Abstract
The fact that most components on prototype motherboards are likely to be from the same, or nearly the same manufacturing lot, and hence do not show the same variation that may be seen between lots during mass production, magnifies the deficiencies in the design and test process with respect to design robustness against process and manufacturing variability. This article details the need for and the use of Slew Rate Control and Rail Ordering Control in conjunction with the use of the temperature and voltage testing beyond specification to ensure product robustness and detect design weakness. It is important to have the ability to test functionality at all bounds of the specification, including any gray areas, to reduce field failures. The test proposed in the article helps address this problem, saving valuable design and debug time and preventing potential future issues when leveraging the circuit on platforms with different power sequencing.
