Low Cost Implementation of RF Power Amplifier Testing

The recent growth and demand of wireless communications has created an overwhelming demand for low cost and high performance RF components. Test cost of RF components contributes a significant portion of the total cost and remains to be a major bottleneck of RF component manufacturing. This paper presents a unique approach of reducing test cost of RF Power Amplifier manufacturing test. A rack and stack test system is been developed by implementing low cost RF components, logarithmic amplifier and PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) based DAQ (data acquisition) system. Result shows that with this test methodology for high density and capacity of RF Power Amplifier testing, test system cost is significantly reduced without the expense of sacrificing the accuracy of measurements. At the same time, this methodology achieves better test repeatability and improves test time of RF Power Amplifier testing which is a critical aspect to maximize the production throughput in this increasingly competitive industry.