Functional tester for printed circuit boards, and associated systems and methods
Systems and methods for testing printed circuit boards (PCBs) are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a tester for printed circuit boards (PCBs) includes a test fixture having a plurality of electrical contacts for contacting the PCBs that are units under test (UUTs). The test fixture carries a remote test peripheral master (RTPM) module, and a remote test peripheral slave (RTPS) module. The RTPM module and the RTPS module are connected through a remote test peripheral (RTP) bus.
1. A tester for printed circuit boards (PCBs), comprising:
a test fixture having a plurality of electrical contacts for contacting the PCBs that are units under test (UUTs), wherein the test fixture carries:
a remote test peripheral master (RTPM) module, and
a remote test peripheral slave (RTPS) module, wherein the RTPM module and the RTPS module are connected through a remote test peripheral (RTP) serial bus, and wherein the RTPM module is configured for communicating with the UUTs exclusively through the RTPS module,
a control system that is separate from the test fixture, wherein the test fixture is connected with the control system through a high speed serial bus that is separate from the RTP serial bus.
2. The tester of claim 1 , wherein the RTPS module is a first RTPS module, the tester further comprising a second RTPS module in communication with the first RTPS module.
3. The tester of claim 2 , wherein the RTPM module is a first master module, the first RTPS module belongs to a first plurality of RTPS modules, and the RTP serial bus is a first RTP serial bus, the tester further comprising:
a second RTPM module, and
a second plurality of RTPS modules, wherein the second RTPM module and the second plurality of RTPS modules are connected through a second RTP serial bus.
4. The tester of claim 3 , wherein the first RTPM module and the first plurality of the RTPS modules are vertically stacked in a first stack, and wherein the second RTPM module and the second plurality of the RTPS modules are vertically stacked in a second stack.
5. The tester of claim 1 , further comprising a control system that includes:
an in-circuit tester and manufacturing defects analyzer (ICT/MDA), and
a host controller.
6. The tester of claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of relays connecting the ICT/MDA with the RTPS module.
7. The tester of claim 5 , further comprising a high speed serial hub configured to route data between the RTPM module and the host controller.
8. The tester of claim 1 , wherein the RTP bus is an 8-bit asynchronous serial bus.
9. The tester of claim 1 , further comprising at least one UUT electrically connected to the test fixture through a plurality of contact pins.
10. The tester of claim 1 , further comprising at least one UUT optically or wirelessly connected to the test fixture.
11. The tester of claim 1 , further comprising a memory device configured to store test point information and test programs.
12. A method for testing printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are units under test (UUTs), the method comprising:
establishing a data channel between a remote test peripheral slave (RTPS) module and at least one UUT;
establishing a control channel between a remote test peripheral master (RTPM) module and the RTPS module through a remote test peripheral (RTP) serial bus, wherein the RTPM module and the RTPS module are carried by a test fixture, and wherein the RTPM module is configured for communicating with the UUTs exclusively through the RTPS module;
applying test program to the at least one UUT;
collecting test data by the RTPS module, wherein the test data are generated in response to applying the test program to the UUT; and
sending test data to a host controller of a control system through a high speed serial bus that is separate from the RTP serial bus, wherein the control system is separate from the test fixture.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the RTPS module is a first RTPS module in a master/slave chain, and wherein the master/slave chain includes a plurality of RTPS modules, the method further comprising:
controlling the plurality of RTPS modules by the RTPM module through the control channel.
14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
comparing, by at least one RTPS module, returned test data with expected return values, and
based on comparing, determining a pass/fail condition of the UUTs.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the test program executes a functional test (FT), and wherein the data channel is a first data channel, the method further comprising:
establishing a second data channel between an in-circuit tester and manufacturing defects analyzer (ICT/MDA) and the UUT; and
running in-circuit test on the UUT.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
connecting the UUT with the ICT/MDA through a plurality of relays when the plurality of relays are in a first position, and connecting the UUT with the RTPS module when the plurality of relays are in a second position.
17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
in response to a query from the RTPM module, reporting a configuration of the RTPS module to the RTPM module.
18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
running a self-diagnostics by the RTPS module; and
reporting the results of the self-diagnostics to the RTPM module.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the results of the self-diagnostics of the test module include at least one of an erroneous wiring, a hardware failure, or a power issue.
20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the test program is stored on a memory storage device carried by the test fixture.
21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising initiating an execution of the test program by the RTPM module.
22. The method of claim 12 , wherein multiple UUTs are tested in parallel.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the UUTs have different designs.