System for fault determinations for high frequency electronic circuits

A system for making fault determinations in high frequency circuits, comprising:

• a positioning system for fixedly mounting a circuit board or device having circuit elements thereon to be tested and for mounting a sensor assembly, said positioning system capable of moving the sensor in X, Y and Z dimensions relative to the circuit board;
• a control system for the positioning system for registering the position of the sensor assembly relative to the circuit board to be tested and for moving the sensor assembly to selected known locations for the circuit board to be tested;
• a sensor assembly, mounted on the positioning system, above the circuit board to be tested, such that it does not come into physical contact with the circuit board during testing of the circuit board, for obtaining electromagnetic signals emanating from the circuit elements on the circuit board, when the circuit board has power or stimulus signals applied to it, at selected known locations and for converting said electromagnetic signals into a measured signal value representative of the electromagnetic signals in a digitized format;
• and
• a processing system for comparing measured signal values from the sensor at selected known locations for the circuit board to be tested and reference signal values from the same locations in a similar circuit board known to be good and for providing an information display concerning whether or not the difference between the measured signal values and the reference signal values is within a selected acceptable range, or outside thereof, which is indicative of a fault at said selected location.