Testing Fundamentals

The semiconductor industry faces number of challenges today. There is a demand for more functionality in every die. The most critical aspect is the ever increasing demand for reduced power consumption in mobile devices. The proliferation of high-speed serializers/deserializers has challenged the economics of testing and the strategies adopted for testing. Introduction of newer technologies implies different kind of failure mechanisms previously not encountered. Debugging has reached new levels of sophistication in a rush to capture the market place. The latest trend of 3D packaging technology demands advanced probe based testing.The testing of System on chip and System in package devices demands highest levels of functionality in the test equipment apart from lower cost.

Advantest V93000 series of test equipments have a dual combination of high-speed digital testing and accurate analog,RF measurement integrated into the test system. The features of the test equipment include scalable architecture,low noise effects,modular design among others.Investment optimization has been possible with the use of floating licenses. The application is shared among the users. The life cycle of the test equipment extends with regular development of the platform and the testing community utilizes the equipment to the maximum extent possible.The test systems are extensively used by Outsourced Assembly and Test companies,Integrated device manufacturers, leading foundries all over the world.

Reference

https://www.advantest.com/products/ic-test-systems/v93000-soc-smart-scale

COMPUTERIZATION OF PVD PROCESS

According to CIRP, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a vacuum process allowing material transfer in the form of vapor particles from a material source (target) to the substrate.(Bouzakis, Konstantinos-Dionysios,2014)

From the beginning of early 1960s,PVD been used in the fabrication of Integrated Circuits and other highly sensitive devices. PLCs (programmable logic controllers) were used in the early years as a part of PVD equipment. In the 1980s,the PLCs were replaced by computers in the PVD equipment. The process of integration of PVD equipment with computers however happened at a very slow pace. The PLC control platform remained as part of PVD equipment for some more years. In the mean time, due to limitations of PLC, critical tasks related to PVD were postponed. Using present day computing technologies, vacuum integrity is tracked and analyzed. Complex vacuum manipulation provides an angle-of-incidence control which was neither cost effective nor reliable in the earlier years. Deposition rate and thickness are measured in real-time and variations are easily compensated. The control system architecture with the computer as an integral part enhances process control. New software platforms enable development of the best graphical user interfaces. This maximizes performance and value. With the advent of Internet,remote controlling of operations in real time is possible. This has helped in PVD system design for the past 12 years. Design,development engineers routinely use the world wide web for data,voice and video transmissions. PVD technical services, today are through web cameras. Computer controlled PVD systems operate in clean room or controlled environment. Cleanliness and control over vacuum deposition maintains particulates at satisfactory levels. A recent development is the use of tablet computers for improved readouts. The tablet computers are mounted where data is clearly visible. With the availability of cellular network service, required files are transmitted as and when required during the operations. A tablet computer can also be used for clean-room applications like residual gas analysis and leak detection. In conclusion, it is stated that computerization has led to increased productivity(Malocsay).

References

Bouzakis, Konstantinos-Dionysios. (2014). CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering. In Luc. Laperrière, (Ed.), Berlin Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag.

Malocsay, C. (n.d.). Computer-controlled PVD systems advance operational effectiveness. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from http://www.electronicproducts.com/ Computer_Peripherals /Systems/Vacuum_deposition_control_systems_use_mobile_apps.aspx

 

Food for thought.

Impact of technology on daily life: Bombarded with devices like computer,smart phone we have become totally dependent on gadgets. The wi-fi router is always on,enabling us to know the updates of all things on line like social media,emails among others. We can read newspapers at any time of the day with the latest news. E books have resulted in availability of classic literature for everyone which otherwise would be available only in select libraries of the world. They have their own features. E books can be designed to be interactive,with the option of note taking. The book layout,graphics and illustrations are far superior when compared to printed books. They occupy less size and can be read on a smart phone or a tablet .They can be competitively priced and sold directly to customers.

Is it a healthy sign to stop reading books, newspapers, magazines in print and instead do the same on line. What about the writing habits? How much do we write on paper every day? Letter writing is a best forgotten art. Handwriting is a reflection of human mind. When we write neatly it means our thoughts are well organized. Dirty handwriting means otherwise.

As of today,plagiarism is easily identified in academic writing,research writing among others. Gone are the days of 'copy and paste' writing indulged in by plagiarist writers of notorious reputation. Earlier,not too many years ago,plagiarist writers had a field day copying content from all over the Internet web pages and pasting into the word document. Plagiarist writers remained faithful to the basic philosophy of plagiarism by indulging in violation of Intellectual Property Rights on a large scale. There have not been many instances of the plagiarist writers getting punished for their highly unethical activity. In scientific research, a few researchers caught indulging in plagiarism in the research articles submitted to reputed journals have faced expulsion from the university departments. In many shady journals of questionable reputation plagiarized article are accepted for a fee. All this undermines the basic tenets of scientific writing. It takes time to write 100% original article with proper references to the sources used. The sources include books,journals,web pages, videos among others.

Shopping Mall

The concept of shopping malls is alien to most of the Indians of earlier generations. However in the recent decade we have embraced the concept whole heartedly. Malls are multicrore businesses and have different business models. There are all-in-one malls where virtually everything under the sun is available. In some malls prices of goods are reasonable compared to other places. Parking problem, an ever growing feature in the Indian metros is eliminated since parking is free or for a

very nominal fee.  Families visit a shopping mall during weekends or on holidays for a family outing since it is convenient. A whole day can be spent enjoying at the mall, shopping, dining, watching movies or playing games. Malls have transformed into meeting places for old timers who indulge in reminiscence over a plate of vada-pav or idli sambar and coffee or tea in the food court. There is variety of entertainment specially available for kids to keep them occupied for long hours. Malls are the best places for new product or service promotion due to heavy foot fall,especially on weekends. Ina typical mall temperature is controlled to the right degree and is vastly different from the extreme weather conditions present outside. This makes it highly attractive for people who can just forget about existing weather conditions and indulge in shopping. For those persons not interested in shopping,window shopping is an attractive way for time-pass activity. But all things are not rosy regarding malls. There is overcrowding, on weekends and holidays. Parking problem exists on a very busy day. There is huge temptation to buy unwanted products and services. The monthly budget goes haywire. Shopping at malls gradually transforms into addiction with unwanted side effects for the entire family.