Virtual Instrumentation Based IC Parametric Tester for Engineering Education

Importance of training in electronic test technology within a wider electronic education framework has been acknowledged and extensively discussed in the literature. The main difficulty in incorporating test technology education and training into a curriculum of an electronic engineering degree offered by higher education institutions is an extremely high cost of industry-grate automated test equipment. Trying to address this shortcoming, this paper proposes a fully operational prototype of a simple low-cost programmable electronic test system for functional and DC parametric testing of simple logic ICs. The system is based on National Instruments tools and software. It has been developed to aid teaching of undergraduate units ECE4064 Electronic Test Technology offered at Monash University, Malaysia and 143 .457 Advanced Micro Technologies offered at Massey University, New Zealand.