The yield of test outsourcing

Summary form only given. Many ways to outsource test activities has been explored recently. Often subcontractors have been employed to design portion of devices or entire circuits. Often it is also discovered that transferring DFT and test methodologies outside the originating company is critical. The efficiency of test development, and also the quality of product test can be affected. Reaching the target coverage is not the only problem. Defining how to exchange test data and the handoff step in the flow is another crucial issue. Similar problems arise also when outsourcing concerns the ATE test program development. In such cases the risk is loosing the possibility to gain important expertise and skills, for example, concerning critical technology-dependant features of the device. In conclusion, the major concerns are for the diagnostic capabilities that test and DFT should provide. In this perspective, the impact of test outsourcing could really be significant, especially on the test-manufacturing environment, and on the effectiveness of the test data coming from it.