probes, and network cable;

[0079] 3. PLC Component: A programmable logic controller (PLC) is used to control the clamping fixture of the oscilloscope probe, which moves horizontally and vertically along the Z-axis according to the internal program. A displacement sensor is used to calibrate the distance between the probe and the automated debugging board to ensure that the probe reaches the position of the signal and ground pins. An infrared sensor is used to determine the position of the board's center origin and the green solder mask window calibration points around the perimeter to prevent horizontal positional deviations.

[0080] Workstation: As a host computer, it is connected to the oscilloscope and PLC via a network cable to capture and collect waveform information captured each time.

[0081] The operating procedure for the automated commissioning device is as follows:

[0082] 1. Install the external mechanical fixing frame on the top of the automation debugging board;

[0083] 2. Connect the oscilloscope to the workstation using a network cable, connect the calibrated probe to the input port of the oscilloscope, and fix the probe in the fixture of the PLC assembly;

[0084] 3. All devices are powered on and output waveforms;

[0085] 4. The PLC component performs positioning calibration and probe displacement calibration on the upper end of the automation debugging board based on the origin and the green oil window positions around the probe, which are fixed in the fixture.

[0086] 5. Capture waveforms sequentially according to the coordinates of the signal pins on the automated debugging board, and upload the images and their delay information to the workstation.

[0087] 6. After the workstation has collected all signal pin delay information, it stops all automated operations.

[0088] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of one embodiment of the present invention, but this description is merely a preferred embodiment and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. All equivalent variations and modifications made within the scope of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Insert all the digital boards and automation debugging boards into the machine tool, and connect the automation debugging boards to the connectors on the top of the motherboard; Step 2: Use the automated debugging device to capture waveforms of all digital channels and record all delays on the automated debugging board; Step 3: Record the latency data in the FPGA of the calibration board, remove the automated debugging board, install the calibration board, and calibrate the digital channels of all digital boards; Step 4: If the delay deviation of the digital channel of a connector in a certain area exceeds the error range during the calibration process, the delay of the digital channel of the connector in that area is captured again, recorded in the calibration board FPGA, and recalibrated until the digital channel calibration data of all digital boards meet the error requirements.

2. The automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automated debugging board includes: The pin dimensions are matched to the probe dimensions in automated debugging equipment; The front side is the side that directly contacts the probe, and the back side is the connector side that connects to the motherboard. The pin spacing on the connector has been increased by an automated debugging board.

3. The automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards according to claim 2, characterized in that, The automated debugging board also includes: All pins are fan-out via a hole in the disk; Each signal pin fanout hole has a corresponding ground fanout hole; All pins on the front are covered with green solder mask to allow for direct contact with the probes.

4. The automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards according to claim 2, characterized in that, The automated debugging board also includes: Each row of Ground pins is interconnected; All signal pins are equally spaced from the ground pin, and all signal pins in the same group are equally spaced. The coordinates of all signal pins are output as a txt file, with the reference origin being the center point of the board; A circular green oil window is added to the center origin of the board and around the board to help the automated debugging device identify the reference point. The coordinate points are output through the green windows on all sides, which are used for position accuracy calibration of automated debugging devices.

5. The automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automated debugging device includes an external mechanical fixing frame, an oscilloscope assembly, a PLC assembly, and a workstation; The external mechanical fixing frame is used to fix the automated debugging device to the upper end of the automated debugging board; The oscilloscope assembly includes an oscilloscope, a probe, and a network cable; The PLC component is used to control the clamping fixture for the oscilloscope probe to move horizontally and move up and down in the Z-axis direction. It uses a displacement sensor to calibrate the distance between the probe and the automated debugging board, and uses an infrared sensor to determine the position of the center origin of the board and the green oil window calibration points around it. The workstation, acting as a host computer, is connected to an oscilloscope and PLC via a network cable to capture and collect waveform information captured each time.

6. The automated debugging and calibration method for digital channel boards according to claim 5, characterized in that, The usage process of the automated debugging device includes: Step a: Install the external mechanical fixing frame on the top of the automation debugging board; Step b: Connect the oscilloscope to the workstation via a network cable, connect the calibrated probe to the oscilloscope input port, and fix the probe in the fixture of the PLC assembly; Step c: Power on all devices and output waveforms; Step d: The PLC assembly performs positioning calibration and displacement calibration of the probe fixed in the fixture based on the origin and the green oil window positions around it. Step e: The probe captures waveforms sequentially according to the coordinates of the signal pins in the automated debugging board, and uploads the images and their delay information to the workstation; Step f: After the workstation has collected all signal pin delay information, it stops all automated operations.

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