IEEE Std 1641-2010, IEEE Standard for Signal and Test Definition
The new revision of IEEE 1641, approved at the June 2010 IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting, was published in September 2010. It is now available from the IEEE in both PDF and printed (Print-on-Demand) format. This standard provides a means of unambiguously describing the Signals and Tests required when creating and executing test requirements. It was the result of a radical review of ATLAS and the requirement to create truly portable test requirements.
The Standard for Signal and Test Definition (STD) provides the capability to describe, control and measure signals, whilst permitting a choice of operating environment, including the choice of carrier language. It allows test information to pass more freely between the design, test and maintenance phases of a project, enabling the same information to be used directly across project phases. This more efficient use of information, leads to reduced life cycle costs.
Improvements to the standard include more comprehensive definition of digital tests, better description of measurement features, clarification of how event information is carried by signals and digital streams, and the addition of a guide for maximizing test platform independence. The XML versions of the TSF libraries and the associated XML schema definitions have now been placed on the IEEE Standards Association downloads website. These are available for free download using the links provided in the revised standard.
The main features of STD are:
• it provides a set of common basic signals
• all basic signals are mathematically underpinned by a functional language definition
• basic signals can be combined to form complex signals
• underlying computer (carrier) language of the user's choice
• usable across all test platforms
• common language elements support test signal descriptions in any carrier language.
STD comprises four layers, each layer being built up on the preceding (lower) layer. The lowest layer contains the mathematical definitions of the Basic Signal Components (BSCs). The middle two layers describe the Basic Signals and how they are combined to create Test Signal Framework (TSF) models. The highest layer defines the test description language used for the application and measurement of signals using a textual format.
The standard also provides a link to ATLAS by providing an example TSF library with signal models corresponding to the Nouns defined in IEEE Std 716-1995 (C/ATLAS)
The standard also provides support for the Automatic Test Markup Language (ATML) by providing signal definitions in XML.
To support this new standard, the TAD subcommittee has developed a Guide for use of the STD Standard; IEEE Std 1641.1-2006, IEEE Guide to the Use of the Standard for Signal and Test Definition.
As the TAD subcommittee is always looking to improve and develop its standards in line with the use and development of automatic test systems, we always welcome comments and suggestions for additions and improvements to the standard. The subcommittee is also pleased to accept any help and input that anyone can provide. Please contact the working group chair.