Calibrating a tester using ESD protection circuitry

1. An apparatus comprising:

a circuit element that requires calibration;

a calibration circuit for use in calibrating the circuit element;

a clamping diode electrically connectable in a first path that includes the calibration circuit and electrically connectable in a second path that excludes the calibration circuit, the first path for electrically connecting the calibration circuit and the circuit element, and the second path for use in protecting the apparatus from electrostatic discharge; and

a switching circuit to switch the clamping diode between the first path and the second path.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the calibration circuit comprises:

a voltage source;

a first resistive circuit electrically connected to the voltage source; and

a first voltage lead at an input of the first resistive circuit and a second voltage lead at an output of the first resistive circuit.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:

an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter electrically connected to first voltage lead and the second voltage lead, the A/D converter to digitize a voltage drop across the first resistive circuit that is obtained through the first and second voltage leads when the clamping diode is switched into the first path; and

a processing device to receive, via fee A/D converter, digital data that corresponds to the voltage drop, the processing device being configured to determine an amount of current associated with the voltage drop, and to adjust a property of the circuit element based on the amount of current.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the circuit element comprises a second resistive circuit having a resistance that is adjustable; and

wherein the processing device is configured to obtain a voltage across the second resistive circuit, and to adjust the resistance of the second resistive circuit based on the amount of current associated with the voltage drop.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the second resistive circuit comprises a variable resistor.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first resistive circuit comprises plural resistors that are switchable into, or out of, the first resistive circuit in order to vary the resistance of the first resistive circuit.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first resistive circuit comprises plural resistors that are switchable into, or out of, the first resistive circuit in order to adjust an amount of current passing through the first resistive circuit.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a parametric measurement unit (PMU), wherein the circuit element is electrically connected to the PMU, and wherein the circuit element is used for calibrating current flow to the PMU.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein when the clamping diode is switched into the second path, the damping diode preventing the PMU from receiving greater than a predetermined amount of current.

10. A method comprising:

switching to a first path for calibrating a circuit element from a second path for protecting against electrostatic discharge, the first path and the second path having one or more components in common, the first path electrically connecting a calibration circuit to the circuit element;

determining a current through the calibration circuit based on a resistance of the calibration circuit; and

calibrating the circuit element based on a current through the circuit element, the current through the circuit element corresponding to the current through the calibration circuit.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the current through, the circuit element is substantially equal to the current through the calibration circuit.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the circuit element comprises a variable resistor, and calibrating the circuit element comprises adjusting a resistance of the variable resistor.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

measuring a voltage across the variable resistor and adjusting the resistance based on the voltage across the variable resistor and the current through the calibration circuit.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the second path protects a parametric measurement unit (PMU) from currents that exceed a predefined value; and

wherein the method further comprises switching from the first path to the second path in order to protect the PMU from the currents that exceed a predefined value.

15. The method, of claim 10 , wherein protecting the PMU comprises clamping the voltages outside of a predetermined range.

16. Circuitry to protect automatic test equipment (ATE) from electrostatic discharge and to calibrate a circuit element of the ATE, the circuitry comprising:

a calibration circuit for use in calibrating the circuit element, the calibration circuit comprising a resistive circuit that passes current;

one or more diodes that are configurable (i) to prevent voltages outside of a predetermined range from affecting operation of the ATE, or (ii) to allow the current from the calibration circuit to pass to the circuit element;

one or more switches to configure the diodes; and

a processing device to obtain a value of the current passing through the resistive circuit and to adjust a property of the circuit element based on the value of the current passing through the resistive circuit.

17. The circuitry of claim 16 , wherein the one or more diodes comprises a first diode for preventing voltages below a first predetermined value from affecting operation of the ATE, and a second diode for preventing voltages above a second predetermined value from affecting operation of the ATE.

18. The circuitry of claim 17 , wherein the one or more switches comprise:

a first switch to configure the first diode to prevent voltages below a first predetermined value from affecting operation of the ATE; and

a second switch to configure the first diode to allow die current from the calibration circuit, to pass to the circuit element.

19. The circuitry of claim 17 , wherein the circuit element comprises a second resistive circuit for use in adjusting an amount of current to a parametric measurement unit (PMU) of the ATE.

20. The circuitry of claim 17 , wherein the resistive circuit comprises, a variable resistor, and the property of the circuit element comprises a resistance of the variable resistor.