Virtualized automated test equipment and methods for designing such systems

Abstract

A virtualizable automated test equipment architecture includes a circuit assembly. The circuit assembly includes a number of signal paths that extend between a front plane and a backplane. The signal paths can be continuous and isolated from other signal paths of the plurality of signal paths. The circuit assembly also includes an impedance disposed along a signal path of the plurality of signal paths. A plurality of software-configurable physical disconnects may be arranged within the circuit assembly to form a switching matrix. The plurality of signal paths can be associated with a plurality of software-configurable physical disconnects, which can be configured to open and close signal paths of the plurality of signal paths based on the predetermined test requirements. The circuit assembly also includes a plurality of external device connections, at least one of which may be configured to interface with a unit under test (UUT). The software configurable physical disconnects may be configurable at runtime. Because the system is virtualizable, multiplied UUTs may be tested simultaneously according to different requirements, and the testing may be executed on shared hardware in a manner transparent to the UUTs.

1 . A method comprising:
 storing a plurality of models associated with the configuration of a slice in a virtual automated test equipment architecture;   receiving a plurality of parameters associated with one or more electrical signals associated with one or more pins wherein the parameters are associated with predetermined test requirements related to a unit under test;   selecting at least one model from the plurality of models based on the received parameters; and   applying the selected at least one model to configure physical hardware of the automated test equipment architecture thereby defining a virtual slice of the automated test equipment architecture that provides one or more electrical signals that meet the predetermined test requirements at the one or more pins.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of parameters are received from a computer coupled to the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the computer is coupled to the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture using a serial or parallel bus. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the computer is coupled to the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture using a wireless interface. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the computer is coupled to the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture over an ethernet connection. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: generating a model from a pattern library. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the pattern library includes a plurality of input/output (I/O) patterns. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the I/O patterns are associated with I/O basic types, signal conditioning, and/or signal modes. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising: storing the model generated from the pattern library with the plurality of models. 
     
     
         10 . A computer readable medium containing computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer executable instructions being configured to cause a computer system to:
 store a plurality of models associated with the configuration of a slice in a virtual automated test equipment architecture;   receive a plurality of parameters associated with one or more electrical signals associated with one or more pins wherein the parameters are associated with predetermined test requirements related to a unit under test;   select at least one model from the plurality of models based on the received parameters; and   apply the selected at least one model to configuration physical hardware of the automated test equipment architecture thereby defining a virtual slice of the automated test equipment architecture that provides one or more electrical signals that meet the predetermined test requirements at the one or more pins.   
     
     
         11 . The computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to receive the plurality of parameters from a computer coupled to the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture. 
     
     
         12 . The computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to generate a model from a pattern library. 
     
     
         13 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the pattern library includes a plurality of input/output (I/O) patterns. 
     
     
         14 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13  wherein the I/O patterns are associated with I/O basic types, signal conditioning, and/or signal modes. 
     
     
         15 . The computer readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the system to store the model generated from the pattern library with the plurality of models. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 storing a plurality of models associated with the configuration of a slice in a virtual automated test equipment architecture in a library;   receiving a plurality of parameters associated with one or more electrical signals associated with one or more pins wherein the parameters are associated with predetermined test requirements related to a unit under test;   evaluating the parameters against the library to determine whether requirements of the predetermined test requirements can be met at a particular pin;   if the requirements can be met at the particular pin based on a model in the library, configuring the system to set the physical hardware of the automated test equipment architecture to define a virtual slice of the automated test equipment architecture based on the model; and   if the requirements cannot be met at the particular pin based on a model in the library, obtaining an alternative model to the models stored in the library.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein obtaining an alternative model to the models stored in the library includes receiving manual input from a user defining a new model to meet the predetermined test requirements. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein obtaining an alternative model to the models stored in the library further comprises:
 evaluating potential solutions using predefined impedances, switch states, and signal conditions to determine a solution that satisfies the predetermined test requirements; and   evaluating the solution against virtualization rules to determine whether the solution can be implemented within the automated test equipment architecture without adversely impacting virtualizable aspects of the architecture.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 if the evaluated solution will not adversely impact the virtualizable aspects of the architecture, configuring the system to set the physical hardware of the automated test equipment architecture to define a virtual slice of the automated test equipment architecture based on the solution.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising: storing the solution as a model in the library. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising: if the evaluated solution is determined to adversely impact the virtualizable aspects of the architecture, prompting a user to indicate that a customized solution is needed. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16  wherein a model of the plurality of models includes at least one of signal characteristics, timing requirements, and impedance values. 
     
     
         23 . A computer readable medium containing computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer executable instructions being configured to cause a computer system to:
 store a plurality of models associated with the configuration of a slice in a virtual automated test equipment architecture in a library;   receive a plurality of parameters associated with one or more electrical signals associated with one or more pins wherein the parameters are associated with predetermined test requirements related to a unit under test;   evaluate the parameters against the library to determine whether requirements of the predetermined test requirements can be met at a particular pin;   wherein if the requirements can be met at the particular pin based on a model in the library, the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the system to configure the computer system to set the physical hardware of the automated test equipment architecture to define a virtual slice of the automated test equipment architecture based on the model; and   wherein if the requirements cannot be met at the particular pin based on a model in the library, the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to obtain an alternative model to the models stored in the library.   
     
     
         24 . The computer readable medium of  claim 23 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to obtain an alternative model to the models stored in the library by receiving manual input from a user defining a new model to meet the predetermined test requirements. 
     
     
         25 . The computer readable medium of  claim 23 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to obtain an alternative model to the models stored in the library by evaluating potential solutions using predefined impedances, switch states, and signal conditions to determine a solution that satisfies the predetermined test requirements; and evaluate the solution against virtualization rules to determine whether the solution can be implemented within the automated test equipment architecture without adversely impacting virtualizable aspects of the architecture. 
     
     
         26 . The computer readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to configure the system to set the physical hardware of the automated test equipment architecture to define a virtual slice of the automated test equipment architecture based on the solution if the evaluated solution will not adversely impact the virtualizable aspects of the architecture. 
     
     
         27 . The computer readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to store the solution as a model in the library. 
     
     
         28 . The computer readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to prompt a user to indicate that a customized solution is needed if the evaluated solution is determined to adversely impact the virtualizable aspects of the architecture. 
     
     
         29 . The computer readable medium of  claim 23  wherein a model of the plurality of models includes at least one of signal characteristics, timing requirements, and impedance values. 
     
     
         30 . A method comprising:
 deploying a model to a virtualizable automated test equipment architecture by setting a state of a plurality of software physical disconnects such that an electrical signal at a pin conforms with predetermined test requirements; and   performing a self-test routine on the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture wherein the self-test routine includes comparing the state of the software physical disconnects with an expected state of the software configurable disconnects.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the expected state of the software configurable disconnects is determined based on the predetermined test requirements. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30  wherein if the self-test routine determines that the model is not deployed correctly, reconfiguring the deployment and performing the self-test routine a second time. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30  wherein performing a self-test routine includes calling a driver API to receive data from a signal source and checking the results against a stored requirement value to determine whether the model was deployed correctly. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 30  wherein comparing the state of the software physical disconnects with an expected state of the software configurable disconnects includes obtaining information reflecting the state of the software configurable disconnects and comparing the received information to values stored within memory of the automated test equipment architecture. 
     
     
         35 . A computer readable medium containing computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer executable instructions being configured to cause a computer system to:
 deploy a model to a virtualizable automated test equipment architecture by setting a state of a plurality of software physical disconnects such that an electrical signal at a pin conforms with predetermined test requirements; and   perform a self-test routine on the virtualizable automated test equipment architecture wherein the self-test routine includes comparing the state of the software physical disconnects with an expected state of the software configurable disconnects.   
     
     
         36 . The computer readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein the expected state of the software configurable disconnects is determined based on the predetermined test requirements. 
     
     
         37 . The computer readable medium of  claim 35  wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to reconfigure the deployment and perform the self-test routine a second time if the self-test routine determines that the model is not deployed correctly. 
     
     
         38 . The computer readable medium of  claim 35  wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to cause the computer system to call a driver API to receive data from a signal source and check the results against a stored requirement value to determine whether the model was deployed correctly as part of the self-test routine. 
     
     
         39 . The computer readable medium of  claim 35  wherein comparing the state of the software physical disconnects with an expected state of the software configurable disconnects includes obtaining information reflecting the state of the software configurable disconnects and comparing the received information to values stored within memory of the automated test equipment architecture.