the semiconductor test Consortium Inc. (STC), a proponent of worldwide adoption of open architecture, announced an expansion in scope through a new initiative to enable development of automatic test equipment (ATE) peripheral interface standards.
The new initiative will treat the ATE as a "black box," enabling greater portability of test collateral through higher level abstraction of user programming, equipment integration, and device interconnect, STC said.
The docking and interface working group (DIWG) has been created and joins the existing STIL and probecard working groups as a first step of this expansion.
Additional working groups are forming to focus on definition of a user-level application programming interface (API), instrument portability/abstraction layer, tooling abstraction layer and asynchronous device test interface.
These newest working groups will enable the STC's work to encompass more of the entire test process-delivering further benefits for the global semiconductor industry, according to the consortium.
"As a direct result of feedback from STC members and the industry as a whole, we have chosen to expand the consortium to encompass the entire test process", STC's chairman Don Edenfeld said.
"This is just the beginning of a significant shift in the focus of STC, as there is much work ahead for the organisation to bring this expansion to fruition with full implementation planned by the end of the year."
The DIWG will concentrate on development of technical definitions and specifications for docking and interfacing of peripheral test equipment, such as wafer probers and device handlers, with ATE. STC said the working group addresses an industry need for standardisation that the consortium claims will provide substantial economic and technical benefits to users and vendors alike.
The initial DIWG roster includes members from Reid-Ashman Manufacturing Inc., Microhandling GmbH, Intel Corp., Infineon Technologies AG, Esmo AG, Analog Devices Inc. and Advantest Corp.
The STC will continue to enable the Openstar Ecosystem through continuous improvement of the existing set of specifications and member driven focused efforts.
In addition, the newly formed Openstar solutions working group will define and execute a process for collecting test requirements and solutions from STC members, STC said.