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User Solution

Author (s): Daravan LY - Atmel Jean-Louis Schricke - Mesulog Industry (s): Test / Instrumentation, Telecommunications, Semiconductors Product (s): Drivers and IVI instrument, GPIB, LabVIEW, TestStand, Connecting instrument Objective: Characterize high-performance integrated circuits. The solution: Set up a test automated sequencer using TestStand, LabVIEW and test sheets.

Atmel designs, manufactures and markets integrated circuits that include CCD and CMOS imagers, high-reliability microprocessors, converters and fast ASIC. The "product support applications (R & D) is, among other things, responsible for the characterization of converters (CA/N-C N / A) and RF. In 1996, a first bench test was developed in C on the Macintosh, but it posed problems of evolution, introduction of new products and automation measures. To reduce the time to characterize its circuits, Atmel has developed a specification and has triggered a study of core software entrusted to the company Mesulog partner National Instruments. The purpose of this bench was to be able to automatically characterize and comprehensively CAN components and RF operating in their application environments. The laboratory application development uses many different instruments on test benches (power supplies, multimeters, RF generators, oscilloscopes, bolometers, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers). Fungibility in the same class of instruments was required. In addition, the chassis had to provide a means of processing and analyzing the results, for the sake of flexibility, rapid and traceability.

Implementation
The purpose of the specification Atmel was to have a chassis incorporating a modular sequencer test to characterize a wide range of products, each with its specificities. We needed a solution that combines standardized, interactive modification of the conditions of testing and scalability. The original idea was to link a spreadsheet to test sequencer TestStand.
An Excel workbook, called "form of measurement, allows the user to select the instruments used to validate and set the measurement loop, collecting the measurements and present results in graphical form. Each form is associated with a TestStand sequence and allows to test one or more products.
The sequencer TestStand executes a sequence of tests not developed in LabVIEW. More than 500 VIs are called at runtime. Library functions decode the Excel files, drives the instruments, configure the circuit to be tested, performing the measurements, calculate and format the results.

Traceability is ensured by the fact that the measurement report contains both the parameters and test results.
At the end of the test, which can last several hours, the applicant receives an email containing a link to the measurement report.
To ensure the modularity of equipment tests, Mesulog use the server tools developed by Sapphire, which enables the interchangeability of the instruments with VISA and IVI drivers, and the creation of new classes of instruments.

Results
The solution set for Atmel provides an automatic bench which increases the number of measures, while reducing by ten time characterization. The use of cards facilitates the configuration and testing to ensure traceability.
This new chassis is now based on an open architecture that can evolve easily. Indeed, the sequencer TestStand allows rapid modification of test sequences and the addition of new features by creating new generic and not specific.
Atmel users appreciate this new tool that enables them to achieve their objectives in terms of extent of characterization, reliability measures, computing power and response time to new customer demands.
This bench allows Atmel to anticipate problems related to design, secure the validity of functional circuits and reduce the time and cost of characterization.

 
October 2004

Author information:

Daravan LY
Atmel
Avenue de Rocheplaine BP123
38521 Saint Egrève
France
Tel: 0033 4.76.58.32.72
daravan.ly @ gfo.atmel.com