Automatic test equipment performs complex tests on electronic devices in a production environment. It uses various techniques, including functional circuit testing and X-ray inspection. Robotic handling systems position parts correctly for testing, and a sorter moves them to containers based on test results.
The automatic test equipment performs complex tests on circuit boards, integrated circuits and other electronic devices. Testing usually takes place in a production environment where automated and high-speed testing is important. Automated test equipment can use a variety of techniques, including functional circuit testing, optical examination, and X-ray inspection. It is often used by semiconductor manufacturers to test microprocessors, memory chips, and analog integrated circuits. Automated test equipment is also used by electronics manufacturers to verify that circuit boards, avionics systems, and electronic components are functioning properly.
An automatic test fixture can be quite simple, just taking a few voltage and current measurements on the part under test. Other systems are very complex, performing dozens of functional and parametric tests with a variety of test tools. Some may vary even the physical environment of the part being tested. For example, a device may be tested inside a chamber subject to extreme heat or cold under computer control. Depending on the nature of the device, testing may also involve exposure to a range of lights, sounds or pressure.
Printed circuit boards assembled with their parts already soldered can be tested with a variety of automatic test equipment. Some systems use optical inspection units that scan each board for solder problems, including bridges, shorts, and poor quality joints. These systems use high-resolution mobile cameras and are usually able to detect misplaced and missing components as well. Test systems can also use three-dimensional x-ray inspection to uncover problems that aren’t visible with standard optical inspection. For example, X-ray systems can “see” into the solder joints underneath Ball Grid Array ICs and flip chips.
Many types of automatic test equipment include robotic handling systems that get and position each part to be tested correctly. Depending on the type of device under test, an employee may rotate or reposition each device multiple times before all tests are complete. Silicon wafers in particular contain many individual semiconductor devices to test. Test equipment moves a robotic unit called a probe along the wafer from one device to another during testing. It can also rotate or realign the wafer if needed.
Once a physical device, circuit board or wafer has been fully tested, a robotic sorter can move it from the test station to one of several containers. There are usually multiple bins so that problem devices can be sorted by which tests they failed. Some automatic test equipment environments include different test equipment at each of several stations. The devices under test can be moved from station to station by human operators or robotic manipulators, as appropriate.
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