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Acing
the Test
The test,
measurement, and instrumentation sector
evolves deftly along with the markets it supports
By Jenny Bieksha, Bishop & Associates Inc.
The test, measurement,
and instrumentation sector covers a wide variety of devices, ranging
from large automated test equipment (ATE) that evaluates hundreds of
devices simultaneously, to small handheld testers technicians use in the
field. Regardless of the end market, all products have to be tested
prior to shipment to the end customer. This necessity drives the
pervasive nature of the test and measurement segment.
Today’s electronics industry is in a constant state of flux, prompted in
part by continual technology advances in nearly every market.
Breakthroughs in PCB technologies and IC integration are enabling R&D
engineers to pack more functionality into compact, lower-cost
measurement instruments. Newer integration technologies allow the
measurement integrity offered by handheld instruments. The performance
of some handheld instruments is now quickly approaching or even passing
similar midrange bench-top instruments.
In 2009, many test and measurement companies announced cost reduction
and restructuring actions in response to the global economic conditions.
In addition, semiconductor manufacturers showed a reluctance to invest
in capital equipment. The focus shifted to test solutions that keep
costs low. There has been a higher adoption rate of software
instrumentation, which significantly improves the efficiency of test and
measurement systems. These trends will lead to the development of faster
and more flexible automated test systems, while reducing the overall
cost of test.
There have been mixed messages on the prospects for the test equipment
and analytical/scientific markets, however, a common message from the
OEMs is their belief that the financial low point has been reached. It
is anticipated that a modest recovery will be seen in 2010, and that
2011 will be a solid year.
Communication Test
The communications test sub-segment is largely driven by the telecom
equipment market. Customers are challenged with creating testing
solutions to test ever-evolving standards. Communication test and
monitoring equipment consists of various products in the wireless (WiMax),
wireline (Ethernet), optical, and telecommunication market segments.
These products include network/protocol analyzers, spectrum analyzers,
bit-error rate testers (BERT), voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP)
testers, and synchronous optical NETwork (SONET)/synchronous digital
hierarchy (SDH) testers.
 The standards that wireless communications equipment must meet are both
complex and continually evolving. The introduction of entirely new
standards over the last decade has been initiated by technology
advances, which have driven change in modulation technique, operating
frequencies, and information protocols. Communications equipment
developers and manufacturers must use test equipment that is flexible
enough to adapt to such changes.
There is increasing demand for measuring instruments for installation
and maintenance of the expanding 3G wireless infrastructure. There is
also a growing demand for measuring instruments used in LTE (Long Term
Evolution) development. For next-generation wireless systems, such as
WiMAX, there is a rising need for measuring instruments that support the
development and manufacture of RF components.
Communications equipment requires considerable testing to ensure
interoperability as well as conformance to regulatory restrictions. Test
instruments designed for testing to specific standards, such as WiMAX,
Bluetooth, CDMA (code division multiple access), GSM (global system for
mobile communications), and LTE, speed the development and production
efforts of manufacturers of communications equipment. PXI (PCI
extensions for instrumentation) can play an important role in such
standards-based testing.
Despite the obvious and immediate need for test equipment that can keep
up with these developments, companies are looking for inexpensive
solutions that work in the short-term. Fortunately, high-quality
products that fit the bill are now available. The economic recession is
contributing to PXI’s expansion, as semiconductor and device
manufacturing turns to this affordable test solution. Manufacturers used
to be able to spend half a million dollars on a tester because of high
production volume. Now, they’re looking to reduce costs by orders of
magnitude, and PXI’s technology has evolved to where it can handle the
testing. Manufacturers are also looking at the flexibility that PXI’s
modular architecture allows. Manufacturers are screening devices
differently for various customers, so production test runs for a given
configuration are lower in volume. PXI systems can be rapidly customized
and reconfigured to support this new test paradigm.
PXI has many other advantages, too, such as system expandability, a
small form factor, a wide range of instrumentation and vendors,
integrated timing and synchronization, and mass data transfer. These key
features contribute to the success of the PXI platform and give
integrators the tools needed to develop high-performance customized
solutions that meet strict requirements. Leveraging the PXI platform’s
hardware flexibility and software-defined instrumentation allows
integrators to deliver innovative, high-quality, and reliable systems
quickly and at lower costs. Originally viewed as a low-cost alternative
to bench instrumentation, the PXI architecture has evolved to hold its
own against high-end dedicated test systems.
LTE is a new high-performance air interface for cellular mobile
communication systems. It is the last step toward the fourth generation
(4G) of radio technologies, designed to increase the capacity and speed
of mobile telephone networks. The overall objective for LTE is to
provide an extremely high performance radio-access technology that
offers full vehicular speed mobility and that can readily coexist with
HSPA (advanced version of 3G) and earlier networks. Because of scalable
bandwidth, operators will be able to gradually migrate their networks
and users from HSPA to LTE.
LTE is also in its development stage, creating testing opportunities
that cover the full LTE development life cycle, from early R&D device
and base-station testing to monitoring and installation and maintenance
applications. Initial deployment of LTE is targeted for 2010 and 2011.
It is anticipated that the development of chipsets and handsets will
gain momentum. The need to develop and test handsets to meet the extreme
performance requirements of LTE networks will accelerate due to
increased deployments of these networks.
ATE/Semiconductor Test
The ATE/semiconductor test sub-segment is driven by ATE utilization
rates, high-volume chip shipments, and the market outlook for integrated
device manufacturers. Semiconductor ATE consists of various instruments
or cards used for testing memory, digital, mixed signal, and
system-on-chip (SoC) components, both at the wafer and packaged stages.
These testers include:
 Driven by the demand
in the consumer, computing, and communication markets, these test
systems continue to evolve. To keep pace with innovation in the
semiconductor industry, today’s ATE tester products must provide more
functionality at higher speeds than ever before, addressing functions
such as timing accuracy, memory control, digital signal processing (DSP)
analysis, high-speed I/O capability, and jitter compliance.
Although an upturn in the ATE industry is being seen, it still remains
below normalized revenue levels. The SoC market segment was in decline
for the past three years. The market hit the bottom in 2009, when the
buy rate for SoC test was calculated at approximately 0.8 percent of
semiconductor IC revenue, the lowest spending on SoC equipment in the
last 15 years. Higher demand has been realized in the first quarter of
2010, and there is a high level of optimism about the second half of the
year.
Low-end SoCs are used in the customer electronics market and other
high-volume applications. There are also positive signs in these areas,
with demand strengthening for end-user products such as home appliances,
DVD players, and webcams. Forecasts indicate increased demand for these
types of mass-marketed products. There are signs of life that should
lead to increased equipment spending in the latter half of this year and
a more robust demand in 2011.
On the RF technology testing front, a fresh approach to testing is
necessary, due to the rapid development and growth of new communication
technologies such as LTE. Moreover, the convergence of technologies,
while enabling the integration of more applications, has also increased
opportunities, as well as challenges, for vendors of RF test equipment.
RF test solutions must handle increased data rates, higher spectral
efficiency, and low latency, as well as provide scalable channel widths.
One trend that has emerged is the migration of RF testing to handheld
instruments. Traditionally such testing has required multiple
instruments, including dedicated cable testers, spectrum analyzers, and
power meters. By integrating all key RF test tools into one rugged and
lightweight device, it minimizes the number of separate test instruments
required in the field and the skill required to operate each of them,
while also dramatically increasing user productivity.
Some of the other emerging trends in handheld instruments are
durability, ease-of-use, and safety. To ensure durability in harsh field
environments, handhelds must be both rugged and weather resistant.
Safety is a trend that has evolved over time as handheld instruments are
taken into more non-ideal and uncomfortable locations, often with poor
lighting and no air conditioning. Many of these instruments are also
going into higher energy environments. Ensuring safety in this range of
environments requires a CAT III/CAT IV safety rating, as well as a
demonstrated compliance to standards like IEC 61010.
General-Purpose Test
The general-purpose test sub-segment contains a diverse set of
equipment, and therefore, reacts to more general economy fluctuations.
General-purpose test instruments consist of products such as
oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal generators, video test equipment,
and automotive test equipment. These products are used across multiple
applications in environments ranging from labs to manufacturing
facilities.
Demand for general purpose measuring instruments increases at times when
production facilities or labs are expanding. While production volume in
the electronic components industry is recovering, the industry is
unlikely to be in the position of expanding its current production
facilities immediately. A modest sales recovery is expected to slowly
ramp throughout 2010.
Designers of
general-purpose test and measurement equipment, such as oscilloscopes
and logic analyzers, have historically implemented custom designed
hardware. Now, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modular systems based on
a single board computer (SBC) or embedded CPU boards are increasingly
available. Moving forward, these SBCs will enable PCI Express (PCIe)
function boards, while maintaining PCI software compatibility, and will
enable Gigabit Ethernet and wireless for connectivity to other equipment
and the Internet.
Interconnect
Profile
Many of the
interconnect products used in test, measurement, and instrumentation
applications are standard, with multiple sources. Features, performance
characteristics, and requirements vary by end-user need. As an example,
network analyzers and BERT scopes are utilized by engineers and
technicians in various functions. HUBER+SUHNER Inc. responded to
feedback from customers performing engineering test and verification of
new semiconductor designs. According to Richard Loveless, industrial
market manager, users have said, “Chips are evolving faster than our
capabilities to test them,” and “testing interconnectivity needs to
operate up to 20 GHz now, 30 GHz soon, and up to 40 GHz by 2011.” And
most interestingly, “We see no solutions on the horizon.” This
high-speed signal branch of testing includes being able to test
everything from enterprise servers, where both the CPU and integrated
system must be tested, to the testing of individual SerDes or XAUI
chips.
Verifying signal
integrity for increasing gigabit data rates has exceeded the capacity
and cut-off frequencies of almost all available test interconnect
solutions. Most traditional “high speed” connector designs that utilize
stamped contacts appear to be limited to between 10 and 15 GHz, and
these speeds are not fast enough for the new semiconductor test
requirements. For example, designers wanting to test at the fifth
harmonic for a 12 Gb/s signal need test and measurement cable assemblies
with a cut-off frequency of 30 GHz or higher.
 A large part of the
problem lies in preserving a true coaxial transmission line as signals
travel through the connectors, and in maintaining the coaxial
transmission line throughout the entire signal path, from DUT to
analyzer instrumentation. To address these issues, HUBER+SUHNER has
designed the MXP Multicoax connector family and Multiflex 53 high-speed
digital coaxial cable, which provide a high-density, ganged, true
coaxial cable-to-board connector interface. The MMPX subminiature
coaxial connectors used in concert with stable, low-loss Multiflex 86
cable are excellent for individual cable-to-board interfaces. It is now
possible to use the best coaxial cable and connectors and verify
performance up to 40 Gb/s.
Bishop & Associates Observations: Notable Trends
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Acquisitions
continue to be viewed as an essential part of business strategy. The
worldwide semiconductor ATE (automatic test equipment) market has
witnessed several mergers and acquisitions in recent years. As a result
of these transactions, the semiconductor ATE market now is dominated by
just a handful of companies.
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The adoption of
software-defined instrumentation (also known as “virtual instruments”)
such as PXI, parallel processing technologies, and new methods for
wireless and semiconductor testing indicates that companies recognize
that moving toward software-defined instruments will significantly
improve the efficiency of test and measurement systems. These trends
help engineers develop faster and more flexible automated test systems
to meet the demands of new application areas, while reducing their
overall cost of test.
-
More technology
vendors are developing industry-standard tools capable of solving
problems that previously depended on expensive, dedicated test systems.
The savings realized in capital equipment, system development, and
improvements in system efficiency all contribute to reducing the
per-unit cost of test, directly influencing the bottom line.
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Increased use
of portable analytical equipment, based on a wide array of technologies
that have undergone transformative maturation over the last several
years, including the increased use of nanotechnology. Industry
specialists forecast a wide range of applications for field-portable
analysis, especially in the environmental industry. The market is quite
competitive, with no single player having a major piece. The portable or
handheld analytical devices market has almost continual innovation in
every underlying technology.
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There are new
promising application areas for test and measurement, including
aerospace/defense modernization, home security, surveillance,
alternative energy, R&D for next-generation wireless devices, metrology,
and nanotechnology.
 Director,
Renewable Energy, Medical, and Test, Measurement, and
Instrumentation, Bishop & Associates Inc.
Jenny
Bieksha joined Bishop & Associates in
2008 as its market segment director for the renewable energy,
and the test, measurement, and instrumentation markets. She is
currently a management consultant specializing in strategic
business planning, with an emphasis on the development of
program, market, and product plans. Bieksha has more than 20
years of experience in the electronics industry, with a
background in market management, business development, channel
sales, product management, and operations for ITT Corporation,
Delphi Connection Systems, and Hughes Aircraft Company.
Bieksha has a bachelor of science degree in marketing from the
University of Wyoming, and has received her certificate as a
project management professional. |
