Test board and storage module high and low temperature test connection structure based on CXL

Abstract

The invention discloses a CXL-based high and low temperature test connection structure for a test board and a storage module, and is applied to the technical field of high and low temperature test of memory banks. Comprising an integral machine body, a high and low temperature cavity is formed in the integral machine body, a test mainboard is arranged on one side of the integral machine body, and CXL interface boards are installed on one side in the high and low temperature cavity and one side, close to the integral machine body, of the test mainboard. The core test mainboard is arranged in a mild normal-temperature environment, so that the core test mainboard is completely prevented from being directly damaged by severe conditions such as high and low temperature cyclic stress, condensation and the like, the service life of key and expensive main test equipment is greatly prolonged, and the overall failure rate of a system is reduced; moreover, only a small number of CXL high-speed composite cables need to be simply and reliably sealed, so that through-wall openings are greatly reduced, and the air tightness of the test box is effectively maintained. Therefore, the temperature control energy consumption is reduced, and the temperature field in the box is ensured to be highly uniform and stable.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of high and low temperature testing technology for memory modules, and specifically relates to a connection structure for high and low temperature testing of a test board and a storage module based on CXL. Background Technology

[0002] In high and low temperature reliability testing of storage modules, the common approach is to directly and closely connect the test motherboard to the module under test via a hardware adapter board. However, traditional storage modules (such as DDR DIMMs) use parallel signal transmission, which is extremely sensitive to signal integrity, forcing the test board to be physically very close to the module under test.

[0003] However, this results in the existing test motherboards being placed entirely inside the high and low temperature test chamber for connection purposes. The delicate electronic components on these motherboards are directly subjected to severe temperature cycling stress and the risk of condensation, leading to accelerated aging and a high failure rate. Furthermore, the test motherboards require numerous cables to pass through the chamber walls for connections, which can compromise the chamber's insulation and seal, causing energy leakage. This not only increases temperature control energy consumption but also makes it difficult to maintain a uniform and stable temperature field within the chamber, affecting the accuracy and consistency of test conditions. Moreover, replacing, upgrading, or repairing the test motherboards requires opening the test chamber, interrupting the testing environment, which is cumbersome and time-consuming, thus increasing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a high and low temperature test connection structure for a CXL-based test board and storage module. Its advantages are that the test board is placed in a mild outdoor environment, free from the threat of temperature stress and condensation, and its lifespan is greatly extended; only simple sealing of the CXL cable is required, reducing the risk of cavity leakage and energy consumption; maintenance and upgrades of the test board do not require interruption of the test environment inside the cavity, realizing hot-swappable maintenance.

[0005] The above-mentioned technical objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: a high and low temperature test connection structure for a CXL-based test board and storage module, comprising an overall body, a high and low temperature cavity is provided inside the overall body, a test motherboard is provided on one side of the overall body, and CXL interface boards are installed on one side inside the high and low temperature cavity and on the side of the test motherboard near the overall body, and a connecting cable is electrically connected between the two CXL interface boards.

[0006] The above technical solution, by placing the core test motherboard in a mild, ambient temperature environment, completely avoids the direct damage from harsh conditions such as high and low temperature cycling stress and condensation, significantly extending the lifespan of critical and expensive main test equipment and reducing the overall system failure rate. Furthermore, only a few CXL high-speed composite cables require simple and reliable sealing, greatly reducing wall penetration openings and effectively maintaining the airtightness of the test chamber. This not only reduces temperature control energy consumption but, more importantly, ensures a highly uniform and stable temperature field within the chamber, thereby improving the accuracy of test conditions and the comparability of results. Simultaneously, maintenance, upgrades, or software debugging of the test motherboard are all performed outside the chamber, achieving "hot-swappable" maintenance without interrupting internal testing tasks, significantly reducing downtime. Moreover, by designing a replaceable standardized interface board, the same external test motherboard can flexibly adapt to DDR, LPDDR, and CXL memory modules, significantly improving the versatility of the test equipment.

[0007] The present invention is further configured such that the test motherboard integrates a CXL host controller, and the CXL interface board on one side of the high and low temperature chamber integrates a host controller and a CXL device controller. The CXL device controller is tightly attached to a high heat capacity metal substrate through a thermally conductive silicone pad, and the substrate is then fixed inside the high and low temperature chamber by a low thermal conductivity bracket.

[0008] The above technical solution allows the heat generated by the CXL equipment controller to be absorbed by the heat sink and released slowly, reducing the impact on the transient temperature field inside the cavity; at the same time, the low thermal conductivity bracket reduces heat conduction to the outside through the interface plate.

[0009] The present invention is further configured such that a programmable delay compensation module and a link health monitoring unit are also installed inside the test motherboard.

[0010] The above technical solution is adopted: the programmable delay compensation module measures and compensates for the transmission delay jitter generated by the CXL link in the variable temperature environment by periodically sending timestamp calibration packets, ensuring accurate synchronization between the test command and the sampling clock, while the link health monitoring unit is used to monitor parameters such as bit error rate and signal amplitude in real time.

[0011] The present invention is further configured such that the connecting lines are respectively power supply lines for powering the two CXL interface boards and low-speed control and monitoring lines for reading temperature sensors on the CXL interface boards and monitoring power status.

[0012] Using the above technical solution, the connecting cable can be plugged in and removed between the two CXL interface boards, thus allowing for flexible adaptation to various storage devices such as DDR, LPDDR, and CXL memory modules by replacing different types of CXL interface boards and connecting cables.

[0013] The present invention is further configured such that the CXL interface board adopts a low-power CXL device controller chip and a passive heat dissipation design formed by optimizing the power supply circuit.

[0014] The above technical solution is adopted by selecting a low-power CXL device controller chip and optimizing the power supply circuit to ensure that its own heat generation will not cause substantial interference to the temperature field uniformity in the high and low temperature chamber.

[0015] The present invention is further configured such that the CXL interface plate on one side of the high and low temperature cavity is bolted to one side of the overall body using a sealing flange, and the sealing flange integrates a Peltier effect temperature control module.

[0016] The above technical solution ensures that the temperature of the connector contact area is always maintained above the dew point and within the rated operating temperature range of the device, preventing performance degradation caused by condensation and extreme temperatures.

[0017] The present invention is further configured such that the CXL interface board internally employs a combination of low ESR wide-temperature ceramic capacitors and tantalum capacitors.

[0018] The above technical solution is used to cope with the changes in capacitor value under temperature cycling, ensuring a stable power supply with strong instantaneous response capability for the CXL chip and high-speed storage module.

[0019] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] 1. By placing the core test motherboard in a mild, ambient temperature environment, it completely avoids the direct damage from harsh conditions such as high and low temperature cycling stress and condensation, significantly extending the lifespan of critical and expensive main test equipment and reducing the overall system failure rate. Furthermore, only a few CXL high-speed composite cables require simple and reliable sealing, greatly reducing wall penetration openings and effectively maintaining the airtightness of the test chamber. This not only reduces temperature control energy consumption but, more importantly, ensures a highly uniform and stable temperature field within the chamber, thereby improving the accuracy of test conditions and the comparability of results.

[0021] 2. Simultaneously, maintenance, upgrades, or software debugging of the test motherboard can all be performed outside the enclosure, enabling "hot-swappable" maintenance without interrupting testing tasks inside the enclosure, significantly reducing downtime. Furthermore, by designing a replaceable, standardized interface board, the same external test motherboard can flexibly adapt to DDR, LPDDR, and CXL memory modules, significantly improving the versatility of the test equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall internal structure of the fuselage of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the testing workflow of the present invention.

[0025] Attached labels: 1. Overall body; 2. Test motherboard; 3. High and low temperature chamber; 4. CXL interface board; 5. Connecting cable. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Example 1:

[0028] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 A high and low temperature testing connection structure for a CXL-based test board and storage module includes an overall housing 1, with a high and low temperature chamber 3 inside the housing 1. A test motherboard 2 is located on one side of the housing 1. CXL interface boards 4 are installed on one side inside the high and low temperature chamber 3 and on the side of the test motherboard 2 near the housing 1. A connecting cable 5 electrically connects the two CXL interface boards 4. By placing the core test motherboard in a mild ambient temperature environment, it completely avoids the direct damage from harsh conditions such as high and low temperature cycle stress and condensation, significantly extending the service life of critical and expensive main test equipment and reducing the overall system failure rate. Moreover, only a few CXL high-speed composite cables need to be simply and reliably sealed, greatly reducing wall penetration openings and effectively maintaining the airtightness of the test chamber. This not only reduces temperature control energy consumption, but more importantly, ensures a highly uniform and stable temperature field inside the chamber, thereby improving the accuracy of test conditions and the comparability of results.

[0029] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3 The test motherboard 2 integrates a CXL host controller, and the CXL interface board 4 on one side of the high and low temperature chamber 3 integrates a CXL device controller. The CXL device controller is tightly attached to a high-heat-capacity metal substrate via a thermally conductive silicone pad, and the substrate is further fixed inside the high and low temperature chamber 3 by a low thermal conductivity bracket. This allows the heat generated by the CXL device controller to be absorbed by the heat sink and slowly released, reducing the impact on the transient temperature field inside the chamber; at the same time, the low thermal conductivity bracket provides insulation, reducing heat conduction to the outside through the interface board.

[0030] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3The test motherboard 2 also houses a programmable delay compensation module and a link health monitoring unit. The programmable delay compensation module measures and compensates for transmission delay jitter caused by the CXL link under varying temperature conditions by periodically sending timestamp calibration packets, ensuring accurate synchronization between the test command and the sampling clock. The link health monitoring unit is used to monitor parameters such as bit error rate and signal amplitude in real time.

[0031] refer to Figure 1 The connecting cable 5 consists of a power supply cable for powering the two CXL interface boards 4 and a low-speed control and monitoring cable for reading the temperature sensor on the CXL interface board 4 and monitoring the power status. The connecting cable 5 can be plugged in and removed between the two CXL interface boards 4, thus allowing for flexible adaptation to various storage devices such as DDR5, LPDDR5, and CXL memory modules by replacing different types of CXL interface boards 4 and connecting cables 5.

[0032] Brief description of the usage process: First, the test commands and data generated by the motherboard are converted into a CXL protocol serial data stream by the CXL host controller on it. This serial data stream is transmitted to the interface board inside the cavity via a CXL cable. Then, the CXL device controller on the interface board decodes the serial signal and restores it to a parallel signal that conforms to the specifications of the module under test, such as DDR5, and finally applies it to the module under test.

[0033] During test initialization or temperature changes, the system executes link training and retraining processes. By adjusting the pre-emphasis parameters at the transmitter and the equalization parameters at the receiver, it compensates for channel characteristic degradation caused by temperature changes, ensuring the overall stability of the CXL link. By selecting a low-power CXL device controller chip and optimizing the power supply circuit, its steady-state power consumption is controlled below X watts, ensuring that its own heat generation does not substantially interfere with the temperature field uniformity within the high and low temperature chambers. The system firmware includes a programmable delay compensation module. By periodically sending timestamp calibration packets, it measures and compensates for transmission delay jitter generated by the CXL link under varying temperature environments, ensuring precise synchronization between test commands and the sampling clock.

[0034] Example 2:

[0035] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3A high and low temperature testing connection structure for a CXL-based test board and storage module includes an overall chassis 1. A high and low temperature chamber 3 is located inside the chassis 1. A test motherboard 2 is mounted on one side of the chassis 1. CXL interface boards 4 are installed on one side inside the high and low temperature chamber 3 and on the side of the test motherboard 2 near the chassis 1. A connecting cable 5 electrically connects the two CXL interface boards 4. Maintenance, upgrades, or software debugging of the test motherboard are all performed outside the chassis, achieving "hot-swappable" maintenance without interrupting testing tasks inside the chassis, significantly reducing downtime. Furthermore, by designing replaceable standardized interface boards, the same external test motherboard can flexibly adapt to DDR5, LPDDR5, and CXL memory modules, significantly improving the versatility of the testing equipment.

[0036] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3 The CXL interface board 4 employs a low-power CXL device controller chip and an optimized power supply circuit to form a passive heat dissipation design. By selecting a low-power CXL device controller chip and optimizing the power supply circuit, it is ensured that its own heat generation will not substantially interfere with the temperature field uniformity within the high and low temperature chambers.

[0037] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 The CXL interface plate 4 on one side of the high and low temperature chamber 3 is bolted to one side of the overall body 1 using a sealing flange. The sealing flange integrates a Peltier effect temperature control module. This ensures that the temperature of the connector contact area is always maintained above the dew point and within the rated operating temperature range of the device, preventing performance degradation caused by condensation and extreme temperatures.

[0038] refer to Figure 1 The CXL interface board 4 internally employs a combination of low-ESR, wide-temperature ceramic capacitors and tantalum capacitors. This is used to cope with changes in capacitance value under temperature cycling, ensuring a stable power supply with strong instantaneous response for the CXL chip and high-speed storage module.

[0039] Working principle: By leveraging the advanced features of the CXLCompute Express Link high-speed serial protocol, the traditional test architecture is reconstructed, physically dividing the test system into external and internal sections. Intelligent link management and compensation technologies ensure highly reliable and accurate transmission and execution of test commands and data even in extreme temperature environments.

[0040] The test motherboard, containing the main processor, test logic generation unit, and CXL host controller, is placed in a mild environment outside the high and low temperature test chamber. This layer is responsible for executing the core test algorithm, generating test vectors and command sequences, and managing the entire test process. A dedicated interface board, integrating only the CXL device controller, local power management module, and the slot for the module under test, is placed inside the test chamber. This layer has a streamlined function, only responsible for receiving commands, driving the module under test, and returning response data. A high-speed CXL cable penetrates the test chamber wall, connecting the host controller and the device controller. A dedicated seal is used at the penetration point in the chamber wall to ensure airtightness while transmitting signals and power. This achieves physical decoupling between the core test system and the harsh high and low temperature environment, fundamentally avoiding temperature stress on precision electronic components.

[0041] During the test, the signal flow undergoes a parallel, serial, and parallel conversion process. First, the test logic on the motherboard generates parallel data commands conforming to the test specifications. The onboard CXL host controller encapsulates these commands and data into a high-speed serial data stream, incorporating PCIe physical layer, memory semantics, and cache coherency mechanisms according to the CXL protocol. This serial data stream is transmitted to the test chamber via a CXL cable. The CXL device controller on the interface board receives the serial stream, decodes and parses the protocol, restoring it to standard parallel electrical signals and timings recognizable by the tested memory module, such as a DDR5 DIMM. The restored signals are then precisely applied to the corresponding pins of the tested module to complete write or control operations.

[0042] Data Reading and Status Feedback: The parallel data output by the module under test is captured by the CXL device controller on the interface board. The controller packages this parallel data into a CXL protocol serial data stream. The serial data stream is transmitted back to the test motherboard outside the enclosure via the same CXL cable. The CXL host controller on the motherboard receives and parses the data stream, and feeds back the read data or device status to the test logic for comparison and analysis.

[0043] To ensure the stability and testing accuracy of the CXL link under drastic temperature changes, the system integrates a series of adaptive compensation mechanisms: Upon initialization and upon detecting significant temperature changes, the system automatically triggers CXL link training or retraining. During training, the transmitting and receiving ends work together to dynamically adjust the pre-emphasis at the transmitting end and the equalizer parameters at the receiving end to compensate for channel loss changes and impedance mismatch caused by temperature in real time. This ensures that the eye diagram opening meets requirements and achieves error-free transmission across the entire temperature range. Since signal transmission delay in the CXL cable drifts with temperature, the system firmware incorporates a programmable delay compensation module. This module periodically or before critical testing phases uses transmit / receive timestamp calibration packets to accurately measure the round-trip delay at the current temperature. Based on the measurement results, it dynamically adjusts the timing of test command issuance or the data sampling window to offset timing errors caused by transmission delay changes, ensuring strict synchronization between test actions and the response of the module under test.

[0044] Thermal management and low-interference design of the in-cavity actuator: The interface board uses a low-power CXL controller chip and optimizes the power supply circuit to keep its power consumption at an extremely low level. Passive heat dissipation is achieved using a large-area metal substrate heat sink, which is isolated from the enclosure by a low thermal conductivity bracket to ensure that the limited heat is effectively absorbed and slowly released, avoiding the formation of local hot spots inside the cavity, thereby minimizing interference with the temperature field uniformity of the module under test.

[0045] It should be noted that parts have a lifespan and can be replaced during regular maintenance when they no longer meet performance requirements. Deterioration in performance due to prolonged use of parts is not a design defect of this application.

[0046] This specific embodiment is merely an explanation of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. After reading this specification, those skilled in the art can make modifications to this embodiment without contributing any inventive step, but such modifications are protected by patent law as long as they are within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A high and low temperature test connection structure for a test board and storage module based on CXL, comprising an integral body (1), characterized in that: The interior of the overall body (1) is provided with a high and low temperature chamber (3), and a test motherboard (2) is provided on one side of the overall body (1). CXL interface boards (4) are installed on one side of the high and low temperature chamber (3) and on the side of the test motherboard (2) near the overall body (1). A connecting wire (5) is electrically connected between the two CXL interface boards (4).

2. The high and low temperature test connection structure between the CXL-based test board and the storage module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The test motherboard (2) integrates a CXL host controller. The CXL interface board (4) on one side of the high and low temperature cavity (3) integrates a host controller and a CXL device controller. The CXL device controller is tightly attached to a high heat capacity metal substrate through a thermally conductive silicone pad, and the substrate is then fixed inside the high and low temperature cavity (3) by a low thermal conductivity bracket.

3. The high and low temperature test connection structure between the CXL-based test board and the storage module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The test motherboard (2) is also equipped with a programmable delay compensation module and a link health monitoring unit.

4. The high and low temperature test connection structure between the CXL-based test board and the storage module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting lines (5) are respectively power supply lines for powering the two CXL interface boards (4) and low-speed control and monitoring lines for reading the temperature sensor on the CXL interface board (4) and monitoring the power status.

5. The high and low temperature test connection structure between the CXL-based test board and the storage module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The CXL interface board (4) adopts a passive heat dissipation design with a low-power CXL device controller chip and optimized power supply circuit.

6. The high and low temperature test connection structure between the CXL-based test board and the storage module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The CXL interface plate (4) on one side of the inner cavity of the high and low temperature cavity (3) is bolted to one side of the overall body (1) using a sealing flange. The sealing flange integrates a Peltier effect temperature control module.

7. The high and low temperature test connection structure between the CXL-based test board and the storage module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The CXL interface board (4) uses a combination of low ESR wide-temperature ceramic capacitors and tantalum capacitors.

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