Scalable ATE System Spins Out Two Developments For The Bargain Hunter

Dec. 8, 2004

The world of test, always struggling with cost concerns, got a breather with two new advances in high-performance automatic test equipment (ATE). Both developments come from Agilent Technologies' expanded 93000 ATE system. At one end of the 93000 spectrum is the parallel Probe 400 system for wafer-sorting and probing. At the other end, the SOC series can test at-speed 3.6-Gbit/s system-on-a-chip devices.

The Probe 400 system takes advantage of the 93000's test processor-per-pin architecture and parallel multisite testing capabilities. Featuring 512 pins, the system brings the cost-per-die testing down to less than 2 cents. Its reduced-pin-count approach permits the testing of as many as 32 die in parallel, with up to 2048 pins per system. Also, the Probe 400 can apply test patterns to a depth of 48 Mvectors at up to 100 Mbits/s. Each test pin can be upgraded via software to 96 Mvectors per pin and data rates of 200 or 400 Mbits/s.

For high-speed serial buses, the Pin Scale 3600 digital card offers per-pin scalability from 800 Mbits/s to 3.6 Gbits/s, programmable via software. Each pin offers both single-ended and differential I/O capabilities for double-data-rate, graphics-DDR, PCI Express, Serial ATA, HyperTransport, and front-side buses. A test-per-processor architecture minimizes measurement overhead and features differential pin edge-placement accuracy of ±30 ps. The system has eight independent clock domains.

Pricing for a 512-pin parallel Probe 400 system starts at $600,000. It's available now. A 600-pin Pin Scale 3600 card, which can be configured as a 250-pin, 1.8-Gbit/s or 3.2-Gbit/s system, costs $1.8 million. Each additional pin costs $2000. It will be available next month.

Agilent Technologies
www.agilent.com
(800) 829-4444

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.