  Spacely is an open-source framework for the post-silicon validation of
analog, digital, and mixed-signal ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated
Circuits) which maximizes the reuse of hardware and software, reducing the time
taken to achieve meaningful test results. Spacely specifically addresses the
needs of small, flexible ASIC design teams commonly found in academia or
research institutions which benefit most from sharing the overhead of test
stand creation between many unique ASIC designs. Spacely is a set of software,
firmware, and design practices. It targets two primary hardware platforms
(NI-PXI and Caribou) as well as offering extensible support for bench
instruments. Spacely provides a high-level Python interface to all test
hardware for accessibility, while also giving more sophisticated teams the
opportunity to integrate custom test firmware. The design principles of Spacely
are presented, along with a demonstrative example of using Spacely to test a
pixel detector readout ASIC.
