Automatic verification of Signal Integrity on HighSpeed PCB assemblies.

Manufacturers are confronted with reduced design-to-market cycles and are looking for ways to save time in the prototype design process. Manual design verification has been a time consuming process so far causing unnecessary delays in the development stage. Characterization of Signal Integrity on Prototype Builds. The DVS 550 is able to test and document measurements on hundreds of nets in less than a few hours while manual measurements would take weeks of valuable engineering time.

The DVS 550 System has been designed for measuring signal frequencies into the GHz range using custom designed Coaxial Probing Technology contrasting significantly conventional Flying Probe Systems with a focus on detecting typical manufacturing faults only. The probing technology in these standard systems is mostly not suitable for carrying high frequency signals. Additionally the DVS 550 System includes a specially designed Rotating Probe Head for probing of any Signal-Ground Test Point Operation.

Open platform architecture

An open ActiveX software programming interface allows control of the DVS 550 from a variety of different applications. Test sequences may easily be created by using industry standard software such as LabVIEW™ and TestStand™ from National Instruments. A set of predefined remote control commands such as move to testpoint, set rotation angle, touching a testpoint are compiled into a sequence and automatically executed.

Controlling external Test- and Measurement Hardware

The DVS 550 is an Automated Probe for measurements replacing the previously time consuming procedure carried out manually. A highly flexible, low loss coaxial cable feeds the signal at the probe tip to Test-and Measurement Equipment such as High Speed Oscilloscopes, Spectrum Analyzers or Time Domain Reflectometers. Control external hardware via USB, Ethernet, GPIB, RS232. The underlying control software synchronizes the sequence of probe movement commands with the individual measurements and result documentation.

Test Application for Generating and Debugging of test sequences

A special test application provides all remote control commands of the DVS 550 with a single mouse click, thus aiding the programming process. This feature allows all movement commands to be executed by hand for debugging purposes. As a result test hardware settings are being optimized prior to including individual steps in a sequence.