Rhythm

Rhythm brings full-featured software to ATE alternatives

Rhythm is a general purpose STIL-based ATE O/S capable of controlling any Semiconductor Test Platform, big or small. Rhythm is full-featured, and can be adapted and right-sized for any test application.

Standards-Based Tester-Independent
The user interface provides a target device under test centric perspective.  This allows the user to focus on the description of the test, not controlling the test hardware.  The programming language is the IEEE 1450 Standard Test Interface Language (STIL).  Thus, CAD generated output can directly become the test program, thus eliminating need for error-prone and tedious translation.  Using committee generated extensions to the STIL language, a clean interface between STIL and C++ provides the user with ultimate flexibility for any test application.

Full-Featured Engineering Interface
Rhythm includes easy to use tools for test program creation, viewing, and editing.  Each tool delivers maximum user productivity by offering edit and view modes in both Spreadsheet and STIL-ASCII presentations.  Debug tools include Logic Analyzer (supporting both online and offline waveform viewing), Shmoo, Waveform (supporting both Waveform Generation and Digitizing with FFT analysis), and Fail Bitmap (supporting both RAM and ROM applications).

Hardware Attachment through DLL’s
Interface between Rhythm and targeted test hardware is managed through one or more dynamic link libraries (DLL’s).  The hardware specific DLL’s manage the interaction between the test program and the hardware taking into account hardware capabilities and available features.  As the DLL defines hardware constraints, Rhythm serves as the mediator between the user and the hardware.  In some cases, Rhythm will manage adjustments such as loop flattening if user test patterns are constructed with nest or loop count conditions that exceed the hardware’s capability.  In cases where parameters such as test frequency or dc conditions are exceeded, Rhythm provides well organized and easy to understand feedback to the user.