Pin electronics test and debug using PXI test station

One of these testers, a 1980’s vintage logic test system required upgrading due to maintenance and obsolescence issues. The system had 64-Pin Electronics Cards (PEC), each with one Parametric Measurement Unit (PMU) and one functional channel for a total of 64 tester channels. A new PEC, designed by Fairchild with the assistance of students and staff of the University of New Hampshire, needed a tester for debug, verification, and repair. The new PEC uses current industry standard ATE components to replace the older discrete designs. The new PEC design, shown in Figure 1, has four mini (low current ± 40mA) PMUs and one ± 500mA main PMU. The system wide reference levels for VIL, VIH, VOL, VOH, and threshold voltage have been replaced with per pin DACs for these functions, enabling per pin input and output functional levels. The number of functional test channels has also increased from one to four per PEC. This increases the total test channels from 64 to 256. This allows Fairchild to test up to four times more devices in parallel than the older system with better resolution and accuracy without any additional floor space requirements. The only other option would have been to purchase a new ATE tester at a much higher cost per system.