A Build-In Self-Test technique for RF Mixers

Author

Dermentzoglou, Lambros ; Arapoyanni, Angela ; Tsiatouhas, Yiorgos

Author_Institution

Dept. of Inf. & Telecommun., Univ. of Athens, Athens, Greece

fYear

2010

fDate

14-16 April 2010

Firstpage

88

Lastpage

92

Abstract

A Build-In Self-Test (BiST) circuit suitable for embedded RF Mixers in System-on-Chip applications is presented in this paper. This is a defect-oriented test scheme that dynamically sets the Mixer to operate in homodyne mode. The DC level generated at its output is used to control the oscillation frequency of a simple voltage controlled oscillator. Deviations of the oscillation frequency from the expected range of values indicate a defective Mixer. The proposed BiST technique has been applied to a typical receiver´s differential RF Mixer using a 0.35μm CMOS technology. Simulation results validated the efficiency of the BiST circuit which was capable to provide a high fault coverage of catastrophic faults (which exceeds 91%) and a small test application time (1μs), at a silicon area cost approximately 16% of the Mixer area.

Keywords

CMOS integrated circuits; built-in self test; mixers (circuits); oscillations; radiofrequency integrated circuits; system-on-chip; voltage-controlled oscillators; CMOS technology; RF mixers; build-in self-test circuit; build-in self-test technique; defect-oriented test; oscillation frequency; system-on-chip; voltage controlled oscillator; Built-in self-test; CMOS technology; Circuit faults; Circuit simulation; Circuit testing; DC generators; Radio frequency; System-on-a-chip; Voltage control; Voltage-controlled oscillators; Build-in-Self Test; Defect Based Testing; Design for Testability; RF Mixer;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Design and Diagnostics of Electronic Circuits and Systems (DDECS), 2010 IEEE 13th International Symposium on

Conference_Location

Vienna

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-6612-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/DDECS.2010.5491810

Filename

5491810