Run-time reconfigurable instruments for advanced board-level testing

In recent years embedded instrumentation becomes a cutting-edge technology in the field of testing and measurements. In this paper, we propose a classification of different implementations of FPGA-based embedded instruments based on the format they are delivered to an end-user. Up to now, instruments provided as soft core IPs and hard macro blocks only were proposed. In this work, we present novel run-time reconfigurable (RTR) instruments, which are distributed as pre-compiled readyto-use bitstreams, and study their applicability for boardlevel test tasks. These instruments are designed in a special way that allows on-the-fly adaptation of the instrument to test the particular product. With the help of these RTR instruments one can considerably improve quality of tests for printed circuit board assemblies as well as reduce test time. Being integrated to the test setup, the instruments represent an automated and low-cost complementary solution for testing of complex high-performance boards and systems.