FPGA-based synthetic instrumentation for board test

Abstract

This paper studies a new approach for board-level test based on synthesizable embedded instruments implemented on FPGA. This very recent methodology utilizes programmable logic devices (FPGA) that are usually available on modern PCBs to a large extent. The purpose of an embedded instrument is to carry out a vast portion of test application related procedures, perform measurement and configuration of system components thus minimizing the usage of external test equipment. By replacing traditional test and measurement equipment with embedded synthetic instruments it is possible not only to achieve the significant reduction of test costs but also facilitate high-speed and at-speed testing. We detail the motivation and classify the FPGA-based instrumentation into different categories based on the implementation and application domains. Experimental results show the efficiency of this approach.