Semiconductor Validation Tool Helps Identify Counterfeit Components
Targeted at receiving inspection and quality-assurance departments, the JTAG Interrogator software tool from Corelis will assist in the validation of authentic semiconductors. It addresses the increased sophistication in counterfeit re-marking techniques that have reduced the effectiveness of visual inspection. As such, the tool employs IEEE-1149.1 standard on-chip electronic identification techniques to aid in the detection and reporting of counterfeit semiconductors, including IDCODE, USERCODE, instruction register length, and boundary-scan register length (as well as support for Electronic Chip ID, or ECID). Interrogation reporting offers a visual representation of devices on the JTAG scan chain. A single-tap USB 2.0 JTAG controller scans device registers. Software includes a USB 2.0 JTAG hardware adapter to get started with semiconductor validation. Its test report export function features CSV and XML formats. A built-in user management system handles multi-user or permission-restricted environments.