I2C Functional Tests on Prototypes without Operating Software Accelerates Design Validation
A new eBook explains how the circuit board design validation process can be accelerated by performing at-speed functional tests on the Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus interfaces on prototype boards before their operating software is available. The test strategy involves temporarily inserting embedded instrumentation intellectual property into an on-board field programmable gate array (FPGA) and applying boundary-scan or JTAG tests to verify structural integrity.
Published by ASSET InterTech (www.asset-intertech.com), the eBook describes several methodologies whereby the I2C interfaces on non-booting prototypes or fully assembled boards can be tested and validated. In the case of prototype boards, the design team would not have to wait for operating firmware before validating the functionality of I2C. In other words, functional hardware verification is decoupled from functional software development. In addition, the time spent on developing traditional functional tests is avoided as well. On assembled boards that fail to boot, these same methods could eliminate faults in the board’s I2C interfaces as a root cause of the failure.
“Developing and performing a functional test suite for a new circuit board design can be a very laborious and time consuming task,” said Kent Zetterberg, an ASSET product manager and author of the new eBook. “A test strategy based on embedded instruments not only saves time and money, but it also provides a lot more diagnostic information on the root causes of faults and failures than a traditional functional test ever could.”
Titled “I2C Functional Test with JTAG and FPGA IP,” the new eBook is available now on the ASSET website in its eResources center at http://www.asset-intertech.com/Products/Boundary-Scan-Test/BST-Software/I2C-Functional-Test-1149-1-JTAG-and-FPGA-IP
Other informative eBooks, white papers and videos on issues relating to chip, board and system debug, validation and test also can be downloaded from: http://www.asset-intertech.com/eResources
About ASSET InterTech
ASSET InterTech is a leading supplier to the electronics industry of tools based on embedded instrumentation. Its SourcePoint debugger and the ScanWorks platform for embedded instruments overcome the limitations of external test and measurement equipment by applying instrumentation embedded in code and semiconductors to debug and validate software and firmware, and to perform design validation and manufacturing test on chips and circuit boards. ASSET InterTech is located at 2201 North Central Expressway, Suite 105, Richardson, TX 75080.
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