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A Low-Cost Test Methodology for Dynamic Specification Testing of High-Speed Data Converters

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Abstract

Testing high-speed A/D converters for dynamic specifications needs test equipment running at high frequency. In this paper, a methodology to test high-speed A/D converters using low-frequency resources is described. It is based on the alternate testing approach. In the proposed methodology, models are built to map the signatures of an initial set of devices, obtained on the proposed low-cost test set-up, to the dynamic specifications of the same devices, obtained using high-precision test equipment. During production testing, the devices are tested on the low-cost test set-up. The dynamic specifications of the devices are estimated by capturing their signatures on the low cost test set-up and processing them with the pre-developed models. As opposed to the conventional method of dynamic specification testing of data converters, the proposed approach does not require the tester resources running at a frequency higher than the device-under-test (DUT). The test methodology was verified in simulations as well as in hardware with specification estimation error of less than 5%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Shalabh Goyal & Abhijit Chatterjee

  2. National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA, USA

    Michael Purtell

Authors
  1. Shalabh Goyal
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  2. Abhijit Chatterjee
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  3. Michael Purtell
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Correspondence to Shalabh Goyal.

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Editor: S. Mir

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Goyal, S., Chatterjee, A. & Purtell, M. A Low-Cost Test Methodology for Dynamic Specification Testing of High-Speed Data Converters. J Electron Test 23, 95–106 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-006-9523-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-006-9523-5

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