| Manufacturers of VLSI components
usually don't rate them for the -40° to +85° C range, mainly
because market demand is low. Certification tests are therefore
performed by CompuLab. Most tested components are found to be compatible, while component types showing temperature
sensitivity are replaced by
non-sensitive counterparts. |
| Small components, such as capacitors,
resistors, oscillators, as well as small integrated circuits used in
CompuLab's boards are usually rated by manufacturers for a wide
temperature range. |
The cards' testing
method depends on the selected temperature range:
|
|
Range |
Temp* |
Description |
|
Commercial |
0o to 70o C |
Sample cards from each batch are tested at the lower and
upper temperature limits. Individual cards are not tested for
temperature compliance. |
|
Extended |
-20o to 70o C |
Every card undergoes powerup
and a short built-in test for the lower limit
(-20o C) qualification.
Extended temperature certification is available for all card
configurations.
|
|
Industrial |
-40o to 85o C |
Using adedicated test suite,
each card is extensively tested at both the lower and upper
temperature limits and at one or more midpoint(s). Most on-board
peripherals are covered by the test. |
|
|
*
|
Temperature as
measured on the hottest spot of the card or heatsink (if
relevant). |
| Test Coverage |
| The test is performed under
the Linux operating
system. Tested features: CPU, RAM, flash disk, serial port(s),
graphics controller, ethernet, extension card interfaces, USB,
sound, bluetooth and WiFi. Tested features vary according to
card type. |
| Industrial
Temp Certification Procedure |
| 1. |
Programming the card with
industrial temp test suite |
| 2. |
Cooling without power, at
least 20 minutes while the test chamber is set to -48° C |
| 3. |
Power up / power down
test, 10 cycles |
| 4. |
Testing of listed above features, using
a dedicated test suite |
| 5. |
Drying the card |
| 6. |
Heat up to maximum temperature
limit |
| 7. |
Power up / power down test, 10 cycles, on
upper temperature limit |
| 8. |
Testing of listed above features, using
a dedicated test suite |
| 9. |
Reprogramming the card in
a functional tester
back to standard contents |
| 10. |
Running functional ATP at room
temperature |
|
| Sales
Terms |
| The
yield of industrial temperature certification can vary
significantly. CompuLab therefore apply rules to enable
efficient implementation of this service, balancing the risk
of process yield uncertainty. Ordering cards with industrial
temperature certification is limited to the following options: |
Option
1:
Industrial temperature certification can be ordered for the
card configuration kept in stock, without any additional restrictions of terms or quantity. |
Option
2:
Industrial certification can be ordered for any chosen configuration, provided
the buyer are willing to accept up to 50%
of the ordered cards uncertified. For example, if 200 cards are ordered,
the customer must be ready to accept (in the worst case) 100 cards having
industrial temperature certification and the other 100 having
only regular (commercial) temperature range certification. |
|