To isolate defects in microprocessors, the failure analyst must exercise the device under the failing conditions. Exercising the device with a tester and the final test program is a natural choice. However, populating a lab with production testers can be prohibitively expensive. Bench top testers are an inexpensive alternative. The constraints of these testers make automated test program translation tools hard or impossible to use. In this paper, we describe an automated translation tool that approximates the original test program with very small engineering time, taking into account the target bench top tester's constraints. The tool consists of three parts. First, the production test is simulated, creating a file that represents the waveforms an oscilloscope would see at the device pins. The second step is the most complex and unique part of the tool. It guesses the setup and hold time built into the production test, and manipulates the timing to fit within the constraints of the bench top tester. The final step reduces vector memory requirements and does the final format translation.

The growth of the Internet over the past four years provides the failure analyst with a new media for communicating his results. The new digital media offers significant advantages over analog publication of results. Digital production, distribution and storage of failure analysis results reduces copying costs and paper storage, and enhances the ability to search through old analyses. When published digitally, results reach the customer within minutes of finishing the report. Furthermore, images on the computer screen can be of significantly higher quality than images reproduced on paper. The advantages of the digital medium come at a price, however. Research has shown that employees can become less productive when replacing their analog methodologies with digital methodologies. Today's feature-filled software encourages "futzing," one cause of the productivity reduction. In addition, the quality of the images and ability to search the text can be compromised if the software or the analyst does not understand this digital medium. This paper describes a system that offers complete digital production, distribution and storage of failure analysis reports on the Internet. By design, this system reduces the futzing factor, enhances the ability to search the reports, and optimizes images for display on computer monitors. Because photographic images are so important to failure analysis, some digital image optimization theory is reviewed.