Built-In Test ExercisEr and Sensor (BITES)

Under a United States patent, A.T.E. Solutions, Inc. presented industry with a board-level Built-In Self Test (BIST) solution.

The product is a single chip, placed on a circuit board, or programmed into a programmable device such as an FPGA.  The device is called a Built-In Test Exerciser and Sensor or BITES.

BITES provides:

• Access to non-boundary-scan pins on a circuit board.
• Accesses all existing boundary-scan pins and integrates them with its functions, so that for all practical purposes all boundary-scan pins can be considered a BITES pin.
• Defaults each of its pins to be a Signature Analyzer through which it can detect faults throughout the board.
• For fault isolation (diagnostic) purposes, BITES can be readily reconfigured to apply both deterministic as well as pseudorandom test stimuli and response collection.
• BITES can assist at all levels of diagnosis, making it easier to meet stringent diagnostic requirements in today’s products.
• When designed properly for testability, BITES can perform many of the board-level ATE functions without the high cost of test equipment or test program development.
• With proper design for testability, BITES can be made to provide deep level of diagnosis and serve the needs of embedded test.
• In conjunction with System-Level BIT and IC-Level BIST, BITES, can provide a hierarchical solution to testing.  Hierarchical BIST can result in substantial economic benefits at all levels of support.

See a presentation.

Contact us to discuss how we can bring BITES technology into your design, or call (310) 822-5231