Wright R.G., Kirkland L.V., Zgol M., Adebimpe D., Keenan E., Mulligan R.
GMA Industries, Inc., US
Keywords: bed of nails, carbon nanotubes, circuit board testing, molecular electronics
Fast, accurate, and inexpensive identification of failed integrated circuits on electronic circuit boards presents a major challenge for the electronic testing industry. In this paper we describe research and development efforts in the application of nanoscale sensors to implement an original method for bed-of-needles testing for printed circuit boards testing. This approach performs functional testing that eliminates the need to have a pre-existing model of a circuit board while automating much of the development process. The general concept involves creating arrays of nanoscale sensor probes, using molecular electronics for incorporating test instruments and computing logic for test interpretation directly into a pod consisting of multiple nails, and distributing these pods across the face and back of a circuit card using a contact fixture. The resulting test approach exhibits massive parallelism combined with extremely compact size that facilitates novel testing approaches not possible with current generation or planned architecture test equipment. Many existing limitations resulting from diminished scale of electronic devices that make it harder to test these devices are overcome, while improving overall test speed and accuracy by placing the test instruments and computing power directly at the device and pins being tested.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 3, Technical Proceedings of the 2004 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 3
Published: March 7, 2004
Pages: 487 - 490
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Advanced Manufacturing
ISBN: 0-9728422-9-2