The following article was originally published here on the Test and Measurement Tips website.
Lee Teschler
The SV4D is a versatile, high-performance, ultra-compact test module enabling at-speed production testing for MIPI interfaces. Capable of operating independently or within any ATE load board, the SV4D is ideal for deployment at wafer sort as well as final test or system-level test. With up to 4 MIPI transmit or receive ports each containing multiple data lanes, this module enables multi-site testing and results in significant cost-of-test savings for SOC, MCU, ASSP, image sensor, display driver IC, and ISP manufacturers.
These days, the constraints of legacy ATE and obsolete testing 
methodologies are rendering it increasingly difficult for semiconductor manufacturers to meet conformance standards during mass production. As a functional test platform, the SV4D efficiently supports both legacy ATE functionality and the latest MIPI testing requirements.
With major MCU, ASSP, and display chip manufacturers such as Synaptics already benefiting from the tool’s ability to perform wafer sort and final test, the SV4D promises to significantly alter the cost-of-test formula and improve product quality for customers.
Features include data rates up to 2.5 Gbps/Gsps fully continuous operating range, 20 differential Tx lanes and 10 differential Rx lanes, each with integrated MIPI physical layers, built-in MIPI D-PHY, C-PHY, CSI-2, DSI, and DSI-2 protocols, and interactive operation or via full automation. Benefits include integrated physical layers that offer complete at-speed test coverage for safety-critical applications, an innovative floating design to accommodate densely packed production test cells, software tools that allow protocol-level operation during test development and rapid go/no-go testing during mass production.
The SV4D Test Module is designed to satisfy the need for parallel, at-speed, system‐oriented testing methodology on ATE that closely mimics the final application of the device under test. Achieving a level of integration that is not fathomable using conventional equipment, it can be deployed to test:
- applications processors or AI co-processors containing MIPI DSI, DSI-2, or CSI interfaces;
- display driver ICs containing MIPI DSI or DSI-2 interfaces;
- image sensors containing MIPI CSI-2 interfaces;
- wireless and IoT devices containing MIPI D-PHY or C-PHY; and
- sLVDS links found in ISPs or infotainment chipsets.
The SV4D Direct Attach MIPI Test Module Tester is available for purchase from Introspect Technology or through one of its approved worldwide distributors.
Introspect Technology, 642 Rue de Courcelle, Suite 315, Montréal, QC H4C 3C5, Canada, www.instrospect.ca