Software update increases test flexibility

15th April 2015

XJTAG

Mick Elliott

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The focus of the latest software update from XJTAG is on increasing the flexibility of JTAG chain control to make it easier for engineers to access the full JTAG capabilities of their boards and so achieve maximum test coverage. Dynamic chain profiling makes it easier to initialise boards with multiple JTAG chains, in which a device in one JTAG chain controls power supplies or reset lines for JTAG devices in the other chains.

During flash programming it is now much easier to set up XJTAG to only clock JTAG data through the chain that is needed for the programming operation, leaving the other chain(s) held in their current state. In some situations this can remove the need to clock hundreds of bits of data per-scan, and can significantly speed up testing/programming.

Simon Payne, CEO commented "This release of XJTAG continues our programme of updates that deliver performance improvements for the world leading companies which use XJTAG throughout their product lifecycle. On a recent project for a client we were able to dynamically change the JTAG setup to only include the single JTAG device that was connected to a flash. This in turn allowed us to make a dramatic saving in a manufacturer’s production time by reducing the programming time of a very complex board from 13 minutes to 3 minutes."

In addition to making the system faster and more flexible, XJTAG has increased the capabilities of the XJLink2 JTAG controller by allowing the user to describe connections from the XJLink2 to the PCB under test. "Spare" pins on the XJLink2 which are not being used as TAP pins can now be configured to take part in interconnection testing in order to increase test coverage.

XJTAG has also continued to invest in the XJEase language which underpins all of its device testing – v3.3 sees the introduction of an all-new compiler which provides a significant boost to performance in some applications and a decrease of CPU load in others.