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Introduction

In document Thesis Report (pagina 12-16)

In chapter 1, firstly, the background of this project will be described. Secondly, a list of research questions will be introduced. Finally, there will be an analysis of the research objective.

1.1 Background

In 1.1, the company background will be briefly introduced, followed by the introduction of assignment background. Afterwards, there will be a project overview which involves a graph to show the structure of the project.

1.1.1 Company Background

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is one of the top ten semiconductor companies in the world. The company was founded in 2006 as the semiconductor division of Philips AG, headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, which was established in 1953. From the beginning of NXP's independence, CEO Richard Clemmer and the management team established the company's strategy to develop market-leading, highly differentiated businesses and generate profits. In 2015, NXP merged with Freescale, another leading semiconductor company, to further expand its business on the Internet of Things and automotive, with a focus on secure and reliable edge computing, connectivity technology, and efficient power management solutions. And established market leadership positions in key areas such as next-generation electric vehicles, and secure connectivity across the Internet of Things, mobile devices, and automotive ecosystems.

NXP's products are widely used, covering the market and application fields of secure connected vehicles, mobile devices, industrial Internet of Things, smart city, smart home, communication infrastructure and so on. Moreover, NXP has operations in more than 25 countries now.

1.1.2 Assignment background

NXP semiconductors automotive business line produces chips for IVN which must reach the quality inspection, like temperature tolerance and anti-interference ability, before entering the market. Even under such circumstances, some devices will still fail at a low rate which is lower

Figure 1-1 EVA2's motherboard, daughter board and adapter board

2 than 0.1 ppm (parts per million) and be sent back to NXP. In order to analyze the failed

products like curve tracing tests, NXP utilizes a test setup called EVA2 bench test platform.

The EVA2 has three main constructions: a motherboard (the green square) and a daughter board (the red square) as shown in the Fig.1.1, a hardware cabinet as shown in the Fig.1.2.

The EVA2 has an embedded Windows PC which takes the charge of controlling the

motherboard. And the motherboard has 96 pins which can be inserted by the daughter board so that the curve tracing test which has been mentioned above can be controlled by the PC through daughter board. Moreover, aiming at analyzing different failed products, an adapter board as the yellow square which is shown in the Fig.1-1 is required to connect all the pins of the chips.

The block schematic of EVA2 bench test platform is shown in the Fig.1-3.

Figure 1-2 EVA2's hardware cabinet

Figure 1-3 Block schematic of EVA2 bench test platform

3 The hardware cabinet contains 5 functional boards: power input/output (IO), Joint test action group (JTAG), analog to digital converter (ADC), digital to analog converter (DAC), time

measurement unit (TMU). All the boards are inserted on a module board as shown in the Fig 1-4 which connects the PC with all the functional boards. Furthermore, the embedded

oscilloscopes connect to the PC through USB interface and CAN/LIN connect to PC through CAN/LIN controller. Last, the source measurement unit is connected to the motherboard to provide source voltage or current and simultaneously measure voltage and/or current. The detailed explanation of the components will be clarified in Chapter 2. And the whole setup is controlled by software written in Delphi XE7 which is a windows-based object-oriented programming tool.

The EVA2 tester is required maintenance and one of the requirements of a tester is calibration.

In order to ensure the accuracy of test, NXP is only allowed to use the measuring equipment that has a valid calibration. The calibration is to check if the tool is still measuring within the specification and the failed parts or the whole tools will be calibrated or replaced.

1.2 Problem analysis

In 1.2, the problem analysis will be clarified, including the analysis of the present situation and expectations. Moreover, the requirements of customers will be listed.

1.2.1 Present situation

As what has been mentioned in 1.1.2 Assignment background, EVA2 has several tools like TMU, ADC, DAC, JTAG board and Power IO module which are required to be calibrated. The

uncalibrated tools will give the wrong measurement results and might damage the device.

Normally, a calibration is valid for a year and the tools are necessary to be sent back for calibration from all over the world to the Netherlands. Under such circumstances, the calibration will waste lots of transportation costs and time.

Figure 1-4 The module board for connecting functional boards with PC

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1.2.2 Desired situation

Hence, a calibration device which can be inserted into EVA2’s motherboard through the 96 pins is in demand. This device will check whether all the tools meet their specification and the check will be accomplished to compare the measurement results with valid calibrated equipment to check if the value is correct. Last, if EVA2 is failing, then the calibration and/or repairment will be executed by the specialist. The required device is able to prevent the EVA2 from out of specification. The calibration device will ensure the accuracy of the EVA2’s test results and increase its flexibility. Most importantly, the embedded calibration device will save lots of transportation time and safe costs of both transportation and calibration.

1.3 Research questions

In 1.2, the main question will be illustrated, and the sub questions are related to the main questions. And all the questions are led by 1.2 Problem Analysis.

1.3.1 Main question

What is the design of a calibration device which can check if the EVA’s test tools meet the specification, can be operated by a software and return the results via a graphical user interface (GUI)?

1.3.2 Sub questions

1. What are the specifications of each EVA2’s measurement tools?

2. What are the rough block designs for the calibration tasks?

3. What are the suitable Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs for each measurement tools’

calibration task?

4. What is the best design to combine each designed calibration device into one PCB board?

5. What software with GUI could be designed to operate the calibration device and return the results?

6. What kind of test can be done to make sure the designed calibration device’s testing results are equal to the valid calibrated equipment’s?

1.4 Research objectives

In sum, the objective of this project is to design a calibration device with a software, and which can check if all the EVA2’s measurement tools are meeting the specification. The users can utilize the device to calibrate the EVA2 more conveniently and don’t need to send EVA2 back to the NXP for yearly calibration. With the calibration device, which is inserted into the EVA2, the NXP can reduce the costs and both the calibration and transportation time.

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In document Thesis Report (pagina 12-16)