High-speed I/O capabilities added to military automatic test equipment (ATE) using synthetic instruments

Abstract

High-speed testing of digital transmission necessitates a functional test, which is typically the test performed by automatic test equipment (ATE) on military and avionics units under test (UUTs). Older military ATEs, and indeed most modern day ATEs, are not equipped with test instruments for high-speed data transmission. Typically, such high-speed test instruments are designed for signal characterizations in design verification tests, which require human interpretations. The primary purpose of military ATE is to allow non-technical soldiers or sailors to comprehensively test and diagnose all types of electronics and to derive very specific repair instructions. We introduce synthetic instruments (SIs) and show how they offer a feasible option for traditional ATEs while they are also able to test high-speed unit under test (UUT) signals. Rather than replace military ATEs, the high-speed SI solution can be integrated into existing ATEs, even legacy ATEs. The clear benefit of this approach is the extension of ATE useful life and the capability to test present and even future circuit types. It also improves the performance of military ATEs by allowing them to test multi-Gbps signals. High-speed I/O, such as the USB 3.0 that operates at 5 Gbps is discussed. (Although USB 3.0 was recently renamed as USB 3.2 Gen 1, for consistency in this article, we use the traditional term USB 3.0.) The example utilizes a special-purpose USB 3.0 SI that responds to commands in the test program set (TPS) developed by test engineers. The same USB 3.0 SI, including the test commands, can then be reused on other ATEs and UUTs with the same bus. This can be an industry-wide game changer when SIs are developed for other I/O buses and applications. Utilizing SIs reduces TPS development costs and ATE expenditures, while improving TPS development times and effort.