Transient Scanning Data Visualization Systems and Methods

Abstract

Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of methods and systems for visualization of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and/or transient pulses applied to and/or in a device or system under test including EMI event(s) that may have spectral or transient component(s) that can cause soft or hard failure(s). In exemplary embodiments, a method comprises obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

Description

The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to transient scanning data visualization systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61000-4-2 immunity standard and variants thereof (e.g., International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10605 standard used to test immunity compliance of electronic components in automotive applications, etc.) are the primary system level electrostatic discharge (ESD) qualification emulation tool, sine qua non. Industry and regulatory requirements the world over dictate product robustness and acceptance standards based on this Human Metal Model “gun” testing.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional Charged Board Event (CBE) Device Under Test (DUT) configuration.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional Field Collapse Event (FCE) Device Under Test (DUT) configuration in which a separate charge plate has been added to the CBE DUT configuration shown in FIG. 1 to create the Field Collapse Event.

FIG. 3 illustrates a Field Collapse Pulser (FCP) zap tester according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and generally shows the advantage of Field Collapse Pulser partitioning.

FIG. 4 illustrates a field collapse pulser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates the front panel controls of the field collapse pulser shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates the back panel connections or ports of the field collapse pulser shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 represents a charged board event (CBE) for a laptop.

FIG. 8 illustrates how a charged board event discharge may occur, e.g., via ground shields or through misaligned cabling.

FIG. 9 is a line graph showing FCP current in Amps (A) versus time in nanoseconds (ns) at 250V with a capacitance at 4 nanofarads (nF) and a peak current of 25.8 A and at 250V with a capacitance at 4 picofarads (pF) and a peak current of 3.4 A.

FIG. 10 is a line graph of IEC61000-4-2 Current in Amps (A) at 12 kV and 8 kV versus time in nanoseconds (ns), and showing 22.6 A for 12 kV IEC into a typical 7V TVS.

FIG. 11 is a line graph of total energy transferred in microjoules versus time in nanoseconds (ns), and showing total energy into TVS 250V FCP at 4 nF capacitance.

FIG. 12 illustrates current calibration test connections for the field collapse pulser shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 13 illustrates test connections for the field collapse pulser shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 14 illustrates leakage and curve tracer (I/V) test connections for the field collapse pulser shown in FIG. 6.

Corresponding reference numerals may indicate corresponding (though not necessarily identical) features throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are intended to be read in conjunction with both this summary, the detailed description and any preferred and/or particular embodiments specifically discussed or otherwise disclosed. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of illustration only and so that this disclosure will be thorough, complete and will fully convey the full scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

As noted above, IEC 61000-4-2 (and variants such as ISO 10605) are the primary system level electrostatic discharge (ESD) qualification emulation tool, sine qua non. Industry and regulatory requirements the world over dictate product robustness and acceptance standards based on this Human Metal Model (HMM) “gun” testing.

The inventor hereof has recognized the following. As a characterization tool, gun testing is unsatisfactory due to lack of repeatability with size and condition of operators, lab environment, gun manufacturer variability, and unspecified electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) radiation effects causing soft failures. Therefore, while “gun” testing can help identify possible system robustness problems in qualification, it is of little help in going further to characterize the entry/exit vectors, levels and localized susceptibilities within the system that need to be optimized and improved.

While Transmission Line Pulse (TLP) testing is an excellent and mature characterization technology, TLP testing is primarily the province of semiconductor manufacturers due to both cost and expertise requirements. System level engineers and designers may not have the resources required or exigent need to do such rigorous testing. Accordingly, the inventor hereof has recognized that a reliable, less expensive alternative for debugging ESD and transient soft-failures would be of great value.

Chip level electronic devices must meet industry standard transient susceptibility standards in order to be reliably integrated into systems in controlled Electrostatic Protected Area (EPA) manufacturing environments. These standards include Human Body Model (HBM) and Charged Device Model (CDM) for chips, and basic manufacturing facility controls, such as Electrostatic Discharge Association (ESDA) S20.20.

System level electronics likewise must incorporate sufficiently robust transient protection mechanisms and schemes for them to survive in the much harsher, less controlled or uncontrolled end-user environment.

System designers must take care to design their systems so that they redirect and repel ESD strikes (such as IEC61000-4-2 “gun” testing) away from delicate advanced semiconductors and/or ASIC interface ports. These ASIC ports are protected internally by basic chip-level ESD structures that protect the device during manufacturing and shipping against ESD strikes in controlled environments.

In order to competently evaluate these interoperating and sometimes conflicting ESD protection systems, and to optimize the effective implementation of both chip and system protection, the system designer can adopt industry standard “System ESD Efficient Design” (https://www.wiley.com/en-us/System+Level+ESD+Co+Design-p-9781118861844) strategies, including nodal circuit simulations to predict and select the best protection devices and designs.

To create these simulations, the designer requires detailed and reliable models made from repeatable tests, such as Transmission Line Pulsers. Simple current-voltage (I/V) curve tracers cannot measure the responses to high currents and pulses inherent to ESD and other transient aggressors. Additionally, IEC “gun” testing is not sufficiently repeatable to extract meaningful characterization data from, as “gun” testing was intended for meeting a qualification level. IEC61000-4-2 is not a useful characterization tool for this reason.

While TLP is routinely used for characterization on devices, the inventor hereof has recognized that TLP is not suitable in most cases for system level testing for the following reasons. TLP is very expensive due to precision impedance matched pulse generators and sensors. TLP pulsers can be damaged when connected to powered devices. TLP pulsers must be tuned to a characteristic impedance (e.g., 50 Ohms or 330 Ohms). Due to the high impedance, TLP pulsers require very high voltages (many kV) to create very high current pulses (>30 A).

Where IEC61000-4-2, or “Human Metal Model” and also Human Body Model emulate a charged human discharging into a system/device via skin or metal tool, Charged Board Events may occur in every condition, with discharges through skin, hand tools, or even machinery or cables. In the former type, a human (with approximated capacitance of 100-150 picofarads (pF)) is assumed to have been tribocharged to an expected environmental level and then discharged into the port, giving a known typical reference discharge pulse characteristic that is independent of the system, and dependent primarily on the Human and/or ambient characteristics. In the latter case, a Charged Board Event discharge, like CDM, depends largely on the size and configuration of the system device itself, and is often independent of human characteristics at all.

In both types of systems, there is a charge accumulated which is discharged into or out of the system through a usually lossy interface impedance (e.g., port, spark, etc.). The variability of the human element makes IEC61000-4-2 difficult to repeat as mentioned, but it also ignores a real ESD threat to devices from charged systems.

As recognized by the inventor hereof, the Field Collapse Event provides a novel and repeatable representation of actual field (“field” as in end-user) stressors and threats. The inventor hereof developed and/or discloses herein exemplary embodiments of field collapse pulsers that may address one or more (but not necessarily any or all) of the aforementioned shortcomings, limitations, and/or deficiencies. In exemplary embodiments, the field collapse pulser may be configured to provide the designer an inexpensive, high-current pulse with energy levels correlated and/or comparable to ESD without dangerous high voltages and with the Device or System Under Test unpowered or powered and functional. In exemplary embodiments, the field collapse pulser may provide the advantages of lower cost and simplicity, and therefore wider characterization availability in the industry.

In an exemplary embodiment, a field collapse pulser device may be configured to follow a basic form of a Field Collapse Event qualification method but with a fixed capacitor stack instead of a CDUT (the capacitance between the DUT and the Field Plate) component of the physical system under test in a Charged Board Event, for example.

Instead of relying on the inherent coupling capacitance of the system (between system and ground plane), the field collapse pulser fixes the charge plate stack into a single (or selectable/adjustable) and reusable plate stack in this exemplary embodiment. The elements GND1, Charge Plate, and GND2 may be generally analogous to a DUT, an induction plate, and ground plate, respectively.

The Charge Plate is charged from a high voltage supply with respect to GND2 and discharged (shorted) by a relay between same.

Instead of a grounded wire contact for discharging DUT ports (between GND1 and GND2), GND1 is routed through a tester port (such as the center conductor of a coaxial chassis connector) and GND2 is connected to the (isolated) shield of same. This then provides two isolated contact points, which can be applied to a powered or unpowered DUT port (e.g., connect GND1 to USB D+, and GND2 to USB_GND or USB_Shield).

Since GND1 is essentially electrically floating, GND1 will obtain the potential of the DUT signal bias (e.g., 0V for off, 5V if pull-up resistors exist in the DUT, etc.). Also, since the tester can be isolated, the connections to the DUT can be reversed (GND2<->GND1) to change the polarity of the initial peak output pulse.

The advantage here is that the probe leads can be safely connected to any device configuration with powered or unpowered modes, and any normal peripheral cabling as in IEC61000-4-2, unlike TLP testing which can damage the pulse generator if used on powered systems. In addition, the output pulse can be connected to a loop H-field or E-field near-field probe to generate ESD-like EMI interference, which can help isolate and characterize soft-failures as well.

Beyond the basic three-plate fixed Field Collapse capacitor stack, it is also possible to implement various optional features that expand the characterization and qualification functionality.

For example, the capacitor stack could be implemented as a low-cost PCB integrated into the tester board, or it could be extended for user replacement of multiple capacitance values as a card-edge connected module. Altering the area and dielectric thickness of the plates as simple areas on layers of a printed circuit board would give the user complete control over pulse shape and energy for a given charge voltage.

Additionally, with a “pluggable” module implementation, the entire type of pulser could be interchanged for very low additional cost. For example, an IEC61000-4-5 Combination Wave Pulse module could be implemented with just a few additional passive RLC (resistor, inductor, capacitor) devices. The main FC-Pulser circuitry is, primarily, a high-voltage power supply and relay which is required uniformly in most transient pulse emulators. This brings overall per-lab costs down by not replicating the core functions in multiple tester units. In exemplary embodiments, a segmented PCB stack may be used to create a specially shaped pulse (such as an IEC), which would comprise a field collapse pulser (FCP) including multiple plates and segments.

For instrumentation, it is convenient to observe and record the pulse current and voltage on the DUT. Current can be monitored unobtrusively with a loop/inductive probe around the pulser output line to the DUT. Since the pulse is inherently capacitively coupled, there is no net DC offset, and a less expensive narrow bandwidth probe can be utilized with excellent calibration accuracy. However, the DUT current may also be measured with a low resistance shunt to GND2. 1.00 Ohm provides a convenient 1V=1 A measurement calibration, as well as a fortuitous damping factor that attenuates the sinusoidal ringing subsequent to the initial pulse peak. Smaller values can be used to reduce the effect of the tester on effective voltages seen at the DUT.

For voltage probing, any normal oscilloscope probing techniques may be used, including probes on various and multiple simultaneous points within the DUT, but also utilizing a fixed “PICK-OFF TEE” circuit within the Tester at the PULSE OUT port.

One advantage of TLP testing, and the primary goal of its creation was to provide a flat, stable sampling window for device testing at high pulse currents, without applying extremely large energies to the DUT. For example, a 1 mA curve trace may use a sinusoidal or triangular wave to stress the part and read the I/V response. However, applying a continuous waveform at tens of amps would often destroy the device.

The charge line from the TLP provides a finite Q to be delivered to the device at each pulse level (analogous to ESD) instead of a continuous current that can cause EOS.

One important challenge of measuring current and voltage on a TLP system is alignment and delay of windows for the current and voltage probes, which may necessarily be spaced with some electrical distance from each other. This gives important information about timing and phase reactions of the DUT.

In the case of ESD protection in a regime (such as HBM) where the effective failure mode may not be dependent on the initial voltage peak (such as with Gox breakdown), the user may be interested in the initial peak voltage and initial peak current of the damped FCE pulse. For many circumstances including fast transient-voltage-suppression (TVS) devices and advanced node ASIC I/O cells, the peak I/V performance of the DUT is comparable to the windowed I/V measurement of a TLP test.

In the cases where initial peak current and voltage are sufficient to describe the I/V curve of the device (using successive steps of charge voltage to map out the I/V curve as with TLP), then an interesting cost savings can be leveraged. In all TLP testers, the data acquisition is usually implemented with a high performance dedicated oscilloscope. This oscilloscope may represent a very large portion of the investment required for the test system. In the present invention, the peak voltage and current values can actually be recorded with relatively inexpensive and low-bandwidth sample-and-hold A/D converters. Since the damped sinusoid will only have a single initial peak value per pulse (due to losses in the DUT, and parasitic losses if a shunt current probe is used), then the sample and hold does not even have to include hold off functionality within the pulse, and can simply be gated per each pulse. This feature alone, enabled by the nature of the Field Collapse pulse shape and being partitioned in a fortuitous configuration could completely eliminate the need for an additional oscilloscope, bringing the cost of the solution down dramatically. At the same time, this reduces test equipment damage risk as high-bandwidth scopes are usually fairly susceptible to ESD and other transients, and very expensive to repair or replace.

Additionally, since the FCP plate stack configuration is independent from DUT shape and orientation (as in the CBE or FCE apparatus) it is possible to connect directly to a system-level port pin, or even a “dead bug” or flying probe unitary device. For example, one pulser output port may be exposed from the tester as an SMA or BNC coaxial connector, and an 0402 or SOD882 surface mount TVS device to be tested could be soldered to an SMA or BNC jack and connected directly to the tester. Alternately, the PULSE OUT port could natively support industry standard I/O ports like USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, etc.

During such testing, as is often done with step testing-until-failure with IEC610000-4-5 or with TLP, it may be desirable to test the DUT for functionality or specification compliance (such as DC leakage). The electrically floating nature of the pulser GND1 plate allows the possibility of measuring some “signs of life” without adding a switch in line as is required in other testers. In fact, this switch implementation is often not trivial in a TLP system as it must be critically impedance matched as well as high voltage tolerant. In the present invention, this functionality probing could consist of a high impedance DC leakage test through a solid state resistor.

If a switch or isolation element is included for functional testing (in lieu of manually disconnecting the DUT port from the PULSE OUT port to perform functional or eye diagram or BERT or leakage testing, to name a few), then the tester could provide the functional testing circuitry as well.

For automation and convenience, all of the testing above could be done manually at the levels desired, or it could all be automated by computer controlled high voltage supply setting, relay triggering and functional or electrical failure criteria testing at each step level.

The ability to test powered and unpowered systems with cabling and power sources identical to IEC61000-4-2 test configurations, and even side-by-side with gun testing on the IEC test table, is a unique expansion of evaluation and characterization, especially at the system level, but also at the component level.

Additionally, considering the configuration of a typical IEC61000-4-2 or ISO10605 testing lab, the present invention fits without additional requirements of expensive and delicate oscilloscopes or dangerously exposed high voltage supplies or charged systems.

Charged Board Events can be implemented quite simply with a discharge wire and a high voltage power supply (or ESD gun used to charge the board.) The resultant damped sinusoidal pulse is a real-world, non-HMM ESD.

As a simple and repeatable conducted low-impedance ESD Pulse generator alone, the present invention provides an excellent debug and analysis tool, especially for difficult to isolate soft-failures. It is also an excellent relative merit analyzer for comparing, contrasting and optimizing multiple system configurations, TVS protection or shielding options. Due to the nature of the damped sinusoid, it is also possible to sample-and-hold peaks on successive pulses to fully characterize I/V curves without expensive oscilloscopes.

For component analysis, such a system could measure, analyze, and auto generate a functional quasi-static Spice model for SEED simulation in a very economical package, utilizing nothing more than a basic microcontroller and low-cost sample-and-hold A/D converters.

Among other things, exemplary embodiments of the present invention may provide a field collapse pulser that does not suffer from any of the problems or deficiencies associated with prior solutions. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may reduce the cost of tester production. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may expand the availability of reliable pulsed characterization data in the system level development community for optimization and analysis and even simulation.

In its most complete form, exemplary embodiments of the present invention would most outwardly appear indistinguishable from a typical TLP or IEC61000-4-5 pulser test system, and might be used in conjunction with, or in some applications instead of, such an established characterization system.

In exemplary embodiments, the field collapse pulser comprises a self-contained, automated test unit with an adjustable HV power supply, a fixed or adjustable charge plate stack, a trigger/pulse initiation controller, a PULSE OUTPUT port, optional voltage, current, leakage and functional failure criteria test models integrated into the unit including appropriate sample-and-hold data collection functionality.

Such a unit can provide a streamlined characterization and qualification test with repeatable and verifiable process, without requiring ESD or TLP calibration expertise. ASICs, Protection Devices and TVSs as well as systems combining these elements can all be tested with this invention, and the I/V data extracted can be used to directly simulate and optimize results using the Industry Council reference “System Efficient ESD Design” methodology among others.

Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional Charged Board Event (CBE) Device Under Test (DUT) configuration 1. In this basic CBE DUT configuration 1, a high-voltage power supply 5 and current limiting resistor 9 (to prevent rapid charging rise time and potential secondary discharge) raise the CBE DUT 13 to the desired potential. Then, a switch 17 shorts the desired I/O pin 21 to the ground (GND) plate 25. This way the charge contained on the unit and in the effective capacitor “CDUT” between the CBE DUT and the Ground plate is discharged through that I/O pin or contact point.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional Field Collapse Event (FCE) Device Under Test (DUT) configuration 101 in which a separate charge plate 129 has been added to the CBE DUT configuration 1 shown in FIG. 1 to create the Field Collapse Event. The DUT 113 is grounded directly (without a switch) to the ground (GND) plate 125 via the same desired I/O pin 121 as in the CBE setup 1 shown in FIG. 1. The switch 117 now discharges the charge plate 129 to ground plate 125. When this field collapses, the voltage between the charge plate 129 and the FCE DUT 113 also changes resulting in a dV/dt displacement current between the FCE DUT 113 and the charge plate 129 through the desired pin contact. In this case, the switch 117 (e.g., relay, etc.) is not directly in the discharge path.

FIG. 3 illustrates a Field Collapse Pulser (FCP) zap tester 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and generally shows the advantage of Field Collapse Pulser partitioning. FIG. 3 shows the consolidation of the Field Collapse stack into three fixed plates, specifically, a first ground plate 204 (GND1), a charge plate 208, and a second ground plate 212 (GND2). In this exemplary embodiment, the GND1-GND2 discharge path is routed external to the tester 200 to allow generic devices to be connected. Also shown in FIG. 3 are a high-voltage (HV) power supply 216 and current limiting resistor 220 that raise the DUT 220 to the desired potential. A switch 224 shorts the charge plate 208 to the second ground plate 212.

The charge plate 208 is charged from the high voltage supply 216 with respect to the second ground plate 212 and discharged (shorted) by the switch 224 (e.g., relay, etc.) between the charge plate 208 and the second ground plate 212.

Instead of a grounded wire contact for discharging DUT ports (between GND1 and GND2), the first ground plate 204 (GND1) is routed through a tester port and the second ground plate 212 (GND2) is connected to the (isolated) shield of the same tester port. For example, the first ground plate 204 (GND1) may be routed through a center conductor of a coaxial chassis connector, and the second ground plate 212 (GND2) may be connected to the (isolated) shield of the same coaxial chassis connector. This exemplary embodiment thus provides two isolated contact points, which can be applied to a powered or unpowered port 228 of a DUT 232 (e.g., connect GND1 to USB D+, and GND2 to USB_GND or USB_Shield).

Because the first ground plate 204 (GND1) is essentially electrically floating in this exemplary embodiment, the first ground plate 204 will obtain the potential of the DUT signal bias (e.g., 0V for off, 5V if pull-up resistors exist in the DUT, etc.). Also, because the tester 200 can be isolated, the connections to the DUT 232 can be reversed (GND2<->GND1) to change the polarity of the initial peak output pulse.

Modern SEED (System Efficient ESD Simulation) characterization and analysis techniques have advanced to the point that “virtual” TVS protection devices can be evaluated for each input/output (I/O) type, and TVS vendor parametric selection software can automatically analyze and recommend the best protection device for each particular ASIC I/O. A significant limitation of SEED characterization and analysis techniques is the necessity for high-current relevant ESD device models for both the protection (TVS) device and the protected (ASIC) device. In most cases, modern TVS manufacturers are forthcoming with TLP characterization data for their devices. But ASIC manufacturers (core logic, system on a chip (SoC), PHY layer chip) are restricted or held under Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) if they are distributed to customers at all because there is a fair amount of Intellectual Property exposed in the I/V curve of advanced node I/O cell protection schemes. The extremely thin profit margins of system manufacturing often make large capital investments in test equipment like TLP cost prohibitive. On the other hand, effective protection optimization with the SEED methodology is endorsed by dozens of leading semiconductor companies, and providing a limited way their customers could extract the needed I/V data for themselves by using an exemplary embodiment of a field collapse pulser disclosed herein would advantageously alleviate the support and distribution of data required for customers.

FIGS. 4 through 6 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a field collapse pulser 300 including a plurality of front panel controls (FIG. 5) (broadly, a user interface) and a plurality of back panel connections or ports (FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 5, the field collapse pulser 300 includes a USB I/F power port 340, power indicator LED 342, fire indicator LED 344, a fire button 346, a charge voltage display (VESD) 348, a VESD fine adjustment knob 350, and a VESD coarse adjustment knob 352. Alternatively, a field collapse pulser may be configured with a different user interface, such as one or more other indicators, buttons, displays, and/or knobs in other exemplary embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 6, the field collapse pulser 300 includes a first connection (OUTA) 354, a second connection (OUTB) 356, a third connection (1DUT×1) 358, a fourth connection (1DUT×10) 360, and a fifth connection (VDUT) 362. The first connection 354 is configured for pulser output to DUT (positive polarity). The second connection 356 is configured for pulser output to DUT (negative polarity). The third connection 358 is configured for connection with a 1 Ohm shunt current probe (1V into 50 Ohms=1 Amp). The fourth connection 360 is configured for connection with a 0.1 Ohm shunt current probe (1V into 50 Ohms=10 Amps). The fifth connection 362 is configured for connection with a 10× voltage attenuator (into 50 Ohms) monitoring DUT, and a 450 Ohm resistor may be usable to monitor leakage on the DUT. The fifth connection 362 may be protected by +/−15V TVS. Although FIG. 6 shows the back panel connections or ports as coaxial cable connections, a field collapse pulser may be configured differently with one or more other connection types in other exemplary embodiments.

In an exemplary embodiment, the field collapse pulser 300 may be configured to have the following features: 800V charge plate capable of 175 A peak field, collapse pulse via SMA and zap adapter, powered/unpowered testing, integrated curve tracer and leakage measurement, and manual operation or USB/PC control interface. The field collapse pulser may also be configured with an IEC61000-4-5 pulser module and/or an I/V extraction firmware.

The field collapse pulser 300 enables a repeatable and reliable low-impedance, high-current Charged Board Event (CBE) type damped sinusoidal pulse. With energies comparable to IEC61000-4-2 gun testing, the field collapse pulser 300 is ideal for detailed system level failure analysis. Utilizing the field collapse pulser 300 in a method as disclosed herein provides a realistic and repeatable energy level along with very high peak currents for characterizing transient susceptibilities, including while the device under test or system under test is powered or unpowered.

In an exemplary embodiment, the field collapse pulser 300 may be configured to have the following specifications: an adjustable/programmable charge voltage from 0V to +/−800V, a peak current of +/−175 A (into short), Usb3/HDM/DP port adapters, and probe outputs of VDUT (w/ 10× attenuator), IDUT (direct 1 A=1V) and IDUT (w/ 10× attenuator) SMA connections. The field collapse pulser 300 may also be configured to have an operating temperature range from −5° C. to +50° C., an operating humidity range from 8% to 95% (non-condensing), and a storage temperature range from −20° C. to +85° C.

In an exemplary embodiment, the field collapse pulser 300 may be configured for manual control with integrated leakage test. In another exemplary embodiment, the field collapse pulser 300 may be configured for USB serial monitor and integrated data acquisition (DAQ) and without requiring an external scope. In a further exemplary embodiment, the field collapse pulser 300 may be configured to include SMA-USB adapters as disclosed herein. In an additional exemplary embodiment, the field collapse pulser 300 may be configured with SMA-USB functional check pass thru.

An introductory theory of operation will be provided for Field Collapse Pulse. The Field Collapse Pulse is an extension of the Charged Board Event, which like the Charged Device Model (CDM), is primarily related to the real world capacitance of the System Under Test and its potential charge level. For example, consider the laptop 363 shown in FIG. 7 that may have been charged by a user walking down a carpeted hall, placing the laptop 363 on a conference table, and then discharging it by connecting a device cable 365.

With reference to FIG. 8, a Charged Board Event discharge may occur via ground shields or through misaligned cabling, e.g., USB Type-C misalignment, etc. Removal of the USB plug at an angle may cause the V_BUS pin to short with SBU or CC/V_conn pins.

Charged Board Events are comparable to Field Collapse Pulses except that FCP allows the System Under Test (e.g., laptop, etc.) and ground plane to remain at the same potential, which provides an improved safety factor on the test bench. The CBE/FCP pulse type is a real-world event that is related to the inherent capacitance of the System Under Test for situations like connecting a grounded USB device to a charged laptop, for example. These events are similar but different from those emulated by IEC61000-4-2 ESD guns as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 9 is a line graph showing FCP current in Amps (A) versus time in nanoseconds (ns) at 250V with a capacitance at 4 nanofarads (nF) and a peak current of 25.8 A and at 250V with a capacitance at 4 picofarads (pF) and a peak current of 3.4 A. FIG. 10 is a line graph of IEC61000-4-2 Current in Amps (A) at 12 kV and 8 kV versus time in nanoseconds (ns), and showing 22.6 A for 12 kV IEC into a typical 7V TVS.

Comparing total energy delivered, the low-impedance FCP output efficiently transfers into the TVS load at much lower charge voltages. See, for example, FIG. 11, which is a line graph of total energy transferred in microjoules versus time in nanoseconds (ns), and showing total energy into TVS 250V FCP at 4 nF capacitance.

FIG. 12 illustrates example electrical current calibration test connections for the field collapse pulser 300 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 12, a zero ohm shunt 370 is on a short cable or directly connected to the first connection (OUTA) 354 of the field collapse pulser 300. Channels 1 and 2 of an oscilloscope 372 are respectively connected to the fifth connection (VDUT) 362 and fourth connection (IDUT×10) 360 of the field collapse pulser 300. The connection of channel 1 of the oscilloscope 372 to the fifth connection (VDUT) 362 is not necessarily required during the electrical current calibration, as the trigger is on the IDUT.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 12, an exemplary procedure or method to verify high-current operation or to set the unit to a charge voltage that will generate a desired target peak short-circuit current may include the following steps.

1. Connect at least the current oscilloscope cables 374, 376 (FIG. 12) to the IDUT monitor ports 360, 362, respectively (VDUT Optional).

2. Connect a shunt 370 (or an SMA cable with a short) to the desired positive pulse port 354 or negative pulse port 356.

3. Turn the voltage dial 352 (FIG. 5) all the way down (counterclockwise).

4. Attach USB power cord to the USB I/F power port 340.

5. Turn the voltage dial 350 up to a low voltage (10-15V) and press the fire button 346 to verify pulser operation on the oscilloscope scope 372 (FIG. 12). (Adjust the trigger source and level on NORMAL mode until the pulse is recorded.)

6. Read the peak current from the peak voltage observed. From the IDUT×1 port 358, the oscilloscope 372 will indicate 1V=1 A. From the IDUT×10 port 360, the oscilloscope 372 will indicate 1V=10 A.

7. A. Adjust the charge voltage to the highest level for use during the session and press the fire button 346 (FIG. 5) to verify the peak current meets the system specification (see your unit options for detail).

• • OR
  • B. Adjust the charge voltage and press the fire button 346 until the desired peak current is dialed in. Then, the user may connect the target DUT for testing. The user should keep in mind that the clamping impedance and breakdown voltage may be much higher than that of a shunt, and so the waveform may look somewhat different than calibration, and the peak current for a given voltage may be lower.

FIG. 13 illustrates test connections for the field collapse pulser 300 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 13, a system under test 378 with a port adapter 380 is connected to the first connection (OUTA) 354 of the field collapse pulser 300. Channels 1 and 2 of an oscilloscope 372 are respectively connected to the fifth connection (VDUT) 362 and fourth connection (IDUT×10) 360 of the field collapse pulser 300.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 13, an exemplary test procedure or method may include the following steps.

1. Connect the desired (if any) oscilloscope cables 374, 376 to the IDUT/VDUT monitor ports 360, 362 (FIG. 13).

2. Turn the voltage dial 352 (FIG. 5) all the way down (counterclockwise).

3. Attach USB power cord to the USB I/F power port 340.

4. Turn the voltage dial 350 up to a low voltage (10-15V) and verify pulser operation on the oscilloscope 372 (FIG. 13). If the load is open or high-resistance, the user will need to trigger off of the voltage port otherwise the user can trigger off of current.

5. Verify DUT operation/functionality. If powered, test port enumeration/function. If unpowered, test leakage, I/V, or other failure criteria.

6. Attach the system under test 378 with port adapter 380 (DUT/ZAP ADAPT) to the first connection (OUTA) 354 of the field collapse pulser 300 (FIG. 13).

7. At this point, the shield and the center conductor of the PULSE port are tied to either Pulser Ground (Bottom/GND2) or Plate Ground (Top/GND1), respectively. The first ground plate (GND1) (e.g., first ground plate 204 in FIG. 3, etc.) is natively electrically floating. But when the first ground plate (GND1) is connected through, for example, a USB data port, the first ground plate (GND1) will be within VUSB of the second ground plate (GND2) (e.g., second ground plate 208 in FIG. 3, etc.), thus can safely be handled and the DUT can always be powered and/or operate normal cabling at any time. For example, the DUT could be powered up and running failure criteria testing software continuously as the system is zapped.

9. Normal system or device level failure criteria (IEC61000-4-2) may be used in powered or unpowered modes.

10. Press and hold the fire button 346 (FIG. 5) until the fire LED 344 goes off and a pulse trigger is captured on the oscilloscope (optional).

11. Adjust charge voltage via voltage adjustment dials or knobs 350, 352 (FIG. 5) and repeat the procedure from step #6 as needed.

FIG. 14 illustrates leakage and curve tracer (I/V) test connections for the field collapse pulser 300 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 14, a system under test 378 with a port adapter 380 is connected to the first connection (OUTA) 354 of the field collapse pulser 300. Channel 2 of an oscilloscope 372 is connected to the fourth connection (IDUT×10) 360 of the field collapse pulser 300. A curve tracer or component tester 382 is connected to the fifth connection (VDUT) 362 of the field collapse pulser.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 14, an exemplary leakage and I/V test procedure or method may include the following steps.

1. Connect the desired (if any) oscilloscope cable 374 to the desired ×1 or ×10 IDUT monitor port 358 or 360 (FIG. 14).

2. Connect the desired (if any) I/V or curve tracer 382 to the VDUT port 362.

3. Turn the voltage dial 352 (FIG. 5) all the way down (counterclockwise).

4. Attach USB power cord to the USB I/F power port 340.

5. Turn the voltage dial 350 up to a low voltage (10-15V) and verify pulser operation on the oscilloscope 372 (FIG. 14). If the load is open or high-resistance, the user will need to trigger off of the voltage port otherwise the user can trigger off of current.

6. Verify DUT leakage or I/V curve. The VDUT port is isolated and protected by a 450 Ohm attenuation (10×) resistor and a +/−15V TVS clamp. Therefore, the leakage of the DUT will be included with the leakage of these protection/attenuator devices. But this provides the convenience with the FCP architecture that the I/V tester does not generally need to be switched out of the circuit. Warning: verify that tester 382 can tolerated the expected clamped output.

7. Attach the system under test 378 with port adapter 380 (DUT/ZAP ADAPT) to the first connection (OUTA) 354 of the field collapse pulser 300.

8. At this point, the shield and the center conductor of the PULSE port are tied to either Pulser Ground (Bottom/GND2) or Plate Ground (Top/GND1), respectively. The first ground plate (GND1) (e.g., first ground plate 204 in FIG. 3, etc.) is natively electrically floating. But when the first ground plate (GND1) is connected through, for example, a USB data port, the first ground plate (GND1) will be within VUSB of the second ground plate (GND2) (e.g., second ground plate 208 in FIG. 3, etc.), thus can safely be handled and the DUT can always be powered and/or operate normal cabling at any time. For example, the DUT could be powered up and running failure criteria testing software continuously as the system is zapped.

9. A fractional or maximum change or drift in the I/V values observed at the VDUT port can provide a “pre-functional” indication of DUT failure.

10. Press and hold the fire button 346 (FIG. 5) until the fire LED 344 pulses and a pulse trigger is captured on the oscilloscope (optional).

11. Adjust charge voltage via voltage adjustment dials or knobs 350, 352 (FIG. 5) and repeat the procedure from step #6 as needed.

Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein enable ESD/EMI/transient scanning of PCBAs, systems, large assemblies, manufacturing facilities, factories, etc. Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be integrated into existing pulser and robotic scanning systems and/or may be configured for use in various industries, such as consumer, automotive, factory automation, aerospace, etc. For example, exemplary embodiments disclosed may be used for ESD/EMI/transient scanning of large boards, engine compartments, dashboard applications, etc.

In exemplary embodiments, additional elements (e.g., probe, signal source, data acquisition system, system integration and control software, etc.) may also be included to provide a full transient scanning system. For example, the system may include a probe and an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. An output pulse of the ESD pulse generator may be coupled with or connected to the probe for generating electromagnetic interference (EMI), e.g., EMI usable for isolating and characterizing soft failures of a device under test (DUT) and/or EMI in a repeating mode that is usable for susceptibility scanning of a device under test (DUT), etc. The probe may comprise a near-field probe (e.g., a loop H-field near-field probe, an E-field near-field probe, etc.). The probe may include an orientation polyhedron having multiple sides with QR codes thereon for detection of the probe's location and movement direction.

The system may include a signal source for current reconstruction and/or susceptibility scanning. For EMI scanning, the system is the signal source. The system may further include a (DAQ) Data Acquisition system such as an oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, peak detector, etc. The system integration and control software may be provided by extending an existing control loop to call the DAQ and pulser, interact with the user, and store and compare datasets.

In exemplary embodiments, the system includes a webcam (broadly, a camera), a computer (broadly, a processor) operable for running visual processing code, and a probe. The webcam may comprise a conventional low cost off-the-shelf webcam as the webcam does not necessarily require 4K resolution or other specialized high-end costly features, etc. The computer may comprise a personal computer (PC), typical office laptop, etc. as the computer does not necessarily require a graphics processing unit (GPU) and acceleration. The probe may comprise a stylus including a specially labeled orientation polyhedron having multiple sides with QR codes thereon for the visualization software's reference points on the subject (e.g., printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), device under test (DUT), system under test, etc.). When equipped with a relatively low cost webcam and computer, this exemplary system still has sufficient positional accuracy and flexibility to replace a conventional XYZ probe actuator, which tends to be the most cumbersome element of traditional scanning systems.

Also disclosed are exemplary methods for transient pulse visualization that generally include calibration, marker detection, pose estimation, and EMI data capture and visualization. The calibration step may include capturing images of QR code markers (or other position markers) on a circuit board (or other subject or device under test) and on a stylus probe from multiple angles. The camera pose may be calibrated using only intrinsic parameters and without requiring a specific location or orientation.

For the marker detection step, the system (e.g., via software stack, etc.) may be operable for detecting multiple position markers at once (e.g., at least three or more QR code markers at any given time, etc.) on a circuit board and stylus probe in real-time. The detected markers may be used to track the position of the stylus probe and display the EMI data as a visual overlay on a live video of the circuit board under test.

For the pose estimation step, the system (e.g., via software, etc.) may be operable for using the detected markers to accurately estimate the 3D pose of the stylus probe in real-time even when the camera is moving or changing angles, and to thereby extrapolate the position and orientation of the stylus probe tip. The stylus probe tip coincides with the location where the EMI data will be collected. Advantageously, this allows for accurate tracking of the stylus probe's position and movement (even when the camera is moving or change angles) when capturing EMI signals from the circuit board. By way of example, the system may be configured to accurately track the stylus probe's position and movement such that the system on a tabletop can resolve within 1 millimeter accuracy, which is ample sufficiency for many scanning application

For the EMI data capture and visualization step, the system (e.g., via software stack, etc.) may be operable for capturing (or injecting) EMI/ESD signals from the circuit board as the stylus probe moves over the board. The captured data is displayable as a visual overlay on the live video feed, allowing for real-time analysis of the EMI signals. The system (e.g., via software, etc.) may be operable for capturing and rendering DAQ signals from the circuit board as the stylus probe moves over the board. The captured data may then be displayed as a visual overlay on the live video feed thereby allowing for real-time analysis of the DAQ signals. By way of example, the system may be configured to be operable for providing an interactive overlay of layered scanning analysis data related to a physical layout of a device under test as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,191,109, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In exemplary embodiments, the system may be configured to be operable with multi-axis probe resolution. In such embodiments, the system is configured to resolve the position of the probe point given the known length of the stylus. This positional information based on the known length of the stylus has been found to be sufficient for E-field probes. E-field probes are less sensitive to direction than H-field loop probes, which are highly directional (perpendicular to the loop). To accommodate for the high directionality of H-field loop probes, the stylus probe may be provided (e.g., coupled, integrally formed, etc.) with a polyhedron locator (broadly, probe locator). As recognized herein, the polyhedron locator provides a solution for resolving the absolute rotation (axial theta) of the stylus probe. With the stylus probe and its polyhedron locator, the system (e.g., via software, etc.) may be operable for taking two or more measurements as the probe is manually or automatically rotated over the same position to resolve the flux direction vector in addition to intensity. A dual axis probe (with an X-oriented and Y-oriented loop) monitored by two oscilloscope channels (instead of a single oscilloscope channel) may be used to log dual vectors per point and provide instantaneous vector resolution at the same time. Advantageously, the dual axis (X&Y) probe is usable for recording the entire H-field vector (direction and amplitude) at each point.

The exemplary systems disclosed herein may replace traditional flatbed scanners. The exemplary systems disclosed herein may be used in various industries, such as automotive applications (e.g., scanning analysis tool's capabilities in an engine compartment or dashboard, etc.), factory automation (e.g., large-scale manufacturing processes, etc.) aerospace industry (e.g., aircraft design and production, etc.), scanning circuit boards, etc.

The exemplary systems disclosed herein may offer several advantages, including enhanced accuracy and calibration of the scanning tool, a user-friendly interface that simplifies system operation, expanded capabilities beyond circuit board scanning, and applicability across various industries such as automotive and aerospace.

Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator (e.g., field collapse pulser) configured to be operable for generating energy and current pulses that are correlated to the stress levels of common ESD standards and charged board events and/or that are comparable or similar to the stress levels of common ESD standards and charged board events.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable with powered circuits and with unpowered circuits, while avoiding the possibility of damage that may occur with transmission line pulse (TLP) testing.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating very repeatable current pulses unlike an IEC gun.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured such that a shielded pulse runs through a coaxial cable and does not radiate unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes a fixed capacitor stack that replaces the effective stray capacitance with a known physical stack, which may be a single physical stack or a modular stack in which multiple different fixed stacks are plugged in.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes a printed circuit board (PCB) (e.g., FR4 PCB, etc.) that includes the capacitor stack.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes a capacitor stack that may be creatively segmented, tuned, and augmented with passive (RLC) elements to create specific pulse shapes.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes a capacitor stack that may be modularized and switched to provide different shaped pulses.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes output terminals that are referenced to ground so there is no high voltage danger during setup.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured such that the output is isolated such that the ESD pulse generator is selectively operable for generating a positive pulse or a negative pulse simply by reversing connections.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured such that the output can be switched with relays or solid state switching into individual USB, HDMI, and/or power pins safely without need for expensive high-voltage restricted mercury whetted relays.

In exemplary embodiments, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator (e.g., field collapse pulser) comprises a first ground element, a charge element, and a second ground element. A power supply is electrically connected with the charge element and the second ground element. A current limiting resistor or switch is electrically connected in series with the power supply and the charge element. A switch is operable for electrically connecting the charge element to the second ground element. The charge element is chargeable from the power supply and dischargeable via the switch between the charge element and the second ground element.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises a pulse generator stack (e.g., a segmented pulse stack, a segmented capacitor stack, segmented PCB stack, etc.) including the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element. And the pulse generator stack includes one or more passive (RLC) elements configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes.

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element are connected by one or more passive RLC linear and/or nonlinear networks configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes. By way of example, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element may be connected via a passive nonlinear network that may include diodes or magnetic saturation common mode chokes.

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element comprise segmented plates connected by one or more passive RLC linear and/or nonlinear networks configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes. By way of example, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element may be connected via a passive nonlinear network that may include diodes or magnetic saturation common mode chokes.

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element comprise segmented plates connected by an inductor configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate a longer output pulse. For example, the ESD pulse generator may comprise a middle charge plate segmented into two rectangles in a ratio of 2:1. In which case, the ESD pulse generator may include 3 inch by 3 inch plates on top and bottom. The middle or center charge plate is split or segmented into a 3 inch by 1 inch plate and a 3 inch by 2 inch plate that are connected by an inductor, which might create longer output pulse with different “humps.”

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element are in a generally cylindrical configuration.

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element respectively comprise a first ground plate, a charge plate, and a second ground plate in a stacked configuration.

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. The system is configured to be operable for susceptibility scanning. And the ESD pulse generator may be configured to provide a repeatable and reliable low-impedance, high-current Charged Board Event (CBE) type damped sinusoidal pulse and/or provide a realistic and repeatable energy level along with very high peak currents. This may allow the system to be operable for characterizing transient susceptibilities including while a device under test or a system under test is powered or unpowered.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured to provide a repeatable and reliable low-impedance, high-current Charged Board Event (CBE) type damped sinusoidal pulse thereby allowing sample-and-hold peaks on successive pulses for fully characterizing current-voltage (I/V) curves.

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. The system is configured for data acquisition including peak voltages and current values on successive pulses generated by the ESD pulse generator in a repeating mode for characterizing current-voltage (I/V) curves.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes a relay configured to be operable switching polarity of the power supply. For example, the ESD pulse generator may include a double pull double throw (DPDT) relay to switch the polarity of the charging supply.

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes a probe and an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. An output pulse of the ESD pulse generator is connected to the probe for generating electromagnetic interference in a repeating mode that is usable for susceptibility scanning of a device under test (DUT).

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes a probe and an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. An output pulse of the ESD pulse generator is connected to the probe for generating electromagnetic interference usable for isolating and characterizing soft failures of a device under test (DUT).

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured to include integrated curve tracer and leakage measurement.

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. The system is configured for automated testing via integrated computer control including computer controlled voltage setting, relay triggering, and functional or electrical failure criteria testing.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable as or with as a system-level type tester whereby output waveform and energy delivery for a given charge voltage is independent of target device size.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator includes an electrical connector configured to allow a coaxial pulse output to be directed into a selected input/output (I/O) pin one-at-a-time in a multipin plug to be tested. For example, the ESD pulse generator may be configured with or include an electrical connector that directs a coaxial pulse output (PULSE_OUT vs GND) into selected I/O pin one-at-a-time in a multipin plug to be tested (e.g., USBSS+, USBSS−, USB2+, USB2−, USBPWR vs USBGND).

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD generator is configured such that a discharge path of the first ground element and the second ground element is routed external to the ESD pulse generator, thereby allowing for connection of a device under test (DUT) to the ESD pulse generator.

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element is routed through a center conductor of a coaxial connector. And the second ground element is connected to a shield of the coaxial connector. The ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a coaxial cable when connected with the coaxial connector without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element is routed through a tester port. And the second ground element is connected to a shield of the tester port. Accordingly, this provides two isolated contact points configured to be applied to a powered or unpowered port of a device under test (DUT).

In exemplary embodiments, the first ground element is routed through a tester port. And the second ground element is connected to a shield of the tester port. The ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through the tester port without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

In exemplary embodiments, the current limiting resistor or switch is configured to be operable for raising a potential of a device under test (DUT) that is connected with the ESD pulse generator, whereby the first ground element obtains a potential of a DUT signal bias.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises a capacitor stack including the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element. And capacitor stack comprises a single fixed capacitor stack or a modular capacitor stack including multiple different fixed stacks.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) including the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element. The ESD pulse generator may be configured such that pulse shape and energy for a given voltage charge are determined by the PCB's electrically-conductive portions and dielectric thicknesses at which the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element are defined. Altering the PCB's electrically-conductive portions and dielectric thicknesses allows for controllably changing pulse shape and energy for a given charge voltage.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises a capacitor stack including the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element. And capacitor stack is tuned and/or augmented with passive (RLC) elements to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises a capacitor stack including the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element. And the capacitor stack is modularized and includes multiple capacitor stacks that are selectively interchangeable for causing the ESD pulse generator to generate differently shaped transient current pulses.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises output terminals that are referenced to ground thereby eliminating a possibility of high voltage danger during setup.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is configured such that output is switchable with relays or solid state switching into individual USB, HDMI, and/or power pins.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD generator is configured to be operable for generating energy and current pulses that have been correlated to stress levels of common ESD standards and charged board events.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD generator is configured to be operable for providing a high-current pulse with an energy level correlated to an electrostatic discharge without exposure to dangerous high voltage when testing a device under test (DUT) that is unpowered or that is powered and functional.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD generator is configured to be operable with powered circuits and with unpowered circuits. And the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating repeatable transient current pulses.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD generator is configured to be operable for providing functionality probing of a device under test (DUT) including an impedance DC leakage test through a solid state resistor or other current source. For example, in FCP between pulses the “top plate” PULSE_OUT pin is floating, only capacitively coupled to the field plate. This fortuitously allows performance of the I/V leakage test by simply using a high-valued resistor that will not affect the output pulse or a non-impedance matched, non-mercury relay to isolate it completely.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator is a field collapse pulser configured with field collapse partitioning.

In exemplary embodiments, the ESD pulse generator comprises a capacitor stack including the first ground element, the charge element, and the second ground element. And the ESD pulse generator comprises a self-contained, automated test unit including the power supply that is adjustable, the capacitor stack that is fixed or adjustable, a trigger/pulse initiation controller, and a pulse output port.

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. The system further includes a loop H-field or E-field near-field probe. An output pulse of the ESD pulse generator is connected to the loop H-field or E-field near-field probe for generating electromagnetic interference usable for isolating and characterizing soft failures of a device under test (DUT).

In exemplary embodiments, a system includes an ESD pulse generator as disclosed herein. The system also includes an analog to digital (A/D) converter configured for data acquisition including peak voltage and current values generated by the ESD pulse generator.

In exemplary embodiments, an output pulse of the ESD pulse generator is connected to a system or device under test (DUT) to inject pulses in a repeating mode that is usable for current reconstruction scanning of the system or device under test (DUT).

Disclosed are exemplary methods for visualization of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and/or transient pulses applied to and/or in a device or system under test including EMI event(s) that may have spectral or transient component(s) that can cause soft or hard failure(s). In exemplary embodiments, the method comprises obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

The EMI event(s) may have spectral or transient components that can cause soft or hard failures, especially EMI that might mimic qualification (e.g., IEC61000-4-2, HBM, etc.) pulses or EMI susceptibility in the system. Generally, the method may include visualizing the device or system under test that is assaulted or subjected to EMI and/or pulses separate from or without necessarily visualizing the normal FCC radiated emissions from the device or system under test. In exemplary embodiments, a resulting ESD map may be displayed during the scan, which ESD map may be saved and/or exported for further analysis, etc. In exemplary embodiments, the EMI and/or transient pulse data may be collected using an oscilloscope coupled with a pointer (e.g., probe, etc.), a computer (e.g., a personal computer (PC), laptop, etc.), and an ESD pulse generator.

In exemplary embodiments, the EMI and/or transient pulse data that is collected may comprise EMI and/or transient pulse(s) that are applied to and/or that occur inherently or naturally in the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the method may include collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the device or system under test at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer, and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulses(s) onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) was collected.

In exemplary methods, obtaining the pose estimation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test comprises using computer vision and image processing for determining, predicting, and tracking the position, orientation, and movement of the pointer relative to a device or system under test. By way of example only, this may include Perspective-n-Point (PnP) algorithms which map 2D images to 3D space, homography estimation of oblique 2D marker images in 3D view, and bundle adjustment which orients a probe or board by locating several markers.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe. And the method includes: obtaining a pose estimation of the probe relative to the device or system under test to thereby extrapolate a position and orientation of an end of the probe; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the extrapolated position and orientation of the end of the probe; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto the visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the extrapolated position and orientation of the end of the probe at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for current reconstruction of the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the pointer may comprise a probe operable for detecting or sensing EMI and/or transient pulse(s). And the method may include injecting EMI and/or transient pulse(s) into port(s) and/or entry point(s) of the device or system under test; detecting or sensing, via the probe, the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test; and annotating the visualization display of the device or system under test with recorded EMI residual waveforms from the injected EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test at each location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe at which the probe detected or sensed the EMI and/or transient pulse(s).

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the pointer may comprise a probe. And the method may include injecting EMI and/or transient pulse(s) into the probe; using the probe for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test to determine whether the device or system under test is susceptible to a failure(s) from the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) injected into the probe at location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe; and using the visualization display of the device or system under test to determine minimum level(s) of EMI and/or transient pulse(s) required to be injected at the location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe in order to cause a failure(s) of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes correlating the pose estimation obtained for the pointer when the EMI and/or transient pulse data is collected with the visualization display of the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data overlaid at the location of the device or system under test that corresponds with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes obtaining a location of a pointer relative to a device or system under test; applying EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the location obtained for the pointer; and collecting data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test at the location that corresponds with the location obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test onto a visualization display corresponding to the location obtained for the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the device or system under test comprises a manufacturing system or facility. And the method includes obtaining a pose estimation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility; collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the manufacturing system or facility at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the manufacturing system or facility onto a visualization display of the manufacturing system or facility at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. In such exemplary embodiments, the method may include collecting residual pulse(s) occurring inherently or naturally the manufacturing system or facility without using an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator or pulser to apply the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the manufacturing system or facility. Also, for example, the method may include capturing, via the at least one camera (e.g., surveillance camera(s) watching a manufacturing floor from above), one or more images of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility, and visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, the pose estimation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a paint marker on the device or system under test. And the method includes capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the paint marker on the device or system under test; visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the paint marker on the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the paint marker on the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the paint marker on the device or system under at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a paint pen dot manually placed on the device or system under test. And the method includes capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test; visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a light emitting diode (LED) at an end of the probe. And the method includes capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the illuminated LED at the end of a probe in contact with or in close proximity to the device or system under test; visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. In such exemplary embodiments, the probe may include an ON/OFF switch (e.g., press button switch) for illuminating the LED at the end of the probe and for triggering or initiating transient pulse data collection at the visually determined location of the illuminated LED on the device or system under test. And the method may include using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises an illuminated light emitting diode (LED) from a transient pulse(s) into the device or system under test. And the method includes capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the illuminated light emitting diode (LED) from a transient pulse(s) into the device or system under test; visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s). And the method includes capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s) of a probe having an end in contact with or in close proximity to a device or system under test; visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images of the one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera, a location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. In such exemplary embodiments, the method may include automatically triggering or initiating the transient pulse data collection when the end of the probe is visually determined to be in contact with or in close proximity to the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a combination of markers. The device or system under test includes a combination of markers. And the method includes mapping or calibrating the combination of markers of the device or system under test to identify the device or system under test; mapping or calibrating the combination of markers of the probe to identify the probe; and using the identifications of the probe and the device or system under test to determine the relative location of the identified probe with the identified device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the markers on the probe may comprise barcodes, gray codes, QR codes, other codes, or markers (e.g., LEDs, paint markers, etc.). The markers on the device or system under test may comprise barcodes, gray codes, QR codes, other codes, or markers (e.g., LEDs, paint markers, etc.). Generally, the QR codes are unique bundles/collections on the probe and on the device or system under test. And the calibration is to map the bundle of codes on the device or system under test to identify the device or system under test, then do the same with the probe, and then find their relative location to each other. The codes can be many possible various or arbitrary collections on the device or system under test (e.g., on a board, factory, engine compartment, etc.). And the codes on the probe could be arranged around a cylinder, cube, other three-dimensional object as better resolution is achievable when there are more sides having more codes.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a combination of markers. The device or system under test includes a combination of markers. And the step of obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test comprise capturing, via at least one camera, images of the combinations of markers of the probe and the device or system under test; and visually determining, via at least one processor and the images of the combinations of markers of the probe and the device or system under test, a location of an end of the probe relative to the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the markers may comprise QR codes such that the probe includes a combination of QR codes and the device or system under test includes a combination of QR codes. And the method may include capturing, via at least one camera, images of the combinations of QR codes of the probe and the device or system under test; and visually determining, via at least one processor and the images of the combinations of QR codes of the probe and the device or system under test, the location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a polyhedron having multiple sides with QR codes thereon. And the method includes capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the QR codes of the probe; visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images of the QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera, a location of an end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. By way of example, the method may include automatically triggering or initiating the EMI and/or transient pulse data collection when the end of the probe is visually determined to be in contact with or in close proximity to the device or system under test. In addition to visually determining the location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test, the method may also include visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images of the QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera, a movement direction of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test. In which case, the method may further include superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto the visualization display of the device or system under test at the locations corresponding with the visually determined movement direction of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test.

In exemplary methods, obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test includes using one or more of: one or more of a smartphone camera, a webcam, a video camera, and/or other camera; a manually placed paint pen dot; a light emitting diode (LED) on a probe coinciding with the location where transient pulse data collection occurs; a barcode; gray codes; axis-associated QR codes; and/or non-visual positioning means or non-visual means including 3-axis robot arm location and/or position detection using multiple antenna triangulation of pulse detection.

In exemplary methods, obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test includes algorithmically determining the location, including position and orientation, of the pointer relative to one or more camera viewpoints.

In exemplary methods, obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test includes using a microscopic probe station, a handheld probe, or a surveillance camera watching a factory floor.

In exemplary methods, the method includes using an attenuated portion of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse from a pulse output of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator as a signal for triggering or initiating a scope or probe operable for sensing transient pulse(s).

In exemplary embodiments, the visualization display is an interactive overlay of collected EMI and/or transient pulse data related to a physical layout of the device or system under test. And the method includes allowing a user to selectively highlight specific areas using the pointer such that nodes, pins, and/or connections of the device or system under test are highlighted in the interactive overlay according to the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data at the specific XYZ coordinates selected by the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes applying different test pulse types to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer, which different test pulse types may be defined by a user and/or by one or more industry standards associated with one or more of component level electrostatic discharge/electrical overstress (ESD/EOS), machine model (MM), charged device model (CDM), human body model (HBM), human metal model (HMM), system level ESD/EOS, electrical fast transient (EFT), lightning/surge pulses, and/or induced and conducted RF fields, voltage dips and dropouts.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes applying the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and detecting or sensing, via a probe, the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test. The EMI and/or transient pulse(s) detected or sensed by the probe is usable for isolating and characterizing soft failures of the device or system under test; susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test; and/or current reconstruction scanning of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes initiating or triggering the application of the transient pulses to the device or system under test when an end of the probe is in contact with or close proximity to the device or system under test. The probe may comprise a near-field probe, such as a loop H-field near-field probe or an E-field near-field probe.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes applying transient pulses, via an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator (as disclosed herein), to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer. For example, the ESD pulse generator may comprise multiple capacitor stacks that are selectively interchangeable for causing the ESD pulse generator to generate differently shaped transient current pulses. The ESD pulse generator may be configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a coaxial cable when connected with a coaxial connector without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI). The ESD pulse generator may be configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a tester port without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI). The ESD pulse generator may include one or more passive (RLC) elements configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes. The system may be configured to be operable for applying transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes and/or in a repeating mode, via the ESD pulse generator, to the device or system under test at the location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes applying transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes and/or in a repeating mode, via the ESD pulse generator, to the device or system under test at the location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes detecting multiple markers and/or identifiers on the device or system under test and on the pointer in real-time; using the detected markers and/or identifies for tracking location and movement of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; and displaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data as a visual overlay on a live video feed of the device or system under test as the pointer moves relative to the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the method may include estimating the 3D pose of the pointer in real-time using the detected markers and/or identifies to thereby extrapolate the position and orientation of an end or tip of the pointer, which corresponds or coincides with the location at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data will be collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the method includes using a known length of the pointer to resolve the position of an end or tip of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; and/or obtaining two or more measurements of a polyhedron locator on the pointer that includes multiple sides with QR codes as the pointer is manually or automatically rotated over a same position to resolve a flux direction vector in addition to intensity; and/or monitoring the pointer with two oscilloscope channels to log dual vectors per point and provide instantaneous vector resolution at a same time such that the pointer is usable for recording an entire H-field vector (direction and amplitude) at each point.

In exemplary embodiments, the device or system under test comprises an engine compartment. And the method includes obtaining a pose estimation of the pointer relative to the engine compartment including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the engine compartment; collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the engine compartment at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the engine compartment onto a visualization display of the engine compartment at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

Also disclosed are exemplary systems for visualization of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and/or transient pulses applied to and/or in a device or system under test including EMI event(s) that may have spectral or transient component(s) that can cause soft or hard failure(s). In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

The EMI event(s) may have spectral or transient components that can cause soft or hard failures, especially EMI that might mimic qualification (e.g., IEC61000-4-2, HBM, etc.) pulses or EMI susceptibility in the system. Generally, the method may include visualizing the device or system under test that is assaulted or subjected to EMI and/or pulses separate from or without necessarily visualizing the normal FCC radiated emissions from the device or system under test. In exemplary embodiments, a resulting ESD map may be displayed during the scan, which ESD map may be saved and/or exported for further analysis, etc. In exemplary embodiments, the EMI and/or transient pulse data may be collected using an oscilloscope coupled with a pointer (e.g., probe, etc.), a computer (e.g., a personal computer (PC), laptop, etc.), and an ESD pulse generator.

In exemplary embodiments, the EMI and/or transient pulse data that is collected may comprise EMI and/or transient pulse(s) that are applied to and/or that occur inherently or naturally in the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the system may be configured to be operable for collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the device or system under test at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer, and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulses(s) onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the system includes computer vision and image processing for determining, predicting, and tracking the position, orientation, and movement of the pointer relative to a device or system under test. By way of example only, this may include Perspective-n-Point (PnP) algorithms which map 2D images to 3D space, homography estimation of oblique 2D marker images in 3D view, and bundle adjustment which orients a probe or board by locating several markers.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe. And the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a pose estimation of the probe relative to the device or system under test to thereby extrapolate a position and orientation of an end of the probe; collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the extrapolated position and orientation of the end of the probe; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto the visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the extrapolated position and orientation of the end of the probe at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for current reconstruction of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe operable for detecting or sensing EMI and/or transient pulse(s). And the system is configured to be operable for injecting EMI and/or transient pulse(s) into port(s) and/or entry point(s) of the device or system under test; detecting or sensing, via the probe, the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test; and annotating the visualization display of the device or system under test with recorded EMI residual waveforms from the injected EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test at each location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe at which the probe detected or sensed the EMI and/or transient pulse(s).

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe. And the system is configured to be operable for injecting EMI and/or transient pulse(s) into the probe; using the probe for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test to determine whether the device or system under test is susceptible to a failure(s) from the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) injected into the probe at location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe; and using the visualization display of the device or system under test to determine minimum level(s) of EMI and/or transient pulse(s) required to be injected at the location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe in order to cause a failure(s) of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for correlating the pose estimation obtained for the pointer when the EMI and/or transient pulse data is collected with the visualization display of the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data overlaid at the location of the device or system under test that corresponds with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a location of a pointer relative to a device or system under test; applying EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the location obtained for the pointer; and collecting data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test at the location that corresponds with the location obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test onto a visualization display corresponding to the location obtained for the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the device or system under test comprises a manufacturing system or facility. And the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a pose estimation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility; collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the manufacturing system or facility at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the manufacturing system or facility onto a visualization display of the manufacturing system or facility at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. In such exemplary embodiments, the method may include collecting residual pulse(s) occurring inherently or naturally the manufacturing system or facility without using an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator or pulser to apply the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the manufacturing system or facility. Also, for example, the method may include capturing, via the at least one camera (e.g., surveillance camera(s) watching a manufacturing floor from above), one or more images of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility, and visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, the pose estimation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a paint marker on the device or system under test. The system includes at least one camera for capturing one or more images of the paint marker on the device or system under test, and at least one processor for visually determining from the one or more images captured by the at least one camera a location of the paint marker on the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the paint marker on the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the paint marker on the device or system under at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a paint pen dot manually placed on the device or system under test. The system includes at least one camera for capturing one or more images of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test, and at least one processor for visually determining from the one or more images captured by the at least one camera a location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a light emitting diode (LED) at an end of the probe. The system includes at least one camera for capturing one or more images of the illuminated LED at the end of a probe in contact with or in close proximity to the device or system under test and at least one processor for visually determining from the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. In such exemplary embodiments, the probe may include an ON/OFF switch (e.g., press button switch) for illuminating the LED at the end of the probe and for triggering or initiating transient pulse data collection at the visually determined location of the illuminated LED on the device or system under test. And the method may include using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises an illuminated light emitting diode (LED) from a transient pulse(s) into the device or system under test. The system includes at least one camera for capturing one or more images of the illuminated light emitting diode (LED) from a transient pulse(s) into the device or system under test, and at least one processor for visually determining from the one or more images captured by the at least one camera a location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s). The system includes at least one camera for capturing one or more images of one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s) of a probe having an end in contact with or in close proximity to a device or system under test, and at least one processor for visually determining from the one or more images of the one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera a location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected. In such exemplary embodiments, the system may be configured for automatically triggering or initiating the transient pulse data collection when the end of the probe is visually determined to be in contact with or in close proximity to the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a combination of markers. The device or system under test includes a combination of markers. And the system is configured to be operable for mapping or calibrating the combination of markers of the device or system under test to identify the device or system under test; mapping or calibrating the combination of markers of the probe to identify the probe; and using the identifications of the probe and the device or system under test to determine the relative location of the identified probe with the identified device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the markers on the probe may comprise barcodes, gray codes, QR codes, other codes, or markers (e.g., LEDs, paint markers, etc.). The markers on the device or system under test may comprise barcodes, gray codes, QR codes, other codes, or markers (e.g., LEDs, paint markers, etc.). Generally, the QR codes are unique bundles/collections on the probe and on the device or system under test. And the calibration is to map the bundle of codes on the device or system under test to identify the device or system under test, then do the same with the probe, and then find their relative location to each other. The codes can be many possible various or arbitrary collections on the device or system under test (e.g., on a board, factory, engine compartment, etc.). And the codes on the probe could be arranged around a cylinder, cube, other three-dimensional object as better resolution is achievable when there are more sides having more codes.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a combination of markers. The device or system under test includes a combination of markers. And the system includes at least one camera for capturing images of the combinations of markers of the probe and the device or system under test, and at least one processor for visually determining from the images of the combinations of markers of the probe and the device or system under test, a location of an end of the probe relative to the device or system under test. In such exemplary embodiments, the markers may comprise QR codes such that the probe includes a combination of QR codes and the device or system under test includes a combination of QR codes. The at least one camera may be operable for capturing images of the combinations of QR codes of the probe and the device or system under test. And the at least one processor may be operable for visually determining from the images of the combinations of QR codes of the probe and the device or system under test, the location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the pointer comprises a probe including a polyhedron having multiple sides with QR codes thereon. The system includes at least one camera for capturing one or more images of the QR codes of the probe, and at least one processor for visually determining from the one or more images of the QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera a location of an end of the probe relative to the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; and superimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test by using one or more of: one or more of a smartphone camera, a webcam, a video camera, and/or other camera; a manually placed paint pen dot; a light emitting diode (LED) on a probe coinciding with the location where transient pulse data collection occurs; a barcode; gray codes; axis-associated QR codes; and/or non-visual positioning means or non-visual means including 3-axis robot arm location and/or position detection using multiple antenna triangulation of pulse detection.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for algorithmically determining the location, including position and orientation, of the pointer relative to one or more camera viewpoints.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test by using a microscopic probe station, a handheld probe, or a surveillance camera watching a factory floor.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for using an attenuated portion of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse from a pulse output of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator as a signal for triggering or initiating a scope or probe operable for sensing transient pulse(s).

In exemplary embodiments, the visualization display is an interactive overlay of collected EMI and/or transient pulse data related to a physical layout of the device or system under test. And the system is configured to be operable for allowing a user to selectively highlight specific areas using the pointer such that nodes, pins, and/or connections of the device or system under test are highlighted in the interactive overlay according to the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data at the specific XYZ coordinates selected by the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for applying different test pulse types to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer, which different test pulse types may be defined by a user and/or by one or more industry standards associated with one or more of component level electrostatic discharge/electrical overstress (ESD/EOS), machine model (MM), charged device model (CDM), human body model (HBM), human metal model (HMM), system level ESD/EOS, electrical fast transient (EFT), lightning/surge pulses, and/or induced and conducted RF fields, voltage dips and dropouts.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for applying the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and detecting or sensing, via a probe, the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test. The EMI and/or transient pulse(s) detected or sensed by the probe is usable for isolating and characterizing soft failures of the device or system under test; susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test; and/or current reconstruction scanning of the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for initiating or triggering the application of the transient pulses to the device or system under test when an end of the probe is in contact with or close proximity to the device or system under test.

In exemplary embodiments, the probe comprises a near-field probe such as a loop H-field near-field probe or an E-field near-field probe.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for applying transient pulses, via an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator (as disclosed herein), to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer. For example, the ESD pulse generator may comprise multiple capacitor stacks that are selectively interchangeable for causing the ESD pulse generator to generate differently shaped transient current pulses. The ESD pulse generator may be configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a coaxial cable when connected with a coaxial connector without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI). The ESD pulse generator may be configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a tester port without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI). The ESD pulse generator may include one or more passive (RLC) elements configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes. The system may be configured to be operable for applying transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes and/or in a repeating mode, via the ESD pulse generator, to the device or system under test at the location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for detecting multiple markers and/or identifiers on the device or system under test and on the pointer in real-time; using the detected markers and/or identifies for tracking location and movement of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; and displaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data as a visual overlay on a live video feed of the device or system under test as the pointer moves relative to the device or system under test.

In such exemplary embodiments, the system may be configured to be operable for estimating the 3D pose of the pointer in real-time using the detected markers and/or identifies to thereby extrapolate the position and orientation of an end or tip of the pointer, which corresponds or coincides with the location at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data will be collected.

In exemplary embodiments, the system is configured to be operable for using a known length of the pointer to resolve the position of an end or tip of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; and/or obtaining two or more measurements of a polyhedron locator on the pointer that includes multiple sides with QR codes as the pointer is manually or automatically rotated over a same position to resolve a flux direction vector in addition to intensity; and/or monitoring the pointer with two oscilloscope channels to log dual vectors per point and provide instantaneous vector resolution at a same time such that the pointer is usable for recording an entire H-field vector (direction and amplitude) at each point.

In exemplary embodiments, the device or system under test comprises an engine compartment. And the system is configured to be operable for obtaining a pose estimation of the pointer relative to the engine compartment including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the engine compartment; collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the engine compartment at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; and superimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the engine compartment onto a visualization display of the engine compartment at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

While the present invention has been described above in terms of specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed embodiments. Upon reading the teachings of this disclosure many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims. It is indeed intended that the scope of the invention should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings.

Claims

1. A method for visualization of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and/or transient pulses applied to and/or in a device or system under test including EMI event(s) that may have spectral or transient component(s) that can cause soft or hard failure(s), the method comprising: obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the pose estimation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test comprises using computer vision and image processing for determining, predicting, and tracking the position, orientation, and movement of the pointer relative to a device or system under test.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: the pointer comprises a probe; andthe method includes: obtaining a pose estimation of the probe relative to the device or system under test to thereby extrapolate a position and orientation of an end of the probe;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the extrapolated position and orientation of the end of the probe; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto the visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the extrapolated position and orientation of the end of the probe at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for current reconstruction of the device or system under test.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: the pointer comprises a probe operable for detecting or sensing EMI and/or transient pulse(s); andthe method includes: injecting EMI and/or transient pulse(s) into port(s) and/or entry point(s) of the device or system under test;detecting or sensing, via the probe, the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test; andannotating the visualization display of the device or system under test with recorded EMI residual waveforms from the injected EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test at each location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe at which the probe detected or sensed the EMI and/or transient pulse(s).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes using the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a probe; andthe method includes: injecting EMI and/or transient pulse(s) into the probe;using the probe for susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test to determine whether the device or system under test is susceptible to a failure(s) from the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) injected into the probe at location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe; andusing the visualization display of the device or system under test to determine minimum level(s) of EMI and/or transient pulse(s) required to be injected at the location(s) corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the probe in order to cause a failure(s) of the device or system under test.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes correlating the pose estimation obtained for the pointer when the EMI and/or transient pulse data is collected with the visualization display of the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data overlaid at the location of the device or system under test that corresponds with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein: the device or system under test comprises a manufacturing system or facility; andthe method includes: obtaining a pose estimation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the manufacturing system or facility;collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the manufacturing system or facility at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the manufacturing system or facility onto a visualization display of the manufacturing system or facility at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a paint marker on the device or system under test, and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the paint marker on the device or system under test;visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the paint marker on the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the paint marker on the device or system under test; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the paint marker on the device or system under at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a paint pen dot manually placed on the device or system under test, and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test;visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under test; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the paint pen dot on the device or system under at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a probe including a light emitting diode (LED) at an end of the probe, and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the illuminated LED at the end of a probe in contact with or in close proximity to the device or system under test;visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises an illuminated light emitting diode (LED) from a transient pulse(s) into the device or system under test, and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the illuminated light emitting diode (LED) from a transient pulse(s) into the device or system under test;visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, a location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the illuminated LED relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a probe including one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s), and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s) of a probe having an end in contact with or in close proximity to a device or system under test;visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images of the one or more barcode(s), gray code(s), and/or QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera, a location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein: the pointer comprises a probe including a combination of markers;the device or system under test includes a combination of markers; andobtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test comprises: mapping or calibrating the combination of markers of the device or system under test to identify the device or system under test;mapping or calibrating the combination of markers of the probe to identify the probe; andusing the identifications of the probe and the device or system under test to determine the relative location of the identified probe with the identified device or system under test.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein: the pointer comprises a probe including a combination of markers;the device or system under test includes a combination of markers; andobtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test comprises: capturing, via at least one camera, images of the combinations of markers of the probe and the device or system under test; andvisually determining, via at least one processor and the images of the combinations of markers of the probe and the device or system under test, a location of an end of the probe relative to the device or system under test.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the markers comprise QR codes such that the probe includes a combination of QR codes and the device or system under test includes a combination of QR codes, and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, images of the combinations of QR codes of the probe and the device or system under test; andvisually determining, via at least one processor and the images of the combinations of QR codes of the probe and the device or system under test, the location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a probe including a polyhedron having multiple sides with QR codes thereon, and wherein the method includes: capturing, via at least one camera, one or more images of the QR codes of the probe;visually determining, via at least one processor and the one or more images of the QR code(s) captured by the at least one camera, a location of an end of the probe relative to the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data from the device or system under test at a location that corresponds with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding with the visually determined location of the end of the probe relative to the device or system under test at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein: the visualization display is an interactive overlay of collected EMI and/or transient pulse data related to a physical layout of the device or system under test; andthe method includes allowing a user to selectively highlight specific areas using the pointer such that nodes, pins, and/or connections of the device or system under test are highlighted in the interactive overlay according to the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data at the specific XYZ coordinates selected by the pointer.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes applying different test pulse types to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer, which different test pulse types may be defined by a user and/or by one or more industry standards associated with one or more of component level electrostatic discharge/electrical overstress (ESD/EOS), machine model (MM), charged device model (CDM), human body model (HBM), human metal model (HMM), system level ESD/EOS, electrical fast transient (EFT), lightning/surge pulses, and/or induced and conducted RF fields, voltage dips and dropouts.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes: applying the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; anddetecting or sensing, via a probe, the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to the device or system under test; andwhereby the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) detected or sensed by the probe is usable for: isolating and characterizing soft failures of the device or system under test;susceptibility scanning of the device or system under test; and/orcurrent reconstruction scanning of the device or system under test.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes applying transient pulses, via an electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator, to the device or system under test at a location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the method includes applying transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes and/or in a repeating mode, via the ESD pulse generator, to the device or system under test at the location that corresponds or coincides with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator comprises: a first ground element, a charge element, and a second ground element;a power supply electrically connected with the charge element and the second ground element;a current limiting resistor or switch electrically connected in series with the power supply and the charge element; anda switch for electrically connecting the charge element to the second ground element;whereby the charge element is chargeable from the power supply and dischargeable via the switch between the charge element and the second ground element.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator includes one or more passive (RLC) elements configured to cause the ESD pulse generator to generate transient current pulses having specific pulse shapes.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator includes: a first ground element routed through a center conductor of a coaxial connector; anda second ground element connected to a shield of the coaxial connector;whereby the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a coaxial cable when connected with the coaxial connector without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator includes: a first ground element routed through a tester port; anda second ground element connected to a shield of the tester port;whereby the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through the tester port without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

28. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator comprises multiple capacitor stacks that are selectively interchangeable for causing the ESD pulse generator to generate differently shaped transient current pulses.

29. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a coaxial cable when connected with a coaxial connector without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

30. The method of claim 22, wherein the ESD pulse generator is configured to be operable for generating a transient current pulse that is routed through a tester port without radiating unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI).

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes: detecting multiple markers and/or identifiers on the device or system under test and on the pointer in real-time;using the detected markers and/or identifies for tracking location and movement of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; anddisplaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data as a visual overlay on a live video feed of the device or system under test as the pointer moves relative to the device or system under test.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the method includes estimating the 3D pose of the pointer in real-time using the detected markers and/or identifies to thereby extrapolate the position and orientation of an end or tip of the pointer, which corresponds or coincides with the location at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data will be collected.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes: using a known length of the pointer to resolve the position of an end or tip of the pointer relative to the device or system under test; and/orobtaining two or more measurements of a polyhedron locator on the pointer that includes multiple sides with QR codes as the pointer is manually or automatically rotated over a same position to resolve a flux direction vector in addition to intensity; and/ormonitoring the pointer with two oscilloscope channels to log dual vectors per point and provide instantaneous vector resolution at a same time such that the pointer is usable for recording an entire H-field vector (direction and amplitude) at each point.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the device or system under test comprises an engine compartment, and the method includes: obtaining a pose estimation of the pointer relative to the engine compartment including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the engine compartment;collecting data for EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the engine compartment at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected data for the EMI and/or transient pulse(s) applied to and/or occurring inherently or naturally in the engine compartment onto a visualization display of the engine compartment at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.

35. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse generator comprising a first ground element, a charge element, and a second ground element;a power supply electrically connected with the charge element and the second ground element;a current limiting resistor or switch electrically connected in series with the power supply and the charge element; anda switch for electrically connecting the charge element to the second ground element;whereby the charge element is chargeable from the power supply and dischargeable via the switch between the charge element and the second ground element.

36. A system for visualization of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and/or transient pulses applied to and/or in a device or system under test including EMI event(s) that may have spectral or transient component(s) that can cause soft or hard failure(s), the system configured to be operable for: obtaining a pose estimation of a pointer relative to a device or system under test including a position and orientation of the pointer relative to the device or system under test;collecting EMI and/or transient pulse data at a location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer; andsuperimposing or overlaying the collected EMI and/or transient pulse data onto a visualization display of the device or system under test at the location corresponding or coinciding with the pose estimation obtained for the pointer at which the EMI and/or transient pulse data was collected.