ATE tools for electronic system test

Automatic test equipment (ATE), whilst providing sufficient hardware to create stimuli and measure system responses, is found lacking as a solution to the test problem. Present ATE systems provide a choice of in-circuit tests with problems of back-driving, lack of system test and fixture costs or functional test with high test program generation costs. Analogue testing historically has remained in the in-circuit arena with functional testing being purely go/nogo. Presently ATE is performing go/nogo testing and then diagnostics of simple production faults such as incorrect insertion, orientation, or component type. The difficult area of complex interactive faults which constitute a small percentage of total faults can be economically masked. If the ATE market is to survive it must provide automatic diagnostic facilities for detection of dynamic failures in digital, analogue and hybrid systems. This paper outlines the work of the Brighton Polytechnic research group. The aim is to create the ATPG (automatic test program generation) tools required to solve the test problem