Outsourcing test without standards?

Abstract

Summary form only given. Within the product cycle of a System on Chip (SoC) there are various opportunities to outsource some of the tasks. For many years the manufacturing process has been subject separation from the product development. The author identifies the integrated device manufacturers (IDM) who develop and manufacture new chips. On the other side there are companies focusing on product design only and their partners are the silicon foundries who do the wafer fabrication. This arrangement fits quite well to an well-organized ASIC design methodology. Products are designed using cell libraries qualified by the foundry. This is a type of standard. Outsourcing in the test arena is commonplace. No IDM does everything regarding test in the own organization. For given test standards and solution methodology, involvement of external partners is a reasonable business alternative.