QT200 VWSUser Manual

QT200
The Ultimate Mixed Signal P C B In - C i r c u i t F u n c t i o n a l T e s t e r
Visual WorkStation
Users Manual
Qmax Test Equipments Ltd. #6,Elcot Avenue, Sholinganallur, Chennai-600 119 Phone: (91)-44-24509627 Fax:(91)-44-24509631 E-mail: qmax@md3.vsnl.net.in
Copyright 2003. Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd., India. All rights reserved September 2005, QT200 VWS Users Manual, Ver. 3.1
Due to continued product development this information may change without notice. The information and intellectual property contained herein is confidential between Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd and the client and remains the exclusive property of Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd. If you find any problems in the documentation, please report them to us in writing. Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd does not warrant that this document is error-free. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd. Microsoft Windows XP is either registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other product names or logos mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only, and are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Printed in-house at: Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd., E-mail: qmax@md3.vsnl.net.in URL: www.qmaxtest.com
Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd.

#6,Elcot Avenue, Sholinganallur, Chennai-600 119, Tamil Nadu India Telephone +91-44-24509627 Fax +91-44-24509631 www.qmaxtest.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 PCB Troubleshooting An Overview ............. 1
Chapter 2
Test Concepts & Techniques ...........................
11
Chapter 3
Functional Testing An Overview ..................
21
Chapter 4
In-Circuit Functional Testing ............................
31
Chapter 5
Out-Circuit Functional Testing .........................
43
Chapter 6
Board Learn Mode of Testing ...........................
47
Chapter 7
Board Test Mode of Testing .............................
65
Chapter 8
QSM-VI Concept & Interactive Testing ............
75
Chapter 9
QSM Board Learn Mode ....................................
89
Chapter 10
QSM Board Test Mode ......................................
103
Chapter 11
Oscilloscope for QT200 ....................................
113
Chapter 12
Multimeter Utility ...............................................
123
Chapter 13
Miscellaneous ....................................................
127
Revision History
Revision History
Date
March 2003
Version
3.0
Description
QT200 The Ultimate Mixed Signal PCB In-Circuit Functional Tester Visual WorkStation (VWS) Users Manual
Author
Qmax Technical Writer
September 2005
3.1
QT200 The Ultimate Mixed Signal PCB In-Circuit Functional Tester Visual WorkStation (VWS) Users Manual
Qmax Technical Writer
QT200 VWS Users Manual
II
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PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview
Chapter 1 PCB Troubleshooting An Overview

This Chapter covers the following topics Introduction to PCB Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Concepts Emerging New Technologies Test Methods used by QT200 Test Techniques used in PCB Troubleshooting Summary
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1.0 Introduction
Welcome to Qmaxs QT200 - the ultimate in Board Testing, a product that comes from a world leader in PCB test equipment industry. Before trying to understand the QT200 tester, let us refresh ourselves with the concepts underlying PCB troubleshooting. PCB troubleshooting has become more complex with the advent of complicated devices and the increasing complexity of the boards. Troubleshooting a faulty electronic circuit is a science. The success depends on the knowledge and experience of the engineer or technician on the job. Before a board is taken for repair, details of the board like the kind of the board, the type of components used, the design concept and its functionalities need to be understood. When the electronic circuits were simple and used discrete components it was possible to debug them using multimeters and oscilloscopes. But today's electronic circuit boards have highly integrated circuits and to test them for all possible conditions is extremely difficult with simple monitoring tools like multimeters and scopes. The time taken for troubleshooting using multimeters & oscilloscopes is unpredictable and the tools as such are less efficient in detecting the fault accurately. Different methodologies are being practiced today, in troubleshooting PCBs. Servicing personnel face many problems and the options before them are not very encouraging. Replacing faulty PCBs with good ones, are effective but not very economical. Old PCBs cannot be scrapped because of the high cost factor. In the case of imported PCBs, replacement of spares generally takes a long time. Even if a third party maintenance company is involved, it is not fruitful always because of the cost and also the repair is not guaranteed. All these factors have narrowed down the approach to the troubleshooting of these faulty PCBs in-house. In the past, PCBs were being troubleshooted and repaired manually and hence lots of problems had to be encountered. Thorough technical knowledge of the PCB under test, servicing expertise supported by detailed documentation and considerable repair time were the minimum criteria expected. The repair processes were getting out of control and the concept of automated troubleshooting took shape and has attained considerable momentum in the last decade. QT200 is based on the latest and the most effective concepts of automated troubleshooting and hence it is essential that we understand the concept and intricacies of automatic electronic troubleshooting before getting into the details of QT200. The subsequent sections will discuss in brief, both the manual and the automated troubleshooting concepts
1.1 Troubleshooting Concepts

1.1.1 Manual Troubleshooting
Any electronic control system with semiconductor devices needs to be carefully maintained. Such systems tend to fail at least once in their lifetime. When they fail, in most of the cases, it is possible to narrow down the fault to a particular PCB with the help of the built-in self-test and system diagnostics. Then the faulty PCB has to be replaced or repaired, to get the system back to a working level. Replacements are not possible always because of various factors like cost, availability and supply schedules. So it becomes essential to get these PCBs repaired in the most effective and efficient manner.
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Manual troubleshooting of these PCBs is not very economical, and also not feasible in most of the cases, for various reasons. It becomes mandatory to have a complete understanding of the faulty PCB & the devices used, to know what is involved in repairing them. It is also an universally accepted fact that the component failures attribute to around 94% of the probable failures that occur in PCBs, while the solder dry joints, timing related problems and others contribute to the rest. This means that if each and every component in the suspected PCB is checked for functionality and more importantly without removing them from the PCBs, (thus avoiding possible damage to the device or PCB while replacing) we will be able to spot the faulty component and repair the PCB. Since only the faulty component is replaced, the PCB as a whole is saved. Expertise about the faulty system, expensive simulators, logic analyzers & other function generators for testing, availability of proper documentation, etc. are all needed for manual Troubleshooting when such a situation arises. The whole process could take several weeks and the repair time is totally unpredictable. As a trial and error method, many suspected components might have to be removed from the PCB, for testing and troubleshooting. Sometimes, even healthy devices might be removed by oversight. If the problems lie in the tracks or inter connections, replacing the devices would still not solve the problem. The PCB could be damaged in the process and may become irrecoverable. All these reasons have paved the way for automated troubleshooting equipment.
1.1.2 Automated troubleshooting

With the manual troubleshooting becoming increasingly difficult, the need of the hour is equipment, which helps to find faulty components in the PCB being serviced, through an automated process with minimal manual inference. Such equipment will help in identifying faulty components that cause the major percentage of faults in a PCB under repair. These testers do not call for the removal of suspected components for testing, unless it is absolutely necessary. It is also possible to test the whole board for its functionality by interfacing the Euro connectors in QT200 to the card edge connectors on the BUT. Ideally such an equipment should be capable of testing any type of PCBs, CPU based or just Logic cards, PCBs with Analog, Digital or Mixed Signal devices, etc., and without the user having to write complex test programs. They should also be capable of isolating the faults up to the component level by using clips or probes. Such automated in-house test equipment offer advantages like, 1. Narrowing down the faults to the component/device level thus avoiding removal of suspected components normally done on a trial and error basis. 2. Capability to locate PCB track faults like opens/shorts / fan-out problems using DRC (Design Rule Checker) check, etc. in addition to functional device testing. 3. Learning from a good board to compare with a faulty one resulting in higher fault coverage, 4. Capability to trace circuits and generate schematics for documenting boards, 5. The tester is operational from day one since less or No training is required, The PCB test equipment could be broadly classified into two major categories 1) those used in the production floors capable of detecting / analyzing manufacturing defects and 2) those used for detecting faulty components in the repair environment. Expensive Bed of nail Board functional testers, Manufacturing Defect Analyzers, In-circuit testers, CPU Emulators, Signature Analyzers and Conventional Curve Tracer or VI tracer are some of the systems that are in vogue at present.
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Bed of Nail Board Functional Testers use bed of nail fixtures to access test points and functionally test a cluster of devices. It needs extensive programming and a high level of expertise. It is also very expensive (US$50,000 to 500,000) and is suitable only for large volume production test. Manufacturing Defect Analyzers (ICT testers) also use bed of nail fixtures to access test points. It checks the devices in-circuit, detects open/shorts, wrong placement, wrong orientation, etc., but does not perform functional tests. Its suitable for high volume production testing and the cost varies from US$20,000 to 40,000. CPU Emulators tests the CPU based boards for proper operation, by emulating the CPU of the PCB under test. Test programs based on extensive knowledge about the board needs to be written for proper results. Customized programming for each type of PCB needs to be written and is suitable only for voluminous repairing of specific type of PCBs. Signature Analyzers are most suitable for testing simple digital logic circuits and not suited for todays complex circuits. It can be used only if additional circuitry to generate test patterns has been designed into the PCBs already. Conventional Curve Tracers (VI Tracers) can be used for troubleshooting any type of PCBs. It does not require complex test programs or proper documentation or circuit diagrams, since its based completely on Learn & Compare technique. But it requires a good reference PCB, and the fault coverage is only 60-70% since it cannot detect faults deep inside the silicon. These systems have their own advantages and disadvantages, and to meet the demands of the electronic industry, which is growing at a phenomenal speed, new technologies have emerged to combat the PCB troubleshooting problems.
1.2 Emerging New Technologies

Qmax is proud to be a part of this new mission of evolving new and better technologies, making the automated PCB troubleshooting much simpler, more versatile and highly cost-effective. For the benefit of the service personnel, Qmax has brought out products based on the following concepts: Qmaxs enhanced In-circuit Functional test (ICFT), which covers Digital, Analog and Mixed signal devices. Qmaxs Signature Method (QSM VI) of curve tracing any type of PCBs, for increased fault coverage. Qmaxs patented Bus Cycle Signature System for testing CPU based PCBs.
The next section discusses in detail the fundamental concept of the Functional Testing and QSM methods of testing adopted by QT200.
1.3 Test Methods used by QT200

In this section, we will be describing the two major test methods adopted by QT200 for testing and trouble shooting PCBs. The devices are functionally tested using the In-Circuit Functional Testing method. The functional test routines are programmed based on the individual device specifications, stored in the massive library of 20,000+ devices. Under this test, the device is tested at power-on conditions both in Incircuit and Out-circuit modes. The next method is using the QSM-VI technique. This is essentially a power off test, and is independent of the device specifications. A sine wave of selected amplitude, frequency and current is injected into a circuit node of the BUT. The resultant current flowing into the circuit with respect to voltage is plotted as a trace termed the VI trace. This trace reflects the electrical characteristics of the node or terminal under test. The QSM VI technique learns the dynamic VI curve at the device pins
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with variable reference pins and compares it with the result obtained from a Known Good Board (KGB). The combination of ICFT and QSM increases the fault coverage multi-fold. Faults like input loading problem or timing problems that are not detectable using ICFT can be detected using QSM. QSM can confirm failures indicated using ICFT and so raises the confidence level while a suspected device is removed from the board. The vast (upgradable) device library covering many IC families, results in an increased efficiency of the ICFT method of testing.
1.3.1 Functional Testing of Devices

QT200 comes with a complete range of functions that are required for improved faults coverage of almost any type of boards, thereby setting the standards for In-Circuit Functional PCB test and diagnostic systems. QT200 comes with powerful built-in test procedures to test Digital, Analog and also mixed-signal devices. All these devices can be tested under power-on conditions both in In-circuit and Out-circuit modes. It supports a large library which contains the device and pin descriptions of the 74, 75 series, TTL, 4000 series CMOS chips and numerous LSI devices, ECL, 3.3V, EIA, Analog devices such as transistors, Op-amps, Comparators, DACs, ADCs, etc. The procedure is simple in most of the cases. It basically uses the Back-driving technique to carry out the functional testing. The Clip/Pin status reading, Auto Clipping and Auto compensation are the techniques that are being followed to carry out the functional in-circuit testing. These are explained in the next section Test Techniques, followed by a sample procedure, which would give a brief introduction into the functional testing methodology adopted by QT200.
1.4 Test Techniques

1.4.1 Back Driving
In digital circuits, a node can be forced to a desired logic state with a powerful pin driver. (The pin driver should be able to source and sink adequate current to override the logic levels present at that node). This method of overriding the device logic levels is called backdriving or forced driving or node forcing. In QT200 In-Circuit Functional Testing mode (ICFT), the backdriving technique is employed to drive the DUT inputs to all possible logic conditions irrespective of the previous state so that the DUT can be fully evaluated in-circuit for its functionality. Backdriving is safe to the device under test. But it is possible that the output of other devices which are connected to the inputs of the device under test are subjected to stress during backdriving and permanent failures can occur if certain guidelines and precautions are not followed during backdriving. The International Defence Committee has conducted extensive studies on the effects of backdriving and has arrived at some standards and guidelines for safe backdriving. This is published in the document International Defence Standards 0053-1. The maximum backdrive time is limited to 65 milliseconds and the maximum backdriving current is limited to 720 mA. In QT200 if the user exceeds the backdriving limit a warning message is displayed stating that maximum backdrive duration exceeds the standard 65 milliseconds. If the user prefers to proceed he may do so. Also the backdriving current in QT200 is limited to 650 mA as a safe limit.
The QT200 is designed with custom hybrid drivers to backdrive and force a particular test pattern into a test node for in-circuit testing. The hybrid drivers provide reliability, compactness and ease of maintenance.
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Fig 1.1 - Back driving - Force High
Fig 1.2 - Back driving - Force Low
1.4.2 Clip Status

The QT200 functional tester uses a test clip to access the device under test (DUT). The Clip Status refers to the state of the Test Clip or Bed-of-nail Fixture, which is used for accessing the Test points. It basically refers to the state of each DUT pins By sending proprietary test patterns to all the pins and studying the response, the system can determine the state of each pins in the device under test. In the Label mode the clip status shows label of each pin. The dynamic Voltage and Impedance of each pin with respect to GND can be obtained by clicking the right mouse button in the clip status window. The Clip Status can reveal valuable information about the device connections. With Clip Status we can know whether a pin is: Connected to power (0.0v, 5.0v, 12.0v etc.) Unable to be driven to Logic Low (LZ+) Unable to be driven to Logic High (LZ-) Able to be forced to any logic state Unconnected input pins or Tri-State output pins (FLT+, FLT-, FLT) Changing its state independently or clocking by itself (CLK - indicated in RED). Open circuit to the clip (HIZ) Has links or interconnections between pins of the device (L1, L2 etc.) Some of the device faults and PCB faults can be detected from the Clip Status alone, even before the components in the board are functionally tested.
1.4.3 DRC (Design Rule Checker)

Before proceeding to the device test, the status of each pin is checked for certain conditions, as described in the test program. These are called as preconditions. The QT200 tester gives warning to the user if a problem is found with the design or any illegal connections, and this is the Design Rule Check. Warnings are given: If any pins other than No Connect (NC) are HIZ, If two or more output pins are linked and their pin types are not tri-state or bi-directional pins, If any output pins are tied to Vcc or Gnd or to any other power source, If there are any illegal links / opens This will give valuable information about the DUT in the current configuration, and so faults could be tracked down to the pins easily with this information.
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1.4.4 Auto Clip

QT200 software can sense the presence of power in the clip (Vcc and Gnd). It compares the VCC as defined in the test program and 'Locates' the DUT in the test clip. You can place the clip in any way convenient to you and the QT200 software will sense the VCC and GND signals and route the test patterns to the proper pins. But if the system is not able to do so for any reasons it prompts the user to align the Pin 1 of the clip to Pin 1of the device. This feature applies ONLY to Digital devices. It is automatic and is transparent to the user.
1.4.5 Auto Compensation
In-circuit compensation techniques
When a device is tested in-circuit, there may be situations in which some of the input pins are linked together. To avoid any clash between the pin drivers driving these pins with different logic levels at the same time, QT200 automatically modifies the drive pattern based on the interconnections detected in the clip status. This feature of making the drive pattern to automatically adapt to the device configuration is called as Auto Compensation. Auto compensation is done: 1) If two input pins of a device under test are linked together In the above shown Fig. A, for the AND gate, as the two inputs are linked only input A is driven and the read back values of input B is used in the evaluation. 2) If any input pin is connected to Vcc/Ground In Fig. B, as input A is connected to Vcc, only input B is driven and read back values for input A is used in evaluation. 3) If a device consists of a feedback loop In Fig. C, The output Q\ is connected to the input pin D of the D flip-flop. So input D is not driven and only read back values of D are used in evaluation. However, when a device is tested out of circuit, the test patterns can be straightaway used and no Auto-compensation is needed.
1.4.6 Test Evaluation

The system drives the test patterns and receives the actual data from the device pins. The received data are compared with that of the evaluated data. If it is same Device passes else Device fails. If the Device fails, failure can be because of Fan out problems / test thresholds / test time base / clock ringing / Wired OR conditions / bus contention etc. or device itself may be bad. These conditions and the various ways of inferring such test results are all discussed in the next chapter.
1.5 A Typical Troubleshooting Example

Suppose you have a faulty PCB to be troubleshooted using QT200, the steps to be followed in testing it functionally are discussed below.
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Assuming that the PCB is not damaged, as a first step, check for shorts between Vcc and Ground. In case the BUT (Board Under Test) has a Clock device, disable it so that it does not interfere with the testers clock during testing. If the BUT uses crystal, then ground both sides of the crystal. If it uses single Oscillator chip then remove the oscillator chip from the PCB. The next step would be to check the individual chips for their functionality. You need to place the test clip over the chip and enter the device number. When the device name is specified, the system software recalls the compiled device test program and the test patterns from the library. The system scans the pin status of the device in-circuit and modifies the test pattern according to the circuit conditions. The modified test pattern is then back-driven to various pins and the system evaluates the results obtained. The system software gives a clear pass/fail result for the device tested along with reports regarding the pin conditions (The comprehensive clip-status window shows the pin labels, voltage levels, impedance and the links for the IC. The extended waveform editor window shows the actual drive and response test patterns along with the faults noticed). With the waveform editor display, the exact tick and the pin at which the device goes wrong can be correctly identified. (In the case of tristate devices, the system program warns if there are any bus contentions and prompts the user to guard the devices coming on the bus.). While testing, if the board has Unknown devices (say ICs with markings erased), the first step is to identify them using the Identify option, and then do the functional testing. If the device is not supported in the library or if the device is bad, you need to have a good reference board to learn about the device and then compare it with the faulty board. If the PCB is populated with ROM or PAL devices, you can either learn their correct proprietary data from the KGB or with support documentation if available, and use it for comparing. In case of ASIC or Customized devices, functional testing of such devices is not possible since device library support is not available. In such cases and also when there is any device on board NOT supported in the device library, you can write a test program for the device using the IDDE optional software (QDDL,WEST and GTPG), if you have the relevant datasheets or atleast its input and output pins, and then do the functional testing, (* IDDE is an Optional software utility) < OR > If these details are not available, then check out the device using QSM-VI method, for which you necessarily need a good reference board for signature comparison. The system drives the test patterns and receives the actual data from the device pins. The received data are compared with that of the evaluated data. If it is same, device passes, else device fails. If a faulty device is found, confirm it by analyzing the waveform and clip status. Because replacing the faulty device alone wont solve the problem in some cases. For e.g. if the failure of a device is due to some track short or illegal links then the new replaced device will also fail the test. If the Device fails, failure can be because of Fan out problems / Test thresholds / Test Time Base / Clock ringing / Wired OR conditions / Bus contention etc. or device itself may be bad. After the devices are functionally tested, the remaining passive components on the PCB can be tested using QSM. After all the devices are tested, and the suspected devices replaced, if the board is still not functional, then Learn the functional test results along with the intra link details, if a good board is available using the Board Learn facility and use it for comparing with the faulty board using the Board Test facility.
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If board is still not functioning in the plant, then check for inter and intra links with reference to a good board, using the Circuit Tracer option (optional) to trace the circuit, and check it out with the faulty one. The above section must have given you a clear understanding of the basic concept and the various test techniques used by QT200 for the functional testing of devices. The typical example, which throws further light into the fundamentals, would have given you an inkling of the actual procedures to be followed to test a faulty PCB.
1.6 QSM -VI Trace testing (Qmax Signature Method)

The innovative VI trace method is the second best method of troubleshooting, next to the functional testing method. This method allows the user to select, save and compare various VI trace signature combinations. The VI Trace test is useful in comparing the nodal characteristics of a suspect board or device against a known good board or device. It does not require any test programs written and hence is independent of the functionality of the device unlike ICFT. Here, a sine wave of selected amplitude, frequency and current is injected into a circuit node. The resultant current flowing into the circuit with respect to voltage is plotted as a trace. This trace reflects the electrical characteristics of the node or terminal under test. The VI-Trace test, although indicates a Voltage versus Current trace, it can also be programmed to show the voltage trace against impedance (V/Z) or time (V/T). The normal VI trace test captures signatures with reference to ground. This will not be able to detect a condition where two inputs with high input impedance are shorted together, since the resultant signature will be the same, with respect to GND. However, QT200 has adopted the variable reference method for testing the devices by measuring the nodal impedance, calling it the QSM VI-Trace. The most important feature unique about QSM, is the movable reference nodes. Using this the terminal characteristics between any two nodes can be determined i.e., a particular pin's trace can be determined with respect to any other pin rather than GND alone. For example, the VI-Trace for a 20 pin device with normal VI will take 20 VI-Traces, whereas QSM will take {[n(n-1)]/2 = (20 x 19)/2 = 190} VI-Traces. This will increase the fault coverage multiple times compared to a normal VI-Trace. These can be stored in a database for comparison against another board or for analyzing purposes. Using the VI-Trace test you can check any circuit node or a device pin for its characteristic behavior. With this test method, you can observe how a device behaves with respect to the applied voltage. You can also detect subtle degradation in device performance by analyzing the traces. A special test probe is provided to access any node or device pin on the board. You can also test the devices using the test clips. QSM will increase the fault coverage multiple times as it does not use GND alone as reference pin. It selects all combinations by changing the reference pin.
Example: Consider testing a 7400 device having its pin 1 and 2 shorted internally or externally, with stored VITraces of a good 7400 without this pin 1 and 2 shorted. Pins 1 and 2 being high impedance input pins, their VI-Traces with respect to GND pin will be more or less same even if they are shorted together. Thus normal VI-Trace test will pass the device even though their pins 1 and 2 shorted. But QSM VITrace test will fail the test. QSM will use pin 1 as reference and test the remaining pins 2 to 14. This will detect pin 1 and 2 as short and the test will fail. This is a simple example to show the power of QSM VI-Traces.
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This makes the VI-Trace, an ideal tool for testing the custom digital as well as analog devices such as transistors, diodes, regulators, etc. Combined with the ICFT, it can effectively pin-point a fault in the target board.
Figure 1.4 VI trace for shorted inputs with reference to Gnd
Figure 1.5 - QSM-VI for shorted inputs
1.7 Summary
This first chapter has given you a brief overview of concepts of PCB troubleshooting. A birds eye view of the different aspects of the manual troubleshooting of yesteryears, the much needed automated troubleshooting, as also the new emerging technologies in this area have been discussed. An introduction to the basic test methods of PCB troubleshooting used by QT200 has also been covered.
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Test concepts and Techniques
Chapter 2 Test Concepts and Techniques

This Chapter covers the following topics Introduction to Testing concepts/guidelines Guarding Technique How to infer test results? Summary
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2.0 Introduction
Before getting the QT200 tester started up, it is necessary to understand the various test concepts and the ways of inferring the test results. This chapter exactly covers these aspects in a simple but descriptive manner.
2.1 Testing Concepts / Guidelines

The earlier sections must have given you a fundamental idea about the various modes of testing and the different test techniques used for trouble-shooting. However, certain concepts/guidelines need to be adopted while carrying out these tests, to arrive at the proper results and they are explained below.
2.1.1 Open-Collector output device testing

The Open-Collector output devices when used in the circuit, has its output pins connected to a load like a relay, lamp etc. or it is pulled high by means of a pull-up resistor as a part of the external circuit. When a board having Open-Collector output devices is to be tested, it may so happen that the external circuit for these devices is located elsewhere and not on the same board (Fig. 2.1). This poses a problem, since without its output pins properly terminated to VCC, the Open-Collector pins cannot be tested for a logic high state. In the example shown below, when the board with the device U10 is tested for ICFT, the pin 21 of U10 remains floating. Thus U10 pin 21 can only be tested for a logic low condition and not for a logic high without pulling up the output(s) externally.
Figure 2.1 - Open-Collector Output device testing When such a device is tested for ICFT, after the clip status is shown, the test software of QT200 asks the user whether to use the internal pull-up of QT200. The user can opt for an automatic pull-up using QT200's internal pull-up resistors if there are no pull-ups on board as in this case or say No if there are On board pull-ups. The system automatically pulls up each open-collector output pins of that device using a 1K-Ohm internal resistor and carries out the functional test. If the user says No, then the system tests the device without applying pull-ups.
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2.1.2 Open-Emitter output device testing

Similar to the Open-collector output device testing, the Open-Emitter output devices when used in the circuit, has its output pins connected to a load or it is pulled low by means of a pull-down resistor as a part of the external circuit. It may so happen that the external circuit for these devices is located elsewhere and not on the same board . This poses a problem, since without its output pins properly terminated to logic low, the Open-Emitter pins cannot be tested for a logic low state. The system prompts the user to pull down each open-emitter pin of that device using a 50-Ohm internal resistor and carries out the functional test. If the user says No, then the system tests the device without using pull-down resistors.
2.2 Testing Wired-OR gates

While individual devices with multiple gates are being used in the Wired-OR configuration, the output of one gate may pull the output of the other gate to logic low. For example, it is possible that the Gate 2 or Gate 3 may be pulling the output line of Gate 1 Low as their inputs are High (Inverter) as shown in the figure below.
Figure 2.2 - Testing Wired-OR gates In this case while testing, software will take care internally to disable the gates other than the one being tested, and then test the Gate1 fully.
2.3 Output level error

While testing a device, if the devices output is in the in-between state, neither High nor Low, then the system reports it as Output Level error. In case of an output level error, the system suggests the user to change the threshold / timebase according to the error. The user can either slow down the drive speed or loosen the threshold levels and retry testing.
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2.3.1 Threshold error
Figure 2.3 - Testing a device with user threshold Example In the example shown above, the Upper threshold is fixed at 2V and the Lower threshold is fixed at 0.8V. The device being tested is not able to meet the Upper threshold. It passes, when the upper threshold is relaxed to 1.8V.
2.3.2 Timebase Error
Figure 2.4 - Testing a device in user timebase Similar to user threshold, at some in-circuit conditions the user may have to relax the timebase (speed of test) and test the devices. Such conditions are, 1. In-circuit configuration making the device to operate at a lower speed. 2. If the output pin of a device is loaded with R-C, then its response will be slower than the normal operating speed. Such devices may not pass in the default Timebase. If we relax the time base and test, it may pass. At the same time, care should be taken to test the device as per defense standards. Because exceeding the back drive defense time limit may cause permanent damages to the devices that are connected to input of the device under test. While testing a device, if the device fails and if the failure is not due to timebase / threshold error, then it could be because of Clock ringing in case of state machines Bus contention in case of bus devices Wired-OR conditions in case of OC / OE devices.
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2.3.3 Clock Ringing

While testing state devices, there are two possibilities of failures. The device could be functionally bad or it could behave in a unstable manner due to excessive ringing in the clock input signals.
Figure 2.5 - Clock Ringing This ringing is caused due to long cables used for testing the devices.
2.3.4 Clock pin termination

This excessive ringing can be suppressed using a R-C snubber at the clock pin. Or this can also be achieved by pulling the clock pin using an appropriate resistor and a pull down / Up voltage. This is clock pin termination. The Clock pin terminator utility of QT200 provides the user to select the appropriate reference voltage and resistance, to drive the clock pin of the DUT to suppress excessive ringing.
2.3.5 Bus Contention

Bus Devices like transceivers, timers, memory, controllers, processors etc. may fail because of bus contention. In the example shown in Fig 2.6 devices U1, U2, U3 and U4 are on the same bus lines. While U3 is communicating to another device in the bus, only U3 should be sending data and the other device should receive data. If any one of the other devices are sending data at the same time, it is called Bus Contention. So, when QT200 is used for troubleshooting a board with bus devices, it should be able to handle such situations. The Guarding Technique that is adopted by the QT200 to sort out the bus contention problem, is discussed in detail in the next section.
2.3.6 Wired-OR conditions

OC/OE devices may fail if their outputs are wired-or with the other OC/OE devices respectively. Such problems can be effectively avoided by guarding the devices i.e., by disabling the other interfering devices (discussed in detail below). 2.3.6.1 Guarding System prompts the user with guarding guide, listing the pin numbers and their logics for disabling the device that is probably causing bus contention / wired-or problem.
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System also provides Trace links wizard for the user to trace the links between bus devices, to check whether the devices are sharing the same bus. User can also trace the links between open collector devices to check whether the devices are wired-or with the DUT (Refer Chapter 9 for more details on Trace Links Wizard). 2.3.6.2 Guarding Technique for Bus devices Guarding is a technique used to isolate the DUT from the rest of the devices in the board while many of them may share the same line(s) or bus lines to communicate with each other.
Figure 2.6 - Guarding for common bus device testing If the bus is shared then it is required that other devices in the bus are put in the off state while we test the device under test. This process of identifying the Output Enable pins of other devices in the same bus and disabling them is known as Guarding. The process of disabling the outputs of other devices in the Bus can be done by applying appropriate control signals to their output enable (OE) pins. For e.g., if a device has active low OE\ pin then this device output pins may be disabled by driving this pin to logic level high. Guarding is also applied for testing open collector and open emitter output devices. QT200 has included a bus testing routine as part of the device library for every bus based LSI device. If there is any Bus Contention the Bus test fails. The user is prompted to guard and the system gives a list of devices and their respective pin numbers as a guide for the user to guard. This facility of guiding the user is available if the user had keyed in all the devices into the board database before starting to learn a good board. The actual steps involved in using the guarding technique are discussed under Board Learn Mode. 2.3.6.3 Guarding Technique for Wired-OR devices This technique can be better explained with the following illustration (Fig 2.7). Consider the following circuit where outputs of three open collector devices are tied together. Here either device can pull down the logic level of the output of DUT. If this device is tested in ICFT it may not pass the test as the other device might be pulling the output node to a low level. It becomes necessary to force the other devices gate to an appropriate logic state before the device can be tested fully. It is possible to force the other output to a logic high state by injecting an appropriate level to its input. This is guarding the Open Collector device. Qmaxs QT200 tester takes such care while testing Open Collector devices. In Board Learn mode it invokes Trace Wizard to find the links on all O/C devices and then suggests possible guard points with required logic levels.
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Figure 2.7 Guarding open collector devices
2.4 How to infer test results and shoot only the faulty?
The results obtained from the functional testing of the devices are not conclusive in some situations. They need to be properly inferred for shooting out only the faulty components. Possible situations that could give rise to such ambiguous conclusions, have been identified and discussed in the following sections, so that ONLY the real faulty devices are shooted out. When a device fails ICFT test, do not conclude that the device is faulty straightaway. There are good reasons for a good device to fail during an In-Circuit Functional Test. Some of the most common situations/ widely used conditions are discussed below.
2.5 Output pin over loaded / Shorted to GND / VCC

In Fig 2.8 the output of the device U1 is heavily loaded (LZ-) by the next device U2 (U2's input pin internally short to near GND). When U1 is tested in ICFT it will give a warning during clip status that an output pin has low impedance (LZ-). Also the functional test will fail for pin 3.
Figure 2.8 - Output pin overloaded
Figure 2.9 - Short to GND track
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In the above illustration Fig 2.9, the output of the device U1 is shorted to an adjacent GND track in the PCB. When U1 is tested in ICFT it will give a warning during clip status that an output pin is connected to GND. The DRC utility gives this warning and also the functional test will fail for pin 3. Here there are 4 possibilities. Either U1 or U2 or U3 is bad or there is a PCB track short. The user must then isolate the problem to the pin level. Qmax's QT25 system will be of immense help here in isolating which of the 3 devices is faulty or where the short lies using milli ohm measurement technique.
2.6 Input pin shorted to VCC / GND or Low Impedance

In the following (Fig 2.10) illustration, the input of the gate which comes off the card edge connector has gone bad and exhibits a low impedance or shorted to GND/VCC either internally or externally. If this device is tested in ICFT device mode it will pass the test with just a warning that the input pin is Grounded/Low impedance. It is so because if the clip status detects an input at GND level, it will auto compensate and will not drive that input pin. If the clip status detects a low impedance you may get an input level error, meaning that the QT200 pin drivers not able to drive that input level to the desired logic level and the result will be "Device Not Fully Tested".
Figure 2.10 - Input pin shorted to GND QT200 software in Board Learn mode provides a way to learn the entire board along with the Links data, Device Number, Test Results, Status of the pins etc, from a good working board. With the Learn and Test approach, a faulty board can be compared on a Pin-to-Pin basis with the data stored. With this approach, the pin status difference will be highlighted straightaway in all the three cases hitherto discussed.
2.7 Fan Out / Capacitive load problems

If the DUTs outputs are heavily loaded because of too many devices connected to it, then you may get level errors in the waveform. In this case, the device may pass in the loose thresholds. It could be a design problem or due to some inputs at this node drawing excessive current or the output itself is weak. If the DUT is a low power CMOS device like the 4000 series or the circuit is designed with a heavy capacitive load and supposed to operate at much slower speed than the driving speed of QT200 then it may have a larger rise/fall time. The Clock Tick during which the output is still rising will be shown as an intermediate level and it may fail the test.
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Figure 2.11 - Fanout and Capacitive load waveform
In QT200 the Drive Speed is variable from 2 micro seconds to 16 milli seconds in 14 steps. But if the problem is that the circuitry is designed for low speed operation, then the user has the option to change the library time base to a much slower speed to confirm the operational dynamics of the DUT. In Board Learn mode, this time base specified can also be learnt and there will be automatic switch-over to the learnt time base while testing.
2.8 Device Not Fully Tested - Partial Testing Conditions

Sometimes during the In-circuit functional testing of devices, the QT200 tester also gives the message, Device Not Fully Tested. This is an intelligent feedback from the tester and it is indicative of the design condition of the board being tested. This message is given, when one or more outputs have not toggled due to any known reason. This condition should not be considered as the device failure but it could be due to a design feature. The possible conditions could be: The inputs of the device could be disabled, In Open-collector devices, the output may not go High when expected, due to no pull-up or in a Wired-OR condition, it could be held low by another device. So, when you encounter such a message, take care to check the design conditions, and do not attribute it to the failure of the device being tested. Example: In fig 2.12 shown below, one of the inputs (A2) of the AND gate is permanently connected to Gnd., as per the design. So, the gates output (Y) can never toggle to the Logic High state, irrespective of the logic condition at the input A1. Hence, when this device is tested functionally, the output can never be tested for the Logic High condition. This is clearly indicated by the truth table shown below. Under such conditions, the QT200 tester gives the message, Device Not Fully Tested.
Figure 2.12 - Partially tested conditions
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This condition should not be inferred as the device fault, since it is designed that way. QT200s warning message helps in identifying it and the device being tested is not declared faulty.
2.9 Asynchronous Links

If you are testing a state machine like a flip-flop or a counter which has an ASYNCHRONOUS reset or set using its own output then QT200 will not give a reliable result (Refer fig 2.13). This is because QT200 will not be able to capture the momentary event, which occurs within a clock tick of QT200. If the asynchronous reset is fed through a gate, then QT200 will not have any problems as the reset input can be force driven to the desired value and this force driving will block the asynchronous event.
Figure 2.13 - Asynchronous links
2.10 Summary
This chapter has covered in detail the basics of the test guidelines to be adopted and the tips for inferring the test results in the proper manner, which needs to be understood while using the QT200 tester.
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Functional Testing An Overview
Chapter 3 Functional Testing An Overview

This Chapter covers the following topics Introduction to Functional Testing Modes of Testing Setting up various test options Other Menu options Workspace Organization (Test Window) Summary
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3.0 Functional Testing

The In-Circuit Functional Test method is a widely accepted test technique used for repairing of faulty PCBs. It can detect most of the PCB faults encountered such as functionally faulty devices, bus faults, fan out problems, etc. In the earlier sections we have already covered the various general aspects of functional testing like the test concepts, testing methods, test accessories, etc. In this chapter, we shall cover more specific aspects of functional testing with reference to QT200, starting from the different modes of testing, i.e. In-circuit testing, Out-circuit testing, Board Learn and Board Test modes. The preliminary conditions that need to be setup before the actual testing is started, is covered in the next section. The relevant menu options that can be invoked from the front-end and the workspace or the display organization is discussed in the subsequent sections.
3.1 Modes of Testing

QT200s functional testing allows the user to do the testing interactively for the individual devices, or as a wholesome procedure for testing and troubleshooting a board (PCB), comprising of various devices. For Interactive testing of devices, the methods are: 1. Testing a device In-circuit and 2. Testing a device out of a circuit For Board testing, the two complementary methods are: 1. Learning a Board and 2. Testing a Board
3.1.1 Testing a device in In-Circuit mode

While troubleshooting a PCB, as you already know, the suspected devices are tested first in as-iswhere-is conditions, i.e. in-circuit conditions. For testing a device in-circuit, the DUT is tested under actual in-circuit conditions, as it is present in the board. The test conditions are as designed in the board under test (BUT). In this mode, the system compensates the drive pattern according to the connections of the device. This is useful for testing a device under the actual circumstances in which it is going to be used in the circuit. Not all possible input conditions may occur during the time of testing. Hence a method to stimulate all possible input conditions becomes necessary before the outputs are evaluated. The system compensates the drive pattern according to the connections of the device. For example, if an input pin is powered or linked to an output pin, the system does not drive that pin. Testing is done under various test conditions like varying the voltage threshold levels, conducting loop tests, etc. When the device name is specified, the system software recalls the compiled device test program and the test patterns from the library. The system learns about the pin status of the device in-circuit and modifies the test pattern according to the circuit conditions. The modified test pattern is then back driven to various pins and the system evaluates the results obtained. The system software gives a clear pass/fail result for the device tested along with the pin status conditions reported. The comprehensive clip status window shows the pin labels, voltage levels, impedance and the links for the IC. In the case of tri-state devices, the system program warns if there are any bus contentions and prompts to guard the devices. The waveform editor window shows the actual drive and response test patterns along with the faults noticed. With this waveform editor display you can correctly identify at which tick a device goes wrong and at which pin. In short, in-circuit mode is useful for testing a device under the actual circumstances in which it is going to be used in the board.
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3.1.2 Testing a device in Out-Circuit mode

The Out-Circuit testing is basically same as In-Circuit testing, except that the DUT is taken out of circuit and tested using the out-circuit board tester. In this mode, links and power connections (other than power pins) are shown as illegal connections and a warning message is displayed. For example, if an input pin is linked to an output pin, the system warns about this link, since there cannot be any shorts in out-circuit mode. But, it continues to drive the linked pins with their actual test pattern if user ignores the warning. This mode automatically pulls up / down the appropriate pins while testing open collector / emitter devices. This mode finds its use in checking whether the device is actually good or bad under all applicable conditions. Any good device when tested out-circuit, must pass the functional test as it is tested in total isolation. When a device is reported to fail the ICFT, after checking the possible causes, it is always advisable to test it in Out-Circuit mode before rejecting it. This will confirm the device failure and help the troubleshooting to be in right direction. Out-Circuit mode can also be used to test any device before it can be used in the circuit. This can weed out the possibility of using a faulty device during a circuit board assembly.
3.1.3 Learning a Board

QT200s Board Learn procedure is very helpful, since it provides the means to learn the correct/good device test results of a functionally good working board, which will be used as a reference while testing large quantities of faulty boards of the same type. A good working board is selected, the devices in the board are learnt and their test results are stored along with Clip Status information such as links, floating pins, power pins etc. In this mode, all test conditions are same as that adopted in In-circuit mode, but the device test results are stored in the board database for comparing it in the complementary board test mode. The procedure adopted in learning a board is, first all the device details like the device name, device location, package, etc. are to be entered first. By entering all the devices, the system knows of the number of devices present in the board and the guidelines to be adopted while learning them, like guarding for bus devices, pull ups for OC devices, etc. These details are all stored in the board database files. This information is also useful for generating a visual representation of the Board being learnt in the Board view mode. This Board View window displays the devices present in the board in various colors denoting the various status. In this mode, the devices can be dragged and positioned anywhere in the screen. Devices in the board can be manually positioned as they are in the board, in board view window, and can also be selected and learnt. The clip status gives information about the intralinks and this information is also stored. User can also choose to use the optional Circuit Tracer option to trace the interlinks in the circuit using multiple clips and this information can be stored in a separate database and netlist generated. Proprietary devices like EPROMS/PALS can be learnt to test the contents of similar EPROMS/PALS in board test mode. Then all the devices thus entered can be learnt one by one, in the order /sequence specified by the user and the test results PASS/FAIL can be stored in the board database file. However, the failed devices should be studied further and they have to be re-learnt till they pass the tests. Sometimes even good devices could fail. There could be various reasons for these failures like guarding not properly done, output level errors (Threshold or timebase errors), etc. User can suitably alter these parameters or modify the test conditions and re-learn these devices once again and store the Passed results.
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3.1.4 Testing a Board

Testing a board in board test mode, the results of all the devices in the board are compared with the learnt data (learnt during the Board Learn Mode) that are stored in the board database. During the testing process, the test results are not stored but only compared to the already stored results. If the results match the stored results for all the devices, the system declares that the board has passed the test. The test results are informative to the extent that the program exactly shows which pins of the device has caused the failure. This mode also supports a board view option, to help you view the board in the same manner as it exists. But the legend used to displaying the various status of the devices present in the board, are different from that of the Board learn mode. When any device differs from that of the learnt one, workstation provides options to manually set it as manually passed, failed or suspected device. Status of each device is represented in colors in board view for easy identification. QT200 provides the user to create many boards under repair and in different sequences for testing a board. This feature is very useful in testing the boards individually. If a particular board fails the test, details of the failure/devices that have failed are stored in the error log file, which can be printed out & tagged before sending the board for repairs. When it is brought back for testing after the repairs/changes are done, only those specific devices can be sequenced and tested again since this information is available from the stored results file. This method is effective both in terms of time and also the usage of resources.
3.2 Visual WorkStation and Test Station

3.2.1 Visual WorkStation
The Visual interactive front-end interface for QT200 where the actual test routines (Both the Functional testing and the QSM-VI analysis) are invoked and executed is called the Visual WorkStation. This houses the complete and comprehensive test routines needed for PCB troubleshooting. Normally, the board or the devices that need to be tested and troubleshooted, is learnt as a first step. They need to be functionally tested using the Visual WorkStation front-end. As a general practice, using this front-end the devices in the known good board can be functionally tested in the in-circuit conditions and the results can be stored as board files in the board database, for future usage. These files can be moved or exported to other machines, for perusal and reference if necessary. As we have seen in the earlier sections, so many concepts need to be clearly understood before proceeding to functionally testing them, using the workstation software. So, the level or the expertise of the person troubleshooting these devices needs to be fairly high. People like Engineers or Skilled technicians who can understand the functionality of the circuit, the nature of the devices, the design features, etc. can only do justice to testing the boards and learning the results. In realistic situations, QT200 tester with the Visual WorkStation SW can be used by the shop-floor supervisors/ engineers in co-ordination with the QT200 tester with the Test Station software loaded for a smooth production line testing of electronic PCBs.
3.2.2 Test Station (Optional Software)

In the earlier section, we have already seen the different modes of testing. We know that while the known good boards are tested and learnt using the Board Learn Mode, these results are used as the reference for testing the faulty boards, in the Board Test Mode. This front-end where you can test only the faulty boards, is aptly named the TestStation. QT200 testers loaded with the TestStation software are also available for usage in manufacturing facilities and assembly line testing.
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The board files (files containing the board test results) that are created at the WorkStations can easily be exported (moved/ copied) to the TestStation, where they can be used as the reference for testing the faulty boards. This TestStation utility can be used only for testing the boards, and no new board/device can be learnt using this front-end. You dont need to have a high level of technical expertise to proceed with this straight task of testing the faulty boards with reference to the results already stored. So this can be effectively used by technicians, semi-skilled operators, etc., since this process consists of just taking the board, testing it with reference to the result stored and declaring it as either Passed or Failed. This TestStation utility is very apt and useful for QT200 testers used in electronic PCB assembly lines and manufacturing facilities.
3.3 Setting up various test options

QT200 offers user the flexibility of setting up various test options, to suit the individual needs. This is a pre-requisite that needs to be setup, before starting the actual testing. However, the test conditions setup can always be changed if required, during the testing process.
Function
This option is used to set various test conditions that would be used during the functional testing of devices both in the interactive mode and also the board learn / test modes.
Selection
To invoke this option, select the Options Icon from the Level 1 menu or select the Options option from the Utilities sub menu.
Description
When this option is selected, the default or the previously set options will be shown. The options that can be set include auto-clipping, back-drive defence time limit, internal pullup, guarding, etc.
3.3.1 Auto Clipping

Description QT200 software can sense the presence of Power in the clip (VCC and GND). It compares the VCC as defined in the test program and 'Locates' the DUT in the test clip. You can place the clip in any way convenient to you and the QT200 software will sense the VCC and GND signals and route the test patterns to the proper pins.
Figure 3.1 - Options dialog box Auto-clipping is useful as the user does not have to really bother about how he places the clip with regard to the (digital) device under test. As long as the device fits into the clip i.e., the clip is larger
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than the device, the system will be able to configure itself correctly by sensing the device's power pins and then routing all the signals accordingly. (Disabling this feature, you will need to align the clip's pin 1 to device's pin 1). It is automatic and is transparent to the user. This process is called Auto Clipping. Auto clipping essentially determines which channels of the hardware to drive, i.e., identifying the channels, so that correct data is driven to the correct pin. Procedure 3.3.1.1 Digital devices only Select this option to auto clip only the digital devices. 3.3.1.2 Never Select this option when you do not want the devices to be auto clipped. In this case, the clip's pin 1 has to be aligned to device's pin 1.
3.3.2 Back Drive Defence Time Limit

Description As per the International Defence Standard (INT DEF STD 0053-1), the maximum drive time is limited to 65 milliseconds. If the user exceeds this limit, a warning message is displayed stating that the maximum backdrive duration exceeds the standard 65 milliseconds. Procedure 3.3.2.1 Strict When this option is selected, the system aborts the testing even without prompting, when the drive time exceeds the limit specified by the standard. 3.3.2.2 Prompt When this option is chosen, the system prompts whether to proceed testing when the drive time exceeds the limit specified by the standard. The user can even choose not to proceed with the drive.
3.3.3 Internal pullup

(For Testing Open-Collector Output devices) Description When a board having Open-Collector output devices is to be tested, it may so happen that the external circuit for these devices is located elsewhere and not on the same board. This poses a problem, since without its output pins properly terminated to Vcc, the Open-Collector pins cannot be tested for a logic high state. We have already seen that QT200, provides the user with the option of testing such devices either using or not using QT200s internal pull-up resistors. This provision gives the user the option to use the internal pull-up resistors always or with a prompt. Procedure 3.3.3.1 Always When this option is selected, the system uses its internal pull-up resistors while coming across an open-collector or open-emitter device. You can select this option, if you do not know whether the device contains open-collector outputs or if you are not sure if the device's output pins have been pulled up or not. 3.3.3.2 Prompt When this option is selected, the system prompts you whether to use its internal pull-up resistors while coming across an open-collector or open-emitter device. This option can be selected when you are sure of the open collector outputs and pullup-information of the output pins.
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3.3.4 Guarding
We have had a brief insight into the concept of guarding the devices (Chapter 2). The actual guarding procedure using the flying channels provided on the QT200 front panel, is discussed elaborately in coming Chapters. This option is very useful while testing Bus devices or Open-Collector or Open-Emitter devices. 3.3.4.1 Never Select this option, when guarding is not required throughout the test session. You could select this option if, 1. The board being tested has been designed is such a manner, that care has been taken to avoid Bus contention in the Bus devices as well as the OC devices, 2. If you are 100% confident, that none of the devices need to be guarded. If this option is selected, the guard channels will not be driven, even when the device needs guarding. Since this could lead to functional failure of the device, even when the device is good, this option should be used with caution. However during the Board Learn mode of testing, when such devices are being tested QT200 prompts the user with a suitable warning message, and so this setup condition can always be overridden and guarding can be applied. 3.3.4.2 Always Select this option, when guarding is required throughout the test session. If this option is selected, the guard channels will be driven always, even when the device under test does not need guarding. 3.3.4.3 Only if appropriate Select this option, when the guard channels are to be driven only when guarding of the device is required. The system prompts the user with suitable warning messages, and proceeds with the testing only after the user makes the selection.
3.3.5 General
3.3.5.1 Run Selftest On Start-up Select this option, to run the system diagnostic tests every time WorkStation is started. 3.3.5.2 Scroll to error If this option is selected (checked), the cursor scrolls to the particular tick where the failure occurred in the waveform window. 3.3.5.3 Stop after each drive If this option is selected, then it stops after each drive while testing LSI devices that have multiple drives defined, prompts the user and then proceeds with the test. If this option is not checked it proceeds with the test continuously. This is used for viewing the waveform for each drive. This option finds its use while testing an EPROM or ROM or PAL or analog devices that have multiple units in one package. Testing these involves reading the complete data inside the chip and then comparing. To read the ROM having more than 8k bytes of data, multiple drives are used. Similarly, for testing multiple op-amps or transistors contained in one package, multiple drives are used. 3.3.5.4 Prompt for Termination box Select this option when you are connecting the optional Terminator Box to the Test clip. 3.3.5.5 B.U.T. power always on By selecting this option, the B.U.T. power is always kept ON. Unchecking it, the B.U.T. power is controlled as and when it is needed, through the relay. This option enables the user to choose between keeping the BUT power on continuously or selectively.
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BUT Power
In some cases, the BUT power applied to the board under test needs to be continuously kept on, for testing it under warmed up conditions. However, in some situations the BUT power needs to be controlled (On/Off), for the following reasons: 1. Some sensitive devices on the board being tested cannot be powered on for long durations. 2. Some of the devices being tested could be very sensitive to the transients occurring due to power on/off switching conditions. 3. During testing, it might be necessary to remove/connect the clip connections, the test cables or the flying channel connections, etc. It is not advisable to carry out these actions under Power-on conditions, for fear of shorting or damaging the devices. The BUT power Off control comes very useful in such situations. 4. If the Test Clips being used are damaged, they could have shorted pins while clipping. They could cause permanent damage to the device / PCB tracks, if handled without caution, especially under the Power On condition. 3.3.5.6 Match LZ to power Sometimes due to poor clip contact, power pins may appear as LZ+ / LZ-. Select this box to match LZ to power. When this option is selected, LZ+ is matched to a positive power pin and LZ- is matched to a negative power pin or GND. 3.3.5.7 Auto Save Board Database Select this option to automatically save the board database. If this option is enabled in the board learn th mode, for every 5 device learnt, the master board that is being learnt will be saved automatically.
3.4 Workspace Organization

The most salient feature of QT200 is the user-friendly front end provided. As you have seen in the earlier chapters, the menu options are thoroughly organized into layers for effective finishing.
Figure 3.2 Workspace organization In this section, we shall know about the way the testing workspace is organized, to give out comprehensive details of the functional testing. (Ref Fig 3.2)
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3.4.1 Test Window

The test window is located on the top left corner of the screen. The various testing options like selecting the device, threshold, invoking loop test, etc. can be set here. In short, all the necessary details for testing has to be setup in this window and the testing invoked.
3.4.2 Clip Window

The clip window is displayed in the top right corner of the screen. The device is graphically displayed with the pin numbers. The labels of the device are displayed in the first column i.e., adjacent to the device. The first column of the clip status window is made to display in a cycle, the pin labels, voltage levels and impedance by simply clicking the left mouse button on the window. The current status of the device is displayed in the second column. The current status includes the links within the device and HIZ pins. The clip window can also be maximized for better viewing and can also be printed out.
3.4.3 Message Window

The message window is displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen. The results of the test conducted are displayed in this window. The results window can also be maximized for better viewing. The results displayed can also be printed out.
3.4.4 Waveform Window

The waveform window is displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen. The waveform window shows device pin signals in the form of logic level trains for the complete duration of the test cycle. On the left of the waveform window are shown three columns. The first column reads the pin labels, the second column reads the pin number. The third column reads the logic level on the trains, at the position where the cursor is located. The cursor position is also dynamically displayed on the waveform window. It shows the pin number and the tick number of the cursor position. Waveform window offers a number of ways for viewing the waveforms on it's View menu. The legends for the logic levels are as follows:
Legend
0 1 Z HIZ X
Logic Level / Signal

Low High Tristate High Impedance Undefined
The waveform windows bottom bar is marked with the scale shown in terms of ticks; at an interval of 6 ticks. If the wave-form uses more than 64 ticks, to view the remaining portion of the waveform, use the horizontal scroll bar to scroll the complete waveform across the window. The Waveform window can be of great interest for those who like to try out their own drive patterns. Drive patterns for new devices that do not exist in the library and the existing drive patterns can be modified using the waveform window.
3.4.5 Checks to be performed before testing

The necessary details to start the functional testing of devices have been well explained in the earlier sections. However, the following points need to be checked before performing the actual device / board test. 1. Check if the power cable supplied along with QT200 is plugged-in at the socket of the rear panel and check if the power ON / OFF switch located beside this socket is switched ON. 2. Check if the power clip used for powering all the devices on the board is connected to a 14 pin DIP IC that has its VCC and GND at pins 14 and 7 respectively. In case, if such a device
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cannot be found on the board, check if the custom designed power clip is connected to a 14 pin DIP device, with its pin 1 aligned to pin 1 of the device. 3. Check if the mains power-on switch located on the left side of the front panel is switched ON.
3.5 Summary
This chapter has briefed you on the different modes of functional testing and the preliminary procedures that need to be followed before the actual testing. We are now ready to get on with the actual testing. In the next chapter we shall look into the Interactive In-circuit functional testing of devices.
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In-Circuit Functional Testing
Chapter 4 In-Circuit Functional Testing

This Chapter covers the following topics Concept of In-circuit Functional Testing Introduction to In-Circuit Interactive Functional Testing Associated Utilities / Functions Device List Utility Loop Test Identify devices Step-by-step procedure Summary
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4.1 Concept
In the interactive In-circuit testing of devices, the individual devices are tested under actual in-circuit conditions, as the device is present in the board. QT200 is designed in such a manner that it understands the way the device is connected and generates a suitably compensated drive pattern for driving the device pins. The various parameters associated with any particular device are well researched, taken into account and the test routines are then developed. The huge device library houses the complete functional testing routines of a large number of Digital, Analog and Mixed Signal devices. QT200s device library is continuously growing to accommodate the new devices coming into use. At present, it supports, TTL, +5V & +12V CMOS, ECL & PECL, EIA, LSI, Linear devices, Mixed signal devices, +3.3V Logic devices, etc. QT200 can functionally test almost all IC families, making it an ideal choice for PCB Repair centers, Production line Board Recovery and Production line Functional Test Centers.
4.2 In-circuit Interactive Functional Testing

4.2.1 Function
The basic front-end for the interactive mode of testing is same for both In-circuit and Out-circuit testing, but the type of tests or the drive patterns, etc. are different. In the In-circuit mode of testing, if an input pin is grounded or linked to an output pin, the system does not drive that pin.
* NOTE*:
These interactive functional testing routines of devices, both In-circuit and Out-circuit modes are essentially the actual routines that are called for in the Board Learn and Board Test modes.
Figure 4.1 - Interactive window test options
4.2.2 Selection
This option can be selected by either selecting the In-circuit Icon or the In-circuit sub-menu option from the Mode menu.
4.2.3 Field Description

There are various test attributes provided as options in the interactive testing front-end menu and the following sections briefly describe them.
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4.2.3.1 Threshold Library Each device has its own drive voltage levels and receive threshold levels defined in the database. When the user selects the library threshold option, the device is tested using the threshold defined in the database. User At times, the device may fail when tested using the threshold defined in the library. The devices output could be in the in-between state if the testing was done at critical threshold levels. So, it may be required to test the device using a different (loosening the threshold) threshold rather than the one defined in the library. This is done by selecting the User option. When the User option is selected, the system prompts the user to choose the threshold levels when testing the device. 4.2.3.2 Times per tick Library Each device has its drive speed defined in the database. When the user selects the Library option, the device is driven for testing using the speed defined in the database. User At times, the device may fail when driven using the drive speed defined in the library. It could be due to the In-circuit configuration making the device to operate at a lower speed, or if the output pin of the device is loaded with R-C, then its response will be slower than the normal operating speed. So, it may be required to test the device using a different drive speed rather than the one defined in the library. This is done by unchecking the Library option and selecting the speed from the drop-down list. 4.2.3.3 Device Name Enter the device name in the edit box provided. Once a device is tested, its name gets entered in the drop-down list. From then on, the device name can also be selected from the drop-down list. 4.2.3.4??? (Device List Utility) This is a useful option provided to know the complete list of devices, for which the functional test routines are available in the system database. By default, this option gives the device library listing provided with the QT200 system. However, user defined device libraries can be added using the optional test languages IDDE (In-circuit Device Development Environment). This option is also used for knowing the equivalents or aliases of devices, using the various filtering conditions provided as part of the utility. 4.2.3.5 Package Select the package type of the device that is to be tested. The package type can be DIP or SIP or PLCC or SOIC. 4.2.3.6 Library The user can select the library and test the devices present in the library. It is not possible for the user to create a new library in WorkStation. Creating a library can only be done in IDDE. The default library in WorkStation is QMAX. 4.2.3.7 Test Click the Test button to start testing the device. 4.2.3.8 Device Data To get the device information, click the Device Data button. The pin-out information and the description of each pin is displayed in the clip window. The user can also make a hard copy of the device information. 4.2.3.9 Listen The Listen button is provided to monitor the device activities when the device is powered and when the device is not driven by the system. This button may be used to check a device just like a logic analyzer. In the Listen mode, the test program simply monitors all the 8192 ticks the waveform window can accommodate.
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4.2.3.10 Loop test To test the stability of the device behavior, the device test can be performed in a loop. Clicking the Loop test button, the system goes into loop test mode, where it displays the Loop test conditions dialog. The user is presented with a number of options of how the system has to test the device. The user can also set the number of times the system to loop. 4.2.3.11 Identify Clicking the Identify button, identifies the device by comparing it with the devices in the library. It comes out with a list of possible devices with their identification numbers.
4.3 Associated functions

Some of the provisions provided on the Interactive front-end needs elaborate descriptions for better understanding. They are in-built user-friendly utilities and associated test functions provided for easier troubleshooting and testing.
4.3.1 Device List Utility

Function The database list window provides the facility to list all the devices in the database or list specific devices. You can use the following options to display the device list. If the device could not be found in the list, an error message is displayed. The device list can be printed out or stored to a file for further reference. Apart from giving the list of devices as per the specified category, this option is also very useful to find the equivalents or aliases of standard devices.
4.3.2 Field Descriptions (Query Specifications)

4.3.2.1 Device Name Enter the name of the device. Wildcards like ? and * can also be entered to display the devices present in the database. The devices whose names match with the specified name will be displayed. The usage for the wildcard option is the same as for the DOS command DIR. In case the device name need not be matched for the current query, make this entry blank. 4.3.2.2 Family Select the family to display devices of that particular family. Select ALL to display devices of all families present in the database. 4.3.2.3 Package Select the package type to list the devices of the specified package type present in the database. 4.3.2.4 No. of Pins
Enter the number of pins to list devices having the specified number of pins. Make the entry blank, if the no. of pins need not be matched for the current query.
4.3.2.5 Description Enter the description of the device. When the Do New Query button is clicked, devices having the specified description would be listed. Even if part of the description string is entered, the matching entries are filtered and listed. If the description need not be matched for the current query, make the entry blank.
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Figure 4.2 - Library List dialog box 4.3.2.6 Include Aliases also in the listing Selecting the Include Aliases button, the device list includes the device name as well as its aliases. 4.3.2.7 Do New Query Clicking the Do New Query button, displays the device list based on the query specifications. If the device name and description are both valid i.e., if you enter 74?? in the device name box and enter O/C devices in the description box then the devices matching both the name and description with the specified family, package and number of pins are listed. 4.3.2.8 Number of devices found Displays the total number of devices that are displayed based on the current query. 4.3.2.9 Print Use this command to print the device list. Clicking this button, the Print Options dialog box is displayed. In the Print Options dialog box, click the button File to save the contents to a file and display it. Click the Print button to make a hard copy of the device list. For making a hard copy, the fields can be specified. The fields are device name, family, package, no. of pins, description. Out of all the fields, device name is compulsory and all others are optional. 4.3.2.10 Close Use this command to close the dialog box.
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4.4 Loop Test
Figure 4.3 - Set loop test conditions dialog box The Loop Test option is provided to check how stable the device behavior is. To test the device in a loop, click the button LoopTest. Set Loop Test Conditions dialog box is displayed (Fig 4.3) and the loop test can be initiated after the various test conditions are set according to the requirement.
4.4.1 Field Descriptions

4.4.1.1 Select tests Clip Status tests Selecting this option, the loop test checks the clip status. Clip status checking is done by comparing the clip status obtained during the first time with the status obtained during the subsequent times and if they match they are declared pass. Actual functional testing is not done. This option is good for checking the contact between the DUT and the test clip. Functional tests Selecting this option, the system takes the clip status only once, but drives the DUT and tests it functionally a number of times as specified by the loop number. This option is useful in testing intermittent functional failures. Both the tests Selecting this option, the clip status is done each time before the DUT is functionally tested. 4.4.1.2 Unconditional loop Check this option to perform the tests unconditionally the number of times as specified in the loop count. Checking this disables the Stop at option.
4.4.1.3 Stop when Clip Status compares different Select this option to stop the loop test when the clip status of the DUT compares different.
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Clip Status compares same Select this option to stop the loop test when the clip status of the DUT compares same. Functional test fails Select this option to stop the loop test when the functional test performed on the DUT fails. Functional test passes Select this option to stop the loop test when the functional test performed on the DUT passes. Functional test compares same Select this option to stop the loop test when the functional test result performed on the DUT is the same as that of the result performed during the very first time. Functional test compares different Select this option to stop the loop test when the functional test result performed on the DUT is different as that of the result when performed during the very first time. 4.4.1.4 Use Internal pullup / pulldown If the option Use internal pullup is checked, then the system uses its internal pull-up resistors while performing the loop test if the device is an open-collector device. Select this option, if the user is not sure if the device's output pins have been pulled up or not. 4.4.1.5 Loop count Enter the number of times the DUT is to be tested. 4.4.1.6 Abort Click the Abort button, to cancel the current operation. 4.4.1.7 Proceed Click the Proceed button, to perform the loop test. While performing the loop test, when the device fails the very first time due to clock pins, the clock pin termination is performed by displaying the Clock pin termination dialog box. But, when the device passes the very first time and if the device fails in some others the clock pin termination option is not invoked, since all the devices testing in the loop test mode is with reference to the first device.
4.5 Testing and identifying unmarked devices

4.5.1 Function
Many times while repairing a board, devices without any identification can be found. The identity of the device cannot be confirmed due to faded stamp or it could be house coded or sometimes it is purposely hidden. The Identify option provided in the two modes of testing (both In-circuit & Outcircuit) can identify a device by comparing it with the devices in the library. It comes out with a list of possible devices with their names. This feature also helps in testing devices, which are not supported in the library, by identifying the equivalent devices and using their test routines to test them. This useful feature can only be used in powered condition and preferably in the in-circuit conditions. The front-end menu is organized in such a manner that the information entered helps the program in narrowing down (filtering) the devices lists for matching conditions.

This option provides various fields for the user to enter pertinent details about the device to be identified. This helps in narrowing down the search for matching conditions, and the results are also more effective.
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4.5.2.1 Pins Enter the total number of pins for the device to be identified. 4.5.2.2 Package Select the package type (DIP, PLCC or SOIC) from the drop down list. 4.5.2.3 Family Select the family of the unidentified device if the family is known. Selecting a specific family, (say TTL, CMOS, etc.) speeds up the identifying process. Sometimes the name on the device package or the associated circuitry could give some clues to finding the family. If the family is not known, then select ALL from the list. 4.5.2.4 Library The library selected in the in-circuit / out-circuit mode is displayed initially. Select the library from the drop list. If the user has developed libraries they can also be selected. 4.5.2.5 Match floating pins When a pin floats, it could be an un-connected input or a tri-state output or a bi-directional pin. This information is used in selective foot print matching (i.e. the pin status of the devices in the library are matched with the pin details recognized from the clip status, in arriving at the filtered list). With this option enabled the identify list is smaller and hence it can identify faster and more accurately. 4.5.2.6 Check for OC devices only Check this option, if the user suspects the device as a OC device. Then the comparison is made only with the OC devices in the library, resulting in faster and more accurate identification. 4.5.2.7 Check for OE devices only Check this option, if the user suspects the device as a OE device. Then the comparison is made only with the OE devices in the library, resulting in faster and more accurate identification. 4.5.2.8 Identify the unknown device Click this button to start the identifying process. 4.5.2.9 Retest the previous list Click this button to retest the previous identified device list.
Figure 4.4 - Identify dialog box
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4.6 Procedure for identifying a device

The device can be identified by following the steps given below, taking into account all the guidelines explained above. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click the button Identify. The Identify window opens with the default options set. Enter the number of pins for the device to be identified. Select the package type of the unidentified device. Select the library that would probably match the unidentified device. Select the family, taking into account the name on the device package if recognized or from the associated circuitry if it could lead to a valid guess. Otherwise, select All to cover all the device families in the search. Setting these options, click the button Identify the unknown device. The system prompts to align clips pin 1 to devices pin1.
7. 8.
Figure 4.5 - Align clip message box 9. 10. Then, the clip status of the device is displayed in the Clip Status window. The Power pins, HIZ pins, the NC pins and the float pins are clearly displayed. The user can confirm the presence of the power pins from the clip status, before proceeding further.
Figure 4.6 - Confirm action dialog box 11. The devices that match the footprint according to the parameters prefixed earlier are displayed (Fig 4.7). 12. The device is checked and the result is displayed in the List of identified devices dialog box (Fig 4.9). 13. Click the Retest the previous list to retest the previous identified device list.
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Figure 4.7 - Devices that match the footprint dialog
Figure 4.8 - Set parameters dialog box
4.7 Step-by-step procedure

With the fundamentals behind the various options/provisions explained, you would be able to appreciate the actual flow of actions involved in the testing. The step-by step procedure involved in the in-circuit testing of devices is discussed in an elaborate fashion below.
Figure 4.9 - List of identified devices
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These are the steps to follow while testing In-Circuit:
1. Click the In-Circuit button from the toolbar. Alternatively, select the In Circuit option from the
Mode menu. The In Circuit mode window opens.
2. Apply power to the board containing the device being tested, using the BUT power cables. 3. Enter the name of the device that is to be tested. 4. To display the details of the device, click the Device Data button. 5. Place the clip on the device that is to be tested.
Figure 4.10 - In-circuit window
6. Select the package type for the device that is to be tested. 7. To test the device using the default threshold defined in the library, check the Library
threshold button. To test the device in the user defined threshold, select the User button.
8. To learn the device using the library time per tick, check the Library button. Unchecking it,
select the time per tick to test the device.
9. To test the devices click the Test button. 10. The system starts testing the device, by trying to locate the position of the device in the clip.
In case there is any problem auto clipping, the system displays an error message.
11. In case of an output level error, the system prompts for an alternative. The user can either
slow down the drive speed or loosen the threshold level and retry testing.
12. If a device fails due to clock pins, Clock pin terminator dialog box appears listing the clock
pins of the DUT with their default values of resistors and voltages. User can change these values and click the Drive button for the changes to take effect. User can also skip the termination process by clicking the Skip button. The modified resistance and voltage values are for the current device and current session and they are not retained for the next device or session.
13. While testing the device, the results of the test are displayed in the message window.
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4.8 Summary
The interactive In-circuit mode of functionally testing the devices is the most widely and frequently used option for testing and troubleshooting the electronic devices. This chapter has covered all the options in detail that needs to be understood for effectively using it. The next chapter would cover the other mode of interactive testing i.e.the out-circuit testing of devices, in a similar detailed manner.
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Out-Circuit Functional Testing
Chapter 5 Out-Circuit Functional Testing

This Chapter covers the following topics Out-Circuit Functional Testing Concepts Introduction to Out-Circuit Interactive Functional Testing Step-by-step procedure Summary
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5.1 Out-Circuit Functional Testing Concepts

We have seen the interactive In-circuit testing of devices, i.e., the testing of individual devices under actual in-circuit conditions, in the previous chapter. The other complementary method of testing the devices interactively, is the Out-circuit testing. The device to be tested is taken out of the circuit and tested for all possible functionalities. The out-circuit test routines are written in such a way that, the QT200 system warns the user about any short detected between the pins, since there cannot be any shorts in this mode. But it continues to drive the pins with the actual test pattern and then gives the test results. Since the device is taken out of the circuit and tested, a DUT board is necessarily needed for carrying out the testing. The various parameters associated with any particular device are well researched and the test routines are developed, taking them into account. The huge device library houses the complete functional testing routines of innumerous devices both Digital and Analog. QT200 can functionally test almost all IC families. Since the devices are tested independently, it makes it an ideal choice for Quality Control departments for testing incoming devices, before they can be used in any board.
5.2 Out-Circuit Interactive Functional Testing

5.2.1 Function
The basic front-end for the interactive mode of testing is same for both In-circuit and Out-circuit testing, but the type of tests or the drive patterns, etc. are different for each other. The Out-Circuit testing is basically same as the In-Circuit testing, except that the device under test (DUT) is taken out of the circuit while testing. The Out-Circuit Tester board is to be used for this testing (Refer Fig 5.1)
Figure5.1-Out-CircuitTester This board is provided with a tiny lever operated ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) IC socket (marked as DUT) for easy plug-in and plug-out of DUT. It is provided with Loading Hybrids (one each for TTL and
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CMOS) to load all the pins to facilitate testing of ICs while loaded. These act as loads as well as pullup resistors to the outputs. The appropriate loading hybrid is to be plugged in at J3 socket. The test cable is to be plugged-in at sockets J1 and J2. The out-circuit tester is powered by plugging-in the power connector at J6 and tapping the power from the front panel of QT200 at DUT Power terminals. The DUT is to be powered by setting the jumpers on the two SIP connectors (J4 and J5). These connectors have three vertical rows of pins. The pins in the middle (second) row of J5 are wired to the left half of the ZIF socket. The pins in the middle row of J4 are wired to the right half of the ZIF socket. All the pins in the left row (first) of J4 and J5 are connected to VCC whereas all the pins in right row (third) are connected to GND. To connect a pin of DUT to VCC, the jumper should be placed in the left position (linking rows 1&2). To connect a pin to GND, the jumper should be placed in the right position (linking rows 2&3). Any good device, when tested out-circuit, must pass the functional test as it is tested in total isolation. When a device is reported to fail the in-circuit test, after checking the possible causes, it is always advisable to test it in out-circuit mode before throwing it out. This will confirm the device failure and help the troubleshooting to be in the right direction. Out-circuit can also be used to test any device, before it can be used in the circuit. This can weed out the possibility of using a faulty device during a circuit board assembly.
5.3 Step-by-Step Procedure

This section describes the steps to be followed while testing in out-circuit mode. 1. Click the Out circuit button from the toolbar. Alternatively, select the Out-Circuit option from the Mode menu. 2. The Out circuit mode window opens (Fig 5.2). 3. Enter the name of the device that is to be tested. 4. The out-circuit tester is powered by plugging-in the power connector at J6 and tapping the power from the front panel of QT200 at DUT Power terminals. 5. The DUT is to be powered by setting the jumpers on the two SIP connectors (J4 and J5). These connectors have three vertical rows of pins. The pins in the middle (second) row of J5 are wired to the left half of the ZIF socket. The pins in the middle row of J4 are wired to the right half of the ZIF socket. All the pins in the left row (first) of J4 and J5 are connected to VCC whereas all the pins in right row (third) are connected to GND. So, to connect a pin of DUT to VCC, the jumper should be placed in the left position (linking rows 1&2). To connect a pin to GND, the jumper should be placed in the right position (linking rows 2&3) 6. Place the device on the out-circuit test board (Fig 5.1). 7. To display the details of the device, click the Device Data button. 8. Select the package type for the device that is to be tested.
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Figure 5.2 - Out-circuit window 9. To test the device using the default threshold defined in the library, check the Library threshold button. To test the device in the user defined threshold, select the User button. The user would be prompted to set the threshold while testing. 10. To learn the device using the library time per tick check the Library button. Unchecking it, select the time per tick to learn the device. 11. To test the device specified, click the Test button. 12. The system starts testing the device, by trying to locate the position of the device in the clip. In case there is any problem autoclipping, the system displays error message. 13. In case of an output level error, the system prompts for an alternative. The user can either slow down the drive speed or loosen the threshold level and retry testing. 14. If a device fails due to the presence of clock pins, Clock pin terminator dialog box appears listing the clock pins of the DUT with their default values of resistors and voltages. User can change these values and click the Drive button for the changes to take effect. User can also skip the termination process by clicking the Skip button. The modified resistance and voltage values are for the current device and current session and they are not retained for the next device. 15. While testing the device, the results of the test are displayed in the message window.
5.4 Summary
In the last two chapters, we have covered the two basic test methods i.e. Interactive In-circuit and Out-circuit functional testing of devices. The basics of these actual test routines have been well covered, and so you would be able to appreciate the manner in which they have been utilized in the Board Learn and Board Test methods. The next chapter would explain about the Board Learn option, in detail.
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Board Learn Mode Of Testing
Chapter 6 Board Learn Mode of Testing

This Chapter covers the following topics Board Learn Mode of testing Step-by-Step Procedure Associated features Device Sequence, Menu description, Guarding, Trace-Links Wizard, Board View, Using different Device Libraries, Board Setup Backup Utility (Backing up the board files) Summary
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6.0 Board Learn Mode

QT200 has an intelligent way of testing the boards. The board learn method of testing is very useful for testing faulty boards, since it provides comprehensive test features to cover any type of PCB. It is designed in the most user-friendly manner, that the test results are accurate and complete. A known good board (KGB) is selected, the devices in the board are learnt and their responses are stored in the board database. In this mode, all test conditions are same as that adopted in-In-circuit mode, but the device test results are stored in the board database for comparing it in the Board Test mode. Any good board can be learnt using the Board Learn mode and the results compared for testing the large quantity of faulty boards of the same type, during the Board Test mode. This mode also presents a useful feature i.e. Board View window, where you can plan a manual layout of the devices in the board which helps in giving a near visual representation of the BUT. Another useful feature is the Board Setup details, where any useful information with reference to the Board Learn procedures, like the Clock/Jumper/switch settings, power supply details, etc. can be entered and used for reference during Board test. User can trace the links between the devices for guarding and these guarding information are also stored in the board database to use it in board test. EPROM contents can be learnt which can be compared with the contents of similar EPROMs in the Board Test mode. The various options provided makes trouble-shooting, a much easier process.
* NOTE*:
This first section explains the step-by-step description of the detailed procedure of Learning a Board. The various options provided under the Board Learn mode of testing, are explained in detail.
6.1 Learning a Board (Step-by-Step Procedure)

The complete procedure of learning a board can be functionally organized as, Creating / Opening the Board (file) Viewing the Board Learning the Board
6.2 Creating the Board

The first step towards learning a board is to create the board (file) and the device sequence list for proceeding with the learning. 1. Click the Board Learn button from the toolbar. Alternatively, select the Mode menu and select the Learn option. 2. If you are going to open an existing board, select the board file from the List of Board files dialog box and click the button Open. To open a fresh board, click the button New, enter the name and the description of the board in the New board dialog box. The system creates a new board, and its name gets entered into the list box. Select this name and then click the button Open. (Fig 6.1)
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Figure 6.1 - List of board files dialog box 3. In case of creating a new board to be learnt, all the devices are entered one by one as per the instructions given below.
6.3 Entering the devices

In the Device list dialog box, use the Edit button to edit an existing database list and use buttons Add and Delete for adding/removing the devices. After completion, click the Done button. (Fig 6.2). Use this option to enter the complete details of the device being learnt like the name, pins, package, etc.
Figure 6.2 - Device List dialog box
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1. Select the sequence file to be used from the sequence file dialog box. (Fig 6.3)
Figure 6.3 - Select Sequence File dialog box
Figure 6.4 - Define Learn Sequence dialog box
2. Sequence the devices in the Device Learn Sequence dialog box and click the Proceed
button. (Fig 6.4)
3. During this process of creating the board, a preliminary idea about the type of devices like
Bus devices, Clock devices, OC/OE devices, EPROMS/PALS, customised devices, etc., present in the board are identified and suitable techniques to be adopted are also noted. In case of Bus devices or OC/OE devices guarding should be applied If clock devices are present, the clock should be disabled from the board before testing.
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If EPROMS/PALS are present, then their proprietary data can be learnt in this mode. In case of ASIC or Customized devices, functional testing of such devices are not possible since device library support may not be available. In such cases and also if the device number is NOT supported in the device library, you can write a test program for the device using IDDE (QDDL,WEST and GTPG), and then do the functional testing (IDDE is an optional software utility).
< OR >
If these details are not available, then the device has to be checked using the QSM-VI method.
6.4 Viewing the Board (Board View Mode)

While creating a new board under this Board Learn mode, QT200 provides the facility to create a visual layout of the board on the screen using the Board View mode. This feature is provided to enable the user to position the devices on the screen as seen in the actual board being learnt or tested. In this window, the devices can be dragged and positioned anywhere in the screen. As soon as the New board file is created, the Board View window is invoked displaying the devices in the order in which they were entered. This mode is invoked by default, whenever a new device is added or when a new board is being learnt.
Figure 6.5 - Board View window However, when an Existing board file is opened, QT200 moves to the Board Learn window for getting on with device learning. In such cases, the Board View window can be invoked by selecting the View Results option under the View mode or by activating the pie-chart display icon situated at the top right corner of the Board Learn/Test screen. This is a toggle icon and changes the display between the Board Learn/Test window and the Board View Window. Now get on to the detailed instructions of entering the devices in the board file.
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6.5 Learning the Board

As we have just seen, the system opens up the Board View window in case New board files are created & then moves to the Board Learn window or it moves straight to the Board Learn window in case of already existing board files. 1. The Board learn window is displayed (Fig 6.7). The device name and the device location are displayed as set in the database initially.
Figure 6.6 - Board learn menu options
Figure 6.7 - Board Learn window
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2. To display the details of the device, click the Device Data button. 3. Place the clip on the device that is to be learnt. 4. To learn the device using the default threshold defined in the library, check the Library threshold button (by default the library threshold option will be checked). To learn the device in the user-defined threshold, select the User button. The user would be prompted to set the threshold while learning. 5. To learn the device using the library time per tick, check the Library button. By unchecking it, you can select the required time per tick for learning from the drop-list. 6. Click the Learn button to start learning the device. 7. The system starts learning the device by first trying to locate the position of the device in the clip. In case there is any problem the system displays the autoclipping fails error message. 8. In case of an output level error, the system prompts for an alternative. The user can either slow down the drive speed or loosen the threshold level and retry testing. 9. If the device fails due to the clock pins, the clock pin termination dialog box is displayed. Select the appropriate resistance and voltage value for driving the clock pin. (Fig 6.8).
Figure 6.8 - Clock pin termination dialog box 10. Click the Comment button, to display the Comment dialog box. The comment for the device can be entered in this dialog box. This comment is displayed automatically just before the device is tested in the Board Test mode (Fig 6.9).
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Figure 6.9 - Board device comment dialog box 11. Use the Board Setup option, to enter any relevant information, about the way the board is setup for learning or for testing. 12. Click the Guarding button to display the Guarding guide dialog box. The guarding information is displayed and can also be modified. 13. Click the Interactive button to get into the in-circuit mode of device testing. This is very useful for interactively testing a device that the user might suspect of misbehaving. Using this option, the user can interactively test a misbehaving chip without closing the Board Learn mode. When the user returns from the interactive mode, the board learn status is maintained as such. 14. While learning the devices, the results are displayed in the message window. 15. After testing the last device, the system stores the results in a log file and presents various options to the user (Fig 6.10). User can select any of these options. a. User can exit from the Board mode b. Restart the device sequence once again c. View test log in short mode d. View test log in verbose mode (detailed)
Figure 6.10 - End of Board Learn Sequence The test log generated can also be printed and stored for future reference.
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6.6 Associated Features

This section covers the various procedures that have to be clearly understood while learning a Known Good board in the Board Learn mode.
Device Sequence in Board Learn Mode

A new concept has been introduced in testing the devices in the Board Learn mode to make board learning easier. This feature enables you to fix up a sequence or an order by which the different devices in a board can be learnt. The detailed steps involved in defining the device sequence are listed below. 1. After creating a board and entering the device, the next step is to define a sequence in which the devices have to be learnt. 2. For every new board you open, a default sequence will be created which cannot be removed. But you can change the device sequence by moving up or down or by flipping the default sequence. There will be only one sequence for board learn and it will be the default sequence. 3. Next you choose the learn sequence. You cannot define the learn sequence for the board, unless you learn any one of the device in the board. You can either choose All devices or you can choose a combination of Learnt as Pass, Learnt as Fail and Unlearnt while defining the learn sequence. 4. The order in which the devices are learnt will be the same as that of the sequence you have selected. 5. You can also sort the devices in the order of Pin numbers.
6.7 Menu Description

This section describes the various options on the Board Learn front-end menu that needs to be set before invoking the Learn function.
6.7.1Threshold
Library Each device has its own drive voltage levels and receive threshold levels defined in the database. When the user selects the Library Threshold option, the device is learnt using the threshold defined in the library database. User At times, the device may fail when learnt using the threshold defined in the library. So, it may be required to learn the device using a different threshold rather than the one defined in the library. This is done selecting the User option. When the User option is selected, the system prompts the user to choose the threshold levels when learning the device.
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Figure 6.11 - Board Learn options
6.7.2 Time per tick

Library Each device has its default drive speed defined in the library program. When the user selects the Library option, the device is driven for learning using the speed defined in the library. At times, the device may fail when driven using the drive speed defined in the library. So, it may be required to learn the device using a different drive speed rather than the one defined in the library. This is done by unchecking the Library option and selecting the required speed from the drop-down list.
6.7.3 Location
The device locations displayed in the drop-list will be the one the user enters in the board database while creating the board. When the user has completed learning a device, the device location is automatically incremented to the next location entered in the Board file. The user can also select any location from the drop-list other than the one displayed and learn the device.
6.7.4 Device Name

Displays the name of the device in the current device location. The device name displayed is the one the user enters in the board database while creating the board. When the user has completed learning a device, the device name is automatically updated to the next device name present in the board database. The user can also move the up and down buttons to change the device name and learn the device. Once the device name changes, the device location is also changed automatically.
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6.7.5 Learn
Clicking the Learn button starts learning the device at the current device location. The learnt data for the current device is stored in the board database. When you relearn an already learnt device, you would be prompted whether to overwrite the learnt data present in the database for the current device.
6.7.6 Device Data

To get the device information, click the Device Data button. The pin-out information and the description of each pin is displayed in the clip window. The user can also make a hard copy of the device information.
6.7.7 Comment
Click this button to enter the comments for the current selected device. The user can store information regarding the current device for future reference. Information entered in the comment dialog box will be available from then on in both the board learn mode and board test mode. The user is allowed to edit the comments in the board learn mode but not in the board test mode.
6.7.8 Guarding
Click this button to edit the guard list. Editing the guard list is done when learning is not in progress. The user can also trace the links using this option and when the learning is not in progress. (The Guarding concept is same as the one explained under Interactive In-circuit testing but the relevant explanation with respect to Board Learn mode is explained in detail in the subsequent option).
6.7.9 Interactive
Click this button, to get into the in-circuit mode of testing. Getting into the in-circuit mode of testing, the device is tested without affecting the status of the board. The user can also test the device in a loop only in this mode.
6.8 Guarding Technique

During the Board learn mode of testing, user has the option to invoke the Guard menu. However, this depends on the Guarding option setup earlier (Set up Options menu). If the option Never is selected, then the guarding function cannot be invoked even while Bus devices or OC or OE devices are being learnt. If the option Always is selected, then the Guarding function can be invoked by selecting the guarding button and then suitably used. In this mode, it is possible to drive the guard channels while learning any type of device. If the option Only if appropriate is selected then the guarding function can be invoked while Bus devices or OC or OE devices are being learnt. First the Guarding channels have to be setup before proceeding further. By selecting the Guard Setup option (Icon), the Guarding channels setup dialog box pops out. The user can setup the flying channels located in the front panel of the system to drive HIGH / LOW using this option.
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Figure 6.12 - Guard channel setup dialog box The flying channels consist of two groups. Based on the channels detected the second group is enabled or disabled. Each of these flying channels can be set to drive HIGH / LOW using any of the available two palettes to guard the device (Fig 6.12).
Figure 6.13 - Palette setup dialog box To set this information on the flying channel, click the flying channel in the Guard channel setup dialog box whose palette information has to be set. The palette setup dialog box pops out with the available two palettes. Select the palette to be used and set whether the channel has to be driven high or low (Fig 6.13). So, when a bus device is encountered while learning, the user has to invoke the Guarding button and the system gives a list of devices that would need guarding and their respective pin numbers obtained from the board database, which the user keyed in before learning a board, as a guide for the user. The user can use his discretion based on the circuit, in deciding about selecting the devices that need guarding. User can also use the Trace Links Wizard option (explained in the next section) in selecting the devices. Select the entries and click the button Add in the Deleted guarding entries dialog box to add the deleted entries. Click the button Delete in the Guarding guide dialog box to delete the unwanted guarding entries. The user can select one or more entries to add or delete.
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Click the Skip button in the Guarding guide dialog box, while testing is in progress, to avoid driving of guard data in all the guard channels and test the current device normally.
Figure 6.14 - Guarding Guide dialog box Click the button Add in the Guarding guide dialog box to add the guarding entries deleted earlier. Clicking this button displays the Deleted Guarding Entries dialog box. Click the button Drive, to drive the guard data in all the guard channels shown in the guard list. Click the Trace button, to trace the links between the device under test and the other selected device with reference to the DUT. If multiple devices are selected to trace the links, the device whichever is present first in the selection is considered for tracing the links.
6.9 Trace links wizard

While testing a bus / O.C. / O.E. device in Board Learn mode sometimes it may not be required to guard all other bus / O.C. / O.E. devices present in the BUT since they may not be in the same bus. In this case it is suggested to remove all the unwanted pins from the guard list which will speed up the testing process. To remove the unwanted pins manually the user has to have the schematic of the board under test and should be familiar with the connection details which are not always possible in case of huge boards with many bus / O.C. / O.E. devices. So to make the guard list correction much simpler the Trace Links Wizard utility has been added in the Board Learn Mode.
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Figure 6.15 - Trace Links window To Invoke Trace Links Wizard, 1. Click the Guarding button in Board Learn window. 2. If the device under test is of type Bus / O.C / O.E and if there are one or more devices of the same type in the Board Under Test, a guarding guide appears. 3. Select the device to be traced from the guarding guide with respect to the device under test. 4. Click the Trace button to invoke Trace Links Wizard. This utility is same as the Circuit-Tracer application with limited usage. Here the maximum no. of clips that can be used is two. The devices whose type are same as that of the device under test alone are taken for tracing as given below: Device under test Bus type Open-Collector type Open-Emitter type Both Bus type as well as Open-Collector type Devices eligible for guarding Only Bus type Only Open-Collector type Only Open-Emitter type Both Bus type as well as OpenCollector type
Unlike in Circuit-Tracer, here the trace sequences will be generated only for the device under test and the selected device. Link detection is done only between bi-directional, output and enable pins. Also, no net list is generated in this utility. After completing the tracing, click the Back button to correct the guard list. The guarding guide dialog box will be displayed. All the pins that need guarding will be displayed with the remark either "Traced, drive high" or "Traced, drive low" depending upon the pin(s) type. Now if the user wants to delete these unlinked pins, he can do the same by clicking the Delete button. Also, the user is given the option to add the deleted pins by clicking the Add button.
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Figure 6.16 - Guarding guide dialog box
6.10 Board View Mode

QT200 provides a very useful feature by which the user can have a visual representation of the board being learnt or tested. Both the Board Learn and the Board Test modes of testing offer this facility. The board view window displays the status of each device that has been tested in the board mode. The board view window displays visual representations of the board under learn or test. The board view window displays the devices present in the board in various colors based on the status of the device. The legend in board learn mode are as follows: Board Learn mode - Legend Status Learnt as PASS Learnt as FAIL Unlearnt May be Wired OR Color Green Cyan Blue Yellow
When this Board View mode is invoked, Level 3 Menu (Utilities, Move To, Zoom, View, Align, Help, Close) is activated.
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6.11 Navigating in the Board View Mode

In the Board Learn mode, the devices can be dragged and positioned anywhere in the screen. Using the popup menu of the right mouse click, the device can be rotated and placed on the screen. This feature is provided to enable the user to position the devices as positioned in the board that is being tested. The device positions are saved and displayed in subsequent opening of the board view. To get the Device Info, click the right-mouse button on the device and select the Info option. The pop-up window displays the device details like the Device ID, Device name, Package, No. of Pins, Learnt/Unlearnt status. For learnt devices, the test results log can also be invoked from this window. (Fig 6.17)
Figure 6.17 - Device Info in Board View Multiple devices can be selected by holding the left mouse button down and dragging around the devices to draw a selection box. Devices partially outside the selection box are not selected. When the mouse button is released, all the devices inside the selection box are selected. Alternatively, multiple devices can be selected by pressing the SHIFT key and clicking the left mouse button on the devices. Either way, one device will be displayed in cyan frame to indicate that this device will be the reference. Now, the selected devices can be aligned to the top, bottom, left or right with respect to the reference device. The inter-spacing between the devices can also be made equal. The floating toolbar can be used to align the devices. The keyboard arrow keys (left, right, top and bottom) can be used to move the grouped devices. The grid lines can be viewed by pressing the character g or G or by using the menu View / Grid lines. The align bar can be viewed using the menu View / Align Bar. The color of the board can be changed using the menu Utilities / Set Color / Board. The color of the grid lines can be changed using the menu Utilities / Set Color / Grid Lines.
6.12 Using different Device Libraries

The extensive device library support for QT200 gets upgraded continuously, whenever test routines are developed for new devices and also when enhancements are made for the already existing devices. Whenever the devices are learnt in the Board Learn mode, the device library test settings are also stored in the board files along with the Board Learn results. These stored results are used as reference, while boards of the same type are being tested in the Board Test Mode. In some situations, test routines for some of the devices (that have already been learnt) could have been modified / enhanced in the new device libraries. If the user likes to get these devices tested according to the revised test routines, then such devices in the Board have to be re-learnt using the new device library test settings. To do so as a first step, these devices have to be deleted as many times as they are present in the
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board. Then they have to be re-learnt and the results should be stored in the board database, to be used for reference in the board test modes.
6.13 Board Setup

Using the board setup option, the user can enter any information regarding and also about the way the board is setup, for learning or for testing. Board Learn Mode This is a very useful on-board utility, for entering information pertaining to the board being learnt. Information can be classified into the following headings and entered into the notepad space provided. The information entered can be strolled and read. Switch Settings The user can enter details for the switch settings, which would be useful for future reference during Board Test. Clock disabling The details for clock disabling can be entered here.
Figure 6.18 - Board setup dialog box Power supply details The user can enter the power supply details. Other details The user can enter other information required here. Board Test Mode The useful information so entered during the Board Learn mode, will be displayed automatically during the Board Test mode, when a similar board is being tested. However, the information can be entered only in Board Learn Mode, and only reading is allowed in Board Test mode.
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6.14 Backing up the board files

QT200 provides a very useful facility by which the board files can be backed up and used in the future. Backup wizard enables the user to take backup of board files onto floppy disks / hard disks. The backed up files stored in a safe place, can be used to restore the board data, even if a board file is deleted accidentally. Complete test details of the Master board that is being learnt and the subsequent boards that are being tested, are all backed up by QT200, when this Backup Utility is invoked. The user can backup multiple board files and the backup can be used to restore either all the board files or selected board files. Huge board files can be backed up and the same can be restored in other machines. The testing can be done using the restored boards. Without backup wizard, the user has to enter all the devices again and all the devices in the board are to be re-learnt which consumes a lot of time. With the help of this wizard, all the details of the master board and board under repair are readily available to the user. This saves much of the user time.
* NOTE*:
For more details and functionalities, refer Chapter on Backup Wizard in System Manual.
6.15 Summary
This chapter has covered the crux of the functional testing methodology, i.e. the Board Learn method of functional testing. The next chapter would cover the Board Test method.
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Board Test Mode of Testing
Chapter 7 Board Test Mode of Testing

This Chapter covers the following topics Board Test Mode Description Step-by-Step Procedure Associated functions Guarding under Board Test mode Board View (Viewing the Results) Backup Wizard (Backing up the board files) Summary
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7.0 Board Test Mode

We have already seen in the last chapter that QT200 has an intelligent way of learning the boards. A good working board is selected, the devices in the board are learnt and their responses or test results are stored in the Board file. The complementary method for this Board Learn method is the Board Test Method, and this is generally used for testing a batch of bad boards. In this Board Test mode, the results of all the devices in the board are compared with the learnt data (learnt during the Board Learn Mode) that are stored in the board database, and the test results are declared based on the comparison status. This feature makes it an excellent choice for usage in PCB service centers, production floors, quality control, etc., since a large quantity of faulty boards can be easily troubleshooted, improving the Board Recovery rate.
* NOTE*:
The first section explains the step-by-step description of the detailed procedure of testing a Board. This is followed by the detailed description of the various options associated with the Board Test mode of testing.
7.1 Step-by-Step Procedure

The steps involved in testing a board are as follows: 1. Click the Board Test button from the toolbar or click the Mode menu and select the Board Test option. 2. The Open master board dialog box is displayed. Select the master board from the list and click the Open button. The boards to be tested are tested by comparing their test results with that of the master board.
Figure 7.1 - Open master board dialog box 3. Select the board under repair from the Select board dialog box displayed and click the Open button. To create a new board under repair, click the button New (Fig 7.2).
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Figure 7.2 - Select board dialog box 4. Select the sequence file from the Select Sequence file dialog box displayed and click the Open button. The existing sequence file can be edited using the Edit button. You can create a new sequence file using the New button. (Fig 7.3). However, the master sequence file cannot be edited.
Figure 7.3 - Select sequence file dialog box 5. Sequence the devices present in the board in the order you wish to test in the Test Sequence dialog box displayed and click the Proceed button. The board test window opens. (Fig 7.4).
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Figure 7.4 - Test sequence dialog box 6. The Board test window is displayed. The device name and the device location are displayed as set in the previous step. 7. Place the clip on the device that is to be tested.
Figure 7.5 - Board Test window 8. To test the device using the default threshold defined in the library, check the Library threshold button. To test the device in the user defined threshold, select the User button. The user would be prompted to set the threshold while testing. 9. To test the device using the library time per tick, check the Library button. You can select the time per tick from the drop-list if you do not want to test using the library time per tick. In that case, you have to uncheck the Library checkbox.
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10. Click the Test button, to start testing the device. 11. The system starts testing the device by trying to locate the position of the device in the clip. In case there is any problem with auto-clipping, the system displays an error message. 12. In case of an output level error, the system prompts for an alternative. The user can either slow down the drive speed or loosen the threshold level and retry testing. 13. If the device was learnt using clock pin termination in the Board Learn mode, then the device is tested automatically using clock pin termination in the Board Test mode. But, if the device was learnt without using clock pin termination, and in the Board Test mode if the device test result is different due to clock pin failure, then, in that case the Clock pin termination dialog box is displayed.
Figure 7.6 - Clock pin termination dialog box 14. In the Clock pin terminator dialog box, the clock pins of the DUT with their default values of resistors and voltages are listed. User can change these values and click the Drive button for the changes to take effect. User can also skip the termination process by clicking the Skip button 15. Clicking the Device Data button, the Clip Window opens displaying the details of the device. 16. Clicking the Comment button, displays the Comment dialog where the comment for the current device was entered while learning the board. 17. Clicking the Guarding button, displays the Guarding guide dialog box where the guarding information is displayed. If you had chosen to guard the device when learning the board, this dialog box automatically pops up when testing, showing the pins you need to choose to guard.
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18. Clicking the Interactive button gets into the in-circuit mode of device testing. This is very useful for interactively testing a device that you might suspect of misbehaving, but you don't want to close the board and get into interactive mode. When you return from the interactive mode, your board status is maintained as such.
7.2 Device Sequence in Board Test

The concept of device sequence that has been introduced in testing the devices in Board Test mode makes board testing much more easier.
1. Open the master board i.e. the board you have learnt. 2. Then create a Board under repair or open an existing Board under repair. 3. Define a new sequence or use the default sequence for the board under repair. 4. The default sequence cannot be modified. So you can save it as a different sequence and
use that sequence for testing the board.
5. After defining the sequence that is to be used for testing, you have to select the devices for
testing. You can choose to test only failed, suspected or manually passed devices, by selecting them.
6. In defining a test sequence you can either choose All devices or you can choose a
combination of Passed, Failed, etc. (Fig 7.7)
7. The order in which the devices are tested will be the same as that of the sequence you have
selected.
8. You can also sort the devices according to the No. of pins.
Figure 7.7 - Selecting Devices for Testing
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7.3 Menu Description

The front-end menu options in the Board Test mode menu are similar to the options provided in the Board Learn mode, and hence are not repeated here. However, some specific fields, which are of relevance to the Board test mode, are explained below. Test Click the Test button to start testing the device at the current device location. The device under test is compared with the learnt data that is stored in the database. When the device compares same, the device is said to PASS otherwise it is said to FAIL. (This test option is the primary function differentiating the Board Test mode from the Board Learn mode). Comment Click this button to view the comments for the current selected device. The comments stored in the Learn mode are displayed here. The user is not allowed to edit the comments in the Board Test mode.
Figure 7.8 - Board test options window Guarding Click this button to edit the guard list. Editing the guard list is done when the test is not in progress. The user can also trace the links using this option and when the test is not in progress. Interactive Click this button, to get into the in-circuit mode of testing. Getting into the in-circuit mode of testing, the device is tested without affecting the status of the board. The user can also test the device in a loop in this mode.
7.4 Guarding technique

In the Board Test mode, if the user selects the Guard menu, the Guarding channel setup dialog box pops up. The user can setup the flying channels located in the front panel of the system to drive HIGH / LOW using this option. The flying channels consist of two groups. Based on the hardware channels detected, the second group is enabled or disabled. Each of these flying channels can be set to drive HIGH / LOW using any of the available two palettes to guard the device.
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To set this information on the flying channel, click the flying channel in the Guard channel setup dialog box whose palette information has to be set. The palette setup dialog box pops up with the available two palettes. Select the palette to be used and set whether the channel has to be driven high or low.
Figure 7.9 - Guarding Guide in Board Test Mode Click the Guarding button to display the Guarding guide dialog box. The user can set the flying channel to drive high / low by clicking the corresponding button. In this mode, the system highlights the pins that are book marked in board learn for guarding (Fig 7.9). Click the Skip button while testing is in progress, to avoid driving of guard data in all the guard channels and tests the current device normally. Click the button Drive to drive the guard data in all the guard channels shown in the guard list.
7.5 Board View Mode

In the previous chapter, we have covered in detail the feature by which the test results of the BUT (Board Under Test) can be viewed. Both the Board Learn and Board Test modes of testing offers this facility. The board view window displays the status of each device that has been tested in the Board mode. The board view window displays visual representations of the board under learn or test (Fig 7.10).
* NOTE*:
Selection and the field descriptions: They are same as described under the Board Learn Mode in Chapter 9 and so not repeated here.
7.5.1 Board View in Board test mode

In the Board Test mode, when a device fails the user is given the option to set the status of each device to Failed or Suspected or Manually Passed. Based on the suggestion, the device is marked accordingly. The results of the board are stored and can be opened any time.
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Figure 7.10 - Board view window Status Pass Fail Suspected Untested Manually Passed Unlearnt Color Green Red Cyan Blue Light green Yellow
The table given in the previous page gives the legends adopted in this mode. Further, the other options used for moving and aligning the devices are not applicable here, since the user is not given the option of altering the device positions in the Board Test mode. Here too, the grid lines can be viewed by pressing the character g or G or by using the menu View / Grid lines. The color of the board can be changed using the menu Utilities / Set Color / Board. The color of the grid lines can be changed using the menu Utilities / Set Color / Grid Lines.
7.6 Backing up the board files

This utility enables the user to take backup of board files onto floppy disks / hard disks. The backed up files can be stored in a safe place and can be restored if a board file gets deleted accidentally. Complete test details of the Master board that is being learnt and the subsequent boards that are being tested, are all backed up by QT200, when this Backup Utility is invoked. The Backup utility can be better understood now, since you would be having a clear idea about the Board Test Function also.
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7.7 Summary
In this chapter, the various aspects of testing of QT200 in Board Test Mode have been covered. With this insight, we can now move on to the next section to cover the other method of testing - the QSM-VI method.
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QSM-VI Concept & Interactive Testing
Chapter 8 QSM VI - Concept & Interactive testing

This Chapter covers the following topics Introduction to QSM Selection and Modes of Testing Pre-requisites before invoking QSM Mapping Channels (Package & Fixture) Setting up various test options

Interactive QSM-VI Trace Control Panel, Clip Window, Waveform Window and Procedure Device Scan and Device Compare Summary
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8.0 QSM - Concept

We already know that the innovative VI trace method is the second best method of troubleshooting, next to the functional testing method. QT200 uses another powerful technique called QSM VI-Trace for testing the devices by measuring the nodal impedance. While the standard VI trace measures the signatures with reference to Ground - a fixed reference, the QSM-VI (Qmax Signature Method) adopts the movable reference principle, making troubleshooting more productive. Though the basic concepts underlying the QSM methodology have been discussed in detail in the first chapter, a brief overview of the same is repeated below for quick reference and continuity. The QSM (Qmax Signature Method) or the super VI Comparison Test for both analog and digital components is a dynamic impedance test for determining the terminal characteristics of a device. This is useful in comparing the nodal characteristics of a suspect board or device against a known good board or device. It does not require any test programs written and hence is independent of the functionality of the device unlike ICFT. Additionally, the QSM-VI advantage is the movable reference nodes for measuring the VI traces. The QSM-VI tests are essentially power-off tests and are carried out using simple DUT interface like multi-pin test clips, probes or custom test fixture. This makes the VI-Trace, an ideal tool for testing digital devices as well as analog devices such as transistors, resistors, diodes, regulators and also custom devices. Combined with the ICFT, it can effectively pinpoint a fault in the target board.
8.1 Selection
The QSM VI method of testing can be selected from the Programs Visual WorkStation for QT200 QSM VI for QT200. Alternatively, it can also be invoked from the Visual WorkStation for QT200 program, by selecting the Invoke QSM VI or Invoke Interactive QSM VI option from the Utilities section in the Level 2 menu.
8.2 Modes of Testing

The VI-Trace test can be done in two modes: Interactive and Stored. Interactive Mode In the Interactive mode of testing, you can probe the nodes or pins of a device in any sequence. The analog signal trace at each of these nodes (to a limited extent) can be stored and recalled again for testing. Stored Mode of testing In the stored mode of testing, it follows the Board learn and test method as in Visual Work Station. Learning a Board In the board learn mode, VI-Traces of all the pins of a device are stored in a Board file as learnt database, to be used as reference while testing a faulty board of the same type. Testing a Board When the board is tested in the VI-Trace-board test mode, the VI traces are compared with the learnt database. The comparison is made depending upon the test options set. The clip window, the waveform window and the control panel give detailed display of the test results, which can be suitably inferred.
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8.3 When to use QSM-VI for troubleshooting?

Normally, the QSM method is adopted for troubleshooting when you are unable to troubleshoot a PCB using ICFT methods. It is also used in case of testing generic components, for testing devices not supported in the library and also for testing devices for which you cannot develop a test program using IDDE. But it is a must to have a known good working board (KGB) for adopting the QSM methodology for comparing the reference responses with the signatures from the faulty board. Sometimes, discrete devices like transistors might have test programs developed, but suitable clips/probes may not be available to test those specific packages. In such cases, they can be tested and troubleshooted only by using the flying channels instead of clips. But, you need the IDDE software to program the flying channels. This is an optional utility and so users not having this utility can instead use the QSM methodology. Also in the Board Test mode of ICFT, if any particular device is not passing then interactive QSM can be invoked and the device can be tested after learning the signatures from a KGB and comparing it with the results obtained.
8.4 Pre-requisites before invoking QSM

8.4.1 Calibrating the equipment
One of the main pre-requisites for carrying out the QSM testing is that QT200 needs to be calibrated before being used. Especially the Analog channels being used for troubleshooting using QSM needs to be properly calibrated. And this Calibration can be performed by using the TestJig PCB and associated TestJig software. (Refer Chapter on TestJig in the System Manual for more details, especially the Calibration section and the Analog Drive testing sections).
8.4.2 Mapping Channels

The next step before proceeding with the QSM testing is we need to map the test channels of QT200 with the actual test points where the nodal characteristics are to be traced. The actual hardware interface / connection details between the Euro connectors on the QT200s front panel to the test points, are entered using the mapping option. This is like a look-up table for the test program, to drive the test patterns at the right nodes and trace the characteristics.
8.4.3 Mapping channels for Fixture design

You can map various devices in the board to the channels. Mapping channels for the fixture design is done as follows: 1. Click the Utilities / ChannelMapping / Fixture Design option. 2. The Fixture Design dialog box is displayed where the various devices can be mapped to the channels. 3. You can open an existing fixture type, by selecting the fixture name from the list provided. 4. You can enter the device name in the Device Location box. You can also select specific devices using the increment / decrement buttons. 5. Device Name should be entered in the Device Name Box. The total pins of the device are then automatically entered in the Total pins box. If the Device is not supported by the library, the system will prompt you to enter the Total pins manually. 6. Messages are displayed in the dialog box about the current device and fixture type.
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7. The total number of pins that are mapped in the fixture type is displayed. 8. To locate the channel to which a particular point of the Fixture Design is connected, click the button Locate Chl.
Figure 8.1 - Map Channels - Fixture design dialog box 9. You can map a number of pins to channels at the same time using the Auto Map button. 10. The Auto Map Channel dialog box is displayed. Set the total number of pins and the starting channel. You can opt to map the pins to channels continuously (i.e. to channels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4....) or alternately (i.e. to channels 0, 2, 4, 6, 8...). 11. To map for each and every pin, click the Add Pin button. After entering the channel number and pin number click this button to add the pin to the mapping. The Total Pins are updated when a new pin is added to the list. 12. The mapping for all the pins that are mapped are displayed in the Pin Map List. The pin number and their corresponding channel to which they are mapped are displayed here. 13. To design a new fixture type, click the button New. The New Fixture Name dialog box is displayed. Enter the new fixture name in the box provided. 14. To save the fixture type click the button Save. If there are any error in the mapping, appropriate messages are displayed before saving. Make the necessary corrections and save the fixture type. 15. To quit designing fixture types, click the button Quit.
8.5 Setting up various test options

Similar to the Functional testing mode, QT200 also offers the user the flexibility of setting up various test options, to suit the individual need. This is an important pre-requisite that needs to be setup, before starting the actual testing. However, the test conditions setup can always be changed if required, during the testing process.
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8.5.1 Function
This option is used to set various test conditions for QSM-VI method of testing the devices both in the interactive mode and also the board learn / test modes.
8.5.2 Selection
To invoke this option, select the Options Icon or select the Options option from the Utilities submenu.
8.5.3 Description
When this option is selected, the default or the previously set options will be shown. The options that can be set include the type of VI-drive, the mode of access, etc.
Figure 8.2 - Setup Options dialog box
Log
When the log is On, the test results are all logged into a file. The log can be displayed in either of the two formats Short and Verbose. When the option Short is selected, the contents of the log file are given in short simplified form. When the option Verbose is selected, the contents of the log file are in detail. When the log is Off, the test results are not logged into the file. In the Short mode only failure analysis reports and the Device / Board Pass or Fail status are reported. In Verbose apart from the analysis report, each pin failure report is included in the Log.
Enter Channel for Pin 1

Enter the starting channel for CLIP 1 or CLIP 2.
DRC check
When this option is On, then the DRC check is performed.
Store after Entered Device Count

This option enables to store the details into the database only after the entered count of devices are tested / learnt. i.e., If you enter 2, on every 2nd device, database will be updated with the learnt / tested device data. This saves testing time by saving at user defined intervals. By default, it is 1, to store after each device is finished learning / testing.
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Log operation
Suppress Pass Message in Test Log Select this box to avoid displaying the pass messages in the log file. Suppress DRC Message in Test Log Select this box to suppress the DRC message in the log file. Save Log Select this box to save the log file. Cut off % for deviation Failures to be logged Specify the cut off % for the deviation failures to be logged. The percentage deviation above the specified cut off percentage alone is displayed in the log. This is applicable in verbose mode only as deviation errors will not be reported in short format.
Log Print Options

Auto Print Log on End of Board Select this box if you want to automatically print the log file at the end of board test. Limit Device Log Length to Print Select this box to limit the number of lines to be printed for the device log. Limit Board Log Length to Print Select this box to limit the number of lines to be printed for the board log. Print Length per Device This option is enabled only if the Limit Device Log Length to Print is enabled. Specify the number of lines that has to be printed in the box provided. Print Length per Board This option is enabled only if the Limit Board Log Length to Print is enabled. Specify the number of lines that has to be printed in the box provided.
Define Operating Mode here

Stop at End of Device Select this box to stop after testing a device. The user has to click the Test or Learn button to continue with the next device. With this box unchecked, the board is tested continuously without the users intervention. Verify After Learn When this box is selected, the learnt data is verified. Run Self test On Startup Selecting this option, the selftest is performed every time QSM is invoked. Stop if Device Fails When this box is selected the learning / testing process is stopped when a device fails. Confirm Links Selecting this option will confirm the Links obtained in regular probing of pins. Link confirmation can be selected / deselected in Learn mode. The same thing will apply to the verify and test mode, where the learnt mode is followed. Link confirmation will be useful to avoid points termed as short, like any Low impedance point such as between power points or in case of reactive impedance loads. B.U.T Power On Select this box to turn on the B.U.T power. After all the options are set properly, click the OK button to confirm your settings and close the options window. To cancel and revert to previous settings, click on the Cancel button. The settings made are used for the complete operations as default whenever the QSM-VI mode of testing is invoked.
8.6 Interactive VI-Trace

This option can be used for testing a board under Interactive VI-Trace option. When this option is selected, the Interactive waveform window opens along with the control panel and clip window as
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shown in Fig.8.3. In the interactive mode, the control panel is positioned on the left side of the window, the clip window on the upper-right side and the waveform window on the bottom-right side. In the waveform window, the current trace is displayed. In the control panel, the options, which were set earlier, will be shown. These options can be changed any time according to your needs.
8.6.1 Function
The basic front-end for the interactive mode of testing is similar to the functional testing mode, and all the relevant parameters that needs to be entered are displayed as fields. In this mode each device can be interactively tested, using the various test accessories like the clips or the probes.
* NOTE*:
The Interactive QSM-VI testing routine, is essentially the same routine that is called for in the Board Learn and Board Test modes.
Figure 8.3 - Interactive VI-Trace window
8.6.2 Selection
This option can be selected by either selecting the Mode / Interactive option from the menu or select the Interactive button from the toolbar.
8.6.3 Field Description

There are various test attributes, provided as options in the interactive testing front-end menu and the different sections i.e. Control Panel, Clip window and the Waveform window, are clearly explained below.
8.6.4 Control Panel

The following options are set to test the board interactively in the control panel.
8.6.4.1Device Info Device Location
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The location of the devices present in the fixture are all displayed here when the mode of testing is fixture. If the mode of testing is not fixture then the device location is displayed as U1. On clicking the increment / decrement button, the device location is either decremented or incremented. Device Name Specify the name of the device that is to be tested. Total Pins Enter the total number of pins for the device you are about to test. Test Pin Displays the pin number that is being tested. Initially, the pin number is set to 1. To select the specified pin, use the increment / decrement buttons. Ref Pin Enter the reference pin with respect to which the pin is to be tested. You can select a particular reference pin using the increment / decrement buttons. 8.6.4.2 Connection Info Clip1 Selecting Clip1 makes the mode of testing to be clip and selects Clip1 for testing. Clip2 Selecting Clip2 makes the mode of testing to be clip and selects Clip2 for testing. Probe1 Selecting Probe1 makes the mode of testing to be Probe and selects the flying probe as PROBE1. Probe 2 Selecting Probe2 makes the mode of testing to be Probe and selects the flying probe as PROBE2. Ref1 Selecting Ref1, selects the flying reference as REF1. Ref2 Selecting Ref2, selects the flying reference as REF2. 8.6.4.2 Characteristics Info Voltage The voltage range can be set to 2.5V, 8V or 13V. Normally, while entering into the interactive mode, the previous set value is displayed. By default, the value is set to 2.5V. You can select a particular voltage using the increment / decrement buttons. Frequency The frequency range can be set to either 40Hz, 312Hz, 2500Hz. Normally, the previous set value is displayed. By default, the value is set to 40Hz. You can select a particular frequency using the increment / decrement buttons. Current The current can be set to either High or Medium or Low or Zero. When Zero current is selected, there is no drive and only receive is possible. Normally, the previous set values are displayed initially. By default, the current is set to Medium. Cycles The cycle can be set to 1, 2, 4 or 8. Normally, the previous set value is displayed. By default, the value is set to 1.
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8.6.4.3 Comparison Mode Linear Selecting the display as linear makes the VI-Trace comparison to be a linear envelope. Non-Linear Selecting the display as non-linear makes it suitable for semiconductor nodes or digital ICs. Here the positive half of the drive signal above +0.6 volt is not significant (don't care region). But the entire region below +0.6 volt is linearly compared. Error % Checking this option, takes the difference between the current trace and open circuit trace. In case there are some stored traces, the last stored trace is taken for the comparison along with the current trace. The difference is taken and calculated using a formula defined to get an Error of 100 % between a short and open circuit traces. Tolerance % In Error % comparison mode, the resultant percentage Error is compared to this tolerance% to fail or pass a node. The user shall enter the value between 1 to 100, above which difference the trace is termed as failed. 8.6.4.4 Dual Trace Checking the Dual Trace mode, two boards can be tested simultaneously and the traces compared. This is done by testing the trace with two probes i.e. probe 1 with respect to fixed reference 1 and probe 2 with respect to fixed reference 2. This mode would be useful in fast diagnosis of two similar boards without storing the traces. When this option is checked, the other modes (clip, probe1, probe2) are disabled. If Probe is selected, you should use both Probe1 and Probe2. If Reference is used, the system uses both the reference probes. In Clip mode, the system takes trace from Clip1 and Clip2. Fixture is not allowed in Dual Trace Mode. 8.6.4.5 Show Trace Check this box, if you want to view every trace while testing. If this option is unchecked, the traces of all the pins are tested at one go during Device Scan and Compare modes. 8.6.4.6 Fail Stop Check this box, if you want to stop testing when a fail condition is encountered during Device Compare mode. 8.6.4.7 Trace View Traces Stored Displays the number of traces that are stored. A maximum of 4 traces can be stored. View Mode V-I Selecting V-I, displays the waveform as voltage plotted against current. The display type can be changed while performing the test. V-T Selecting V-T, displays the waveform as voltage plotted against time. The display type can be changed while performing the test. V-Z Selecting V-Z, displays the waveform as voltage plotted against impedance. The display type can be changed while performing the test. Start Interactive Clicking this button starts testing interactively.
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Device Scan / Compare The Device Scan and Device Compare functions are provided as onboard utilities, options are provided as clickable icons, and they are useful features for testing individual devices. Clicking the Device Scan menu, scans the device for any links within itself and any open pins and Clicking the Device Compare menu tests the two devices pin by pin simultaneously in the interactive mode. Clicking the Device Scan menu, scans the device for open pins and the links present within the device. The open and short pins detected are displayed in the result box and the HiZ pins are displayed in the clip window. The Device Scan Connect Info is explained in detail under the Device Scan section (Fig 8.4) Clicking the Device Compare option, compares two devices simultaneously. Here, the two devices are connected to CLIP1 & CLIP2 and / or Probe1 & Probe2 and / or Ref1 & Ref2. The Device Compare Connect Info is explained in detail under the Device Compare section (Fig 8.5). Stop Interactive Clicking this button, stops testing interactively. Store Clicking this button, stores the current trace that is being tested interactively. Remove Clicking this button, removes the trace that is stored. If there are no traces stored, the Remove button is disabled. Back Clicking this button, quits the interactive mode of testing.
Clip window
The clip window is displayed in the top right corner of the screen. The device is graphically displayed with the pin numbers. The labels of the device are displayed in the first column i.e., adjacent to the device. The current status of the device is displayed in the second column. The current status includes the links between the device and HIZ pins. The previous status of the device is displayed in the third column. The previous status refers to comparing two devices in the interactive mode, verifying in the board learn mode and testing the device in the board test mode. The fourth column displays the pin failure percentage while testing. Trace window For the trace taken between any two nodes or pins, four waveforms can be stored in the screen. Thus, you can compare traces from four different boards. The waveforms are shown in different colors for easy identification. Also, the voltage and impedance or current or time are dynamically displayed on the bottom right corner for the cursor position according to the mode selected i.e. V-T, V-Z, V-I. This mode of VI-Trace is useful for comparing VI-Traces of a node on four different boards (same circuit). After the waveform is displayed, click the Store button on the tool window to fix it on the screen. To remove a stored trace, click the Remove button. Last in first out order of deletion is followed. If you are using the Clip mode, place the clip on the device to be tested. Then enter the Device Name (if the Device is not in library set the Total Pins manually) and go on incrementing the Pin Number, Reference Pin and notice the VI-Trace between the two pins. If you want to store its trace, click the Store button. To remove the stored trace, click the Remove button. To exit from the Interactive VI-Trace test, click on the Quit button.
8.7 Step-by-step Procedure

A trace can be learnt in the interactive mode as follows:
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1. Place the clip on the device, if you are to use the clip as the testing mode. There is no auto clip and you will have to align Clip's Pin 1 to Device's Pin 1 always. 2. Enter the total number of pins for the device that is to be tested interactively. 3. Set the pin number and reference pin and click the Start Interactive button to start testing the trace interactively. 4. Set the values for voltage, frequency, cycles and current at which the device is to be tested in the interactive mode. 5. Set the display type whether linear or non-linear or whether some percentage error can be allowed. If you select error % enter the tolerance % that can be allowed. 6. Set the Connect option whether Clip1 or Clip2 or probe1 or probe2 or Ref1 or Ref2 or Fixture. 7. Set Dual Trace option, to test two boards simultaneously. When the Dual Trace is set, you can view the traces of each pin of both the board interactively and can do a comparative study about the cause of Pass / Fail. 8. Click the Device Compare menu to test two devices pin by pin simultaneously in the interactive mode. Clicking the Device Scan menu to scan the device for any links within itself and any open pins. 9. Set the display whether the trace is plotted as voltage against current (V-I) or voltage against time (V-T) or voltage against impedance (V-Z). 10. Check the Show Trace option, to show each and every trace. 11. The pin is tested with respect to the reference pin that is set. In the interactive mode, the device is tested with fixed reference only i.e., Ref Pin that is set. 12. Click the Stop Interactive button, to stop testing the trace interactively. 13. To store a trace, click the Store button. You can store a maximum of four traces at a time. Once a trace has been stored, you cannot change the display type (linear, non-linear or error%). This is enabled again, only when all the stored traces are removed. 14. To remove the stored trace, click the Remove button. The total number of traces stored are also displayed. 15. Once the device is tested, the result is displayed in the interactive window. 16. To quit the interactive mode, click the button Back.
8.8 Device Scan

The Device Scan function is a very useful utility provided in the interactive QSM mode. This feature is especially useful when you have to test individual devices, because the complete testing of the device including tracing links, detecting shorts or opens, tracing the nodal characteristics, etc. is done in one shot.
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Clicking the Device Scan button invokes the Device Scan Connect Info dialog box (Fig 8.4), where you have to specify the Pin Sequence.
Figure 8.4 - Device Scan Connect Info
8.8.1 Procedure Pin Sequence

8.8.1.1 Fixed Reference The device is learnt using fixed reference. The Traces are taken for all the Pins with reference to the Reference Pin No (Normally Ground Pin will be specified) specified by the User. 8.8.1.2 QSM VI The device is learnt using QSM VI. In this mode the device is tested for all possible pin combination available. 8.8.1.3 Adjacent Pins The adjacent pins of the device are learnt. The Pin combinations are defined taking into account general view of the device, package and tracks in a board to find out any track shorts or adjacent pin shorts. This mode will be useful if the user needs fault coverage as said above and not actual device failure. This will save Test time also. 8.8.1.4 Proceed Click this button to proceed further. It scans the device for open pins and the links present within the device. The open and short pins are displayed in the result box and the links / HIZ are displayed in the clip window. 8.8.1.5 Abort Click this button to abort the process.
8.9 Device Compare

The Device Compare function is useful in comparing two similar devices simultaneously. The characteristics of a good device tested can be compared with that of the suspected device being troubleshooted. This is very similar to the device scan function but done simultaneously for two devices. Clicking the Device Compare button compares two devices simultaneously. Here, the two devices are connected to CLIP 1 and CLIP 2, and / or Probe 1 & Probe 2 and / or Ref 1 & Ref 2. Clicking the Device Scan button invokes the Device Scan Connect Info dialog box (Fig 8.5), which displays the connection information, and you have to specify the Trace Comparison Tolerance percentage and the Pin Sequence.
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8.9.1 Procedure
8.9.1.1 Device Connect Mode In the connection mode clip or Probe 1 or Probe 2 selection is displayed. 8.9.1.2 Comparison Mode Displays the mode of comparison. 8.9.1.3 Trace Comparison Tolerance Enter the % of tolerance (in the device compare mode) whether the comparison is done allowing some % tolerance.
Figure 8.5 - Device Compare Connect Info Pin Sequence 8.9.1.4 Fixed Reference The device is learnt using fixed reference. The Traces are taken for all the Pins with reference to the Reference Pin No (Normally Ground Pin will be specified ) specified by the User. 8.9.1.5 QSM VI The device is learnt using QSM VI. In this mode the device is tested for all possible pin combination available. 8.9.1.6 Adjacent Pins The adjacent pins of the device are learnt. The Pin combinations are defined taking into account general view of the device, package and tracks in a board to find out any track shorts or adjacent pin shorts. This mode will be useful if the user needs fault coverage as said above and not actual device failure. This will save Test time also. 8.9.1.7 Proceed Click this button to proceed further. 8.9.1.8 Abort Click this button to abort the process.
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8.10 Summary
From this chapter, you would have gained a basic under-standing of the facts underlying the QSM concept, the various pre-requisite functions that needs to be executed like the Calibration, Mapping of channels, Setting-up test options, etc. The basic mode of QSM testing - the Interactive mode of testing is discussed elaborately and with this knowledge, you would be able to appreciate the Board Learn and Board Test modes of testing, covered in detail in the subsequent chapters.
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QSM- Board Learn Mode
Chapter 9 QSM - Board Learn Mode

This Chapter covers the following topics Concept of QSM Board Learn Mode Board Learn mode of Troubleshooting Step-by-step Procedure Viewing the Results Board View under Board Learn Mode Show Traces Summary
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9.1 Concept
As we have already seen, the QT200 has an ingenious way of testing the boards under the QSM mode also. A good working board is selected, the nodal characteristics of the devices in the board are learnt and are stored. The QSM board learn method of testing is very useful for testing faulty boards, especially boards populated with Analog devices, or unknown devices, since it does not depend on the device library support for testing. As discussed in the Interactive QSM testing. It is designed in the most userfriendly manner, and so the test results are accurate and complete. In this mode, all test conditions are the same as that adopted in the interactive mode, but the device test results are stored in the board database for comparing it in the complementary board test mode. Any good board can be learnt using the board learn mode and the results compared for testing the faulty boards during the Board test mode.
9.2 Board Learn Mode of Troubleshooting

Board learn method adopts the policy of learning all the devices present in the board being learnt according to the sequence pre-set by the user. The process of capturing the nodal characteristics of the devices in the board are carried out in the same manner as the interactive testing, but the test results are stored in the board database in the same order as the device sequence preset by the user. A board fails the test, even if one device fails to pass the test. This Board Learn procedure is very helpful, since it provides the correct/good device signature references while testing large quantity of faulty boards of the same type. In this board learn mode, devices in the board can be manually positioned as they are in the board, in board view window. The various options provided makes trouble-shooting, a much easier process.
* NOTE*:
The first section explains the various options provided under the Board Learn mode of testing. This is followed by the step-by-step description of the detailed procedure of Learning a Board.
9.2.1 Selection
This option can be selected by either selecting the Board Learn Icon or the Board Learn sub-menu option from the Mode menu.

The following section describes the various options that needs to be set before invoking the Board Learn mode. In this mode window, the control panel is positioned on the left side, the clip window on the upper-right side and the waveform window on the bottom-right side. The following fields are to be set or entered to learn the board.
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Figure 9.1 - Board Learn window
9.2.3 Control Panel Board Name

Displays the name of the board, entered in the Board Database List Dialog Box (Fig 9.2).
9.2.4 Device Info

9.2.4.1 Location Specify the location at which the device is learnt. Once the device is learnt, the device location is automatically incremented to the next location. On clicking the increment / decrement button, the device location is either decremented or incremented. 9.2.4.2 Name Specify the name of the device that is to be learnt. 9.2.4.3 Total Pin Specify the total number of pins of the device that is to be learnt. The total number of pins can be varied using the increment / decrement buttons. 9.2.4.4 Pin Specify the Pin No. that is to be learnt. Once a pin is learnt, the pin number is incremented to the next pin number automatically. On clicking the increment / decrement button, the pin number is decremented or incremented. 9.2.4.5 Ref Pin Specify the reference pin with respect to which the device is learnt. Click the increment / decrement button to vary the reference pin.
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9.2.5 Connection Info

9.2.5.1 Clip 1 Selecting Clip 1 makes the mode of testing to be clip and selects Clip 1 for testing. 9.2.5.2 Clip 2 Selecting Clip 2 makes the mode of testing to be clip and selects Clip 2 for testing. 9.2.5.3 Fixture Selecting fixture, makes the mode of testing to be fixture. 9.2.5.4 Probe 0 Selecting Probe 0, makes the mode of testing to be probe and selects flying probe as PROBE 0. 9.2.5.5 Probe 1 Selecting Probe 1, makes the mode of testing to be probe and selects flying probe as PROBE 1. 9.2.5.6 Ref 0 Selecting the button Ref 0, selects the flying reference as REF 0. 9.2.5.7 Ref 1 Selecting the button Ref 1, selects the flying reference as REF 1. 9.2.5.8 Package List / Fixture List Set the package type from the list displayed. If the mode of testing is clip, then the package list comprises of standard packages like DIP, SIP and other user defined packages. You can define a package using the menu Utilities / ChannelMapping / Package Design. If the mode of testing is probe, then all the fixture types are listed here. The fixture type can be set by using the menu item Utilities / ChannelMapping / Fixture Design.
9.2.6 Characteristics Info

9.2.6.1 Voltage The voltage range can be set to 0.6V, 1V, 2.5V, 8V or 13V. Normally, while entering into the board mode, the previous set value is displayed. By default, the value is set to 2.5V. You can select a particular voltage by using the increment / decrement buttons. 9.2.6.2 Frequency The frequency range can be set to 40Hz, 312Hz or 2500Hz. Normally, while entering into the board mode, the previous set value is displayed. By default, the value is set to 40Hz. You can select a particular frequency by using the increment / decrement buttons. 9.2.6.3 Cur / Imp Using this option, you can set the current in the case of Trace test and Impedance for the Voltage test. The Current / Impedance can be set to either High or Medium or Low or Zero. When Zero current is selected, there is no drive and only receive is possible. Normally, the previous set values are displayed initially. By default, the value is set to Medium. 9.2.6.4 Cycles The cycle can be set to 1, 2, 4 or 8. The previous set value is displayed. By default, the value is set to 1. 9.2.6.5 Comparison Linear Selecting the display as linear makes the VI-Trace comparison to be a linear envelope.
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Non Linear Selecting the display as non-linear makes it suitable for semiconductor nodes or digital ICs. Here the positive half of the drive signal above +0.6 volt is not significant (don't care region). But the entire region below +0.6 volt is linearly compared. Error % Checking this option, allows the user to compare the traces later in test mode for the deviation percentage between the learnt and test traces. The default good board Tolerance is 0% which is stored while learning. If the user wishes to include the good devices deviation tolerances to be added while testing later, it is a must for him to verify the device. In this case, the deviation obtained while verifying, will be stored as the good device tolerance for each pin's trace. In Learn the traces are learnt but not compared. In Verify mode the traces are compared with the learnt ones. In Test mode, the learnt tolerance is added to the user selected tolerance. The deviation of the Learnt and Test traces are compared to this added value to pass or Fail the comparison. 9.2.6.6 Tolerance % In Error % comparison mode, the resultant percentage error is compared to this tolerance% to fail or pass a node. The user shall enter the value between 1 to 100, above, which difference the trace is termed as failed. In the test mode, the trace deviation error is compared with the added value of this tolerance% and the learnt tolerance to fail or pass a node. The user shall enter the value between 1 to 100, above, which difference the trace is termed as failed.
9.2.7 Show Trace

Check this box, if you want to view every trace. If this option is unchecked, the traces of all the pins are learnt at one go.
9.2.8 Fail Stop

Check this box, if you want to stop testing when a fail condition is encountered.
9.2.9 StepRate
Check this option, when you want to test the device giving a uniform predetermined testing time for each and every pin. Any leakage present in the pins due to drive of previous pins that may deteriorate slowly due to the surrounding impedance. Using step rate mode, this leakage variation can be avoided by taking traces in predetermined intervals. If the user chooses this option, the FailStop and ShowTrace option is overridden to avoid any stopping in between. Anyway the user can always view the traces in Show trace mode for the traces learnt / tested in this mode.
9.2.10 View Mode

V-I Selecting the V-I button, displays the waveform as Voltage plotted against Current. The display type can be changed while performing the test. V-T Selecting the V-T button, displays the waveform as Voltage plotted against Time. The display type can be changed while performing the test. V-Z Selecting the V-Z button, displays the waveform as Voltage plotted against Impedance. The display type can be changed while performing the test.
9.2.11 Learn
Clicking the Learn button, starts learning the device.
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9.2.12 Verify
Clicking the Verify button, verifies the learnt data of the device. When the learnt data and the verified data are different, then the device is considered to be unstable. Thus, you can check the stability of the device using the Verify option. Please note that, when you choose Error % mode for comparing, verification is suggested to take the good device's deviations into account while testing later. You can verify the data automatically by checking the option Verify After Learn in the Device Learn Connect Info dialog box.
9.2.13 Retry
Clicking the Retry button, relearns or verifies the current pin that is learnt of verified.
9.2.14 Proceed
Clicking the Proceed button, proceeds the learn/verify process.
9.2.15 Quit
Clicking the Quit button, quits the board learn mode.
9.2.16 Interactive ON
Clicking the Interactive ON button gets into the interactive mode.
9.2.17 Interactive OFF

Clicking the Interactive OFF button comes out of the interactive mode.
9.2.18 Clip window

The clip window is displayed in the top right corner of the screen, similar to the QSM Interactive mode of testing. The graphical display of the device along with the details like the pin numbers, current status, the previous state, etc. are displayed in this window similar to the Interactive mode.
9.2.19 Trace window

For the trace taken between any two nodes or pins, four waveforms can be stored in the screen. Thus, you can compare traces from four different boards. The waveforms are shown in different colors for easy identification. Green is always the current trace. Also the voltage and impedance, current or time are dynamically displayed on the bottom right corner for the cursor position according to the mode selected i.e. V-T, V-Z, V-I. This mode of VI-Trace is useful for comparing VI-Traces of a node on four different boards (same circuit). After the waveform is displayed, click the Store button on the tool window to fix it on the screen. To remove a stored trace, click the Remove button. Last in first out order of deletion is followed. If you are using the Clip mode, place the clip on the device to be tested. Then enter the Device Name (if the Device is not in library set the Total Pins manually) and go on incrementing the Pin Number, Reference Pin and notice the VI-Trace between the two pins. If you want to store its trace, click the Store button. To remove the stored trace, click the Remove button. To exit from the Interactive VI-Trace test, click on the Quit button.
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9.3 Step-by-step procedure in Learning a board

The board mode comes up with a number of options that are set to learn the device. You can learn a device as follows: 1. Click the Board Learn button from the toolbar or click Mode / Board Learn from the menu. 2. If you are going to open an existing board, select the board file from the List of Board files dialog box and click the button Open. To open a fresh board click the button New, enter the name of the board, close the dialog box and then click the button Open (Fig.9.2). 3. In the Board Database List dialog box (Fig. 9.3) add the devices to the database list. Use buttons Add and Delete for adding / removing the devices in the database list. Once complete, click the Done button. In case the device is not found in the library you are prompted with the total number of pins for that device. 4. Select the sequence file to be used from the sequence file dialog box (Fig. 9.4). 5. Sequence the devices in the Learn Sequence dialog (Fig. 9.5) and click the Proceed button. 6. The Board learn window is already displayed in Fig. 9.1.
Figure 9.2 - List of board files dialog box
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Figure 9.3 - Board Database List dialog box
7. Place the clip on the device, if you are going to use the clip for testing. There is no auto clip and you will have to align Clip's Pin 1 to Device's Pin 1 always. 8. The Device details for the device say location; name and the total number of pins for that device are displayed. 9. Set values for the Voltage, Frequency, Current / Imp and Cycles at which the board has to be learnt. 10. Select whether the comparison is linear or non-linear or some percentage tolerance can be allowed. If so, enter the percentage of tolerance that can be allowed while learning. By default, it is set to 5%. If the comparison is one allowing percentage tolerance, you should verify the learnt data using the Verify button.
Figure 9.4 - Select sequence file dialog box
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Figure 9.5 - Define Learn Sequence dialog box 11. Set the display for the trace whether it is Voltage plotted against Current (V-I) or Voltage against Time (V-T) or Voltage against Impedance (V-Z). 12. Set the mode of testing, whether you are going to use the clip / Fixture (as per device details) or Probe mode for learning the board. 13. Connect the device to be learnt according to the package selected or in the case of fixture connect the fixture. If learning through probe connect the probe / reference to the first pin combination. 14. To show each and every trace, check the Show Trace option. This option will not be active if Step Rate is enabled. 15. To stop testing when a failure is encountered check the Fail Stop button. This option will not be active if Step Rate is enabled. 16. Click the Learn button, to learn the device with respect to a particular reference(s). 17. The Device Learn Connect Info dialog box (fig. 9.6) is displayed on clicking the Learn button. Set the options for the learn mode and click the Continue button. To set the user defined pin combination click the Define Pin Combination button. The User Defined Pin Combination Selection dialog box is displayed as in Fig. 9.7. For more details on this refer, On-line help.
Figure 9.6 - Device Learn Connect Info dialog box
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Figure 9.7 - User Defined Pin Combination Selection dialog box 18. The device is learnt starting from pin 1 till the total number of pins are learnt, at one go. To learn a trace in between, set the pin number which you wish to learn and click the Learn button. To view the trace for each and every pin, you should have checked the Show Trace option. The trace is displayed for that pin until you click the Proceed button. 19. Once all the pins of the device are learnt, the result of the board learn is displayed in the control panel result box. Also, the pins that have failed due to open and short condition are listed in the result box and are also displayed in the panel bar. 20. Once you click the Abort button in between the learning process, you would be prompted whether to save the learnt data. Please note that, if you have checked the StepRate you would not be able to abort the process in between. 21. The board status is automatically updated each time and displayed in the toolbar. Click on the status to view the result in detail. You can also click the Board View menu to display the result of the board learn session in detail. 22. In the learn mode, to verify the learnt data of the device, click the Verify button. Using this option, the device stability is checked in the learn mode itself. 23. In the case of linear and non-linear comparison, there are three tolerance levels namely Tight, Medium and Loose. These refer to the number of bit errors each tolerance level accommodates. 24. Tight refers to + 3 bit error, Medium refers to + 5 bit error and Loose at + 9 bit error.
9.4 Device Sequence in Board Learn

A new concept has been introduced in testing the devices in the Board Learn mode to make board learning easier. By this, you can sequence the order in which the devices should be learnt.
*NOTE*:
Though this concept and the necessary steps, have been included in the procedure, it is repeated below for a quick reference. To learn a board, create a board and then enter the devices in that board. Next define a sequence in which the devices have to be learnt.
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For every new board you open, a default sequence will be created which cannot be removed. But you can change the device sequence by moving up or down or by flipping the default sequence. There will be only one sequence for board learn and it will be the default sequence. Next you choose the learn sequence. You cannot define the learn sequence for the board, unless you learn any one of the device in the board. You can either choose All devices or you can choose a combination of Learnt as Pass, Learnt as Fail and Unlearnt while defining the learn sequence. The order in which the devices are learnt will be the same as that of the sequence you have selected. You can also sort the devices in the order of Pin no.
9.5 Viewing the results

9.5.1 Function
QT200 provides a very useful feature by which the test results of the BUT (board under test) can be viewed. Both the Board Learn and the Board Test modes of testing offers this facility. The board view window displays the status of each device that has been tested in the board mode. The board view window displays visual representations of the board under learn or test.
9.5.2 Selection
This mode can be selected either by invoking the View Results option under the View mode or by activating the pie-chart display icon situated at the top right corner of the Board Learn/Test screen. This is a toggle icon and changes the display between the Board Learn/Test window and the Board View Window. When this Board View mode is invoked, Level 3 Menu (Utilities, Zoom, View, Align, Help, Close) is activated. This mode is invoked by default, whenever a new device is added or when a new board is being learnt.
*NOTE*:
Though these menu options are clearly described in Chapter 3, and Chapter 10 - Board Learn under Functional Testing (WorkStation), and so they are NOT repeated here to avoid repetition.
9.5.3 Device Info

To get the device information, click the right-mouse button on the device and select the Info option. The board view window displays the devices present in the board in various colors based on the status of the device.
9.6 Board View Mode under Board Learn

You can see a visual representation of the Board under Learn or Test as in Fig. 9.8. You can view the whole board by zooming in. To zoom a particular device click on the specified device. To get information about a particular device, click the right-mouse button on the device and select the Device Information option. The Board View window displays the devices present in the board in various colors denoting the various status.
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Figure 9.8 - Result window The legend in the board learn mode are, Board learn mode-Legend:
Status
Learnt UnLearnt
Color
Green Blue
In the Board Learn mode, the devices can be dragged and positioned anywhere in the screen. Clicking the right mouse button you can also rotate the device and place it in the screen using the pop up menu. This is provided because, you can position the devices as positioned in the board that is being tested. The device positions are saved and displayed in subsequent opening of the board view. You can select multiple devices by holding the Left Mouse button down and dragging it Drag the mouse to draw a selection box around the devices you want to select. Devices partially outside the selection box are not selected. When you release the mouse button, all devices inside the selection box are selected. Alternatively you can select multiple devices by pressing the Shift Key and clicking the left mouse button on the devices you want to select. Either way, one device will be shown in Cyan Frame to indicate that this device will have prominent control. Now you can align the devices selected to Align Top, Align Bottom, Align left, Align right. You can also make the inter-spacing between the devices same. You can make use of the Floating Tool Bar to align the devices. The grid lines can be viewed by pressing the character g or G or by using the menu View / Grid lines. The align bar can be viewed using the menu View / Align Bar. The color of the board can be changed using the menu Utilities / Set Color / Board. The color of the grid lines can be changed using the menu Utilities / Set Color / Grid Lines.
9.7 Show Traces

Traces taken at different pins with respect to various reference pins can be viewed at the same time using the option Show Traces from the Utilities menu in the board learn and test mode. In the board learn mode the learnt traces alone are displayed, whereas in the board under test mode both the learnt and test traces are displayed.
9.7.1 Selection
This option can be invoked from the Show Traces option from the Utilities sub-menu.
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9.7.2 Menu Descriptions

Print Print / Print Setup : This option invokes the Print option. View View Failed Trace Only (Iconic representation also): By invoking this option, only the Failed traces are shown in this window. View Passed Trace Only (Iconic representation also): By invoking this option, only the Passed traces are shown in this window. View All Traces (Iconic representation also): By invoking this option, ALL the traces are shown in this window. Previous (Iconic representation also): You can move to the Previous Trace screen, by invoking this option. Next (Iconic representation also): You can move to the Next trace screen, by invoking this option.
Figure 9.9 - Show traces window
9.7.3 Setup Options (Iconic representation)

This option invokes the Setup Options display, where you can set up various parameters, like Auto clipping, Guarding, etc, that needs to be setup initially according to the test requirements.
9.7.4 Help (Iconic representation also)

Contents: The Help contents are listed. Using Help: Tips for using the Help, is listed here. Context Help: This invokes the on-line context sensitive Help.
9.7.5 Back (Iconic representation also)

You can go back to the Board Learn or Board Test mode from this Show Traces application, by invoking this option.
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9.7.6 Description
Only eight traces can be viewed at a particular time. The traces are displayed for all possible pin combinations in a sequence. To view the next set of 8 traces, click the Next button. To view the previous set of 8 traces, click the Previous button. Click on the trace to zoom a particular trace. The traces will be shown enlarged in Zoom trace dialog. In Board Test Mode, you have the option to view traces Failed or traces passed or All traces.
9.8 Summary
This chapter has covered in detail the various aspects of the QSM VI - Board Learn mode of troubleshooting. This is not complete unless the complementary mode i.e. the Board Test mode is covered. The next chapter covers the Board Test mode, thus completing the QSM VI concepts of troubleshooting.
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QSM- Board Test Mode
Chapter 10 QSM - Board Test Mode

This Chapter covers the following topics Concept of QSM Board Test Mode Step-by-step Procedure Viewing the Results Board View mode under Board Test Mode Summary
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10.1 Concept
Similar to the Functional testing method of troubleshooting, the Board Learn mode of testing has a complementary test method i.e. the Board Test mode, in QSM method also. A good working board is selected; the nodal characteristics of the devices in the board are traced and stored as the signatures, and compared with the results obtained from the faulty boards. If the results match the stored signature, you can declare the board to have passed the test. The test results are informative to the extent that the program exactly shows which pins of the device has caused the failure. QT200 provides the user to create many boards under repair and in different sequences for testing a board. The traces captured at the different nodes can be clearly viewed using the Show Traces option before passing any device. Status of each device is represented in colors in board view for easy identification.
10.2 Board Test mode

Board test method is the complementary method to the Board Learn Mode, similar to the functional testing procedures. In this mode, the process of measuring the nodal characteristics of the devices in the board are carried out in the same manner as the interactive testing, but the test results are compared with the results of the good board learnt, stored in the board database in the same order as the device sequence preset by the user. A board fails the test, even if one device fails to pass the test. This Board Test procedure is very helpful, since it is helpful while testing large quantity of faulty boards of the same type, especially when the boards are populated with analog devices and unknown devices, which cannot be troubleshooted using the functional testing concept. In this board test mode, devices in the board cannot be manually positioned as they are in the board, in board view window. The various options provided makes trouble-shooting, a much easier process.
* NOTE*:
This section explains the various options provided under the Board Test mode of testing. This is followed by the step-by-step description of the detailed procedure of testing a Board.
10.2.1 Selection
This option can be selected by either selecting the Board Test Icon or the Board Test sub-menu option from the Mode menu.

The following section describes the various options that needs to be set before invoking the Board Test mode. The following options are displayed in the board test mode. Please note that, the values that are set while learning the board are displayed here and some of these values cannot be edited. For details on the control panel refer topic under the section Board Learn mode.
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Figure 10.1 - Board test window
10.2.3 Control Panel Board Name

The name of the board that is tested is displayed.
10.2.4 Device Info

10.2.4.1 Location The location at which the device is tested is displayed. Once the device is tested, the device Location is automatically incremented to the next location. On clicking the increment / decrement button, the device location is either decremented or incremented. 10.2.4.2 Name The name of the device that is to be tested is displayed. 10.2.4.3 Total Pin The total number of pins of the device that is being tested is displayed. 10.2.4.4 Pin Displays the pin number that is to be tested. Once a pin is tested, the pin number is incremented to the next pin number automatically. On clicking the increment / decrement button, the pin number is decremented or incremented. 10.2.4.5 Ref Pin The reference pin with respect to which the device is tested is displayed. You can vary the reference pin using the increment / decrement buttons.
10.2.5 Characteristics Info

10.2.5.1 Voltage The voltage range can be set under this option. Normally, the voltage value with which the device is learnt is displayed while testing and this value cannot be changed. You can vary the Voltage using the increment / decrement buttons.
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10.2.5.2 Frequency The frequency range can be set under this option. Normally, the frequency displayed is the one with which it has been learnt. The frequency cannot be changed while testing the board. You can vary the frequency by using the increment / decrement buttons. 10.2.5.3 Cur / Imp Using this option, set Current in the case of Trace test and Impedance for the Voltage test. The Current / Impedance can be either High or Medium or Low or Zero. When Zero current is selected, there is no drive and only receive is possible. The value with which the device has been learnt is displayed while testing. This value cannot be changed while testing the board. 10.2.5.4 Cycles The cycle can be 1, 2, 4 or 8. The cycle can be changed during the board test mode. 10.2.5.5 Comparison Linear Selecting the display as linear makes the VI-Trace comparison to be a linear envelope. Non Linear Selecting the display as non-linear makes it suitable for semiconductor nodes or digital ICs. Here the positive half of the drive signal above +0.6 volt is not significant (don't care region). But the entire region below +0.6 volt is linearly compared. Error % In Test mode, the learnt tolerance is added to the user-selected tolerance. The deviation of the Learnt and Test traces are compared to this added Value to pass or Fail the comparison. 10.2.5.6 Tolerance % In Error % comparison mode, the trace deviation error is compared with the added value of this tolerance % and the Learnt Tolerance to fail or pass a node. The User shall enter the value between 1 to 100, above which difference the trace is termed as failed.
10.2.6 Connection Info

Clip 1 Selecting Clip 1 makes the mode of testing to be clip and selects Clip 1 for testing. Clip 2 Selecting Clip 2 makes the mode of testing to be clip and selects Clip 2 for testing. Fixture This is selected, when the mode of testing is fixture in the learn mode. This cannot be changed in the board test mode. Probe 1 This is selected when the mode of testing is PROBE 1. Probe 2 This is selected when the mode of testing is PROBE 2. Ref 1 This is selected when the mode of testing uses Reference 1. Ref 2 This is selected when the mode of testing uses Reference 2. Package List / Fixture List The package type / fixture type set in the board learn mode is displayed here.
10.2.7 Fail Stop

Check this box, if you want to stop testing when a fail condition is encountered.
10.2.8 Show Trace

Check this box, if you want to view every trace. Uncheck this option to test the traces of all the pins at one go.
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10.2.9 View Mode

V-I Select the V-I button to display the waveform as Voltage plotted against Current. The display type can be changed even in the board test mode. V-T Select the V-T button to display the waveform as Voltage plotted against Time. The display type can be changed even in the board test mode. V-Z Select the V-Z button to display the waveform as Voltage plotted against Impedance. The display type can be changed even in the board test mode.
10.2.10 Test
Click the Test button to start testing the device.
10.2.11 Retry
Click the Retry button to retest the current pin combination.
10.2.12 Proceed
Click the Proceed button to precede the testing process.
10.2.13 Quit
Click the Quit button to quit the board test mode.
10.2.14 Interactive On
Click this button to set the interactive mode On.
10.2.15 Interactive Off

Click this button to set the interactive mode Off.
10.2.16 Clip Window

The clip window is displayed in the top right corner of the screen. The device is graphically displayed with the pin numbers. The labels of the device are displayed in the first column i.e. adjacent to the device. The current status of the device is displayed in the second column. The current status includes the links between the device and HIZ pins. The previous status of the device is displayed in the third column. The previous status refers to comparing two devices in the interactive mode, verifying in the board learn mode and testing the device in the board test mode. The fourth column displays the pin failure percentage while testing. Clicking the right mouse button, a pop up menu is displayed using which you can maximize and restore the window.
10.2.17 Waveform window

Clicking the Test button, will test the device. The waveform is dynamically displayed for each pin tested. To view each and every trace of the device, click the Show Trace button. The error result of the pin that is tested is displayed in the top right corner of the window. Also, note that, the waveform window is not displayed when the Show Trace option and the Stop On Fail option are disabled. The voltage and time or impedance or current are dynamically displayed on the bottom right corner for the cursor position according to the mode selected i.e. V-T, V-Z, V-I. To quit the board test mode, click the Quit button.
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10.3 Step-by-step Procedure in Testing a board

A board can be tested in the board test mode as follows: 1. Clicking the Board Test button, the Open Master Board dialog box (Fig.10.2) is displayed. Select the master board from the list and click the Open button. The other boards are tested comparing this master board. The Edit Tolerance option allows you to define individual Test Tolerance Value for each pin combination of a device in the selected Master Board. 2. Select the board under repair from the Select Board dialog box (Fig. 10.3) displayed and click the Open button. To create a new board under repair click the button New. 3. Select the sequence file from the Select Sequence File dialog box displayed and click the Open button. You can edit the existing sequence file using the Edit button. You can create a new sequence file using the New button. 4. Sequence the devices present in the board in the order you wish to test in the Test Sequence dialog box displayed and click the Proceed button. The board test window opens (Fig. 10.1). 5. Place the clip on the device, if you are to use the clip as the testing mode. There is no auto clip and you will have to align Clip's Pin 1 to Device's Pin 1 always. If the device is part of a fixture connect to the fixture whose user defined name is shown under fixture list. If to be tested in Probe mode, choose the probes and connect the first pin combination to the probe. If learnt in step rate mode, using probes in test is not allowed as step rate needs to maintain the predetermined timings it took while learning. 6. The values you have set in the board learn mode are displayed in the test window. Some of these values cannot be changed here. i.e., with whatever conditions you have learnt a board are used for testing the board also. 7. Click the Test button to test the device.
Figure 10.2 - Open Master Board dialog box
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Figure 10.3 - Select Board dialog box 8. The Device Test Connect Info dialog box (Fig. 10.4) is displayed with the values set in the board learn mode. Click the Continue button to continue the testing session.
Figure 10.4 - Device Test Connect Info dialog box
9. The device is tested starting from pin 1 till the total number of pins are tested at one go. To test a pin in between, set the pin number which you wish to test and click the Test button. To view the trace for each and every pin, you should have set the Show Trace at the setup options. If you need to stop and view those pins that fails, set the option Fail Stop before testing. The trace is displayed for that pin until you click the Proceed button. You can try again using the RETRY button. Test can be stopped in between using Esc key anytime except in Step rate mode where it will stop at the end of the device only. 10. If a device failed, the user is given the option (Fig.10.5) whether to mark it as failed or manually passed or suspected. This status is considered for identifying the device at later stages.
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Figure 10.5 - Device Comparison Failed dialog box 11. Once all the pins of the device are tested, the result of the board comparison is displayed in the board test window. 12. The board status is automatically updated every time and displayed in the toolbar. Click on the status to view the result in detail. Also the results can be viewed clicking the Board View menu. 13. The Clip Window shows all those links and opens obtained in both learn and test mode. The closest link and open report next to the device label represents those obtained in Test mode. The next outer column shows the clip status obtained while learning a good board. The outermost column shows the failing pin occurrence percentage. This occurrence failures are shown in percentage the number of times a pin fails to the number of times that pin comes under testing. This failure percentage will be useful in tracking down the faults to the pin level by checking the highest p percentage failed pins. This link and occurrence failure Reports shall be viewed to analyze in case a device fails comparison and the user can categorize the device to be a failed / suspected / manually passed one. For later analysis you can view all of them in the log for all the devices tested.
10.4 Device Sequence in Board Test

Similar to the Board Learn mode, the device sequence concept has been introduced in testing the devices in Board Test mode also to make board testing easier.
*NOTE*:
Though this concept and the necessary steps, have been included in the procedure, it is repeated below for a quick reference. 1. Open the master board i.e. the board you have learnt. 2. Then create a Board under repair or open an existing the Board under repair. 3. Define a new sequence or use the default sequence for the board under repair. 4. The default sequence cannot be modified. So you can save it as a different sequence and use that sequence for testing a Board. 5. After defining the sequence to be used for testing, you have to define Test sequence. You cannot define the test sequence until you test at least one of the device.
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6. In defining a test sequence you can either choose All devices or you can choose a combination of Passed, Failed, etc. 7. The order in which the devices are tested will be the same as that of the sequence you have selected. 8. You can also sort the devices in the order of Pin no.
10.5 Board View under Board Test Mode

The board view window displays the status of each device that has been tested in the board mode. The statuses are identified in various colors in the board test mode. They are as follows:
Figure 10.6 - Board View in Board Test Mode Board test mode - Legend
STATUS Pass Fail Suspected Untested Manually Passed Unlearnt
COLOR Green Red Cyan Blue Light green Yellow
The device information such as device ID, device name, package type, total number of pins and the status can be obtained by clicking the right-mouse button on the device in the result window and selecting the Device Information option. When a device fails, you are given the option to set the status of each device whether failed or suspected or manually passed. Based on your suggestion, the device is marked accordingly. The results of the board are stored and can be opened any time.
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10.6 Summary
With this chapter, we have covered in detail the various aspects of the QSM method of testing, starting from the Interactive mode, up to Board Learn and the Board Test mode of troubleshooting. With this section, we have covered the major test methods supported by QT200, after the detailed introduction sections. The next section covers all the other utilities provided by QT200, as additional features helping the user for better troubleshooting.
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Oscilloscope for QT200
Chapter 11 Oscilloscope for QT200

This Chapter covers the following topics A Brief Introduction to Qmax Digital Oscilloscope Fundamentals of Digital Oscilloscope Functional description of Qmaxs Oscilloscope Main Features Oscilloscope options Triggers Summary
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11.0 Introduction
Aimed at easing the challenging demands of Engineers working in fields as diverse as telecommunications, electronic design and testing, computers and defence, the scope has become an indispensable measurement tool in any laboratory. QT200 tester that finds a place in any PCB repair industry comes with a handy on-board oscilloscope utility. Qmaxs Triple Channel Oscilloscope for QT200 combines high bandwidth, fast sampling rates, extensive trigger capabilities and signal processing. This oscilloscope is designed to serve as a range of different instruments: oscilloscope, transient recorder, frequency meter and digital voltmeter.
11.1 Fundamentals of Digital Oscilloscope

Digital oscilloscopes and waveform digitizers sample signals using a fast analog to digital converter. At evenly spaced intervals, the ADC measures the voltage levels and stores the digitized value in high speed dedicated memory. The shorter the intervals, the faster the digitizing rate are, and so higher signal frequency can be recorded. The greater the resolution of the ADC, better is the sensitivity to small voltage changes and with more memory, the recording time is longer. Benefits of long memories in digital oscilloscopes are: 1. No details are missed on the waveforms thanks to higher effective sampling rate. 2. Permanent glitch capture without waveform distortion. 3. Better time and frequency resolution.
11.2 QT200s Oscilloscope - Functional description

Qmaxs Triple Channel Oscilloscope for QT200 is a powerful high-resolution instrument for waveform analysis. The instrument features 12 bit ADCs, 8K of non-volatile acquisition memory per channel and a highly sophisticated trigger system to capture signals including spikes and glitches. Scope utility is provided with five voltage ranges and nine time base ranges. These are useful for measuring signals with a minimum timebase of 80 microseconds to 9.6 milliseconds. There are facilities for capturing waveforms, and analysis is possible through cursor measurements. Capturing of the expected waveforms is possible with powerful triggering facility. Single mode is available to see the instant waveforms.
11.3 Main features

12-bit resolution 8K memory per channel Display quality with 400 X 400 pixels Segmentable memories with trigger point stamps Dynamic source impedance selection User friendly interface Three channels
11.4 Selection
The oscilloscope utility can be selected from the Programs Visual WorkStation for QT200 Oscilloscope.
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11.5 Oscilloscope Options

In the Oscilloscope dialog box the control options are set for the Scope Utility. The controls settings like voltage, offset specific to the voltage are set in the Channels group box. In the Timebase+Trigger group box, the trigger condition, trigger modes are set and to select the timebase. Descriptions of the control are explained below:
Figure 11.1 - Oscilloscope options dialog box
11.5.1 Channels
11.5.1.1 Trace ON / OFF This group helps in switching the channels. These button controls are toggling type with ON and OFF functionality. 11.5.1.2 Select Multiplexed control for channel settings. This select control settings determines which channel the control is pointing to.
*NOTE*:
Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 3 of the scope corresponds to FC1, FC2, and FC3 of the machine. 11.5.1.3 Impedance System employs the source impedance for the channel that is selected. 11.5.1.4 Voltage System displays the voltage range for the channel that is selected. 11.5.1.5 Offset Forms the reference for the up on which the received wave form is displayed. Using this control this can be swayed up and down the screen.
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11.5.2 Timebase+trigger
11.5.2.1 Auto Click this button to automatically re-arm after each sweep. If no trigger occurs, one is generated at an appropriate rate. 11.5.2.2 Normal Click this button to re-arm after each sweep. If no trigger occurs after a reasonable length of time, the message No or Slow Trigger will be displayed. 11.5.2.3 Single Click this button to hold the display after a trigger occurs. Re-arms only when the Single button is pressed again. 11.5.2.4 Stop Click this button to stop the triggering. To restart click the Auto or Normal button. 11.5.2.5 Level Level is used to adjust the voltage at which trigger should take place. Level works in concatenation with delay. 11.5.2.6 Delay Delay controls the time offset at which trigger should occur. Delay works in concatenation with level. 11.5.2.7 Trigger To set up the trigger condition like +ve edge or -ve edge, with respect to channel, Trigger button is used. 11.5.2.8 Timebase Selects the timebase for which processing is done.
11.6 Triggers
The power of a digital oscilloscope in any given application depends on a combination of several features including the ability to trigger on the event of interest. For the QT200 oscilloscope we can specify a channel for triggering along with trigger voltage and trigger delay. There are different modes of operation supported by the scope utility, which are as follows: Auto Automatically re-arms after each sweep. If no trigger occurs, one is generated at an appropriate rate. Normal Re-arms after each sweep. If no trigger occurs after a reasonable length of time, the message No or Slow Trigger is displayed. Single Holds display after a trigger occurs. Re-arms only when the Single button is pressed again. Stop Stops the triggering. To restart click Auto or Normal button.
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Positive Edge Triggering The main objective of positive edge triggering is to lock the required transition (positive transition) after the delay specified by the user. Here the triangle present at y-axis specifies the threshold voltage level and the arrow present at the x-axis specifies the delay required. It is evident from the figure the locking point is the triggered point (Fig 11.2).
Figure 11.2 - Positive edge triggering Negative Edge Triggering The main objective of negative edge triggering is to lock the required transition (negative transition) after a delay specified by user. Here the triangle present at y-axis specifies the threshold voltage level and the arrow present at the x-axis specifies the delay required. It is evident from the figure the locking point is the triggered point. (Fig 11.3)
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Figure 11.3 - Negative edge triggering
11.8 Measurements
QT200 Scope uses mouse cursor for its measurements. It is possible to get different readings like voltage and time elapsed from the start of the sample. This can be done by placing the mouse cursor to the required position on the Scope screen. The voltage and time displayed corresponds to the channel selected. When the signals are triggered, the triggered delay point refers to a time of 0; points preceding this are measured as negative time base with respect to delay point. Points succeeding this are measured as positive time base. It is possible to do mathematical operations over this received waveform like measuring the voltage and time lapsed between two-cursor selection. If the received waveform is not triggered the reference is taken as the start point of the scope.
11.9 How to measure voltage and timebase?

To measure the voltage and timebase do the following steps given below in sequence. 1. Select from the menu Utilities => Show Measurement Lines. The system will request you to click the first reference point. The request will be in the color of the active channel (Fig. 11.4)
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Figure 11.4 - Oscilloscope window 2. Now click the first reference point with your left mouse button once. Reference point will be denoted as a + in pink color. This is illustrated as shown (Ref. Fig. 11.5). 3. After this, the system requests for the measurement point. Next left button click will denote second reference point. This will also be displayed as below in Fig. 11.6. 4. System displays the voltage difference and time base between measurement point and reference point with appropriate polarity (Ref. Fig. 11.7).
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Figure 11.5 - Oscilloscope window
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11.10 Summary
This chapter has covered the various aspects of the Oscilloscope utility provided with the QT200 tester. Needless to say that this is a very handy tool for the service engineers. The next chapter would cover the other useful onboard tool the Digital Multimeter.
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Multimeter Utility
Chapter 12 Multimeter Utility

This Chapter covers the following topics Introduction Performing the Measurements Resistance Capacitance Voltage A Brief description on how to perform the measurements of various parameters Summary
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12.0 Introduction
QT200 is a functional test system that is being used in places like Production floors, Assembly units, Service Centers, etc. This is a main troubleshooting system and in most of the situations, the user would need to measure the basic vital parameters like Resistance, Capacitance and Voltages before proceeding with the functional testing or the signature method of testing the devices. So, it is provided with a built-in Digital multimeter facility, a very useful feature for on site usage. The following section gives details of this feature and the range of measurements that are possible with QT200.
12.1 Performing the Measurements

12.1.1 Function
The multimeter mode as the name implies is the on-board multimeter feature used for measuring Resistance, Capacitance and Voltages, during trouble-shooting operations.
12.1.2 Measurement Ranges

Resistance Capacitance Voltage : 10 Ohms to 1 MOhms : 100 pF to 10000 F : +/- 13V
12.1.3 Selection
This mode can be selected by selecting the Digital Multimeter option from the Utilities menu. Alternatively, this utility can also be invoked by selecting the Digital Multimeter icon from, Functional Testing - Level 2 menu (In-circuit, Out-circuit, Board Learn & Board-Test) QSM-VI - Level 2 menu (Interactive, Board Learn & Board Test)
Figure 12.1 - Digital Multimeter measurements
12.2 Procedure Description

1. The multimeter measurements should be done between Probe 1 and Ref 1 ONLY and the measured value is displayed, in the dialog box.
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2. You can choose to measure resistance or capacitance or voltage, by selecting the required option. However, resistance option is selected by default. 3. You can place the connected probes across the component/device/track where you need to measure the desired parameter and then click the Start button to start measuring the same. 4. This invokes the measurement routine, and the measured value is displayed. 5. In case of measuring Capacitance, you have to keep the measuring probes open till you get the first reading, for stabilized measurements. 6. You can click the Stop button to stop measuring or for proceeding with another measurement. 7. Click the Done button, if you have finished using this utility.
12.3 Summary
This chapter has described the digital multimeter utility in detail, to facilitate the user. In addition to the detailed coverage of the various test options for both functional and QSM-VI testing, the other two utilities effectively used for troubleshooting i.e. TestJig & Multimeter utilities have been well covered.
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Multimeter Utility
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Miscellaneous
Chapter 13 Miscellaneous
This Chapter covers the following topics Introduction to Miscellaneous Utilities Upgrading Board Files from other versions Migrate Wizard o Why Migrate? o How to Migrate board files? o Step-by-step Procedure Uninstalling QT200 Summary
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Miscellaneous
13.0 Miscellaneous Utilities - An Introduction

The earlier chapters under Section 5 discussed the various utilities provided by the QT200. However, there are some other miscellaneous features provided by the tester, which are discussed in this chapter. The Upgrade utilities & the Migrate Wizard used for migrating board files from earlier versions and the Uninstall utility are clearly discussed here. In a nutshell, the various options provided for upgrading the board files from the different earlier versions, are grouped and listed below, for quick reference. They are also clearly discussed in the following sections.
13.1 Upgrading Board Files from other Versions

QT200 provides the Import utility to convert and copy the board files stored using the earlier Versions ICFT Version 1.42 and Visual WorkStation 1.xx, as the two options provided under the Utilities menu, of the functional testing Visual WorkStation front-end menu. This upgrading is slightly different from the Migrate wizard, because the software versions involved in this upgrading are different. Especially the software versions released earlier than the Visual workstation 1.2 can be upgraded only by using these options. It is provided as a different utility because here the database structures of the board files are different and need to be converted before getting imported to the current version of the software.
13.2 Upgrading Board files from ICFT version 1.42

You have to use this option to upgrade board files from ICFT Version 1.42. This procedure consists of two major steps: First, the board files have to be exported from relevant directory and then as a next step they have to be imported to the present running version of the software.
Step-by-step Procedure
1. Run the application Export Board from ICFT version 1.42 from the Visual WorkStation for QT200 version 1.2 folder from the Start menu. 2. In the file open dialog box that appears, traverse to the directory in which ICFT version 1.42 is installed, and double-click on the sub-directory named PROJECTS. 3. Select the board file that you want to export to the current version. It will be displayed with a .BRD extension. For example, if the name of the board is "DEMO", it will be "DEMO.BRD". 4. The application will generate a file called "DEMO.TXT" in that working directory itself, that is, if ICFT Version1.42 is installed in C:\QT200, this file will be generated in C:\QT200\PROJECTS 5. Start Visual WorkStation for QT200 version 1.2, from the Program folder. 6. In the main screen, select the menu item Import. Under that, select the item Import from ICFT version 1.42. You will be prompted to choose the .TXT that was created earlier as aforesaid. Please traverse to that directory, and select this file, for example, DEMO.TXT in C:\QT200\PROJECTS.
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Figure 13.1- Upgrading Board files from ICFT Ver 1.42 7. The application will import from DEMO.TXT into its current format of the board. After successful completion of the import, you can use this board, as you would normally.
13.4 Upgrading from previous Visual WorkStation Versions 1.0 up to 1.2

You have to use this option to upgrade board files from Visual WorkStation Version 1.1 onward, i.e. for upgrading board files from the software Version 1.0, 1.1, 1.1A, 1.1B, 1.1C, 1.1D, up to 1.1E. Similar to the earlier section, this procedure also consists of two major steps: First, the board files have to be exported from relevant directory and then as a next step they have to be imported to the present running version of the software.
Step-by-Step Procedure
1. From the Visual WorkStation for QT200 version 1.2 folder, select Export Board from Visual
WorkStation version 1.xx.
2. You will be shown a directory selection dialog box. Traverse to the directory in which the
previous version is installed and then double click on it.
3. You will see a sub-directory called PROJECTS listed underneath it. 4. Double-clicking on this you will see a list of all your board files. Double click on the board that
you want to export. Click on OK to close the dialog box. The application will export this board database.
5. To import, close the application and start Visual WorkStation for QT200 Version 1.2. In the
main screen, select the menu item Import. Under that select the item called Import from Visual WorkStation version 1.xx.
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Figure 13.2 - Export from Visual WorkStation 1.xx
6. You will see a similar directory selection dialog box. Traverse to the directory in which your
board is situated, as you did before. When you have selected the board that you want to import, click OK to close the dialog box.
7. The application will create a board under the same name. When the import is complete, you
can use this board as you would normally.
13.5 Migrate Wizard

Migrate Wizard enables the user to move the board files onto the new application directory and then allow the user to use them. The user can migrate multiple board files from the VISUAL WORKSTATION Ver 1.2 onwards, of the software and then can restore either all the board files or some selected board files. Utilizing the Migrate Wizard, the user can migrate huge board files and can restore the same and simply start using that boards. Without Migrate Wizard, the user has to enter all the devices again which consumes a lot of time and also the board has to be re-learnt. With the availability of the Migrate Wizard utility, all the details of Master Boards and Board Under repair are easily and readily available to the user.
Why migrate?
Application enhancements and improved features that are made to the existing system, is always released as the next version, especially when improvement is a continuous process. These improvements should always be applied to the existing customer base in the smoothest possible manner, and that is what is achieved by Migrate Wizard. Whenever a newer version of the application is released, then the user is supposed to install it in a different directory. With the newer version installed in a different directory, the board files then created will also be stored in a different location.
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Miscellaneous
But you might already have a large database of the learnt board files. You may not be sure of using the existing file, since you might wonder about their compatibility with the newer version of the software. These problems are overcome by using this Migrate Wizard utility. This utility helps in moving the board files from the old to the new version so that it is accessible by the user. Or else relearning of all the boards already learnt and stored should be done again and it would cost dearly in terms of time and money.
How to migrate board files?

Using Migrate Wizard, the user can move the board files in a very easy manner. For doing this the only information he should be aware of, is the name of the directory where the older version of the application is installed.
*NOTE*:
This is specified at the time of installation. It is suggested to name the directories in such a manner that the Version number is in-built into it. Ex: QT200_V101 denoting QT200 Version 1.01 If this information is known to him, then he can easily move the board files just by specifying the directory.
Figure 13.3 - Migrate Wizard As a first step, the user has to select the board files that should be moved. Once they are moved & copied, the user can start using the restored board files. The next section covers the various steps involved in using this utility.
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Step-by-Step procedure to migrate board files

1. Select the Migrate Wizard icon from the QT200 Program applications folder in the Start menu. 2. In the Migrate Wizard main window, click the Proceed icon, to proceed further. 3. Select the application for which the boards have to be migrated, Visual Workstation or QSMVI. 4. In the next screen, the directory where the older version of application has been installed should be entered. 5. If you are not sure of the path in which it has been installed, click the Browse button. When you click it, the Select Directory dialog box will be displayed. Search through the displayed list, select and double click the directory where the previous application has been installed. 6. System displays suitable error messages if wrong or invalid directories are selected. 7. Once a valid directory is selected, all the board files learnt in the previous version will be displayed. 8. You can move all the boards, or select a set of boards. After selecting the boards, click the Finish button. Then the Migrate Wizard will start moving the boards. 9. If the space is not sufficient then the application will inform you prior to copying the files, so that you can free up memory. 10. After the migration process is completed, it will give a message that the boards have been migrated.
13.6 How to uninstall the application?

Using the uninstall process an application can be easily uninstalled. The following steps are to be followed while uninstalling an application. 1. Select the Uninstall icon from the QT200 Program applications folder in the Start menu. 2. Click the Uninstall button to start the process. 3. A warning message will be displayed stating that all the board files will be deleted. Click the Yes or No button to continue. 4. When the process has been completed, the following dialog box will be displayed. If the entries are displayed in GREEN color, it means deletion is successful. If they are displayed in RED color, it indicates that some problem has been encountered in deleting the file (may be in locating the file)
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Figure 13.4 - Uninstall dialog box
Figure 13.5 - Uninstall dialog box
13.7 Summary
With these miscellaneous utilities covered in detail under this Section, we have comprehensively covered all that needs to be known, to understand and operate the QT200 tester.
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QT200

The Ultimate Mixed Signal P C B In - C i r c u i t F u n c t i o n a l T e s t e r

Qmax Test Equipments Pvt. Ltd.

Test Concepts & Techniques ...........................

Functional Testing An Overview ..................

In-Circuit Functional Testing ............................

Out-Circuit Functional Testing .........................

Board Learn Mode of Testing ...........................

Board Test Mode of Testing .............................

QSM-VI Concept & Interactive Testing ............

QSM Board Learn Mode ....................................

QSM Board Test Mode ......................................

Oscilloscope for QT200 ....................................

Multimeter Utility ...............................................

Qmax Technical Writer

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

Chapter 1 PCB Troubleshooting An Overview

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

1.1 Troubleshooting Concepts

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

1.1.2 Automated troubleshooting

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

1.2 Emerging New Technologies

1.3 Test Methods used by QT200

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

1.3.1 Functional Testing of Devices

1.4 Test Techniques

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

Fig 1.1 - Back driving - Force High

Fig 1.2 - Back driving - Force Low

1.4.2 Clip Status

1.4.3 DRC (Design Rule Checker)

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

1.4.4 Auto Clip

1.4.5 Auto Compensation

In-circuit compensation techniques

1.4.6 Test Evaluation

1.5 A Typical Troubleshooting Example

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

1.6 QSM -VI Trace testing (Qmax Signature Method)

QT200 VWS Users Manual

PCB Troubleshooting- An Overview

Figure 1.4 VI trace for shorted inputs with reference to Gnd

Figure 1.5 - QSM-VI for shorted inputs

QT200 VWS Users Manual

Test concepts and Techniques

Chapter 2 Test Concepts and Techniques

QT200 VWS Users Manual

Test concepts and Techniques

2.1 Testing Concepts / Guidelines

2.1.1 Open-Collector output device testing

QT200 VWS Users Manual