What can I do when logged in?

You can submit new articles, so we can make unique versions of them and distribute them for you.
If you want to simply publish the same article on 800 websites, you can tell us to do that.
You can see the archive and current status of all your article distributions.
You can order any number of high-quality articles - just let us know your keywords.
You can browse the archive of all the articles we have written for you.
You can order our Complete Service (10 high-quality articles plus 10 article distributions).
You can purchase more credits for our services and check your affiliate earnings.
Much more ...

SpinDistribute.com Article Directory

The following article was published in our article directory on April 27, 2010.
Learn more about SpinDistribute Article Distribution System.

JTAG - Standard Test Access Port and Boundary - Scan Architecture

Article Category: Computers and Technology

Author Name: Jan Pascal

When you have an integrated circuit (IC) or many such devices on a board, where each IC has 100 or more pins, it is mandatory to have some tool to test connections and verify operation. Having this in mind, an expert group prepared a specification for testing that was standardized in 1990 as the IEEE Std. 1149.1. It is also known as the JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) standard.

JTAG is a method for testing connections on printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are implemented at the integrated circuit (IC) level. It is very difficult to test complex circuits with traditional in-circuit testers. Because of physical space constraints and inability to access very small components and BGA devices, the cost for board testing has increased significantly. JTAG is an elegant solution to overcome problems with physical in-circuit testers.

With JTAG you can test interconnects between integrated circuits on a board without using physical test probes. This is a big advantage because you don't need any additional customized tool for testing. Of course, the device has to be JTAG enabled. This means an additional cell (a boundary-scan cell) for each pin. Boundary-scan cell can set or read data on each pin. Boundary-scan cells are connected together and the data is serially shifted into the boundary-scan cells. The process is controlled from a serial data path called the scan path or scan chain. This is the basic principle of the JTAG interface.

JTAG eliminates the need for a large number of test vectors, which would be needed to initialize all the devices. Using JTAG means shorter test times, increased diagnostic capability higher test coverage, and lower equipment cost. Although there are many variations of the JTAG header on the board it is possible to use standard JTAG signals with almost any JTAG interface and boundary-scan software.

An additional benefit with JTAG interface is that it can be also used for programming and debugging. Many microcontrollers, FLASH memories, FPGAs and similar devices can be programmed via JTAG interface. And the same interface can be used for debugging. JTAG is a big step toward standard interfaces in electronics industry.

There are many JTAG cables that can be used on more than one device. In fact, JTAG cable is more than a cable. Usually it has some small electronics to boost signals and to provide standard computer interface. The price of the simplest JTAG cable can be as low as $5.

Keywords: jtag, jtag cables, ieee 1149, jtag interface, test access port, boundary scan, electronics, programming

Learn more about SpinDistribute Article Distribution System. We also offer Professional Article Writing to everyone who's looking for high quality web content.

SpinDistribute.com Network

Each article you submit at SpinDistribute.com is sent through our innovative Article Distribution System to our network of more than 1840 publishers - about 55% of them are high-quality article directories, 30% of them are niche blogs and 15% of them are other content-rich websites.

To achieve the best possible success we only publish your article to most related websites. This means your article will show up on approximately 640 - 880 most related websites which will give you great SEO results.

We also offer a separate Professional Article Writing Service to everyone who's looking for high quality web content and well researched unique articles.