Home Advertise Magazine Events NETV Directory
  





Facing the challenge
21/11/2008 Email to a friend
 
Testing times for fpga specifiers.

Facing the challengeEmbedded instrumentation has thrown up all manner of challenges for the humble designer. As technology has become ever more complex, the need for external instruments such as oscilliscopes and logic analysers has accordingly decreased.
Today, the sheer density and integration of semiconductor devices on boards has escalated to the point that any inadequacies of external and modular instrumentation have become immediately apparent. Glenn Woppman, president and ceo, Asset InterTech, explained: “Embedded instruments can take many shapes and forms. Some experts in the industry expect that soon the capabilities of a complete oscilloscope will be embedded as an additional resource on a chip. The types of instruments that will be embedded will be determined by many factors, such as the needs of the application, the resources of the system and the ingenuity of the chip’s design.”
Embedded fpgas allow designers to automate, access and analyse instruments at the chip level and can be called upon during every phase of a system’s life cycle. Woppman continued: “For example, design validation has a critical need for the capabilities of embedded instrumentation. Without it, the design team cannot test and validate the signal integrity of high speed busses. As the circuit board, sub assembly or system move into manufacturing, embedded instrumentation will be used to perform at speed tests and diagnose failures. And, once the product has been deployed in the field, embedded instrumentation could be accessed and engaged locally or remotely by service technicians to diagnose performance issues and troubleshoot failures.”
 
Author
Chris Shaw
 
 
Download Articles
 
Facing the Challenge.pdf
 
 
Supporting Information
http://www.actel.com/
http://www.asset-intertech.com/
http://www.latticesemi.com/
 
This material is protected by Findlay Media copyright 2010.
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.
 
Bookmark this article using:
 
Del.icio.us digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon
 
 
Your comments / feedback
Do you have any comments or feedback on this article? Please contact us by filling in the form below.
NameHide name
Your Email Address
Comments
Send
We may edit your comments and not all entries will be published.
Terms and Conditions

To comment on news stories or blogs you need to complete our 60 second registration process. Once completed this then allows you to download any and all white papers, register for e-zines and access our detailed supplier directory for FREE.

If you are all ready a registered user then enter your e-mail address and login.

You will need to have logged in prior to entering your comments in the boxes provided.

Please enter your email address to login and gain free access to this site.
 
If you are using this site for the first time registration is quick and completely free.
 
Register Now - Register Now


Email Address :  

Remember Me: - If this box is ticked you will be automatically logged in when you return.

Important: To protect your privacy, do not select 'Remember Me' if other users have access to the computer you are using.

 
Related Companies
Actel Corporation
 
ASSET InterTech Ltd
 
 
Related News
Spectrum analyser has 'fastest measurement speed on the market' says Anritsu
 
TRaC announces £1million investment in UK test facility
 
IEEE publishes new test and debug standard
 
JDSU to acquire Agilent's network solutions test business
 
World's most accurate handheld vector network analyser claims Agilent
 
 
Related Technology
Powering change
 
Testing times for engineers
 
Oscilloscope efficiencies
 
Powering performance
 
Engineering portable power
 
 
Related Products
Power factor corrected LED driver
 
Power management unit with configurable start up sequences
 
Power mosfet offers low on resistance
 
Expanded on module feature set
 
Enabling test of LIN interfaces
 
 
Downloads
Facing the Challenge.pdf