Migration of PXI Instruments into Semiconductor Test

1
Migration of PXI Instruments into Semiconductor
Test

• Eric Starkloff
• National Instruments

2
Agenda

• PXI technical overview
• Emerging trends in semiconductor ATE
• Application examples

3
PXI CompactPCI eXtensions for Instrumentation

• PXI controller
• OS Technology
• ADEs

Chassis/Backplane
Peripheral Slots
4
What is PXI?

• High performance bus
• Up to 6 GB/s system bandwidth
• Integrated timing and synchronization
• Standard software model
• Multivendor industry standard
• 1500 products from gt70 vendors

5
Industry Acceptance of PXI
25 CAGR forecast for 2005 2012 Source World
VXI PXI Test Equipment Markets, Frost
Sullivan, April 2005
Number of Systems Per Year
More than 1,500 PXI Products from 70
vendors Source PXI Systems Alliance
6
Recent Advancements in PXI

• PXI has added PCI Express capability to existing
  PXI specifications
• Technical Capabilities
• Extends PXI bandwidth to 2 GB/s per slot
• Enhanced timing and synchronization
• Backwards compatible in hardware and software

7
Example PXI-based Testers

• Augmenting existing ATE
• For example, PXI analog digitizers to augment
  digital pins in existing tester
• PXI measurement core
• For example, sensor test system requiring
  mechanical stimulation and performance analog
• STC PTIM (Portable Test Instrument Module)
• Proposal being considered to make PXI the PTIM
  standard
• Working group meeting at June STC meeting

8
Impact of Increasing Complexity (SoC, SiP)

• Lack of low level test access
• Multiple technologies combined on single die
• Higher software content (software defines
  functionality)
• Result testing methodology migrating towards
  system functional test

9
Integration from Chip to System

Chip
SOC
SIP
Board
System
Chip ATE
System Functional Test
Photo courtesy of Verigy
10
Example FPGA-based tester for RFID
Source Konrad Technologies GMBH
11
Summary

• PXI has achieved mainstream success in system
  functional test
• PXI is being used today to augment ATE and for
  applications unserved by traditional ATE
• Complex devices such as SoC and SiP require more
  system-level testing
• FPGA-based capability can bridge the gap between
  system functional test and structural ATE

12
Questions?