ATE Test Definition Cycle Extension for Timing Violations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automated test equipment (ATE) struggles to efficiently test complex integrated circuits due to limitations in generating input stimuli that meet the minimal switch period requirements, often resulting in timing violations and incomplete test execution.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that scan test definitions for switch time points with rest durations shorter than the minimal switch period, extending the cycle length of preceding cycles to ensure compliance with ATE specifications, thereby enabling accurate and complete testing without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the ATE operates at high speeds to test complex integrated circuits, then testing productivity is improved, but timing constraint violations occur due to insufficient rest duration between events
Solution Approach 1:
The method performs preliminary scanning of the test definition to identify problematic switch time points before actual testing. By detecting cycles with insufficient rest duration in advance, the system can pre-calculate extended cycle lengths and generate corrected test definitions, preventing timing violations before they occur during high-speed testing
Solution Approach 2:
The invention dynamically adjusts the cycle length parameter based on the identified rest duration deficiencies. By calculating the required extension amount and applying it to affected cycles, the system modifies timing parameters to ensure minimum rest duration between events, thereby maintaining timing constraint compliance while preserving high-speed testing capabilities
2Reliability
If manual intervention is used to adjust test definitions for timing compliance, then timing constraint compliance is improved, but testing productivity decreases due to additional processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-correction by automatically scanning test definitions, identifying problematic cycles, calculating required extensions, and generating corrected test definitions without human intervention. This automated self-service approach eliminates manual adjustment time while ensuring timing constraint compliance, thereby maintaining high testing productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces manual mechanical adjustment processes with an automated computational system. The processor-based scanning, analysis, and modification of test definitions substitutes human operators, eliminating the time-consuming manual iteration process while achieving the same timing compliance goals
3Reliability
If simple test cycles are used to meet ATE timing constraints, then timing constraint compliance is improved, but measurement precision decreases due to incomplete test coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The method applies local quality by selectively extending only those specific cycles that have insufficient rest duration, rather than uniformly simplifying all test cycles. This targeted approach preserves the complex test sequences needed for accurate testing in non-problematic areas while locally adjusting only the problematic cycles to meet timing constraints
Data Source
AI summary
A method of testing an integrated circuit device, which involves receiving, by a processor, a test definition indicating a sequence of acts to be performed by an automated test equipment in testing an integrated circuit device. The test definition includes indications of test cycles and timings of events in the cycles. The method includes scanning the received test definition, by the processor, for switch time points for which a timing of events in a first cycle immediately preceding the switch time point is different from a timing of events in a second cycle immediately following the switch time point, determining problematic switch time points for which the combined rest duration from a specific event in the first cycle to a corresponding specific event in the second cycle is shorter than a minimal switch period of the automated test equipment, changing the received test definition by extending a length of the cycles immediately preceding the determined problematic switch time points and providing the changed test definition for testing the integrated circuit device by the automated test equipment.