Daniel L Field

US Patent:

6535005, Mar 18, 2003

Filed:

Apr 26, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/558638

Inventors:

Daniel Field - Northboro MA

Assignee:

EMC Corporation - Hopkinton MA

International Classification:

G01R 106

US Classification:

324755, 3241581, 324765

Abstract:

The present invention is directed to techniques for obtaining an electrical characteristic of a circuit board assembly process which involves mounting a module to an installation location of a circuit board using the circuit board assembly process, and measuring leakage current of the test structure in response to an electrical signal (e. g. , a voltage) applied to the installation location. One can then determine the surface insulation resistance (SIR) of the test structure based on the electrical signal and the leakage current in order to assess the suitability of the circuit board assembly process. One arrangement of the invention is directed to a system for obtaining an electrical characteristic of a circuit board assembly process. The system includes a test structure having (i) a circuit board having a module installation location and an interface location in electrical communication with the module installation location, and (ii) a module which is mounted to the circuit board at the module installation location using the circuit board assembly process. The system further includes a signal generator that couples to the interface location of the circuit board, and that applies an electrical signal to the module installation location of the circuit board through the interface location.