New embedded test technology enables improved DDR and IO testing plus fast flash programming

ASSET announces ScanWorks® PFx – a new family of tools to support design and test engineers needing to accelerate i.MX6, Zynq-7000 and Zynq Ultrascale+ SoCs based targets from prototype-to-production. It’s all about speed and quality of your design and that’s not necessarily easy when dealing with DDR2/3/4 or larger flash devices and a complex IO space. The need to get the prototype functional to enable further system validation is critical. Time wasted figuring out DDR setup and calibration or tuning can inhibit your development schedule. For production test, flashing the larger and larger images impacts the beat rate and ultimately the product delivery.

This next generation embedded IP capability uses a target agent specific to the SoC which is designed to run within the on-chip memory (OCM) of the SoC. The ability to run on OCM eliminates the need for customization of the IP so it works on all targets for the SoCs listed above. Only minimal data specific to the board architecture needs to be provided by the user. This family of tools is focused at specific tasks for the designer to assist in the deployment/verification of the prototype to production. But the help doesn’t stop there. The SoC configuration and DDR tuning/calibration parameters are provided to test engineering along with the ability to program in-system flash at device speeds; even large SD/MMC/eMMC devices.

The reason for providing task focused tools is to manage the OCM resources to prevent the need for DDR initialization or software boot loader or an OS. It’s targeted at bare metal with no additional software needed.

The tools complement and build on the static-type testing that ScanWorks boundary-scan tools cover by adding at-speed testing to expand the types of failures that can be found. A key to improve quality of today’s high-speed boards. In cases where boundary-scan coverage is very low, then the ScanWorks PFx tools provide a great new alternative solution for those type challenges versus time being wasted doing custom test software development as the only option.

The three tools in the family are:

ScanWorks Processor-based Functional Test DDR for ARM 32-bit Processors (PDFDDR)

Calibration of DDR2/3/4 designs

PFTDDR provides everything you need to configure, verify, and calibrate the DDR2/3 memory of your board designs. PFTDDR is integrated into ScanWorks and is intended to be used by design engineers for tuning and DDR verification, but is also intended to be used by production test engineers for testing and supports ScanWorks robust testing environment.

Click here for more information about ScanWorks DDR Tuning, Calibration and Test

ScanWorks Processor-Based Functional Test for ARM 32-bit Processors (PFT)

Circuit boards at-speed device tests

PFT is a low-cost software product that provides everything you need to identify interconnect faults and component placement problems on your printed circuit board. PFT can also be a powerful debug tool – quickly finding problems that prevent other embedded software from running.

Click here for more information about ScanWorks Board Functional Test and Programming

ScanWorks Processor-Based Fast Programming for ARM 32-bit Processors (PFP)

Programming lightning fast approaching device programming speeds

A complete solution for optimal flash memory programming. Save time and money using the fastest methods possible for flash memory programming. PFP is a software product providing everything you need for fast on-board device programming; including file transfers from a PC over multiple interfaces (Ethernet, USB, etc.), file transfers from connected storage devices (SD Card, USB Flash Drive, etc.), and programming of Serial NOR Flash, Parallel NOR Flash, NAND Flash, SD/MMC, FPGAs, and EEPROM devices.

Click here for more information about ScanWorks Fast Flash Programming

Larry Osborn