MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- Sales of automatic test equipment for PCBs topped $1.16 billion in 2007 and are expected to reach $1.85 billion in 2014, up 60% over the forecast period, according to a Frost and Sullivan report.

The research firm says its findings show greater use of combination testers because of the versatility of this approach when applied to high density circuit boards and components. Manufacturers using a combination of methods can optimize yields. The combination of functional testing and boundary scan testing has become popular in spite of high equipment cost because it can reduce the overall cost of testing.

“In today's electronic industry, it is highly imperative to have sufficient test coverage to improve product quality, reduce time-to-market and improve manufacturing yields,” says Frost research analyst Sujan Sami. “Especially in a situation where device complexity, functionality of chips and circuit board architectures are on a rise; cost-effective and efficient test solutions will be the key, and the right combinational testers expect to play a major role.

“The need for more sophisticated products, especially in the extremely demanding automotive and medical industries drives the need for better quality oriented test equipment. The modular functionality of integrating various types of test equipment expects to surpass the need for individual hardware and software testing moving forward.”