A Level-Crossing Approach for the Analysis of RF Modulated Signals Using Only Digital Test Resources

2019 IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS)

et al. 2019

This paper presents a low-cost solution to perform power and spectral measurements on RF signals. More specifically, we target RF modulated signals such as 2.4 GHz signals delivered by ZigBee transmitters. The solution is based on 1-bit under-sampled acquisition of the RF signal, acquisition that can be realized using a standard digital ATE channel. The captured binary sequence is then fed to a dedicated postprocessing algorithm, which (i) extracts amplitude and phase variations and (ii) reconstructs the RF signal. From the reconstructed signal, it is possible to perform power and spectral measurements. The different steps of the post-processing algorithm are detailed in the paper. The validity of the technique is demonstrated through both simulations and hardware measurements.

Section: A Power Level Estimationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Testing Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Power Measurement and Spectral Test of ZigBee Transmitters from 1-bit Under-sampled Acquisition

Vayssade

Azaïs

2019 IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS)

et al. 2019

“…Practically value expressed in dBc/Hz is computed b signal level to the noise level, where th measured by integrating noise over a specifi on both sides of the signal tone and applying for 1Hz bandwidth normalization. [13][14][15] and for [16].…”

Section: A Current Industrial Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Phase noise measurement on IF analog signals using standard digital ATE resources

David-Grignot

Azaïs

2014 IEEE 12th International New Circuits and Systems Conference (NEWCAS)

et al. 2014

Self Cite

International audienceThis paper introduces a low-cost technique for phase noise measurement on IF analog signals. The technique is based on signal acquisition from a digital Automated Test Equipment (ATE) and a dedicated post-processing algorithm that permits to reconstruct the time-domain phase of the IF analog signal from the digital capture. An experimental setup is developed to validate the proposed technique and measurements on actual analog signals demonstrate a very good agreement with conventional phase noise measurements

“…All the above involve additional hardware resource, either at silicon or board level. Direct 1-bit acquisition has also been explored for analog signals, but at lower frequencies, for instance in [6] for amplitude and offset measurement of triangular waves, or in [7] for demodulation of basic AM/FM schemes. Regarding RF signals, previous work on phase noise characterization in tuner devices validated the concept of direct 1-bit sampling [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-Cost EVM Measurement of ZigBee Transmitters From 1-bit Undersampled Acquisition

Vayssade

Azaïs²,

IEEE Trans. Comput.-Aided Des. Integr. Circuits Syst.

et al. 2021

Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) or alternately Offset Error Vector Magnitude (OEVM) is one of the most important performance to verify for RF circuits such as ZigBee transmitters in order to ensure that the quality of the generated modulated-signal complies with the requirements of the wireless communication standard. The conventional solution to measure this performance relies on the use of an Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) equipped with expensive RF channels. This paper presents a low-cost solution that permits to realize EVM measurement using only a standard digital ATE. The approach is based on 1-bit under-sampled acquisition of the RF modulatedsignal by a digital tester channel associated with a specificallytailored processing algorithm. This algorithm involves many different steps that are detailed in this paper, including phase and amplitude fluctuation extraction, RF signal reconstruction, symbol clock recovery, symbol bits detection and synthesis of reference data for EVM calculation. The proposed digital test solution is first evaluated through lab hardware experiments and then validated with EVM measurements on an industrial ATE.