Boundary Scan Hardware and Software

In-circuit testing (ICT) and flying probe testing are two traditional structural test methods still in widespread use today. ICT uses a custom fixture, one per board type, containing a large number of test probes which physically contact test points on the target board. Via the probes, electrical stimuli are driven to the board and results sensed from it.

Flying probe also relies on making physical contact but with a small number of test probes, typically between 4 and 24. The test probes move at high speed allowing a series of tests to be conducted without a fixture.

As board density and complexity have increased over the years, ICT and flying probe suffer from the need for physical contact with test points on the board, hence the emergence of boundary-scan as a superior test technology for today's systems.

However, portions of a system, such as the analog portion of a mixed-signal board, may be well-suited for ICT or flying probe. In such cases, the test strategy may consist of one of our Symphony systems in which boundary-scan tests the digital portion of the target, and the ICT or flying probe system performs the analog testing. The result is a comprehensive test strategy with high coverage for digital and analog in one platform