Automatic Testing of the Trigger Data Serializer ASIC for the Upgrade of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer

The Trigger Data Serializer (TDS) is a custom designed Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) designed at the University of Michigan to be used on the ATLAS New Small Wheel (NSW) detector. The TDS is a central hub of the NSW trigger system. It prepares the trigger data for both pad and strip detectors, performs pad-strip matching, and serializes the matched strip data to other circuits on the rim of the NSW. In total, 6000 TDS chips will be produced. As part of the TDS’ initial production run, a test platform was developed to verify the functionality of each chip before being sent to users. The test platform consisted of multiple FPGA evaluation boards with custom designed mezzanine boards to hold the TDS chip during testing and control software running on a local computer. Of the initial run of 200 chips, 161 chips were tested with the automatic setup of which 158 passed. Detailed description of the TDS and automatic test fixture can be found in this thesis.