Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a test system, and more particularly, to a test system capable of testing a plurality of system on chips at the same time and a test method thereof.
An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technology has been developed from a chip set system to a concept of a system on chip (SoC) based on a core being built in one chip. A SoC includes various intellectual properties such as a micro processor, an interface, a memory, and a digital signal processor (DSP). An example of a SoC is an application processor (AP). Various electrical and physical properties are tested to determine whether an AP is defective or not from a wafer level process. Even after a packaging process of an AP is completed, it is verified whether the AP is defective or not through various tests.
An AP mounted in mobile devices such as a smart phone or a tablet personal computer (PC) has to be tested to determine whether its various functions operate normally under an operating system (OS) to be actually driven, besides a general electrical characteristic. In the case of an embedded system such as a SoC, it is well known that a cause of system failure may be based on software rather than hardware. Thus, a test technology for software (e.g., an operating system or an application program) of a SoC such as an AP is needed. In this regard, a test technology is needed for a system that tests a hardware response while testing whether a normal operation is performed with respect to software. There is a growing demand for an automated test system that automatically sets various test cases occurring in a software operating status and detects whether the software is defective or not by applying each test case to an AP.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds