Employing a Xilinx DSP FPGA, the ISL-3200 CMOS Image Sensor Tester from Jova Solutions provides a "game-changing" approach that epitomizes the industry trend toward low-cost, high-function testers at a fraction of traditional ATE prices.

The folks at Jova Solutions, specialists in low-cost, high-function automated testing solutions, have announced their next-generation image sensor tester, the ISL-3200. The ISL-3200 is a CMOS image sensor test and measurement system, which, for as little as $9,995, provides the integrated hardware and software required for testing a wide variety of image sensor devices and systems.

CMOS image sensors are being used in an ever-increasing range of end products. The millions of CMOS sensor chips that are created and shipped every month require tens of millions of tests each month. The problem is that we are living in challenging financial times – everyone is trying to cut costs – but you cannot sacrifice quality, because the world is a competitive place and there are always other companies out there ready and waiting to "eat your lunch".

Generally speaking we can divide the folks who need image sensor testers into three main groups:

Quality/Test Engineers working at image sensor manufacturers, camera module manufacturers, and end-product manufacturers.

Product Development Engineers who are tasked with exercising and evaluating chips and camera modules from competing suppliers.

Production and Automation Engineers who need to perform high-volume, high-throughput functional tests during the manufacturing process.

Until now there have three main approaches with regard to performing these tests. At one end of the spectrum we have high-end ATE, which is mega-expensive ($500K and up), time-consuming to configure, and of limited flexibility.

At the other end of the spectrum we have "cheap-and-cheerful" Vendor Evaluation Boards. Although useful in their own right, these are by definition specific to only a single vendor and possibly a single sensor (or family of sensors) from that vendor. In addition to being somewhat fragile (they are not intended for a production test environment), these evaluation boards have limited functionality.

And in the middle we have the "build-it-yourself" systems that look like something Heath Robinson or Rube Goldberg would have conceived (for more information on Heath Robinson and Rube Goldberg, check out my Heath Robinson Rube Goldberg Mixed-Technology Computer project). You know what I'm talking about – racks of weird and wonderful units hooked together with a rats-nest of cables. This sort of system requires more than expertise – it requires an intimate knowledge of the foibles of the equipment. The cost in terms of time-and-materials can be anywhere from $10K to $25K, and duplicating such a setup and deploying it across multiple sites and multiple countries is almost impossible.

And so we come to the ISL-3200, which epitomizes the industry trend toward cost-effective, easy-to-use solutions for a variety of test environments, from QA test in volume manufacturing to engineering characterization and image quality analysis.

In developing the ISL-3200, its third-generation semiconductor test system, the folks at Jova leveraged over a decade of experience with more than 50 customers, including image sensor die manufacturers, module developers, and end-product manufacturers.

The folks at Jova also worked closely with industry icons Hewlett-Packard, OmniVision, and VistaPoint Technologies (Flextronics) to deliver the critical functionality required to meet current and future image sensor testing requirements for less than a tenth of the price of a fully featured, high-end Automated Test Equipment (ATE) system.

The main features of the ISL-3200 test platform include:

• Low cost – under $10,000 (for volume purchase of base configuration)
• Integrated hardware and software with pre-written analysis and characterization routines
• Optional Advanced Analysis and Test & Automation software packages
• Field reprogrammable (FPGA-based)
• Accommodates different image sensors through quickly designed adapter boards
• Low-noise design – minimizes apparent image noise and yields more accurate testing
• High-speed PCI Express interface – 200 MByte/sec effective data rate
• High-speed serial devices, including MIPI/SMIA, can be supported through adapter board
• Supports high resolution sensors – up to 64 Megapixel
• Low-noise, isolated power supplies
• 12/24 bit ADC for fast and accurate voltage measurement
• I2C, SPI and UART sensor communication capabilities
• Image data rate of up to 16-bit wide per pixel at 100 MHz
• Supports analog output sensors with custom circuitry on an adapter board
  

Price and Availability
The ISL-3200 base unit is available now for $9,995.00 for high-volume purchases. The base unit includes the ISL-3200 hardware with a USB interface and ISL basic application software, which gives users direct control of the ISL-3200 hardware for communicating with and acquiring images from an image sensor. The ISL-3200 Advanced Analysis and the Test and Automation Suite are also available. For more information, visit the Jova Solutions website at: www.jovasolutions.com.