Apr 15, 2008 April 1, 2008, Las Vegas
Agilent Technologies of Santa Clara, CA presented its latest hybrid technology for in-circuit testing at APEX 2008 in Las Vegas. We all know that one of the strongest buzz words in the electronics industry these days is �board density�; A designer�s nightmare, until now. Designing a board while leaving available space for testing is a big issue, but it doesn�t have to be. Testing a densely populated board the old fashioned way is no longer necessary.
Agilent has over 20 years of experience in the area of testing solutions and has a variety of test and measurement products for all stages of electronic assembly testing and x-ray. Their newest addition is a hybrid technology that combines Boundary Scanning and VTEP Vectorless testing. The results are astounding. This hybrid technology allows a board with very limited access to be tested with a sensor plate on top of the device which sends a signal up through the board, and, through a series of coding, detects defects on the board.
With this new VTEP Powered testing there are fewer steps to take and fewer probes in the test fixture, than in earlier testing methodologies. This makes it easier to deploy which, in turn, means there is only minimal expertise required to run the testing. Today�s boards can now be designed with less testing accessibility which can reduce both fixture cost and testing resources as well as space. And the bonus is improved quality output! By using fewer probes for testing it eliminates unnecessary damage to the board.
While Agilent has made a few limited shipments already, this new VTEP Powered unique testing will be fully available in June 2008.
