JTAG-based PCB debug system cuts test costs

SynTest Technologies is entering the test and debug market for electronic design with a new family of products it says will reduce the cost of test and debug.

SynTest Technologies is entering the test and debug market for electronic design with a new family of products it says will reduce the cost of test and debug.

The first product in SynTest's debug family is TurboDebug-PCB.

TurboDebug-PCB is a PC-based system running on the Linux OS that includes software and hardware to help debug test problems on prototype printed circuit boards (PCBs) prior to expensive, time-consuming full production testing.

TurboDebug-PCB detects, diagnoses and locates interconnect (wiring) faults on PCBs populated by one or more IC or SoC.

Ravi Apte, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at SynTest, noted, "We are all about reducing the cost of test, and we are positioning ourselves as a player in the test and debug market with our first product - a board test and debug product that is available for beta testing now.

Next year, we plan to announce follow- on products that will improve board as well as IC and SoC test and debug prior to full production testing".

Apte added, "Our new product family is possible now, since the JTAG interface is widely accepted".

With Turbo-Debug-PCB, and system ICs in place on a prototype board, test and debug engineers can see on their schematics, exactly where board interconnect problems are and correct them before board manufacturing and full production test begins.

The Turbo-Debug system includes a PCI interface board, a "demo" PCB and connection cable, as well as DFT software.

The software uses the boundary scan chain to detect "open" or "short" faults on the PCB.

The system operates on any PC with a PCI slot.

During testing, the PC-based interface board is connected via a connector cable to the boundary scan pins (TDO, TDI, TCK etc) on the PCB.

Interconnects to peripheral I/O pins are also debugged with the system.

TurboDebug-PCB is available for beta testing now.

Production units will ship in first quarter 2002.

Pricing will be announced later this year.

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