Migration of PXI Instruments into

Semiconductor Test

Eric StarkloffNational Instruments

Agenda

PXI technical overview

Emerging trends in semiconductor ATE

Application examples

PXI – CompactPCI eXtensions for Instrumentation

Peripheral Slots

Chassis/BackplanePXI controller•OS Technology•ADEs

What is PXI?

High performance bus•Up to 6 GB/s system bandwidth

Integrated timing and synchronization

Standard software model

Multivendor industry standard• 1500 products from >70 vendors

Industry Acceptance of PXI

Num

ber o

f Sys

tem

s Pe

r Yea

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0200400600800

1000120014001600

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

Available PXI Products

More than 1,500 PXI Products from 70 vendors

Source: PXI Systems Alliance

25% CAGR forecast for 2005 – 2012

Source: World VXI & PXI Test Equipment Markets, Frost & Sullivan, April 2005

Recent Advancements in PXI

PXI has added PCI Express capability to

existing PXI specifications

Technical Capabilities:• Extends PXI bandwidth to 2 GB/s per slot• Enhanced timing and synchronization• Backwards compatible in hardware and

software

Example PXI-based Testers

Augmenting existing ATE:• For example, PXI analog digitizers to augment digital

pins in existing tester

PXI measurement core:• For example, sensor test system requiring mechanical

stimulation and performance analog

STC PTIM (Portable Test Instrument Module):• Proposal being considered to make PXI the PTIM

standard• Working group meeting at June STC meeting

Impact of Increasing Complexity (SoC, SiP)

Lack of low level test access

Multiple technologies combined on single die

Higher software content (software defines

functionality)

Result: testing methodology migrating

towards system functional test

Integration from Chip to System

Photo courtesy of Verigy

Chip ATE System Functional Test

Chip SOC SIP Board System

Example FPGA-based tester for RFID

Source: Konrad Technologies GMBH

Summary

PXI has achieved mainstream success in system

functional test

PXI is being used today to augment ATE and for

applications unserved by traditional ATE

Complex devices such as SoC and SiP require

more “system-level” testing

FPGA-based capability can bridge the gap

between system functional test and structural ATE

Questions?