Use XJTAG’s PC tools to rapidly pinpoint faults
- Test BGA packages for soldering defects quickly and easily
- Achieve wide test coverage of your digital circuitry
- Identify open-circuit, short-circuit and “stuck-at” faults
- Easy-to-use PC tool that connects over the JTAG interface
XJTAG makes BGA testing fast and effortless
Faster than X-ray BGA inspection
With XJTAG boundary scan testing you can quickly find BGA soldering defects without needing physical access. Easily control and monitor nets in real time – whether your board has 1 or 50 BGA (ball grid array) devices.
Pinpoint faults without wasted trips to the BGA rework station or an expensive X‑ray machine.
All using just one small connector.
Suitable for your first prototype
It doesn’t matter if a prototype was sent for manufacture before the design was finalised, or if a fluid specification means continual schematic changes. It’s easy to adapt tests to reflect board changes.
XJTAG testing works on boards with hand modifications and no-fit components.
No board firmware required
Quickly confirm the processor’s I/O pins and memory interfaces are working. Check memories and many other peripheral devices are operational, correctly assembled, and free from soldering defects.
All this without having written one line of code.
Recover dead boards
Even if the processor won’t boot, XJTAG’s boundary scan tests will still run if it has a working JTAG interface.
It doesn’t matter if the memory interface is faulty or the clock won’t oscillate.
High Test Coverage
XJTAG can test digital circuits far beyond the JTAG-enabled microprocessor or FPGA. It will check for assembly faults on RAM, flash memory, EEPROMs, logic gates, and devices connected over SPI, I²C or parallel interfaces.
Automated analysis provides statistics on how much of your circuit board can be tested.
Detect PCB assembly faults
beneath BGA packages
Test boards without firmware
and debug non-booting circuits
No need for a dedicated
bed‑of-nails jig
No BGA X-ray Machine? No Worries.
Identify PCB assembly faults easily and at lower cost
- Detect soldering defects on a BGA’s balls without physical access
- Check JTAG-enabled devices, memories, logic & digital peripherals
- No firmware needs to run on the board
- Intuitive interface – little or no training required
- Runs without a test jig
- Find faults that BGA X-ray machines fail to spot
- Boundary scan is supported by all FPGAs, CPLDs & most 32-bit microprocessors
Trusted by leading electronics innovators worldwide
Testing with XJTAG is now a mandatory step in our board bring-up procedure, and is able to pinpoint faults that other equipment, such as X-ray inspection, is unable to identify.
Mario Riedel, Hardware Development Engineer – Blue Wonder Communications
The XJTAG boundary scan system is a ‘must-have’ tool for any company developing high value, high complexity, BGA-populated boards.
The powerful system is easy-to-use, flexible and enables hardware verification to take place without the need to develop specific test software to run on the target board. This has brought an end to the classic arguments between hardware and software engineers blaming each other when a new design does not work.
Jeff Smith, Hardware Engineer – Westinghouse Rail Systems
100 case studies
Investing in XJTAG boundary-scan test saved IKOR Group using X-ray inspection to verify connections beneath BGAs
Satellite Ground Systems expert Kongsberg Spacetec meets sky-high targets with XJTAG Boundary Scan…
Imagination Technologies, a leading IP innovator, is using XJTAG boundary scan to accelerate development of System-on-Chip designs
Prism selects XJTAG to speed debug and test highly complex printed circuit boards featuring high pin count ball grid array (BGA) devices
Norwegian advanced assembly specialist Simpro AS gets more from Boundary Scan with XJTAG
Solarflare Communications, a fabless semiconductor company, selects XJTAG for network card debug and test
Austrian manufacturing expert Graf Elektronik rates XJTAG as top boundary scan system
Cardiology specialist Osatu Bexen trusts XJTAG boundary scan in-house and on site
Frequently Asked Questions
What is JTAG / boundary scan?
JTAG or ‘boundary scan’ is an IEEE standard (1149.x) test access protocol embedded into many chips. It allows any JTAG-enabled IC to be connected and accessed via a simple 4-signal interface.
What is XJTAG?
XJTAG is a JTAG boundary scan software and hardware suite that enables engineers to complete board debug, PCB testing and in-system programming quickly and easily.
How does it find soldering defects under a BGA package?
Boundary scan isolates an IC’s pins from their normal functionality and allows a PC connected over JTAG to control those pins and read from them. Test patterns are automatically applied that will find soldering faults.
Can I use this on any board?
Boards can be tested in this way provided they have at least one device with boundary scan and access to its JTAG port. All FPGAs, CPLDs and most 32-bit processors include this feature.
What do I need to do on my board to use XJTAG?
Ensure the JTAG interfaces of all parts with boundary scan capability are accessible and have correct pull resistors and terminations. Multiple boundary scan devices can either be linked into a single JTAG chain or kept in separate chains.
What is needed to get a test running?
You need XJTAG test software and a JTAG controller such as an XJLink2. In addition, BSDL files are required for each JTAG part (normally available for free from the manufacturers).
How does X-ray inspection compare to BGA testing with boundary scan?
XJTAG boundary scan testing is far more cost effective than X-ray inspection machines and requires little or no training. It finds soldering faults beneath BGA components faster and can detect faults that X-ray machines may miss.
