Agilent Technologies First to Demonstrate New Standard for Production Testing of High-Speed Networking Technology.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2003 New IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. Standard Enables Testing of High-Speed ICs and Systems, Accelerating Time-to-Market and Improving Product Quality Agilent Technologies This article needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :A) today announced the first successful demonstration of the IEEE 1149.6 standard for boundary-scan testing of advanced, high-speed networks. Boundary-scan is a method for testing chips on the printed circuit board by building the chip with additional input and output pins that are only used for test purposes. The new IEEE standard is expected to help network equipment manufacturers improve product quality and accelerate time to market. The demonstration was conducted with an Agilent-developed application specific integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for (ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. ) that includes over 30 serializer/deserializer (SerDes) channels, each operating at up to 3.125 Gb/s. Also known as AC-Extest, this standard enables reliable testing of integrated circuit boards designed for today's high-speed networks. Agilent and Cisco Systems “Cisco” redirects here. For other uses, see Cisco (disambiguation). Cisco System,Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO, HKSE: 4333 ) is an American multinational corporation with 54,000 employees and annual revenue of US $28.48 billion as of 2006. led the development of AC-Extest, which tests AC-coupled connections between integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. (ICs) that reside on network equipment printed circuit boards. Until recently, these interconnections were DC-coupled, and boundary-scan test techniques were the primary method for achieving quality assurance. However, new higher speed Gigahertz One billion cycles per second. See GHz. (unit) GigaHertz - (GHz) Billions of cycles per second. The unit of frequency used to measure the clock rate of modern digital logic, including microprocessors. (GHz) technology introduced AC-coupled connections between ICs, rendering widely adopted testing techniques obsolete. The IEEE 1149.6 standard satisfies the need for an alternate test approach by extending compatible boundary-scan methodology into the AC realm. "With the establishment of the AC-Extest standard, an industry-wide, method for reliably testing today's high-speed networking products is now a reality," said Bill Eklow, Boundary Scan See scan technology. boundary scan - The use of scan registers to capture state from device input and output pins. IEEE Standard 1149.1-1990 describes the international standard implementation (sometimes called JTAG after the Joint Test Action Group which began the Technology manager at Cisco Systems and chair of the AC Extest Industry Working Group. "We are pleased to have worked with Agilent and other industry leaders to standardize this methodology." AC-Extest Results Agilent incorporated 1149.6 testability into an ASIC that includes more than 30 3.125 Gb/s SerDes channels, and was implemented using CL013G, TSMC's 0.13 micron CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. FSG See Linux Foundation. process. Initial AC-Extest results demonstrate the correct operation of the new test components added to the ASIC. These test components augment the pre-existing IEEE 1149.1 boundary scan hardware. The additions include the new AC-Extest instruction in the Test Access Port (TAP) controller, the circuitry in the output drivers that produce full-speed edges, and the test receiver circuit that detects these edges and updates the boundary scan registers. In addition to verifying the correct operation of both the existing 1149.1 DC Extest and the new 1149.6 AC-Extest features, Agilent also verified that deliberately injected defects on the characterization board were in fact detected by the new AC-Extest test patterns. In all test cases, the injected defects, which are intended to mimic those encountered during board manufacturing, caused the tests to fail. "The demonstration of AC-Extest on a multi-SerDes ASIC exemplifies Agilent's leadership in design-for-test capability, board test, and the development of ASICs for high-speed networking applications," said James Stewart, vice president and general manager of Agilent's ASIC Products Division. "Agilent is the only AC-Extest participant that makes both ICs and board test equipment. We are therefore in a unique position to feature our expertise in both these technologies to solve this industry-wide ASIC test problem." With more than two decades of ASIC design and manufacturing experience, Agilent offers state-of-the-art hierarchical design methodology and design-for-test capability. The company has an outstanding track record of first-pass success in the design and manufacture of these chips. These strengths, combined with an extensive IP portfolio, facilitate rapid integration of quality, high-performance ASICs for applications including communications, imaging and computing. More information is available at www.agilent.com/view/asic. Agilent is also the leading provider of automated test equipment for the electronics industry. Agilent's solutions enable electronics designers and manufacturers to reduce the design cycle, lower manufacturing costs, and accelerate the high-volume delivery of their products. For more information regarding manufacturing test visit www.agilent.com/go/manufacturing. About Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 35,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $6 billion in fiscal year 2002. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: Please direct reader inquiries to Agilent Semiconductor Products Group at +1 800 235 0312, or e-mail us at semiconductorsupport@agilent.com. Further technology, corporate citizenship Corporate Citizenship The extent to which businesses are socially responsible in meeting legal, ethical and economic responsibilities placed on them by shareholders. The aim it to create higher standards of living and quality of life in the community in which it operates, while and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news. |
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