The Research And Implementation Of Mixed-Signal IC Automatic Test Equipment

With the improvement of semiconductor integrated circuit design complexity and the rapid development of manufacturing technology, analog circuits and digital circuits are often made into a single chip. Special test methods are required for such integrated chips used with mixed-signal automatic test equipment. In the area of mixed-signal test, we need not only the common function component such as DVM, VIS and TMU but also the specified techniques that could made the FVMI and FIMV function handled simultaneously. Both analog and digital integrated circuit needs special test method. Based on the above considerations, the testing object of the ATE describes in this paper is the mixed-signal ICs and the research and implementation work cover analog ICs, SSI and most part of the mixed-signal ICs.Firstly, this paper introduced the present development and the view of the mixed-signal ATEs. Then it described the Kelvin Connection used in the analog circuit test area which can cancel the voltage drop across contact resistance. It also describes the some kind of basic algorithms for test patterns used in digital test area, such as the path sensitizing method and the Boolean differential method. In order to clarify the usage of those algorithms, an example is illustrated to test the IDDQ in the MOS integrated circuit using path sensitizing method.The most important work completed in this paper is development of the mixed-signal automatic test equipment. A unique structure was developed firstly based on the generic one analyzed previously. Functional component VIS, IVC was designed and implement in this papers and also analyzed and solved the key point to the HVS, TMU, DVM and CBIT.Two actual testing examples are shown later in the paper which use the mixed-signal ATE described in this paper, that is the testing method of the BUCK(Step-down) DC/DC PWM regulators and the feedback controls testing method of operational amplifiers using servo-amplifier. In the last chapter of this paper, it introduced some practical aspects of the ATE software.