Do the emulation-based ATE advancements sufficiently address SOC and SIP semiconductor testing?
As semiconductor devices integrate more and more functionality onto a single device, test systems will have less access to individual signals and subcomponents. Increasingly, the test of these devices will be performed at a system functional level, similar to the trend we have already seen play out in board-level test. Emulation-based ATE refers to system-level testing of semiconductor chips, where the tester emulates the other components that the chip will interface to, testing it in its intended surroundings. This approach requires the stimulus-response approach of functional test,but with the speed and real-time response required for high-volume semiconductor manufacturing. Programmable FPGAs in the test equipment offer a potential platform for performing these tests and responding to the device in real time.
