Frost & Sullivan and ASSET InterTech analysis on Embedded Instrumentation.

1. Embedded Instrumentation: Critical to
Validation and Test in the Electronics
Industry
Sujan Sami, Industry Manager
Test & Measurement
March 10, 2010

2. Focus Points
1. Introduction – Traditional vs. Virtual vs. Embedded Instrumentation
2. Validation, Inspection and Test Technologies
3. Existing Technical Discontinuities
4. Embedded Instrumentation – Solving Validation, Test and Debug Problems
5. Market Trends and Analysis
6. Conclusion
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3. Introduction – Traditional vs. Virtual vs. Embedded Instrumentation
Embedded
Application
Software
Embedded
Software
Hardware
Traditional
Traditional instruments – comprised of pre-defined hardware components.
Virtual instrumentation – use of customizable software and modular instrumentation hardware.
Embedded instrumentation - a concept of entrenching and enhancing the capabilities of
traditional external test equipment as an additional resource on the chip and/or on dedicated
instrumentation chips on a circuit board.
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4. Validation, Inspection and Test Technologies
Oscilloscopes
In-circuit Testers (ICTs)
In-circuit Testers (ICTs)
Validation
Logic analyzers
Manufacturing Defect
Analyzers (MDA)
BERTs
Validation, Inspection Flying Probe Testers
& Test Flying Probe Testers
Test Technologies Boundary Scan Testers
Boundary Scan Testers
Functional Testers
Inspectio
Inspection Functional Testers
n
Automated optical inspection/
Automated X-ray inspection
(AOI/AXI) systems
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5. Existing Technical Discontinuities
Lack of test
Lack of test
access for PCB
Primary Challenges
Primary Challenges
access for PCB catering to circuit
structural
structural catering to circuit
testing boards
boards
testing
Lack of test
Lack of test
access for
access for
signal integrity
signal integrity
testing
testing
The migration to
The migration to
chip interconnects
chip interconnects
speeds in excess
speeds in excess Accessibility
of 5 Gbps Accessibility
of 5 Gbps
The need for
The need for
protocol-aware
protocol-aware
high-speed I/O
high-speed I/O Complexity
test Complexity
test
Limited
Limited
capacity of
capacity of
testers
testers Cost
Cost
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6. Embedded Instrumentation – Solving Validation, Test and Debug
Problems
Technology Roadmap
Embedded
Instrumentation
Present and Future
LXI
2005
PXI
1998
VXI
1993
Digital Oscilloscope
1971
Embedded
Instrumentation
Analog Oscilloscope
1950s
• Embedded instruments are IP inserted within chips to perform specific validation, test and
debug functions.
• Some of the test technologies that utilize embedded instrumentation include boundary scan
test, processor-controlled test, I/O instrumentation test and core instrumentation test.
• Examples of this embedded instrumentation include Intel®’s Interconnect Built-In Self Test
(IBIST) for QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) and PCIe BERT/margining, and PLX Technology’s
visionPAK™ PCIe packet generator/analyzer toolkit.
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7. Market Trends and Analysis
Trend Analysis
...From ...To
Instruments:
Traditional Instruments Embedded
• Collect and analyze data.
• Software based T&M
Hardware Cost Software instruments.
• Boundary scan testing.
GPIB Standard IEEE IJTAG
Standard:
Cost: • According to Moore’s law, the number of
• Cost-effective, agile and flexible. transistors on chips will double every two
• Easy to use interface. years.
• Modular Instrumentation – software used to • IJTAG Family of Standards: IEEE 1149.1,
replace prescribed hardware functionality. IEEE P1687, IEEE 1500, IEEE 1149.6,
IEEE 1149.7.
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8. Conclusion
Future of Testing
Standard Busses Speed (Gbps or GT/s) Initial Adoption
PCI Express III 8.0 2010
Serial ATA III 6.0 2009
USB 3.0 4.8 2008
Traditional Pre
Instruments 1980 XAUI 3.125 2005
Intel QPI 6.4 2008
HDMI 1.3 10.2 2006
Opportunities
Opportunities
in the ATE 1980s
in the ATE Virtual Instruments
testing
testing
industry
industry
CAPEX in downward-trend market
2010
Embedded Instruments and Access to chips critical
beyond
Development in standards and better price-to-
performance ratio
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9. “Turning Test &
Measurement
Inside Out”
March 10, 2010
Glenn Woppman
ASSET President and CEO
“2008 EDN Innovator of the Year Finalist &
“2008 EDN Innovator of the Year Finalist &
2009 EDN Innovation of the Year Finalist”
2009 EDN Innovation of the Year Finalist”
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 9

10. ASSET InterTech - origin
Spin-off of Texas Instruments in 1995
Boundary Scan Test Market leader*
Leading the efforts to establish the Embedded
Instrumentation market segment
Company Characteristics
Standards oriented
Software focused
Global
* Frost & Sullivan report for 2007 (about 30% market share)
plus Agilent & Intel endorsements
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 10

11. ASSET InterTech management
Tim Dehne, “father” of NI’s LabVIEW and
Virtual Instrumentation, joined our board of
directors in June 2009
Over a career stretching more
than 21 years at NI, Tim Dehne
led global marketing, and
research and development
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 11

12. What is our T&M strategy?
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 12

13. What is Embedded Instrumentation?
Any logic structure within a device with a
purpose of:
Design-for-Test (DFT)
Design-for-Debug (DFD)
Design-for-Yield (DFY)
Test or Functional items.
(extract from IEEE P1687 documentation)
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 13

14. Diminishing test probe access
Multi-layered boards with internal-only traces
BGAs and other integrated packages with
inaccessible nodes, SoC, SiP, etc.
ICT/MDA
Accessibility
Servers Desktops Mobile Ultra-mobile
Presented by Intel at Test Tech Forum 2008
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 14

15. Degradation of high-speed signals
Intrusive, probe-based systems are not able to
measure high-speed signals without disrupting
their integrity
“You probe it...... you break it”
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 15

16. Stacked die – no probe access
Through-Silicon Vias Bond Wire
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 16

17. Embedded Instrumentation:
Validation of this Technology Trend
“Software Solutions to Hardware Problems”
Transition of external hardware to chip IP + software
• µP emulation
• Structural Test for
printed circuit boards
• Instrumentation for
Validation
• Structural & Functional
Test & Debug for ICs
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 17

18. Embedded Instrumentation:
Re-Use at Each Level of Integration
Any Design Validation, Test or Debug IP
embedded in a core that can be used by
design, test and manufacturing engineers is an
embedded instrument
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 18

19. Significant Product-Life Cycle Savings
Re-Use Saves Time and Money…but there’s more
Semiconductor PCB
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 19

20. ASSET Market Opportunity and Strategy
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 20

21. Intel® IBIST (Interconnect Built-In Self Test)
• An embedded instrument
which enables high-speed
I/O testing
• Bit Error Rate (BER) testing,
as well as margining (eye
diagrams)
• Resident in Intel® next-
generation chips and
chipsets
• Validates and tests QPI,
PCIe, SMI and DDR3 high-
speed buses
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 21

22. IEEE P1687 (IJTAG) based solutions
• PLX visionPAK™ is an embedded
instrument PCIe pattern
generator/analyzer
• New generation of PCIe Gen 3 switch
silicon incorporates tools for receiver
eye capture; pattern generation; fault
injection; and packet performance
monitoring.
• Used by PLX to validate its own
products, and by its customers to
check signal integrity and
manufacturing quality of their board
designs.
• Gen 3 devices will run under ASSET
ScanWorks®
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 22

23. Non-intrusive Board Test (NBT)
• Intel® Greencity Customer
Reference Board
• Convergence of Boundary
Scan Test, Processor-
Controlled Test, and Intel®
IBIST
• Combination of three
embedded instrumentation-
based technologies offers
unmatched levels of test
coverage and cost
reduction.
See the case study at http://tinyurl.com/scanworks-greencity
See the case study at http://tinyurl.com/scanworks-greencity
© 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 23

24. © 2010, ASSET InterTech, Inc. 24

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28. For Additional Information
Sujan Sami Kiran Unni
Industry Manager Research Manager
Test & Measurement Measurement & Instrumentation
+91 – 44 – 42044640 (210) 247 2495
ssami@frost.com kiranunni@frost.com
Sarah Saatzer
Corporate Communications
Measurement & Instrumentation
(210) 477-8427
sarah.saatzer@frost.com
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