Integrating XJTAG with other hardware

XJTAG can be integrated with other test systems and environments at a software level, hardware level, or both.

These integration capabilities give the user flexibility, allowing them to design the type of overall test system they want. XJTAG can either be used in a way that best suits an existing environment, or it can be used as the basis of a test system that then integrates with other test equipment.

XJTAG can be physically integrated into various other types of test equipment, such as ICT machines, to create fully integrated test stations.

There are many types of Automated Test Equipment (ATE) machines and there are many levels at which they may be integrated with XJTAG. Integration with ATE machines may be in hardware, software or both.

The main ATE methodologies are the following:

• In-Circuit Test (ICT)
• Flying Probe Test (FPT)
• Functional Circuit Test (FCT)
• Automated Optical Inspection (AOI)
• Automated X-ray Inspection (AXI)

In many cases there are benefits to being able to combine JTAG testing with other methodologies and to run tests in an integrated manner. XJTAG has hardware integration with several ICT and FPT vendors, in which a customised JTAG controller card from XJTAG can be inserted inside a larger ICT or FPT machine, usually in an expansion module slot. With most of these vendors there is also some software integration, allowing one system to call the other to carry out tests, or giving the ability to carry out fully integrated testing where a signal can be driven from one system and read from another, and allowing XJTAG to control flying probe locations during integrated testing.

Even where no specific software integration exists, XJTAG can usually achieve some integration with other test equipment simply because most systems can run external programs. Other systems can therefore use XJTAG’s XJRun command line program to run tests and receive results back. Equally, XJTAG can also call external programs and read their results, or can load other vendors’ .NET Framework DLLs in order to run test functions directly from them.

XJTAG currently has integration solutions for:

• SPEA – ICT and flying-probe machines (analog and digital)
  Using either XJLink2 or XJLink2-3030 JTAG controllers
• Keysight (Agilent) – i3070 ICT machines
  Using XJLink2-3070 JTAG controller
• Teradyne – TestStation ICT machines
  Enquire for details
• Takaya – APT-1400F and APT-1600F flying probe systems
  Using XJLink2+ JTAG controller with custom I/O expansion card

If you have questions about how you might integrate XJTAG into your test system, or you are using an ATE equipment vendor which you think we might be able to integrate with, please contact us.