Summary of SE-DPIN: 16 TO 256 CHANNEL I/O CARD FOR PXIE AND ATE INSTRUMENTS
Salland Engineering designed instrument IP to deliver high-density, cost-effective ATE instruments. Their proof of concept is a scalable 64-channel PXIe digital I/O card (expandable in 16-channel blocks to 256+) using ElevATE Mystery Octal SOC ASICs plus an FPGA timing generator, offering 200 MHz (up to 500 Mbps) performance in an air-cooled PXIe form factor that meets strict power, space, and cost-per-channel targets.
Parts used in the SE-DPIN: 16 to 256 Channel I/O Card for PXIe and ATE Instruments:
- ElevATE Mystery Octal SOC ASIC (Mystery IC)
- FPGA based timing generator
- PXIe 64-channel card PCB and connectors
- Power and cooling components for air-cooled PXIe card
- Modular channel blocks (16-channel building blocks)
- Interface components for ATE and module form-factors
Salland Engineering delivers over 28 years of services to develop and build custom ATE instruments for the semiconductor industry. CEO, Paul van Ulsen said;
“Building high density instruments is always about finding the right balance between performance, density/throughput within the right available power and cooling at the right cost per channel.“
To address these challenges, Salland decided to design the Instrument IP themselves. This enables customers to benefit from proven and available building blocks to achieve high performance and very high density at the right cost.
Salland’s ‘’off-the-shelf’’ custom OEM instrument solutions allow customers to build ATE instruments at a fraction of the cost and at minimal risk. In this respect Salland follows a similar approach as Elevate, building standard solutions for custom applications.
Salland’s latest proof of concept is a scalable 200MHz DPin IO technology based on ElevATE’s Mystery Octal SOC ASIC. This is a 64ch PXIe card with 8 Mystery ICs onboard featuring:
- 64 (/32)-channel, 200MHz/up to 500Mbps Digital I/O card in PXIe format
- Based on ElevATE Mystery ASIC and a FPGA based timing generator
- Scalable architecture in blocks of 16 channels up to 256+
- Technology can be used in all kind of form-factors; modules, ATE, PXIe, etc.
With the Mt. Mystery ASIC, Salland was able to dramatically increase channel count and speed in an air-cooled solution designed to fit into the strict power/space requirements for a PXIe card.
Read more: SE-DPIN: 16 TO 256 CHANNEL I/O CARD FOR PXIE AND ATE INSTRUMENTS
- What performance does the SE-DPIN card provide?
The card provides 200 MHz digital I/O performance and up to 500 Mbps per channel as described in the article. - How many channels does the PXIe card support?
The proof of concept is a 64-channel PXIe card and is scalable in blocks of 16 channels up to 256+ channels. - What ASIC is used in the SE-DPIN design?
The design is based on the ElevATE Mystery Octal SOC ASIC (Mystery IC). - What role does the FPGA play in the card?
An FPGA based timing generator is used alongside the Mystery ASIC to implement the digital I/O timing. - Can the technology be used in other form-factors?
Yes; the article states the technology can be used in modules, ATE, PXIe, and other form-factors. - How does Salland address power and cooling constraints?
Salland achieved increased channel count and speed in an air-cooled solution designed to fit strict power and space requirements for a PXIe card. - What is the scaling approach for channel density?
Channel density is achieved with a scalable architecture in blocks of 16 channels, enabling builds from 16 up to 256+ channels. - How does Salland reduce cost and risk for customers?
Salland provides off-the-shelf custom OEM instrument solutions and proven building blocks to allow customers to build ATE instruments at a fraction of the cost and minimal risk.
