Homegrown Tools and Equipment versus EDA and ATE Vendors: The Future of Design to Test Product Lines

The escalation in test cost has been given a great deal of attention recently and several approaches have been pursued to alter test strategy to lower cost of test. The large independent device manufacturers are replacing the requirement for every increasing frequency, accuracy and pin count in their ATE equipment with design-for-test (DFT) solutions. This approach may be successful for high volume products but it does not solve the cost problem for the industry.