Manufacturing Test User Group Meeting (UGM) 2025

This whitepaper examines the testing practices essential for validating analog and digital components in modern printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs). It outlines key techniques such as in-circuit testing (ICT), boundary scan, mixed-signal analysis, and approaches for diagnosing and ensuring component reliability. The paper also highlights the capabilities of the Keysight i7090 test system, designed to address the challenges of high-mix, high-volume PCBA production with precision and efficiency.

This whitepaper explores the enhanced Polarity Check technology for SMD J-lead Tantalum capacitors, providing a more accurate and efficient method for orientation detection.

Wire bonding, a foundational process in microelectronics, is essential for establishing a robust and low-resistance electrical connection between semiconductor chips and their respective packages or, in the case of multi-chip modules, between different chips. A connection is made from the bond pad on the chip to a corresponding pad on the package substrate or another chip through the meticulous bonding of a fine wire—usually composed of materials like gold, aluminum, or copper. This intricate process ensures the device's functionality, reliability, and overall performance. Several wire bonding testing methods have been developed and adopted to capture defects in molded integrated circuits (ICs) in microelectronics. However, the current testing methods on the market have their own strengths and weaknesses; they are not comprehensive but rather complement each other. An innovative method called capacitive testing has been developed to provide more comprehensive wire bond testing, detecting wire bond defects that are invisible with conventional testing methods. These defects include near shorts, wire sweep, wire sagging, and more.

When it comes to manufacturing electronics, two types of tests are commonly used to ensure the quality and reliability of the products: In-Circuit Tests (ICT) and Functional Tests (FCT). Although distinct from each other, these testing methods are complementary and serve specific purposes in the production process. ICT is a process used to test the integrity of individual components and connections on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). A Functional Test (FCT) is a test that assesses the overall functionality of a finished electronic product through a range of test scenarios designed to mimic real-world usage conditions. Manufacturers often separate these two testing methods into different stages due to differences in their testing methodologies, objectives, and the types of defects they are designed to detect. However, by unifying these testing methodologies and leveraging their strengths, manufacturers can achieve thorough quality control, reduce defects, and lower costs. This approach is particularly beneficial in all aspects of manufacturing, especially in the automotive sector, where intricate electronic components and interconnected subsystems are prevalent.

In high-speed, complex, electronics environments, the future of ICT solutions must overcome a multitude of issues.

Demands for a connected world with instant data access continue to drive data center transceiver innovation. 100 gigabit Ethernet (GE) data transmission is in production and will continue to evolve. But 100GE speeds aren’t fast enough to support the expected surge in connected devices and the applications they will run, opening the door for 400GE. Non-return-to-zero (NRZ) and four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) are two modulation technologies that enable 400GE. Each comes with its own set of challenges.

A common ‘Design for Excellence’ approach in any product design process is the ‘Design for Manufacturing’ which is simply to ensure the products are easier to be manufactured. A significant and important part of this approach is the ‘Design for Manufacturing Test’ concept. A final product that was manufactured but is difficult to test to effectively measure its quality and reliability before shipping out may result in disastrous consequences when these products fail out in the field, especially when the products are used in mission-critical industries such as the automotive industry. In this white paper, we will look into detail of a single but important task that a design engineer needs to do as part of their design workflow. This task is where the engineer will need to decide which components to use and from which vendor in order to achieve the best outcome in terms of manufacturability. Here, we will introduce a concept and use case of ‘Design for Manufacturing Test’ to allow design engineers to focus more on their development.

In manufacturing, it was very common to use a golden unit as a reference unit for test development and debug. Multiple aspects such as product requirement, specification, functionality, choice of component and material are important to be considered in order to ensure all the golden unit is as close as it gets to the perfect unit. As an example, a new functional test script may need to be validated, and the golden unit will be used to make sure the new test is working as it should.

PathWave Manufacturing Analytics (PMA) is an established Industry 4.0 web-based big data analytics solution for improving electronic manufacturing efficiency and quality. In the PMA stack, Angular 2+ is currently used as the client-side framework. In order to improve the performance of the platform, we will explore how to implement NGRX library into the existing client-side framework. The components and benefits of NGRX implementation will be discussed in this paper as well.

Keysight offers a comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading In-Circuit Testing (ICT) test systems; namely the i3070, i1000 & i7090. Through the new Industry 4.0 readiness enhancements, the metadata and measurement data will flow seamlessly into the PathWave Manufacturing Analytics (PMA) server application for big data advanced analytics.

Failures in manufacturing process occurs when a function cannot be performed or has performances that deviate from target performance. Failures can cause damage and affect operations, productions, performance, and further impact the company's brand and reputation.

Keysight’s PathWave Manufacturing Analytics (PMA) is an Analytics-As-A-Service (AaaS) big data, real-time advanced analytics platform. It is an established and proven solution that uniquely combines measurement science domain knowledge and data science. It has the capability to monitor the production process and detect the anomalies produced. However, the anomalies found by PMA across different tests are not linked hence we are unable to establish a connection between tests. The anomalies then can only be flagged as separate warnings, and clients can only investigate them one at a time. There is no collective analysis done to the anomalies. It is possible to manually locate similar anomalous patterns across hundreds of tests but it would require too much manpower. Thus, this has given rise to the need to quantitatively measure the correlation between anomalous patterns and group them together for further study.