6 Test Setup and Procedures

There were three input supplies used to power the DRV8351-SEP which provided PVDD, GVDD, INH/INL. The PVDD for the device was provided through channel 1of an NI PXIe 4137-1 and ranged from 10V to 15V for SET. The GVDD for the device was provided by Channel 2 of an NI PXIe 4137-2 and ranged from 10V to 40V SET. INH/INL were provided by a National Instruments NI PXIe-5433 2-channel AWG.

The primary signals monitored on the EVM were GH, GL and SH. This was done so using two instruments. The first was a NI PXIe-5110 which triggered (based on SH), pulse-width at 10% outside width. The second instrument was a NI PXIe-5172 oscilloscope which triggered from a window on GL, when GL went below or above it's expected switching voltage by 3V. This card was also monitoring GH and SH.

All equipment was controlled and monitored using a custom-developed LabVIEW? program (PXI-RadTest) running on a HP-Z4? desktop computer. The computer communicates with the PXI chassis through an MXI controller and NI PXIe-8381 remote control module.

Table 6-1 lists the connections, limits, and compliance values used during the testing. Figure 6-1 shows a block diagram of the setup used for SEE testing of the DRV8351-SEP.

All boards used for SEE testing were fully checked for functionality. Dry runs were also performed to verify that the test system was stable under all bias and load conditions prior to being taken to the TAMU facility. During the heavy-ion testing, the LabVIEW control program powered up the DRV8351-SEP device and set the external sourcing and monitoring functions of the external equipment. After functionality and stability was confirmed, the beam shutter was opened to expose the device to the heavy-ion beam. The shutter remained open until the target fluence was achieved (determined by external detectors and counters). During irradiation, the NI scope cards continuously monitored the signals. When the output exceeded the pre-defined trigger, a data capture was initiated. No sudden increases in current were observed (outside of normal fluctuations) on any of the test runs and indicated that no SEL or SEB/SEGR events occurred during any of the tests.

Figure 6-1 Block Diagram of the SEE Test Setup for the DRV8351-SEP