ASSET's FPGA-based instruments for testing on-board memory

ASSET's FPGA-based instruments for testing on-board memory

Two new instruments for ASSET InterTech’s ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments have been named finalists by Test & Measurement World in its 2013 Best in Test awards program.

ASSET is a leading supplier of tools for embedded instrumentation. ASSET’s instrumentation intellectual property (IP) supports the new IEEE P1687 Internal JTAG (IJTAG) standard for embedded instruments.

“It is always an honor when our chip and board test technologies are recognized for the breakthrough capabilities they provide,” said Glenn Woppman, president and CEO of ASSET InterTech. “Over the years, engineers have been able to turn to Test and Measurement World’s Best in Test awards for guidance on the leading test products introduced the previous year. This year is no exception and we are very pleased that our new ScanWorks embedded instruments for on-board memory test have earned the distinction of being named finalists.”

The ScanWorks FPGA-controlled test (FCT) toolkit is the first to automatically insert multiple instruments into an FPGA, configure and connect the instruments as a cohesive board-tester-in-a-chip, and operate the tester from an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. The two embedded instruments named Best in Test finalists involve testing on-board memory. One is a DDR2/DDR3 memory link tester and the second instrument is a generic memory test instrument. Both test memory buses from the inside out, eliminating the need for expensive probe-based external instruments and testers. The FPGA host of ScanWorks FCT does not need to be dedicated to test. FCT can be inserted in a functional FPGA and removed when it is no longer needed. For example, a ScanWorks FCT board tester might be inserted in an FPGA, used to bring up early prototypes and then removed. Later, it might be inserted and removed again during volume manufacturing or field service.

FCT is just one of the several non-intrusive validation, test and debug technologies that make up the ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments. Users can configure the ScanWorks platform to meet their specific needs and overcome the growing deficiencies of traditional legacy intrusive instruments and testers which are losing physical access for their probes. The other non-intrusive technologies supported by ScanWorks include boundary-scan test (BST), processor-controlled test (PCT) and high-speed I/O (HSIO) signal integrity validation.

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TAG:FPGA based instruments