Holistic Circuit Card Testing using Nanoscale Sensors

This proposal describes work efforts culminating in the design and eventual (Phase II) development of a prototype circuit card tester utilizing nanoscale sensors combined with laser and optical techniques to analyze circuit cards as an entire, complete system of components, circuit paths, and connectors rather than the sum of its individual parts. This revolutionary new approach has been made possible through the development of nanotechnology-based devices that can sense characteristics and changes at the molecular level, lending itself to the detection of entire classes of anomalies and failures that are not detectable using currently available automatic or other test equipment currently performing end-to-end diagnostic testing of individual signal parameters. These characteristics include degraded operational performance resulting from the aging of components as well as from corrosion, wear, stress, and other effects that may accumulate in the field. Our approach focuses on the development of a small footprint, man-portable lightweight system capable of being deployed via Humvee or remotely controlled ground or air vehicle to remote locations.