Electronic circuit testing methods and apparatus

US6195772A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Altera Corporation · US

Inventors

• Bruce F. Mielke · Los Altos Hills, US
• Matthew C. Hendricks · Palo Alto, US
• Howard Marshall · Leek Wootton, GB
• Richard E. Swan · East Bridgewater, US
• Lee R. Althouse · Santa Clara, US
• Ken Ito · Musashino, JP

Key dates

• Filing date: May 2, 1997
• Grant date: Feb 27, 2001
• Expiry date: May 2, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R31/2834
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An electronic circuit tester (e.g., for testing integrated circuit wafers or packaged integrated circuits) is provided. The tester is preferably based on a relatively inexpensive computer system such as a personal computer and includes at least one high-precision clock circuit that is programmable with respect to frequency and number of clock pulses. The high-precision clock circuit is connectable to the circuit being tested to permit certain timing-critical tests to be performed, even though a large number of other data channels in the tester are controlled by a relatively low speed clock circuit. The tester also includes analog circuitry that can be programmed to provide various analog signals suitable for performing parametric testing on an electronic device under test.