Noncontact testing of circuits via a laser-induced plasma electrical pathway

Author

Millard, Don L. ; Umstadter, Karl R. ; Block, Robert C.

Author_Institution

Rensselaer Polytech. Inst., Troy, NY, USA

Volume

9

Issue

1

fYear

1992

fDate

3/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

55

Lastpage

63

Abstract

Systems using the three most popular probes applied to functional electrical testing, mechanical, electron beam, and laser, are reviewed. A system of noncontact testing that uses a laser-induced plasma ´switch´ to provide the electrical pathway for AD and DC measurements on printed wiring boards is presented. With this technique, a DC resistance discrimination of less than 10 Omega and distortion-free AC measurements of a 2.5-MHz oscillator signal were achieved. These results are presented and evaluated.<>

Keywords

electron beam applications; laser beam applications; plasma applications; printed circuit testing; 2.5 MHz; AC measurements; DC measurements; DC resistance discrimination; electron beam; functional electrical testing; laser; laser-induced plasma electrical pathway; mechanical; noncontact testing of circuits; oscillator signal; printed wiring boards; probes; Circuit testing; Distortion measurement; Electric variables measurement; Electrical resistance measurement; Electron beams; Laser noise; Plasma measurements; Probes; Switches; System testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Design & Test of Computers, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0740-7475

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/54.124517

Filename

124517