Patent EP0566823A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0566823A2
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EP
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Tester calibration procedure which includes fixturing
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1993-01-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2013-01-19
Abstract
Abstract A system and method for calibrating testers 200. A reference timing signal 213 and an internal timing signal 215 used in tester 200 calibration are generated within a tester 200. A first calibration is performed wherein test module channel characteristics are measured and recorded, and an adjustment value is determined to correct the time placement of the internal timing signal 215. Driver 222 and receiver 223 delays are adjusted based on the characteristics measured in this first calibration, and the internal timing signal 215 is adjusted as well. A second calibration is performed wherein temporal relationships between the adjusted internal timing signal 215 and signals at the test module channel mint pins 112 are determined. Driver 222 and receiver 223 delays are adjusted based on the results of this calibration. An optional calibration is performed wherein temporal relationship between the adjusted internal timing signal 215 and signals at the board-interface end of a test fixture 106 are measured. Using these measurements and the measurements obtained in the second calibration, a test fixture 106 characterization is performed and recorded. Delays of the drivers 222 and receivers 223 are again adjusted to account for the fixture characteristics. Additional calibration methods provided by the present invention include a manual multi-module calibration to keep test module channels aligned when a new module is designated as the master module, and a manual synchronization-to-clock calibration to deskew drivers 222 and receivers 223 relative to an external clock supplied by the device under test.
Inventors
- 👤 Walter L. Gregory, Jr.
- 👤 Jay M. Stepleton
- 👤 Davis M. Glasgow
- 👤 Kay C. Lannen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 20:29
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R31/00; G01R31/28; G01R31/317; G01R31/3181; G01R31/319; G01R31/31903; G01R31/31905; G01R31/31908; G01R31/3191; G01R35/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
A system for calibrating testers 200 comprising: (a) a signal generator 214 for generating an internal timing signal 215; (b) a plurality of test-module channels connected to said signal generator 214 for interfacing to a device under test 110; (c) a test probe 217 for receiving test signals at various locations; (d) a time measurement device 216 connected to said signal generator for measuring the time difference between edges of a signal 215 generated by said signal generator 214 and edges of a test signal received by said test probe 217; and (e) a probe interface channel connected to said test probe 217 and to said time measurement device 216 for receiving test signals from said test probe 217.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 1, further comprising a second signal generator 212 connected to said first signal generator 214 for generating a reference timing signal 213 at one output port 218 of said test module;
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
78 words
The system of claim 2 wherein: (a) said test interface channels comprise drivers 222 for sending signals to the device under test 110, receivers 223 for receiving signals from the device under test 110, and independent delay means 224 for adjusting the timing of said signals sent and received by said drivers 222 and receivers 223, respectively; and (b) said first signal generator 214 is of the phase-locked loop type, capable of being adjusted by an input signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system of claim 2 wherein, (a) said probe interface channel comprises a receiver 232 for receiving test signals 221 from a test probe 217 and a format chip 234 for adjusting the timing of said test signals 221;
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 1 or 2 further comprising a user interface for prompting users.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 1 or 2 further comprising a storage device for storing values determined by said test modules, said storage device connected to said test modules.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of calibrating a tester 200 comprising the steps of: (a) characterizing at least one of a plurality of test-module channels using a time-target signal and using an internal timing signal 215; (b) determining individual time values necessary to synchronize at least one of a plurality of test-module channels, the determination based on the characterization done in step (a), and based on the temporal relationship between the internal timing signal 215 and signals at test-module-channel mint pins 112; (c) adjusting the test-module channels based on the determinations made in step (b); and (d) recording the results obtained in step (b).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
74 words
The method of claim 7 wherein step (a) further comprises the step of: (e) performing a reference calibration to obtain a target time value measurement based on the temporal relationship between a signal representing a reference signal from the device under test 110 and said internal timing signal 215; and wherein step (c) comprises the step of adjusting the amount of delay introduced in the test-module channels by adjusting the independent delay means 224.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of: (f) characterizing test-module channels and said internal timing signal 215 based on time interval measurements; (g) adjusting test-module channel timing and internal timing signal 215 temporal position based on the characterization of step (e); and (h) recording the characterization results obtained in step (e).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
82 words
The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of calibrating a test fixture 106 comprising the steps of: (e) characterizing the time delays through at least one of a plurality of fixture paths by measuring the temporal relationships between the internal timing signal 215 and a signal representing the internal timing signal at the fixture nails 114; (f) adjusting the test module channels based on the characterization of step (e). (g) recording the values measured in step (e) in a table.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
63 words
A method for calibrating a tester 200 through the fixture 106 comprising the steps of: (a) characterizing at least one of a plurality of test-module channels using an internal timing signal 215 and signals received by a test probe 217; (b) further adjusting the test-module channels based on the characterization of step (a); and (c) recording the characterization results obtained in step (a).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
111 words
The method of claim 11, wherein step (a) further comprises the steps of: (d) performing a reference calibration to obtain target time values based on the temporal relationship between a signal representing a reference signal from a device under test and the internal timing signal 215; and (e) determining individual time values necessary to synchronize at least one of said plurality of test-module channels, the determination based on the temporal relationship between the internal timing signal 215 and signals at the test-module-channel fixture nails 114; and and wherein step (b) comprises the step of adjusting the amount of delay introduced in the test-module channels by adjusting the independent delay means 224.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
251 words
A method for calibrating a tester 200 configured with multiple test modules, one of which is configured as a probe module, comprising the steps of: (a) configuring each module as a master module and measuring the temporal relationships between the internal timing signal 215 and a signal at mint pins 112 of a test-module channel on each test module; (b) measuring the temporal relationship between a test-module channel of a test module that is not the probe module and the internal timing signal 215 on the probe module; (c) if the tester 200 is configured with more than two test modules, measuring the temporal relationship between the internal timing signal 215 on the probe module and a timing signal at a mint pin 112 of a test-module channel of a test module that is not the probe module and that is not the module tested in step (a); (d) if the tester 200 is configured with more than three test modules, measuring the temporal relationship between the internal timing signal of the probe module and a signal at a mint pin 112 of a test-module channel of a test module that is not the probe module and that is not the module tested in step (a) and that is not the module in step (b); and (e) adjusting the measurements for each configuration where a test-module channel of a test module configured as a master module was measured, and adjusting an internal reference signal 215 time value for the slave modules.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of storing the internal reference signal 215 time adjustment values in a table.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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