Growing demand for more sophisticated products has sparked a rapid rise in demand for mixed-signal ICs for applications in consumer electronics, automotive, industrial and communications segments. Today, semiconductor manufacturers are combining faster digital logic and more advanced analog circuitry in increasingly powerful mixed-signal devices. Caught between increasing device complexity and stagnant device selling prices, semiconductor companies find themselves facing more difficulty in cutting cost-of-test while ensuring high quality of more complex ICs. Companies find they need improved test architectures, more advanced instrumentation and enhanced test development environments to achieve high test throughput and to ensure high return on investment in test resources. To address these challenges, leading test systems combine a high-performance architecture with advanced instrumentation to deliver high-end automatic test equipment (ATE) throughput at a fraction of the cost of traditional ATE systems. As applications evolve, this new generation of mixed-signal testers not only helps lower the cost-of-test, but also provides the flexibility and adaptability needed to support future requirements and protect investment in test equipment, resources and engineering through multiple generations of mixed-signal devices. This paper will discuss key trends in mixed-signal device test requirements; their impact on cost-of-test; and new test architectures with the capability to meet current needs and the flexibility to handle evolving test requirements.
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