Teradyne blog on automated test equipment - part 2

Part 2 of the blog is here: https://www.teradyne.com/2025/12/08/high-throughput-image-sensors-smart-testing-powers-progress/ 

High-Throughput Image Sensors: Smart Testing Powers Progress

As data streams grow, modern ATE ensures flexible, scalable accuracy

In the race to produce higher resolution image sensors—now pushing beyond 500 megapixels—the industry faces significant challenges. These sensors aren’t just capturing more pixels; they’re handling massive streams of data, validating intricate on-chip AI functions, and doing it all at breakneck speeds. For manufacturers, the challenge is as unforgiving as it is critical: test more complex devices, in less time, all while maintaining or even reducing costs.

Today’s high-resolution sensors must deliver more than just pixel perfection. They must demonstrate pixel uniformity, identify and compensate for defective pixels, verify electrical performance under varying conditions, and prove their resilience under strict power efficiency requirements. As AI functionality becomes integrated with image sensors, testing must also account for new processing capabilities and system interactions.   

The move toward higher resolutions introduces not only more data but significant production constraints as well. As sensors grow larger to accommodate more pixels, fewer can be tested simultaneously under the illumination field of automated test equipment (ATE). This site count constraint can be well-handled with strategies for faster data processing and smarter testing. This is where Teradyne plays an important industry role, moving beyond supplier, and stepping in as a strategic partner to help manufacturers redefine what’s possible.  

Why High Resolution Means High Stakes  
As image sensor resolutions soar—from smartphones to cars to industrial systems—so do data demands. Each leap in resolution extends the volume of data that must be captured and processed, including during testing. For example, a single 50-megapixel image sensor produces around 100 megabytes of data per image. Multiple images, as many as 25 or more, must be captured under different lighting conditions to validate pixel response, uniformity, and defect detection. When multiplied across millions of units, data quickly scales into terabytes for every production batch.  

Without innovation, this increase in data threatens to overwhelm production lines. Test times can double or even quadruple, slashing throughput and driving up costs. Manufacturers are left with a critical challenge: how to test sensors faster, without sacrificing accuracy or profitability.  

Teradyne Delivers High-throughput, Scalable Solutions  
Teradyne addresses these high-stakes dynamics with a combination of powerful, modular hardware and flexible software tools. At the heart of Teradyne’s approach is the belief that high performance and flexibility are essential. The company’s UltraSerial20G capture instrument for Teradyne UltraFLEXplus was built precisely for this moment and is designed to handle the enormous data loads of modern image sensors. It offers a modular architecture that enables manufacturers to respond to new interface protocols without expensive, time-consuming hardware redesigns.  

At the same time, Teradyne’s engineers kept the future in focus, looking beyond meeting current requirements by adding future capacity in the UltraSerial20G. Essentially, this provides customers with room to grow without replacing critical hardware. When new protocols emerge or higher data rates become the standard, manufacturers can count on the capabilities of their capture platform. While competitors scramble to keep pace, Teradyne customers are already testing the next generation of devices. 

Teradyne also recognizes that hardware is just part of the story. The company’s IG-XL software platform is where this flexibility comes to life. It gives engineers the tools to write custom test strategies at the pin level, controlling everything from voltage and timing to the finest adjustments of signal slopes. Importantly, this software environment allows manufacturers to build and refine their test programs without exposing sensitive intellectual property, a crucial advantage in an industry where secrecy is a competitive necessity.  

Overall, Teradyne’s flexible hardware and software architecture offers an integrated approach that enables manufacturers to manage increasing data volumes while maintaining production schedules.  Teradyne’s Alexander Metzdorf describes it as giving customers the tools to write their own destiny: “Our role is to provide a toolbox that’s flexible and powerful enough for our customers to test whatever they need—when they need it—without being held back by fixed systems.”