Teradyne, Inc.

Tushar K Gohel

Pavel Gilenberg

Frank L Booth, Jr

Thomas D Jacobs

Pedro M Teixeira

Michael Francis McGoldrick

Lloyd K Frick

David Kaushansky

Richard P Davis

David Vandervalk

Casey A Hersey

John G Silletto

Xiaohan Hu

Brandon Thorpe

Jason L Welch

An example system includes a first circuit board having first conductive traces, where a first conductive trace is for conducting an alternating current (AC) digital signal having an edge; a second circuit board having second conductive traces, where a second conductive trace is within a predefined distance of the first conductive trace to produce a contactless coupling with the first conductive trace, and where the contactless coupling enables electrical energy on the first conductive trace to manifest on the second conductive trace as a transient response that is based on the edge; and circuitry to reconstruct the edge based on the transient response from the second conductive trace.

Communicating using contactless coupling

An example optical receiving device includes a photodiode to receive an optical signal, where the photodiode is configured to conduct a current that is based on an optical power of the optical signal, and a radio frequency (RF) gain circuitry to generate one or more analog electrical signals based on the current and based on gain provided by the RF gain circuitry. A power detector is configured to receive an analog electrical signal of the one or more analog electrical signals, to detect alternating current (AC) power of the optical signal based on the analog electrical signal, and to output a signal representing the AC power based on the detecting.

Optical receiving device

An example system includes non-transitory machine-readable storage storing calibration data sets. A calibration data set includes parameter values that vary non-linearly. Each of the calibration data sets is temperature-specific. The example system also includes channels over which signals pass to and from units under test (UUTs). A channel includes input circuitry to receive a signal of the signals and to obtain a first parameter based on the signal; and correction circuitry to obtain a second parameter based on the first parameter and based on the calibration data set. The second parameter includes a calibrated version of the first parameter. The calibration data set is selectable based on temperature.

Calibrating non-linear data

An example process for aligning channels in automatic test equipment (ATE) includes programming a first delay associated with receiving first data over a channel so that timing of the channel is aligned to timings of other channels in the ATE; programming a second delay associated with a driver driving second data over the channel based on receipt of an edge of the second data so that timing of the second data is aligned to the timing of the channel; and programming a third delay associated with a signal to enable the driver to drive the second data over the channel, with the third delay being programmed to align timing of the signal to the timing of the channel, and with the third delay being based on an edge that corresponds to an edge of the signal created by controlling operation of the driver.

Time-aligning communication channels

An example system includes capture circuitry to obtain first parametric data based on a first signal at an interface to a first communication channel, with the first parametric data representing non-informational content of the first signal; and control circuitry to receive the first parametric data and to provide second parametric data, the second parametric data being based on one or both of: the first parametric data or a programmatic input. The example system also includes interface circuitry to receive the second parametric data and to receive informational content data representing informational content, and to process the informational content data and the second parametric data to produce a second signal. The second signal has the informational content represented by the informational content data and having at least some non-informational content based on the second parametric data.

Parametric information control

Example pin electronics includes driver circuitry to output a first optical signal to a UUT. The first optical signal is based on a first signal representing first informational content and one or more second signal representing first parametric information. Receiver circuitry receives a second optical signal from the UUT. The second optical signal is related to a third signal representing second informational content and one or more fourth signal representing second parametric information. Comparison circuitry obtains parametric data representing at least one of the first parametric information or the second parametric information, and compares, based on the parametric data, the at least one of the first parametric information or the second parametric information to one or more thresholds. Control circuitry adjusts at least some of the first parametric information prior to output of the first optical signal, and one or more of the thresholds.

Optical pin electronics

An example system includes circuitry to receive an input signal, to provide a related signal based on informational content of the input signal, and to obtain parametric data associated with the input signal. The parametric data represents one or more signal characteristics other than the informational content. The example system also includes a first switch that is configurable to provide first data based on the related signal to one or more first channels of the system; and a second switch that is configurable to provide second data based on the parametric data to one or more second channels of the system.

Switch matrix system

An example system includes input circuitry configured to obtain first data corresponding to first signals on a communication channel, with the first data having a first frequency that is less than a predefined frequency; and sampling circuitry configured to sample the first data to produce second data having a second frequency that is greater than or equal to the predefined frequency. The example system also includes switching circuitry configured to support AC-coupled data having a frequency that is greater than or equal to the predefined frequency, with the switching circuitry being configured to receive the second data and to forward the second data; and output circuitry to receive the second data and parametric data representing non-information signal content, to produce third data based on the second data, and to produce, based on the third data and the parametric data, second signals for output from the system.

DC-coupled switching in an AC-coupled environment

A single ended to a differential signal converter. The single ended signal is passed through a high pass filter to block DC components. A positive and a negative version of the filtered signal are used collectively as the differential output of the converter. To allow accurate measurements on the input signal without waiting for the output of the high pass filter to settle, the differential outputs are offset by a dynamically generated signal representative of the midpoint of the filtered signal. That offset is generated by capturing a value representing the midpoint when a signal is first applied. This captured value is allowed to change with a time constant matching a time constant of the high pass filter. The converter may be used to connect a test instrument to a unit under test that generates test signals in a format that the test instrument is not specifically configured to measure.

Fast single-ended to differential converter

Techniques for obtaining a propagation delay through first and second transmission lines having substantially equal propagation delays may include: providing a first signal to the first transmission line; providing a second signal to the second transmission line; detecting an incident edge of the first signal on the first transmission line; detecting a reflected edge of the second signal on the second transmission line; and determining the propagation delay based on times of detection of the incident edge and detection of the reflected edge.

Determining propagation delay

An apparatus for use in testing a device includes a communication channel having a set of programmable parameters associated therewith. The programmable parameters result in a bias condition on the communication channel. A bias control circuit is used to affect the bias condition that results from the programmable parameters in order to emulate a desired bias condition.

Emulating behavior of a legacy test system

An interface for a bus test instrument is readily adaptable for testing a wide range of bus types. The interface includes a pair of transmit lines and a pair of receive lines. A transmitting circuit is adaptable for transmitting either single-ended or differential signals over the transmit lines, and at least one receiving circuit is adaptable for receiving either single-ended or differential signals from either the receive lines or the transmit lines. The flexible interface allows the testing of single-ended and differential busses, as well as busses that support both unidirectional and bidirectional communication.

Method for digital bus testing

Automatic test equipment including a digital test instrument that may test for and respond to over-voltage conditions. Information on over-voltage conditions may be used in detecting or diagnosing fault conditions within a system under test. Over-voltage conditions may be monitored as part of a test to determine the time and the channels on which they occur. A test may fail if an over-voltage condition is detected and the results of the test may indicate when and where the over-voltage condition occurred. Alternatively, indications of over-voltage conditions may be used to alter the test environment. In response to an over-voltage condition, units under test may be disconnected from the test environment to avoid exposing circuitry within those units to voltage levels that may damage or stress components. Alternatively, indications of an over-voltage condition may be used to disconnect from the test environment equipment that may be generating the over-voltage conditions. Over-voltage conditions are detected in a digital test instrument by additional comparators included in the channel electronic circuits of the test instrument.

Over-voltage test for automatic test equipment

Flexible interface for universal bus test instrument

A driver circuit suitable for use in automatic test equipment includes a driver input for receiving an input signal and a driver output for producing an output signal. The driver input is coupled to respective inputs of first and second amplifiers. The first amplifier has an output that can substantially source current only, and the second amplifier has an output that can substantially sink current only. The outputs of the first and second amplifiers are coupled to the driver output, for producing the driver output signal. The driver circuit further includes a disable circuit having an input for receiving a drive disable signal and at least one output coupled to the first and second amplifiers. The driver circuit is constructed and arranged so that the disable circuit drives the first amplifier low and the second amplifier high in response to an activation of the drive disable signal. These actions cut off output current and effectively tristate the driver circuit. In response to a deactivation of the drive disable signal, the first and second amplifiers are restored to their normal operating modes.

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Winchester, MA, United States of America

Tushar K Gohel