A novel RF self test for a combo SoC on digital ATE with multi-site applications

2021 IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS)

Chehaitly

Azaïs

et al. 2021

In this paper, we explore a digital-based solution for the generation of 2.4GHz OSQSK test stimuli. The objective is to reduce the testing costs of ZigBee receivers by enabling their test on a standard digital Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). The proposed strategy relies on the generation of a modulated square wave signal in the intermediate frequency band using a digital tester channel, and the filtering of one of its harmonics to produce the RF signal. Appropriate modulation format has to be encoded in the square-wave signal so that the typical characteristics of a ZigBee signal are present in the chosen harmonic component. A dedicated pre-processing algorithm has been developed to determine this encoding. The proposed strategy is then evaluated through Matlab simulations, taking into account the practical constraints imposed by a standard digital ATE.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of a digital-based solution for the generation of 2.4GHz OQPSK test stimuli

2021 IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS)

Chehaitly

Azaïs

et al. 2021

“…In [3], a solution based on an additional reference transceiver and an FPGA at board level was proposed to interface with the digital domain of the ATE. In [4], a dedicated self-test processor is embedded into the SoC under test to provide low-frequency digital output. An off-chip direct modulation / demodulation scheme was proposed in [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

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

Azaïs²,

Latorre

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.

“…In [2], a reference transceiver is used to handle test signal generation/reception, accompanied by a FPGA that interfaces the reference transceiver with the digital ATE. In [3], the digital processor embedded in a radio SoC is used to implement a self-test so that only low-speed digital signals have to be processed by the digital ATE. In [4], a digital ATE system is developed for RF devices with QAM single interfaces based on the concept of direct modulation/demodulation with multilevel drivers and comparators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2019 IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS)

Azaïs

Latorre

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.