What is TestOps?
As semiconductor designs grow more complex, traditional post-silicon validation can’t keep pace with demands for faster turnarounds and higher reliability. Validation is no longer a simple checkpoint. It has become a strategic phase that directly impacts product success.
TestOps brings DevOps principles to post-silicon validation, transforming it into an agile, efficient, and collaborative process. By automating workflows, enhancing test coverage, and enabling smarter lab resource use, TestOps helps teams validate chips faster and more thoroughly, thus reducing time-to-market and improving product quality.
TestOps has two critical sections, one is the Definition, Planning, Analysis and Reporting section that primarily deals with the test specification, planning, analysis and reporting, mostly done on Cloud/on-prem agnostic of the test systems. The other is the Test Program development, Execution, Data Collection section that deals with the development and execution of the test programs, data collection which is done on the test systems with device under test (DUT) and hardware.
Semiconductor Validation and Automation Framework: Layer by layer
01
Instrument Driver Development, Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) or Functional Abstraction Layer (FAL)
A framework for developing instrument drivers and HAL/FAL that integrates with your instruments and hardware.
02
Device Register GUIs and Device Abstraction Layer
GUIs for managing device registers and fields, and a device abstraction layer that simplifies working with complex semiconductor devices using pattern-based or DIO instruments.
03
Test Development using Python, LabVIEW, .NET, C/C++
Test development in multiple languages, so teams use the skills and tools they already have.
04
Measurement Abstraction Layer (MAL)
Abstracts measurement operations, so measurement logic is consistent and reusable across tests and instruments.
05
Test Execution Engine using LabVIEW, TestStand, Python, .NET
A test execution engine supporting multiple languages and frameworks, with flexibility to loop over test conditions and manage test cases.
Validation Frameworks for Specific Validation Requirements
01
Protocol Validation Suite
A suite of tools and frameworks for validating communication protocols, ensuring compliance with industry standards and specifications like I3C, SoundWire, I2C, SPI, etc.
02
LDO Validation Suite
A specialized framework for validating Low Dropout Regulators (LDOs), ensuring they meet performance and reliability standards. This includes series of commonly used tests like PSRR, Line Regulation, Load Regulation, etc.
03
Power Supply Sequencing and Monitoring
A framework for validating power supply sequencing and monitoring, ensuring that power supplies meet the required specifications and performance standards.
Benefits of TestOps: Validation Automation Framework
Build once, reuse across programs
Drivers, measurements, and test components carry from one device program to the next, so each new program starts ahead, not from scratch.
Coverage that catches issues at bring-up, not tape-out
Automated, broad coverage across conditions and corner cases surfaces problems while they're still cheap to fix.
Scales with device complexity
More pins, more conditions, more corner cases: the framework absorbs growth in test volume without growing the team to match.