US6570397B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Timing calibration and timing calibration verification of electronic circuit testers
Assignee: Advantest Singapore Pte Ltd
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Filing: 2001-08-07
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Granted: 2003-05-27
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Expires: 2021-08-07
Abstract
Abstract Systems and methods for calibrating the timing of electronic circuit testers and verifying the timing calibration of electronic circuit testers are described. In some embodiments, a calibration reference signal is transmitted from the test head directly through the load board interface, rather than through external instruments, so that timing errors associated with external wires and cables may be avoided. The timing calibration and timing calibration verification functionality is provided on a single calibration board, thereby reducing the calibration set-up time relative to conventional robot-based calibrators. In addition, a high pin count electronic circuit testers may be calibrated by a calibration board that is configured to calibrate one subset of the test channels at a time. In some embodiments, test channels are connected directly to calibration board comparators to avoid the accumulated signal degradation and the signal path route errors that may result from transmitting tester channel signals through a mechanical relay selection matrix.
Inventors
- 👤 Romi Mayder
- 👤 Noriyuki Sugihara
- 👤 Andrew Tse
- 👤 Randy L. Bailey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 14:05
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R31/00; G01R31/28; G01R31/317; G01R31/3181; G01R31/319; G01R31/31903; G01R31/31908; G01R31/3191; G01R31/3193; G01R31/31937; G01R35/00; G01R35/005
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
120 words
A system for calibrating an electronic circuit tester, comprising: a substrate mountable on a test head of an electronic circuit tester, the test head having a plurality of test connectors terminating substantially in a plane; a connector interface disposed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of test connector contact pads exposed for electrical contact with the test connectors; and a calibration circuit supported by the substrate, electrically connected to the connector interface, and operable to connect test connectors to a source of a calibration reference signal and to one or more selected test connectors in accordance with protocols for calibrating the electronic circuit tester to the plane of the test connectors and verifying calibration of the electronic circuit tester.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
120 words
A system for calibrating an electronic circuit tester, comprising: a substrate mountable on a test head of an electronic circuit tester, the test head having a plurality of test connectors terminating substantially in a plane; a connector interface disposed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of test connector contact pads exposed for electrical contact with the test connectors; and a calibration circuit supported by the substrate, electrically connected to the connector interface, and operable to connect test connectors to a source of a calibration reference signal and to one or more selected test connectors in accordance with protocols for calibrating the electronic circuit tester to the plane of the test connectors and verifying calibration of the electronic circuit tester.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the connector interface comprises one or more calibration reference signal contact pads exposed for electrical contact with one or more test connectors electrically coupled to a source of a calibration reference signal synchronized with a clock generator of the electronic circuit tester.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 2 , wherein the connector interface comprises a plurality of symmetrical test channel sites distributed over an exposed surface of the substrate, each test channel site comprising a plurality of contact pads exposed for electrical contact with respective test connectors of the test head.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 3 , wherein the connector interface further comprises one or more reference sites each comprising one or more calibration reference signal contact pads.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 4 , wherein the connector interface comprises multiple symmetrical sectors each comprising a reference site and multiple test channel sites.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system of claim 5 , wherein the calibration circuit is configured to calibrate and verify calibration of a subset of test channels corresponding to test connectors electrically coupled to a single sector of connector interface at a time.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 6 , wherein the substrate is mountable on the test head at different rotational positions to enable timing calibration and timing calibration verification of different subsets of the electronic circuit tester channels.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the calibration circuit comprises a switching network supported by the substrate, electrically coupled to the connector interface, and operable to route signals to test connectors.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
51 words
The system of claim 8 , wherein the calibration circuit further comprises a controller electrically coupled to the connector interface and the switching network, and configured to control the operation of the switching network based upon control signals received from one or more test connectors electrically coupled to the connector interface.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 8 , wherein the switching network comprises one or more mechanical relay selection matrices.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising an input/output interface supported by the substrate, electrically coupled to the calibration circuit, and configured to transmit signals between the calibration circuit and external test and measurement instruments.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
176 words
A system for calibrating an electronic circuit tester, comprising: a substrate mountable on a test head of an electronic circuit tester, the test head having a plurality of test channel connectors coupled to test channels of the electronic circuit tester and one or more calibration reference signal connectors coupled to a source of a calibration reference signal synchronized with a clock generator of the electronic circuit tester, the test channel connectors and the one or more calibration reference signal connectors terminating substantially in a plane; a connector interface disposed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of test channel contact pads exposed for electrical contact with the test channel connectors, and one or more calibration reference signal pads exposed for electrical contact with the calibration reference signal connectors; and a calibration circuit supported by the substrate, electrically connected to the connector interface, and operable to connect test channel connectors to one or more calibration reference signal connectors in accordance with a protocol for calibrating the electronic circuit tester to the plane of the test head connectors.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
176 words
A system for calibrating an electronic circuit tester, comprising: a substrate mountable on a test head of an electronic circuit tester, the test head having a plurality of test channel connectors coupled to test channels of the electronic circuit tester and one or more calibration reference signal connectors coupled to a source of a calibration reference signal synchronized with a clock generator of the electronic circuit tester, the test channel connectors and the one or more calibration reference signal connectors terminating substantially in a plane; a connector interface disposed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of test channel contact pads exposed for electrical contact with the test channel connectors, and one or more calibration reference signal pads exposed for electrical contact with the calibration reference signal connectors; and a calibration circuit supported by the substrate, electrically connected to the connector interface, and operable to connect test channel connectors to one or more calibration reference signal connectors in accordance with a protocol for calibrating the electronic circuit tester to the plane of the test head connectors.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system of claim 12 , wherein the calibration circuit is further operable to connect test channel connectors to one or more selected test channel connectors in accordance with a protocol for verifying calibration of the electronic circuit tester.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 12 , wherein the calibration circuit comprises a plurality of comparators each connected directly to a respective contact pad of the connector interface.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
59 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the calibration circuit further comprises a strobing circuit configured to provide an indication of test channel timing error with respect to the calibration reference signal, and a selector circuit coupled between each of the comparators and the strobing circuit and configured to route signals sequentially from the comparators to the strobing circuit.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
93 words
A system for calibrating an electronic circuit tester, comprising: a substrate mountable on a test head of an electronic circuit tester, the test head having a plurality of test connectors terminating substantially in a plane; a connector interface disposed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of test connector contact pads exposed for electrical contact with the test connectors; and a calibration circuit supported by the substrate, electrically connected to the connector interface, and comprising a plurality of comparators each connected directly to a respective test connector contact pad of the connector interface.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
93 words
A system for calibrating an electronic circuit tester, comprising: a substrate mountable on a test head of an electronic circuit tester, the test head having a plurality of test connectors terminating substantially in a plane; a connector interface disposed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of test connector contact pads exposed for electrical contact with the test connectors; and a calibration circuit supported by the substrate, electrically connected to the connector interface, and comprising a plurality of comparators each connected directly to a respective test connector contact pad of the connector interface.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
59 words
The system of claim 16 , wherein the calibration circuit further comprises a strobing circuit configured to provide an indication of test channel timing error with respect to a calibration reference signal, and a selector circuit coupled between each of the comparators and the strobing circuit and operable to route signals sequentially from the comparators to the strobing circuit.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 16 , wherein the calibration circuit is implemented as an integrated circuit.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
84 words
An electronic circuit tester system, comprising: a clock generator; a calibration reference signal generator configured to generate a calibration reference signal synchronized with the test channel clock generator; and a test head defining a plurality of test channels and having a plurality of test channel connectors coupled to the test channels and one or more calibration reference signal connectors coupled to the calibration reference signal generator, the test channel connectors and the one or more calibration reference signal connectors terminating substantially in a plane.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
84 words
An electronic circuit tester system, comprising: a clock generator; a calibration reference signal generator configured to generate a calibration reference signal synchronized with the test channel clock generator; and a test head defining a plurality of test channels and having a plurality of test channel connectors coupled to the test channels and one or more calibration reference signal connectors coupled to the calibration reference signal generator, the test channel connectors and the one or more calibration reference signal connectors terminating substantially in a plane.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 19 , wherein the clock generator and the calibration reference signal generator are disposed on a common printed circuit board within the test head of the electronic circuit tester system.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-05-26 | 2006-11-25 | 2007-05-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-05-26 | 2010-11-25 | 2011-05-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-05-26 | 2014-11-25 | 2015-05-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |