Patent ID: 7355417

Claim:
A method for obtaining electromagnetic data from a circuit board, a set of sensing locations residing in a plane which is substantially parallel to the circuit board, the method comprising: moving a probe to a first sensing location residing in the plane and collecting first electromagnetic data using the probe; moving the probe from the first sensing location residing in the plane to a second sensing location residing in the plane and collecting second electromagnetic data using the probe; and providing an electromagnetic data output based on the first and second electromagnetic data, wherein a robotic assembly couples to the probe, and wherein moving the probe from the first sensing location residing in the plane to the second sensing location residing in the plane and collecting the second electromagnetic data using the probe includes: outputting an actuation signal to the robotic assembly to position the probe at the second sensing location; receiving a confirmation signal from the robotic assembly to confirm that the probe is positioned at the second sensing location; and detecting electromagnetic emissions from the circuit board using the probe while the probe is positioned at the second sensing location, and wherein a spectrum analyzer couples to the probe, and wherein detecting the electromagnetic emissions from the circuit board using the probe while the probe is positioned at the second sensing location includes: monitoring the electromagnetic emissions at the second sensing location using the spectrum analyzer.