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A dictionary of scientific units
Microelectronics Journal, 25 (1994)
BOOK REVIEWS
Book Reviews Boundary-Scan Approach
Test: a Practical
H. Bleeker, P. van den Eijnden and E de_long, Kluwer Academic Press,Norwell, MA 1993, 224pp., US$70.00, £50.75, Dfl. 13 7.75 This book is designed to act as an introduction as well as a practical guide to boundary-scan testing, and is specifically a i m e d at c o m p a n i e s that are introducing, or considering introducing, boundary scan into their PC boards and system design. Both engineering managers and practising design and test engineers are targeted. Boundary-scan test (BST) at board level has now become the acknowledged technique for complex PCB-level testing, saving testing time at all phases in the lifetime of an equipment from design through to field maintenance. This b o o k takes the reader through the principles of scan test, through the boundary-scan test standard IEEE 1149.1, hardware innovations, BST design languages, technology considerations, and finally and most importantly, managerial aspects. The style of the book is straightforward, with good supporting illustrations. Its emphasis is firmly upon practicalities, as its title correctly indicates, with costs and time-to-market being emphasized. Possibly c o m p a n y learning-curve costs have not b e e n sufficiently highlighted, but this is a forgivable o m i s s i o n in w h a t is o t h e r w i s e an e x c e l l e n t single-topic 'learning' book. S.L. Hurst
IDDQ Testing of VLSI Circuits R.K. Gulati and C.E Hawkins (editors), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, 1993, 124 pp., £58.00, US$80.00, Dfl. 157.50
0026-2692/94/$7.00 © 1994, Elsevier Science Ltd.
This is the first hard-cover book from Kluwer Academic Publishers in a new series entitled Frontiers in Electronic Testing. The specification for the series is to provide stand-alone books on specific testing issues, the parentage being largely papers first published in special issues of the Journal of Testing: Theory and Applications (JETTA). This text is the edited volume of eleven full-length p a p e r s by l e a d i n g a c a d e m i c and i n d u s t r i a l researchers, initially published as a special issue of J E T T A (Vol. 3, No. 4). To this extent this text does not add to our existing knowledge of IDDQ testing and its impact on C M O S technology, but it does bring this information together in a very valuable robust book, ideally suited to research and others working in the field of digital test. S.L. Hurst
Engineering Tables and Data A.M. Howatson, P. G. Lund andJ.D. Todd, Chapman and Hall, London, 2nd edition, 1991, 18I pp., £19.95
A Dictionary of Scientific Units H.J. Jerrard and D.B. McNeill, Chapman and Hall, London, 6th edition, 1992, 254 pp., £15.95 All engineers at some time or other require physical, chemical, electrical, electronic or other data for their engineering or scientific work. Too often the text which contains the required information cannot be found. It is therefore appropriate to review the above two publications together, as in combination they provide a very broad spectrum of data for a wide range of activities. The first of these, namely Engineering Tables and Data, first published in 1972, is divided into six principal
139
BOOK REVIEWS
sections, headed:
telecommunications and possibly other headings - but instead makes the bold decision to list all entries alphabetically. There are, therefore, twenty-six chapters running from A to Z. A set o f five Appendices covering:
•
Mathematics;
•
Properties of matter;
•
Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics;
•
Solid mechanics and structures;
•
Fundamental physical constants;
•
Mechanics; and
•
Standardization committees and conferences;
•
Electricity.
•
Tables of weights and measures;
A general Introduction which includes the Greek alphabet, SI and other metric units, multiples, submultiples and conversion factors, and a final Reference section which lists other tables and handbook publications, completes the text. The Mathematics section is comprehensive. It covers all standard and mathematical formulae, ranging fi'om binominal coefficients to statistics and vector analysis. Appropriate waveforms and geometric figures are given where necessary. Turning to the final section, perhaps unfbrtunatety entitled Electricity, this ranges from electromagnetism, through circuit analysis, rcsonance, transmission lines, compounds, s e m i c o n d u c t o r devices and their equivalent circuits, electrical machines, electrical properties of materials including semiconductors, to Boolean algebra and logic symbols. Confirmation of many itelns which an electronic engineer may sometimes need, such as transmission line parameters, resonant wavelengths of cavities, or hole and electron mobility values, may therefore be found. Between the first and final chapters is a silnilar wealth of material in other engineering disciplines, giving in total an impressive collection of ready data. The second text, namely A Dictionary of Sciem!'fic Units, was first published in 1963, with this sixth edition coming some thirty years later. It has, therefore, stood the test of" time extremely well. Its format is interesting in that it does not attempt to list entries under subject h e a d i n g - - decibel for example w o u l d n e e d to be l i s t e d u n d e r a c o u s t i c s ,
140
•
Conversion tables;
•
Conversion factors for SI and CGS units;
and finally a References section, completes the book. This is a book not only for professional references, but also for interest. Among the hundreds of entries, how many readers have encountered the unit 'Abbe' or the 'Zhubov scale'? On the other hand, the more familiar units such as ampere and year are given both historical and practical coverage. Other entries such as Tyre markings and the Beaufort wind scale may be of interest to many readers outside their professional needs. This, and the previous En~itwerin~ 7hbles and Data, are both highly recommended mature publications. S.L. Hurst
Digital Integrated Circuit Testing from a Quality Perspective Eugene R. Hnatek, International Thomson Ptd~lishiuq, LondoH, 1993, 179 pp., ,(,4 I. 50 This book attempts to introduce and to explain the fundamental changes taking place in electrical testing of integrated circuits (ICs). No other book offers such detailed coverage of this vital field. This is the first guide to modern, practical and applied testing of digital ICs, which incorporates new concepts of digital integrated circuit testing systems. The author's aim has been to give just enough theory to supply practical working rules that will enable one to recognize tile limitations o£ the methods as well
BOOK REVIEWS
Book Reviews Boundary-Scan Approach
Test: a Practical
H. Bleeker, P. van den Eijnden and E de_long, Kluwer Academic Press,Norwell, MA 1993, 224pp., US$70.00, £50.75, Dfl. 13 7.75 This book is designed to act as an introduction as well as a practical guide to boundary-scan testing, and is specifically a i m e d at c o m p a n i e s that are introducing, or considering introducing, boundary scan into their PC boards and system design. Both engineering managers and practising design and test engineers are targeted. Boundary-scan test (BST) at board level has now become the acknowledged technique for complex PCB-level testing, saving testing time at all phases in the lifetime of an equipment from design through to field maintenance. This b o o k takes the reader through the principles of scan test, through the boundary-scan test standard IEEE 1149.1, hardware innovations, BST design languages, technology considerations, and finally and most importantly, managerial aspects. The style of the book is straightforward, with good supporting illustrations. Its emphasis is firmly upon practicalities, as its title correctly indicates, with costs and time-to-market being emphasized. Possibly c o m p a n y learning-curve costs have not b e e n sufficiently highlighted, but this is a forgivable o m i s s i o n in w h a t is o t h e r w i s e an e x c e l l e n t single-topic 'learning' book. S.L. Hurst
IDDQ Testing of VLSI Circuits R.K. Gulati and C.E Hawkins (editors), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, 1993, 124 pp., £58.00, US$80.00, Dfl. 157.50
0026-2692/94/$7.00 © 1994, Elsevier Science Ltd.
This is the first hard-cover book from Kluwer Academic Publishers in a new series entitled Frontiers in Electronic Testing. The specification for the series is to provide stand-alone books on specific testing issues, the parentage being largely papers first published in special issues of the Journal of Testing: Theory and Applications (JETTA). This text is the edited volume of eleven full-length p a p e r s by l e a d i n g a c a d e m i c and i n d u s t r i a l researchers, initially published as a special issue of J E T T A (Vol. 3, No. 4). To this extent this text does not add to our existing knowledge of IDDQ testing and its impact on C M O S technology, but it does bring this information together in a very valuable robust book, ideally suited to research and others working in the field of digital test. S.L. Hurst
Engineering Tables and Data A.M. Howatson, P. G. Lund andJ.D. Todd, Chapman and Hall, London, 2nd edition, 1991, 18I pp., £19.95
A Dictionary of Scientific Units H.J. Jerrard and D.B. McNeill, Chapman and Hall, London, 6th edition, 1992, 254 pp., £15.95 All engineers at some time or other require physical, chemical, electrical, electronic or other data for their engineering or scientific work. Too often the text which contains the required information cannot be found. It is therefore appropriate to review the above two publications together, as in combination they provide a very broad spectrum of data for a wide range of activities. The first of these, namely Engineering Tables and Data, first published in 1972, is divided into six principal
139
BOOK REVIEWS
sections, headed:
telecommunications and possibly other headings - but instead makes the bold decision to list all entries alphabetically. There are, therefore, twenty-six chapters running from A to Z. A set o f five Appendices covering:
•
Mathematics;
•
Properties of matter;
•
Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics;
•
Solid mechanics and structures;
•
Fundamental physical constants;
•
Mechanics; and
•
Standardization committees and conferences;
•
Electricity.
•
Tables of weights and measures;
A general Introduction which includes the Greek alphabet, SI and other metric units, multiples, submultiples and conversion factors, and a final Reference section which lists other tables and handbook publications, completes the text. The Mathematics section is comprehensive. It covers all standard and mathematical formulae, ranging fi'om binominal coefficients to statistics and vector analysis. Appropriate waveforms and geometric figures are given where necessary. Turning to the final section, perhaps unfbrtunatety entitled Electricity, this ranges from electromagnetism, through circuit analysis, rcsonance, transmission lines, compounds, s e m i c o n d u c t o r devices and their equivalent circuits, electrical machines, electrical properties of materials including semiconductors, to Boolean algebra and logic symbols. Confirmation of many itelns which an electronic engineer may sometimes need, such as transmission line parameters, resonant wavelengths of cavities, or hole and electron mobility values, may therefore be found. Between the first and final chapters is a silnilar wealth of material in other engineering disciplines, giving in total an impressive collection of ready data. The second text, namely A Dictionary of Sciem!'fic Units, was first published in 1963, with this sixth edition coming some thirty years later. It has, therefore, stood the test of" time extremely well. Its format is interesting in that it does not attempt to list entries under subject h e a d i n g - - decibel for example w o u l d n e e d to be l i s t e d u n d e r a c o u s t i c s ,
140
•
Conversion tables;
•
Conversion factors for SI and CGS units;
and finally a References section, completes the book. This is a book not only for professional references, but also for interest. Among the hundreds of entries, how many readers have encountered the unit 'Abbe' or the 'Zhubov scale'? On the other hand, the more familiar units such as ampere and year are given both historical and practical coverage. Other entries such as Tyre markings and the Beaufort wind scale may be of interest to many readers outside their professional needs. This, and the previous En~itwerin~ 7hbles and Data, are both highly recommended mature publications. S.L. Hurst
Digital Integrated Circuit Testing from a Quality Perspective Eugene R. Hnatek, International Thomson Ptd~lishiuq, LondoH, 1993, 179 pp., ,(,4 I. 50 This book attempts to introduce and to explain the fundamental changes taking place in electrical testing of integrated circuits (ICs). No other book offers such detailed coverage of this vital field. This is the first guide to modern, practical and applied testing of digital ICs, which incorporates new concepts of digital integrated circuit testing systems. The author's aim has been to give just enough theory to supply practical working rules that will enable one to recognize tile limitations o£ the methods as well