Automating techniques provide a way to create efficient test programs for characterizing
semiconductor devices, such as those on a
silicon die sample. Typically,
test program creation is a drawn out process involving
data entry for every test to be run as part of the
test program. The described techniques improve
test algorithm selection and automatically populate the
test algorithm data in creating the
test program. The automatic
population may occur by accessing
test structure, header, and
test algorithm catalogs. The
test structure catalog contains physical data for the test program, while the header catalog contains global parameter values. The test
algorithm catalog has all of the various test algorithms that may be run in a given test, where these test algorithms may be in a template form and specific to any number of different test language abstractions. After test program creation, a validation process is executed to determine if the test program data is valid.
Invalid data may be flagged, in an example. Once validated, techniques are described for converting the validated test program into an
executable form, by formatting the various test
algorithm data in the test program into a form compatible with the applicable test language abstraction selected by the user or the tester.