On-chip area-efficient spectrum analyzer for testing analog IC

The paper presents an effective approach to the design of on-chip spectrum analyzers based on switched-capacitor (SC) techniques. High programmability resolution is obtained by using a non-uniform sampling scheme without modifying any capacitor value. As a result, capacitor spread and total capacitor area are reduced as compared to traditional solutions and, hence, test area overhead can be minimized. To prove the feasibility of the proposed approach, the design and the implementation of a 0.35 μm CMOS SC spectrum analyzer are discussed. Simulation results confirm that high measurement accuracy can be achieved.