17. May 2021

Increased efficiency in electronics production through optimized Flash and test processes

Integrated Flash solution meets innovative test technology

For more than 25 years ProMik has been expanding its competences in the field of measurement and test technology. Starting with programming services over the development of own inline programming solutions up to the extension of complete contacting units, SMART ICT complements the product portfolio of ProMik with an innovative test approach. Own gained know-how about microelectronics and unsurpassed passion drive us to work further on innovative and efficient solutions.

The most important features at a glance

  • Parallel testing and Flashing of up to 200 targets
  • Testing and Flashing at physical speed of the silicon device
  • Significant test time savings through parallelization
  • SMART ICT vs. JTAG/Boundary Scan
  • Consideration of MCU specific functions (Margin Verify, Cyber Security Funktionen, JTAG Lock, HSM)
  • Flexible call of test functions

Highest efficiency with SMART ICT

Continuous collaboration with our customers enables us to identify future requirements for efficient electronics manufacturing at an early stage. Modern applications are becoming increasingly complex in terms of software and hardware. Software packages are becoming larger and larger, leading to longer programming times, and the associated hardware requires complex test concepts due to increasing safety requirements and the elimination of test points. As a result, there are already challenges in production that require well thought-out programming and test concepts in order to achieve maximum yield and highest capacity utilization. The latter can be realized by balanced cycle times of the processes. For example, test functions from ICT and FCT can be shifted to the flash station if the bottleneck is testing. If the board is not separated until after flashing, the boards can be tested fully in parallel. This leads to a considerable reduction of the test cycle time and thus to a significant optimization of the line cycle. In some cases, a separate test station can be saved.

Cost-effective all-in-one solution for programming and testing from prototypes to series production

Combine your flash solution with SMART ICT and realize increased throughput/capacity through shorter and balanced cycle times. Benefit from high speed transfer rates in the future not only for programming but also for testing your application. Without additional hardware only with the ProMik programming system, applications can be tested and programmed with or without JTAG/Boundary Scan in a flexible and universal way. This is where ProMik's innovative SMART ICT technology comes in. SMART ICT test functions are executed directly on the application. Required test points are thus limited to the central microcontroller/SoC. Even with boundary scan test scopes, cycle time savings are possible with the help of SMART ICT. Enormous (cost) savings potentials arise with regard to test coverage, equipment and development, among other things. 

Say goodbye to JTAG/Boundary Scan and switch to SMART ICT now.

Modular, Universal, Flexible

Depending on your production concept, ProMik offers you several options. ProMik's stand-alone SAP2100-Auto system is suitable for all on-board programming and test requirements. This allows you to fully program and test up to 200 targets in parallel. Plug & Play adapter solutions from ProMik complement the complete solution and, depending on your production needs, you can also implement the solution in smaller systems from ProMik.

Our technologies are not only powerful, but also easy to integrate into all production concepts. An outstanding feature is a possible cable length of up to 1.5 meters. Instead of being integrated into the project-specific interchangeable adapter, ProMik programmers can be integrated directly into the production line. Especially for production lines that are designed for the production of different projects, the quick project adaptation leads to significant cost savings. Regardless of your handler manufacturer and mechanical contacting concept, ProMik solutions can be integrated into any system.

In addition, expansion with SMART ICT hardware modules and customer-specific hardware for dedicated test functions is possible.