Design engineers and test engineers should use this guide when creating and converting the VCD’s (Value Change Dump) to functional ATE (Automated Test Equipment) patterns for IC devices.
The conversion process is one of the most critical steps for test program development because of its potential impact to schedule as well as costly ATE test time usage. If VCD’s are not created and converted properly, ATE debug time will increase exponentially due to re-simulation, re-conversion, and more ATE debug activities. This iterative debug loop can be avoided by early preparation and following the guidelines.
These guidelines will help you:
- Understand how VCD”s, DUT’s, and ATE’s work together in the real world.
- Know what simulation shortcuts should be avoided in order to create a smooth conversion process from the simulation environment to the real world ATE environment.
- Minimize human involvement in the conversion process, thus reducing potential for human error.
- Use the conversion process to automate by utilizing features such as batch mode processing of numerous VCD’s at once.