Using a logic analysis system for automated IC component testing

With the proliferation of computer-controlled instrumentation today, automated testing procedures are becoming more common in instructional laboratories. This paper addresses the addition of a Logic Analysis System, acquired through the NSF-ILI program, to an existing computer-based instrument cluster to facilitate automated testing of digital integrated circuit components. The paper will give a quick overview of the existing work environment available in the instrument cluster, and detail the additional capabilities provided by the Logic Analysis System Also presented will be plans to use the instrument workstation augmented with this new equipment in an instructional laboratory associated with the Electrical and Computer Engineering program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Examples of the types of measurements that are made possible by the Logic Analysis System will be included, and compared with the limited schemes for taking similar readings using the standard instruments already present in the lab. The paper will demonstrate the value of the Logic Analysis System as an additional tool in the collection of instruments in the computer-controlled instrument cluster used for automated IC component testing.