ee141 vlsi test principles and architectures ch. 12 - test technology trends in nanometer age - p. 1...
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EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
SummaryLink architecture determines the relevant test parameters and methods. For synchronized CC and SS architectures, critical test parameters include: Data valid to clock/strobe Setup/hold timeFor a SERDES architecture, critical test parameters include:Jitter, includes deterministic jitter (DJ), random jitter (RJ), and total jitter (TJ) or timing eye-openingNoise, and voltage eye-openingBit error rate (BER)
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Chapter 12.7RF Testing
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Outline of the SectionIntroduce the basic concepts related to RF Discuss the various challenges associated with RF testDescribe different core RF building blocksElaborate various test specifications for RF devicesSystem-level testing and associated specificationsConclude with present and future trends
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Introduction to RFRF stands for Radio FrequencyUsually very high frequencies where signals can be transmitted wirelesslyRange of frequencies 300MHz ~ 3GHzRF is used synonymously with wirelessSignificant growth during the last decade in the consumer segmentIncreased consumer applications
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Applications of RFEarlier, consumer applications of wireless technology were limitedMilitary, space communications, air traffic controlCurrently, consumer applications are on the riseCell phone, laptop, PDA, satellite radioRadiofrequency identification (RFID)
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Challenges with RF testingTests are performed in two stepsCharacterization testProduction testVarious challenges make production test hard and expensive RF devices need extra attention during testing (challenge #1)Impedance matching @ input and output ports to ensure optimal power transferShielding from external wireless signals during testing
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Characterization testCharacterization validates the first set of siliconUses highly accurate instruments toVerify the functionality of the designAscertain that the specifications are met Ensure high repeatability of the measurement systemProduction test needs to perform all of the above withCheaper instrumentation a least-cost commercial tester (challenge #2)In much smaller duration of the time used for characterization (challenge #3)
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Repeatability and accuracy issuesTest procedure should classify:Good devices as good andBad devices as badThis is constrained by measurement noiseReduces the accuracy of measurement during production testing (challenge #4)Introduces large variability in the same measurement repeated many times (challenge #5)These can be mitigated by using Accurate test application procedureHigh resolution measurements
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Summary of challengesChallenge #1 is very specific to RF devices needs careful measurement setupChallenge #2 and 3 are also specific to RF RF testers are very expensive (> $1M) compared to the analog and digital counterpartsRF tests are usually longer compared to analog testsChallenge #4 and 5 are general for all electronic devicesHowever, these are more prominent in RF due to the large amount of noise involved
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Typical RF system
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
RF specificationsLinearity specificationsGain, conversion gain, output powerNon-linearity specificationsThird-order intercept (TOI), adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR)Noise specificationsNoise figure (NF), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), sensitivity, dynamic rangeSystem specificationsError-vector magnitude (EVM), bit error rate (BER)
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
A note on decibelDecibel is a very commonly used unit in wireless domainNotation for decibel dBAny number N can be converted to decibel by NdB = 20 log10(N)A similar unit is mili-decibel (notation dBm)Used to denote power with reference to 1 mWP watts of power is converted to dBm by PdBm = 10 log10(P/1 mW)Thus 1W = 1000mW = 30 dBm; 10W = 0.01mW = -20 dBm
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Gain Measures the small-signal gain of the device/systemInput is a single-tone stimulus within the operating frequencyAmplitude is within linear range of operationGain = (Output amplitude / Input amplitude), usually expressed in dBA1A2Gain = A2/A1 = 20 log10(A2/A1), in dB
f1f1
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
Conversion Gain Measures the small-signal gain of mixersMixers translate the input frequency at a different output frequencyInput is a single-tone stimulus within the input operating frequency, amplitude within linear range of operationGain = (Output amplitude @ f2 / Input amplitude @f1), usually expressed in dBA1A2Gain = A2/A1 = 20 log10(A2/A1), in dB
f1f2Different frequencies
EE141
EE141VLSI Test Principles and ArchitecturesCh. 12 - Test Technology Trends In Nanometer Age - P. *
TOIMeasure of nonlinearity for a device/systemTwo-tone input, within operating rangeFrequencies are closely spaced, difference is usually