High speed serial data pin for automatic test equipment
First Claim
1. A method of operating a tester to increase the data rate of digital timing signals produced by the tester, comprising:
- (a) generating a plurality of groups of digital timing signals, each group of digital timing signals being generated during a different one of a plurality of non-overlapping time intervals;
(b) combining each group of digital timing signals generated in step (a) to produce a plurality of serial data streams, wherein each group of digital timing signals is combined in accordance with the Boolean logical "exclusive-or" operation; and
(c) combining the plurality of serial data streams produced in step (b) to produce a new digital timing signal, wherein the serial data streams are combined in accordance with the Boolean logical "or" operation, whereby the data rate of the new digital timing signal is faster than the data rate of each digital timing signal generated in step (a).
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Abstract
A tester that produces digital timing signals having fast data rates including multiple groups of timing generators, multiple "exclusive-or" gates, and an "or" gate. Each group of timing generators is connected to an exclusive-or gate, and the output of each exclusive-or gate is coupled to the or gate. The digital timing signals are encoded such that the timing generators in each group may assert timing pulses only during specified cycles within a series of clock cycles. Each combination of timing generators within a group either asserting their respective encoded timing signals, or not asserting any timing signals during the series of clock cycles, generates a unique serial data stream. The serial data streams generated by the groups of timing generators are then combined to produce a new digital timing signal having a data rate that is faster than the data rate of the encoded digital timing signals.
36 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of operating a tester to increase the data rate of digital timing signals produced by the tester, comprising:
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(a) generating a plurality of groups of digital timing signals, each group of digital timing signals being generated during a different one of a plurality of non-overlapping time intervals; (b) combining each group of digital timing signals generated in step (a) to produce a plurality of serial data streams, wherein each group of digital timing signals is combined in accordance with the Boolean logical "exclusive-or" operation; and (c) combining the plurality of serial data streams produced in step (b) to produce a new digital timing signal, wherein the serial data streams are combined in accordance with the Boolean logical "or" operation, whereby the data rate of the new digital timing signal is faster than the data rate of each digital timing signal generated in step (a). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A tester, adapted to produce a digital timing signal having a fast data rate, comprising:
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(a) means for generating a plurality of groups of digital timing signals, wherein each group of digital timing signals is generated during a different one of a plurality of non-overlapping time intervals; and (b) combinatorial logic, coupled to the means for generating digital timing signals, comprising (i) a plurality of "exclusive-or" gates, each group of digital timing signals being applied to one of said plurality of "exclusive-or" gates, thereby producing a plurality of serial data streams, and (ii) an "or" gate, coupled to each "exclusive-or" gate, thereby combining the serial data streams to produce a new digital timing signal having a fast data rate. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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Specification