EAF challenge to ATE

The Expeditionary Aerospace Force (EAF) Concept presents a severe challenge to the test community. ATE Systems included in the support structure of this new concept must exhibit characteristics seldom if ever seen before. This paper will attempt to predict what characteristics such a forward-looking ATE system must possess It will focus on the critical aspects of ATE architecture and the importance of such an architecture being truly open in every sense of the word. The importance of a COTS approach utilizing this truly open architecture will be stressed since experience proves this leads to the lowest possible cost and size plus freedom from tester obsolescence. Other important issues to be addressed include transportability, system throughput and overall risk. The positive effects of horizontal and vertical test integration are discussed and the virtual elimination of the cannot duplicate, retest OK problem highlighted. Other accrued benefits to be covered include commonality of operator training, commonality of test programming language, common spare parts pools, self-test and calibration similarity, ease of test data transfer and reduction, commonality, of documentation, elimination of tester NRE and a dramatic decrease in TPS development costs. In addition, the requirements and characteristics relative to specific hardware and software items are addressed including the ATE operating software system, low and high frequency switching, system timing, digital and analog subsystems, RF subsystems, bus structure, etc. The roles which virtual instrumentation and paperless documentation should play are also included.