Microcontroller testing using on-load-board DAC

Microcontroller devices mass-produced by the industry often include built-in mixed-signal analog-to-digital conversion circuitry. Testing of these converters embedded into an otherwise purely digital integrated circuit requires using additional equipment, extends test time, and ultimately leads to higher cost. A traditional test set-up would include Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) system as well as an external rack-and-stack device for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter testing. This paper proposes to substitute this external device with a simple electronic circuitry placed on the ATE load-board.