ATE is the abbreviation of automated test equipment. It is a device for testing devices, boards and subsystems through computer control. Automate the test sequence by replacing manual labor with computer programming.
    ATE began in Fairchild in the early 1960s. Fairchild produced gate devices (such as 14-pin dual in-line NAND gate ICs) and simple analog integrated circuit devices (such as 6-pin dual in-line operational amplifiers). At that time, it was a big problem for mass production testing of devices. Fairchild has developed computer-controlled test equipment such as the 5000C for simple analog device testing and the Sentry 200 for simple gate device testing. Both machines are controlled by the computer FST2 developed by Fairchild. FST2 is a simple 24-bit, 10MHz computer.
In the early 1970s, device development transitioned from small-scale integrated circuits to medium-sized integrated circuits, and from large-scale integrated circuits to very large-scale integrated circuits in the early 1980s. For device manufacturers, computer-controlled test systems have become the primary test equipment. Fairchild developed the Sentry 400, Sentry 600, Sentry 7, and Sentry 8 test systems for digital device testing. In the mid-1980s, gate array devices were successfully developed, requiring 256 pins for testing and speeds above 40 MHz.
    In response to this demand, Fairchild tried to develop Sentry 50, but failed. Fairchild sold its ATE division to Schlumberger and became Schlumberger Test Systems. After Fairchild sold the test system to Schlumberger, many experts left Fairchild to join Genrad to form Genrad West Coast Systems. The GR16 and GR18 digital test systems were born here. These new test systems have independent test resources for each pin and have up to 144 pins. Soon these engineers left Ganrad to set up the Trillium test system and sold it to LTX. These engineers then left LTX, some of them joined Credence, and others joined other ATE companies.
    During the same period, Teradyne's automated test equipment dominated analog and memory testing. In the early 1990s, Intel developed a high-speed, high-capacity single-chip processor unit (MPU), followed by a high-speed high-profile ATE. The emergence of multimedia devices has made ATE more complex, requiring the ability to test both digital, analog, and memory circuits. SoC test systems have emerged.
    The device speed has reached 1.6GHz and the number of pins is 1024. All circuits are integrated into a single chip. So there is a need for true system-on-chip testing. ATE can consist of a set of channels with a certain memory depth, a series of timing generators and multiple power supplies. These resources are the chip pins that are energized by the load board to the chip socket.
Zhuo Nengda ATE is just following the footsteps of its predecessors and developing its own path to develop step by step. Realized our own branded ATE system.
ATE can be divided into the following types:
1. Digital Test System - A shared resource test system with a test system with independent test resources for each pin. Used to characterize the logic functions of test ICs.
2. Linear Device Test System - A test system used to test linear integrated circuits.
3. Analog Test System - Used to characterize the analog functions of the test IC. Such as Colliden's ASL series.
4. Memory Test System - DRAM Test System, Flash Test System. These types of automated test equipment are used to verify memory chips. Such as Colliden's Personal Kalos and Kalos series, Agilent's Versatest series, Advantest's T5593.
5. Board Test System - Board test is used to test a whole printed circuit board, not for a single integrated circuit. Such as Teradyne's 1800.
6. Mixed Signal Test System - This type of system resource is used to test the analog and digital functions of an integrated circuit. Such as Colliden's Quartet series.
7. RF test system - used to test the test of radio frequency integrated circuits. Such as Colliden's ASL 3000RF and SZ-Falcon.
8. SOC test system - usually an expensive mixed-signal integrated circuit test system for testing very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) chips; and this very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) chip is more integrated than traditional mixed signals The chip is much higher. Such as Colliden's Octet series, Agilent's 93000 series, Advantest's T6673.
ATE development is from simple devices, low pin count, low speed test system (10 MHz, 64 pins) to medium number of pins, medium speed test system (40 MHz, 256 pins) to high pin count, high speed (over 100 MHz , 1024 pins) and eventually transition to the current SoC test system (1024 pins, over 400MHz, with analog, memory test capabilities).
Future test systems will test at speeds in excess of 1.6 GHz with timing accuracy in the hundreds of nanoseconds and integrate digital, analog, memory and RF test capabilities into a single test system.
     The cost of such a test system will be very high, so one or more test benches will be required for parallel device testing. In order to reduce the cost of testing, a self-test circuit will be added to the chip. At the same time, based on the consideration of reducing the cost of the test system, the modular test system will replace the general test system.