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OBSERVATIONS

If non-intrusive tools are the solution (and they are) what are the problems? (Hint: think many.)
by Eric Johnson
Product Manager – I/O Instrumentation

The industry has been chasing Moore's law for many years now and no one wants to be blamed for breaking the streak. But packing transistors into silicon is one thing; validating designs, performing tests and doing debug are quite another. A panel at the recent DesignCon conference highlighted the mounting desperation of many who grapple with high-end design and test issues every day. Fortunately, non-intrusive tools are a big part of the solution and they're here today. This issue of Connect mentions quite a few of them.

TEST DATA OUT

What’s driving the development of IJTAG?

Al Crouch, ASSET’s Chief Technologist, Core Instruments, has been Vice Chairman of the IEEE P1687 Internal JTAG (IJTAG) working group since its inception. In a recent Question and Answer session, Al discussed some of the driving forces behind IJTAG and what’s happening in the validation, test and debug marketplace.

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New 1149.7 enhances 1149.1 test access port, maintains compatibility for boundary scan

Ratification of the new standard IEEE 1149.7 – a complementary and enhanced derivative of IEEE 1149.1 (the original boundary-scan standard) – is expected soon. It’s time for Adam Ley, ASSET’s chief technologist, boundary scan and a member of the P1149.7 Working Group, to take a look at 1149.7.

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New tools boost boundary scan flexibility of ScanWorks® platform

New tools for the ScanWorks® embedded instrumentation platform have boosted its boundary scan (JTAG test) functionality to an unprecedented level. Maintaining its position as the most advanced boundary scan system for non-intrusive structural test, ScanWorks now supports World Wide Test and it can be embedded as IP (intellectual property) into high-availability systems. And there’s more on the horizon!

INSIDE ASSET

Glenn Woppman named one of only four finalists for EDN’s Innovator of the Year award

Adding to the accolades the company has compiled recently, ASSET President and CEO Glenn Woppman was recently named one of only four finalists as this year’s Innovator of the Year. The award is part of EDN magazine’s Innovation awards which have been presented for the last 19 years. The winner has been decided by online voting and will be announced at a gala event March 30.

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ScanWorks® for Embedded Boundary Scan IP

For manufacturers of high-availability systems, the new ScanWorks for Embedded Boundary Scan IP (intellectual property) offers a whole raft of benefits, including remote in-system boundary scan tests, diagnostics and programming, System JTAG (SJTAG) tests and many more.

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DesignCon paper discusses validation with ScanWorks and Intel® IBIST

At the recent DesignCon conference, Stephanie Akimoff, an ASSET application engineer, presented a research paper on design validation using Intel®’s embedded instrumentation technology, Interconnect Built-In Self Test (Intel® IBIST), and ScanWorks. Stephanie compared different validation results such as test coverage, test time and eye capture.

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RIC-1000 earns ASSET a “Finalist” again in Best In Test Awards

When Test & Measurement World magazine recently announced its finalists for the 2009 Best in Test awards, the Remote Instrumentation Controller, Model 1000 (RIC-1000), was on the list. This marks the fourth time in the last six years that an ASSET tool has been nominated by this prestigious publication and web portal.

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ASSET joins Synopsys’ in-Sync program to advance embedded instrumentation tools

By teaming with Synopsys®, a leading provider of design tools to chip makers, through its in-Sync third-party program, ASSET will advance embedded instrumentation technology even further. Interoperability between tools that insert instruments into chips and the ScanWorks® embedded instrumentation platform will simplify the application of embedded instruments by circuit board and system design teams, validation engineers and manufacturing operations.

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BSDL service survey draws significant response

The recent survey conducted by ASSET among users of the BSDL Validation Service generated a response from approximately 12 percent of users who were asked to participate, a significantly high response rate for an online survey. When queried about features that could be added to the service, one respondent asked for “faxable donuts”. That won’t happen, but the rest of the information gathered by the survey will help to improve the service in the future.

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Training pays off for ScanWorks users

The tale of Misael Saucedo of Flextronics in Austin, Texas, is not unfamiliar to the ASSET training department.

According to Misael, the two training courses he attended helped him “become aware of all the tools that are available and how to use them.”

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App Note shows how to control system monitors with ScanWorks

One of the new application notes that are available to users on maintenance contracts explains how ScanWorks can be used to control a family of system monitor devices from Maxim Integrated Products. Other application notes are also available on the ASSET customer support web site, which can be accessed directly from ScanWorks via the “Maintenance Benefits” tab.

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ASSET making lots of news

If you missed the Electronic Products article by ASSET’s Al Crouch about Internal JTAG, your chances were still pretty good that you saw Glenn Woppman’s piece about embedded instrumentation on SOC Central or Adam Ley’s article about 1149.7. And if you missed all of those, you had several other chances to read about ASSET.

The point is, ASSET, its technology and its experts have been making lots of news lately.

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ASSET unveils embedded instrumentation ad campaign

A new ASSET advertising campaign was kicked off with a full-page ad in the February issue of Evaluation Engineering magazine. The advertisements in the campaign will carry the headline, “Driving Embedded Instrumentation – The Future is Now!” and offer details on the leading-edge design validation, test and debug tools that are available from ASSET today.

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