Analog Options for the NPTest EXA3000 SOC Test System Combine High Bandwidth, Fast Data Rates and High Throughput for Production Test of Advanced Mixed-Signal Devices.Business Editors/High Tech Writers SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2002 Options Efficiently Test Next Generation Mass Storage Drive, Chipset, Datacom and Graphic Devices NPTest, a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :SLB SLB Solomon Islands (ISO Country code) SLB Schlumberger Ltd. (oil field services firm) SLB Server Load Balancing SLB Sport Lisboa e Benfica (soccer) ) formerly known as Schlumberger Semiconductor Solutions, introduced today a suite of advanced analog options that enable customers to test next generation, highly integrated SOC devices on the EXA3000 platform. The options particularly provide efficient testing of mass storage drives, chipset, datacom and graphics devices. The powerful upgrades support the industry's first test platform to combine the high bandwidth and fast data rate handling required for these devices with the throughput needed for production test, significantly improving production test quality. New SOC designs continue to consolidate the functionality of separate chips onto a single device, increasing test complexity. With the integration of front-end hard disk drive read/write head interface onto a controller chip, there is a need to combine the implementation of complex PRML (Partial Response Maximum Likelihood) A technique used to differentiate a valid signal from noise by measuring the rate of change at various intervals of the rising waveform. analog and high-speed functional tests on the same SOC test platform. The expanded EXA3000 analog options with the 4.8Gsps AWG (American Wiring Gauge) A U.S. measurement standard of the diameter of non-ferrous wire, which includes copper and aluminum. In general, the thicker the wire, the greater the current-carrying capacity and the longer the distance it can span. (Arbitrary Waveform Generator An arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) is a piece of electronic test equipment used to generate electrical waveforms. These waveforms can be either repetitive or single-shot (once only) in which case some kind of triggering source is required (internal or external). ) and 10GHz Bandwidth GigaBit Sampler for combined source and measure enhancements offer outstanding efficiency in PRML tests as well as the speed, resolution, bandwidth and throughput to succeed on the production floor. "As the range of digital and analog functionality in SOCs expands, semiconductor companies need test platforms with the flexibility and scalability to meet varied and increasing performance standards," stated Doug Cutsforth, vice president, product marketing, NPTest. "With this suite of analog upgrades available for the EXA3000, we offer our customers unbeatable test capabilities at low cost for devices at the forefront of SOC performance." The analog options support a high mix of test functionality for devices in mass storage drives, chip set, graphics and datacom applications. The 4.8 Gsps AWG option for PRML tests is flexibly configurable to provide a 1x differential channel @ 4.8Gsps, 2x channels @ 2.4Gsps, or 4x Channels @ 1.2Gsps. The upgrade enhances performance to 8 bits with 1.9GHz bandwidth. The Gigabit Sampler option extends sampling capability for hard disk drives, DVI (1) (Digital Video Interactive) An earlier compression technique that provided up to 72 minutes of full-screen video on a CD-ROM. Acquired by Intel in 1988 from RCA's Sarnoff Research labs, Princeton, NJ, DVI never caught on. (TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) A transmission method for sending digital information from a personal computer, set-top box or other video source to a flat panel display. Developed by Silicon Image, Sunnyvale, CA (www.siliconimage. ), USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. 2.0 and 3G/10G-SERDES tests to 10GHz bandwidth with 50Msps at 12-bit resolution. With an extremely low noise floor, the Gigabit Sampler has 40dB SNR See signal-to-noise ratio. SNR - signal-to-noise ratio for a 400MHz signal. These analog capabilities combine to provide outstanding source and measure functionality. About EXA3000 The EXA3000 semiconductor test system leads the industry in speed and accuracy, providing +/-50ps edge-placement accuracy, up to 3.2Gbps data rates, true differential pin electronics, an integrated source synchronous timing solutions, configuration flexibility and a -120dBc analog noise floor that results in the highest device output and yields on the most demanding devices. With full configuration flexibility on both digital and analog test resources, the EXA3000 system is designed to test a wide range of SOC, next generation digital bus interfaces - HyperTransport(TM), InfiniBand(TM), RapidIO(TM), DDR (Double Data Rate) Refers to an SDRAM memory chip that increases performance by doubling the effective data rate of the frontside bus. For more details, see SDRAM. DDR - Double Data Rate Random Access Memory and high-speed datacom devices. Its easy-to-configure architecture and over 100 mixed signal test options make it an ideal candidate for test houses and contract manufacturers. About NPTest, Inc. NPTest Inc. is a leading provider of advanced test and diagnostic systems and product-related engineering services to the semiconductor industry. NPTest customers include semiconductor manufacturers, fabless companies, foundries and assembly contractors worldwide. Additional information is available at www.nptest.com. HyperTransport is a trademark of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium. InfiniBand and RapidIO are marks of their respective owners. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion