Improved Method for Validating New Product Design Manufacturing Test Program Using Existing Hardware

Improved Method for Validating New Product Design Manufacturing Test Program Using Existing Hardware

As design changes make existing test programs obsolete, the manufacturing test suite of test program require refresh. To prove that these new suite of test programs work (for new design) using existing hardware is not currently possible in the general case. For example, the shift register, or scan chains, typically contain differences from one major design revision to another, in addition to the logical design changes. Current solutions limit validation of test to only those facets of the new design that are compatible with the existing hardware version.

The core idea is to allow fully validating all aspects of the new test program against the existing hardware (chip device, interfacing, ATE, and test disposition and related software). This is achieved by modification of stimulus and response at the interface between the existing device under test and the ATE. Providing correct, predicted response real time to the new test program from the existing old hardware is necessary to fully validate the suite, which existing art has not yet addressed The obvious advantage is that all of the electromechanical and related test software will be validated prior to the arrival of the new hardware.

All aspects of the new test program are validated against existing hardware through the modification of stimulus and response at the interface between the existing device under test...