tag: test

Using Sensor Data To Improve Yield And Uptime
By Ed Sperling - 21 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 2

Semiconductor equipment vendors are starting to add more sensors into their tools in an effort to improve fab uptime and wafer yield, and to reduce cost of ownership and chip failures. Massive amounts of data gleaned from those tools is expected to provide far more detail than in the past about multiple types and sources of variation, including when and where that variation occurred and how,... » read more

Why Analog Designs Fail
By Brian Bailey - 14 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 2

The gap between analog and digital reliability is growing, and digital designs appear to be winning. Reports show that analog content causes the most test failures and contributes significantly more than digital to field returns. The causes aren't always obvious, though. Some of it is due to the maturity of analog design and verification. While great strides have been made in digital circuit... » read more

Anticipating And Addressing 5G Testing Challenges
By Judy Davies - 13 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 0

It’s no surprise that each new generation of ICs raises new sets of challenges in device testing. Changes in pin counts, data-transfer rates and interface protocols present different requirements. With the coming fifth generation (5G) of semiconductor technology, producers of automatic test equipment (ATE) must develop new test solutions with advanced capabilities on several fronts. Perhap... » read more

Mapping The Impact Of Heat On Photonics
By Ed Sperling - 12 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 0

Heat and various types of noise can disrupt optical signals in silicon photonics applications, pushing light into frequencies that generally are filtered out. Unless those filters are adjusted, data may be lost or incomplete, and in the case of streaming data it may be impossible to reconstruct. But predicting when and how physical effects will affect light isn't always obvious, which makes ... » read more

Reliability Becomes The Top Concern In Automotive
By Ed Sperling And Susan Rambo - 12 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 4

Reliability is emerging as the top priority across the hottest growth markets for semiconductors, including automotive, industrial and cloud-based computing. But instead of replacing chips every two to four years, some of those devices are expected to survive for up to 20 years, even with higher usage in sometimes extreme environmental conditions. This shift in priorities has broad ramificat... » read more

VCSEL Technology Takes Off
By Kevin Fogarty and Ed Sperling - 07 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 1

By Kevin Fogarty and Ed Sperling Vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) technology, a proven but mostly niche technology until recently, is suddenly a very hot commodity thanks to the introduction of facial recognition in phones and other mobile devices. VCELS primarily have been used as a low-cost way of tracking movement and transfering data in computer mice, laser printers and ... » read more

Issues In Designing 5G Beamforming Antennas
By Kevin Fogarty - 07 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 3

As 5G networking inches closer to reality, one of the more stubborn problems also will be one of the smallest. Several issues have yet to be cracked with beamforming and massive MIMO antennas, which will make millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum—a key ingredient in 5G networks—work on multiple devices and base-station locations. Millimeter wave is problematic yet promising. Between bands 30... » read more

Testing AI Systems
By Ed Sperling - 15 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0

AI is booming. It's coming to a device near you—maybe even inside of you. And AI will be used to design, manufacture and even ship those devices, regardless of what they are, where they are used, or how they are transported. The big questions now are whether these systems work, for how long—and what do those metrics even mean? An AI system, or AI-enhanced system, is supposed to adapt ove... » read more

Using a Fault Insertion and Current Sensing Unit
By NI - 15 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0

When testing embedded software on mission critical electronic control units, like those used in automobiles or aircraft, it is important to validate the behavior with external faults for example if the integrity of the signals to the controller are compromised. The SLSC-12251/2 products from NI are designed for this purpose, these modules can be inserted into the signal path between the data ac... » read more

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer
By Kevin Fogarty - 10 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 2

While self-driving vehicles are beta-tested on some public roads in real traffic situations, the semiconductor and automotive industries are still getting a grip on how to test and verify that vehicle electronics systems work as expected. Testing can be high stakes, especially when done in public. Some of the predictions about how humans will interact with autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public... » read more

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