High Voltage Testing Races Ahead


Voltage requirements are increasing, especially for the EV market. Even devices that might be considered relatively low voltage, such as display drivers, are now pushing past established baselines. While working with high voltages is nothing new — many engineers can recall yellow caution tape in their workplaces — the sheer number and variety of new requirements have made testing at high... » read more

Ensuring Your Semiconductor Test Equipment Is Protected From Rising Cybersecurity Threats


Cybersecurity threats pose risks to your business every day and can attack every aspect of your operation, and these threats are only increasing. According to IBM Security’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, in 2021, the average total cost of a data breach increased by nearly 10% year over year, from $3.86M to $4.24M – the largest single year cost increase in the last seven years. Sourc... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


U.S. President Joe Biden appears ready to increase pressure on Japan and the Netherlands to help block the flow of advanced chip technology to China, where it can be used to develop cutting-edge weapons. "You will see Japan and Netherlands follow our lead," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC. Japan plans to budget ¥350 billion ($2.38 billion) in a research collaboration with th... » read more

Simplifying The Path From Design To Test


By Richard Fanning and John Rowe Getting an integrated circuit (IC) from design to test is an arduous process that encompasses a number of steps, including: Design for Test (DFT): processes that ensure the chip is designed in such a way that it can be tested Development: the development of automated test programs (ATPs) Bench: evaluating the device at the bench to ensure the desig... » read more

Test Connections Clean Up With Real-Time Maintenance


Test facilities are beginning to implement real-time maintenance, rather than scheduled maintenance, to reduce manufacturing costs and boost product yield. Adaptive cleaning of probe needles and test sockets can extend equipment lifetimes and reduce yield excursions. The same is true for load board repair, which is moving toward predictive maintenance. But this change is much more complicate... » read more

Why Silent Data Errors Are So Hard To Find


Cloud service providers have traced the source of silent data errors to defects in CPUs — as many as 1,000 parts per million — which produce faulty results only occasionally and under certain micro-architectural conditions. That makes them extremely hard to find. Silent data errors (SDEs) are random defects produced in manufacturing, not a design bug or software error. Those defects gene... » read more

The Future Of Connectivity Is Higher Data Rates And Micro-Positioning


These days, we tend to take global wireless connectivity for granted. Whether we’re in a coffee shop, a hotel room, or a plane at 35,000 feet, chances are that we’ll be able to enjoy Internet access at reasonable speeds. But despite this constant connectedness, we still manage to misplace our keys and forget where we left our smartphones. New connectivity technologies are promising to ha... » read more

Making 5G More Reliable


The rollout of 5G is a complex and monumental effort involving multiple separate systems that need to function flawlessly together in real-time, making it difficult to determine where problems might arise, or how and when to test for them. Investments in 5G have been underway for the better part of a decade, and the technology is considered the next huge growth opportunity for mobile devices... » read more

Enabling Test Strategies For 2.5D, 3D Stacked ICs


Improved testability, coupled with more tests at more insertion points, are emerging as key strategies for creating reliable, heterogeneous 2.5D and 3D designs with sufficient yield.  Many changes need to fall into place to make side-by-side 2.5D and 3D stacking approaches cost-effective, particularly for companies looking to integrate chiplets from different vendors. Today, nearly all of t... » read more

The Future Of Wireless Test Is Over The Air


The deployment of mmWave technology is synonymous with 5G rollout and the initial results for faster links are amazing. For example, using a mmWave band, the prospects of a 1-2 Gbps link means a typical HD movie can download in less than a minute. An upload link of 30 Mbps also enables the transfer of videos back to the cloud at a record pace. These user experiences are enabled by the antenna l... » read more

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