The Increasing Importance of Utilizing Non-intrusive Board Test Technologies for Printed Circuit Board Defect Coverage

As printed circuit boards have decreased in size and increased in complexity (i.e. number of layers, number of installed components, speed of busses, etc.), access to test resources (i.e. probe points) necessary for sufficient printed circuit board test has diminished. The use of intrusive test methods such as in-circuit testers, manufacturing defect analyzers, and flying probe testers entails many downsides. Each method requires access to printed circuit board probe points, the equipment necessary to facilitate each intrusive method can take up large amounts of floor space in a manufacturing facility and can be costly to operate and maintain (i.e. technician time, fixture origination and fixture revision due to printed circuit board redesign). Because of these and more downsides, non-intrusive board test has emerged as a cost-effective alternative to intrusive test or as a cost-reducing complement where intrusive test methods are still used.