An automated methodology for the tracking of electrical performance for memory test systems

In traditional approaches, the checking of signals is tedious and performed manually via the use of scope, and the judgment of whether the signal is within the specification and tolerance can be subjective. To solve these problems, an automated methodology is developed to track the electrical performance of memory systems through the integration of hardware and software. The electrical performance of interest is the edge placement of test signals. Test signal skews often affect the edge placement accuracy, which is critical in many devices' testing. A hardware module is designed to multiplex memory device test signals, and various components are selected to form the hardware circuitry based on some design specifications and requirements. A computer program is also developed to interface the hardware to the test signals and to automate the signal testing process. The complete automated testing system has been validated and used to automate the process of device test signals, and the measured values are automatically tabulated and visualized. It is shown that the proposed methodology can help to improve productivity and yields, in addition to the ease of troubleshooting of testing.