Bursting Patterns and Viewing Results
- Updated2025-10-09
- 5 minute(s) read
to launch the Sites dialog box, which you use to enable and disable sites defined in the active pin and channel map, typically for debugging purposes.Refer to the specifications document for the digital pattern instrument for more information about the number of samples supported in History RAM. You can also use the
Site drop-down menu on the toolbar to select the site to determine when to stop bursting when you select the
Burst Until Fail or
Burst Until Pass burst option.
Select the menu item to enable or disable automatically connecting I/O switches on burst operations.
Use the
Burst button pull-down menu
to determine how to execute, or run, the loaded pattern. Bursting a pattern from the editor always starts at the first vector of the pattern. Click the
Abort button
to halt pattern execution.
Viewing Results
The
Overlay Last History RAM Results button
on the pattern document toolbar is enabled by default. The editor displays the subset of burst results that corresponds to vectors in the current pattern based on the settings you specify in the Instrument Settings pane. Rebursting a pattern overwrites the History RAM result data in the pattern document in History RAM overlay mode.
The Passed/Failed/Disabled indicator displays whether the last pattern burst includes any failures, regardless of what you log to History RAM, and whether the site was disabled for the last burst of the pattern. Disabled sites do not return results. The Total Failures indicator displays the number of failures in the pattern. The Burst Complete indicator displays the timestamp of when the last pattern burst completed. Pin state data cells with a red background and red text indicate a failure.
Column heading tooltips display the total number of pin failures for the pattern burst for each pin and the number of failures for the pin recorded in History RAM results in parentheses. Cell tooltips display expected and actual values for failures. Pin state data cells with a white or grey background indicate that no data was available for the cycle. Use the navigation buttons on the toolbar to move among the first, previous, next, and last failures in History RAM overlay mode. Expand a pin group to navigate to the individual pins in the group.
Vectors with a blue background display available History RAM results. Vectors with a white background do not include History RAM results. The pattern document displays a dash (-) for the cycle count in the Vector/Cycle column for vectors without History RAM results. For vectors that execute on more than only one cycle, the pattern document in History RAM overlay mode displays the superset of failures for all cycles with History RAM results.
Click the
Show History RAM View button
on the toolbar or select
to display in a separate document the burst results for the flow of pattern execution across all executed patterns. The History RAM View shows the results for all cycles of a vector logged to History RAM, including those resulting from looping and
repeat opcodes. The digital pattern editor automatically displays the History RAM View when the
Overlay Last History RAM Results button
is disabled and the digital pattern instrument returns History RAM results for any site of the pattern burst.
Click the
Show Digital Scope button
on the pattern document toolbar or right-click a cell in the pattern document and select
Use Digital Scope on Selected Pins and Vectors from the context menu to launch the digital scope, which displays a 2D plot of the actual waveform using the pattern, timing set, and levels.
Refer to the Related reference section at the end of this topic for a link to more information about History RAM and the digital scope.
Bursting Patterns with Source and Capture Waveforms
The Digital Pattern Editor prompts you to load waveforms on the instrument before
bursting a pattern if the pattern directly uses a waveform, including waveforms used in
patterns that the pattern jumps to. You can also click the Load
Waveform button 
on the toolbar or right-click the waveform file in the Project Explorer window
and use the context menu to manually load the current waveform on the instrument. You must
specify a name and at least one pin for the waveform. You cannot load a waveform with the
same name as another already loaded waveform. Click the Unload All Patterns and
Waveform Configurations button 
to remove all source and capture waveforms and patterns from the instrument. If
you modify and save the waveform, you must unload and reload the waveform for the changes
to take effect on the instrument. The Digital Pattern Editor prompts you to reload
modified files before bursting a pattern.
Select or click the Show Capture Results View button 
on the capture waveform configuration document toolbar or on the pattern document
toolbar to view the capture waveform data from the instrument for the last pattern burst.
The capture waveform data updates with each burst.
Use the capture_start, capture, and
capture_stop opcodes to store values when you burst a pattern.
Use the source_start and source opcodes to send
waveform data when you burst the pattern.
Refer to the Related reference section at the end of this topic for a link to more information about source and capture functionality.
Related Information
- Loading, Unloading, and Modifying a Pattern
Use the pattern document toolbar or context menu to interact with patterns.
- History RAM View
Use this view to see the History RAM results for the flow of pattern execution for the last pattern burst across all executed patterns for the number of samples you specify in the Instrument Settings pane, including vectors with repeat opcodes. The view also includes the corresponding time sets, labels, opcodes, pattern names, vectors/cycles, pin state data, and comments. Rebursting a pattern overwrites the data in the History RAM View.
- Instrument Settings Pane
Select Instrument Settings History RAM and Signal Settings to launch the Instrument Settings pane.
- Digital Scope
Use the digital scope to view a graph of the expected waveform underneath the actual waveform using the pattern, timing set, and levels, including compare strobe locations, VOH and VOL levels, and expected drive levels. You can use the digital scope to help debug failures to verify that the actual waveform accurately reflects what you expect based on what the pattern and timing define.
- Source Waveform Configurations
Use the source waveform configuration document to view, modify, save, and load source waveform files (.tdms). Use the source functionality when the data you need to use is site-specific or only determined at run time, such as when you need to write registers or test converters. You can send multiple source waveforms with the same configuration in a single pattern burst. Use the source_start and source opcodes to send waveform data when you burst the pattern. An asterisk (*) next to a filename in the Project Explorer window and in the document tab indicates that the file has been modified but not saved.
- Capture Waveform Configurations
Use the capture waveform configuration document to view, modify, save, and load capture waveform files (.digicapture). Use the capture functionality when the data you need to acquire is site-specific or only determined at run time, such as when you need to read registers or test converters. You can receive multiple capture waveforms with the same configuration in a single pattern burst. Use the capture_start, capture, and capture_stop opcodes to store values when you burst a pattern. An asterisk (*) next to a filename in the Project Explorer window and in the document tab indicates that the file has been modified but not saved.
- Digital Source and Capture Opcodes
- Capture Results View
Use this view to see capture waveform data per site in columns for the last pattern burst. The capture waveform data updates with each burst. Use the capture_start, capture, and capture_stop opcodes to store values when you burst a pattern.
- Learn Failures from History RAM
Use Learn Failures from History RAM to automatically edit the pin states of a pattern to change failing pin states to ones that will pass.