Advantest Corporation announced the latest addition to its Extended Power Supply (XPS) card series: the DC Scale XPS128+HV. This universal voltage-current (VI) instrument combines a high channel count (128 channels per card) with per-channel voltage ranges of up to +24V creating a test solution that efficiently addresses the test requirements for high-voltage devices such as USB Power Delivery components and charger functionalities in power management ICs (PMICs). The XPS128+HV provides full channel compatibility with the existing XPS256 card, enabling efficient, highly parallel test of power management devices with enhanced capability for high-voltage applications while continuing to cover existing applications in the low-voltage domain.

The new card meets these device requirements for a cost-efficient, large-pin-count ATE system with many power VI channels. The XPS uses Advantest's Xtreme RegulationTM technology, enabling a seamless change of operating modes from a force voltage to a force or sink current mode. This is often required when testing power management components such as low-dropout (LDO) or DC/DC regulators.

Another capability of the Xtreme RegulationTM is its sequencer-controlled range changes, allowing extremely fast, deterministic test times without signal spikes that can damage a device under test (DUT). The XPS128+HV instrument can supply ICs ranging from -10V to +24V with sufficient current rating on all 128 channels in parallel. Flexible ganging allows a combination of multiple channels to achieve an even higher current, enabling testing of DC/DC converters, which require multiple-ampere load current.

In addition, the card offers excellent force and measurement accuracy, which is a prerequisite for precise device trimming. Besides being used for PMIC testing, the new card can act as a standard power supply for high-performance computing and automotive applications, as well as microcontrollers (MCUs).