BIST Driven Power Conscious Post-Manufacture Tuning of Wireless Transceiver Systems Using Hardware-Iterated Gradient Search

In this paper, a fast RF BIST-driven post-manufacture tuning methodology for yield improvement of RF transceiver systems is presented. The core algorithms optimize multiple transceiver performance metrics concurrently using a hardware-iterated gradient search algorithm that uses diagnostic BIST data to guide the tuning of circuit and software level parameters. Intelligent “initial guess” values for the circuit and software tuning knobs at the start of the tuning process allow rapid convergence. Power consumption is given key consideration through the tuning process. Further, self-tuning is performed with little or no external tester support. The viability of the proposed scheme has been demonstrated through an experimental RF hardware prototype. Experimental results demonstrate significant yield recovery while allowing up to 10X savings in test/tuning time.

[1]  Behzad Razavi,et al.  Design considerations for direct-conversion receivers , 1997 .

[2]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Test generation for specification test of analog circuits using efficient test response observation methods , 2005, Microelectron. J..

[3]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Production deployment of a fast transient testing methodology for analog circuits: case study and results , 2003, International Test Conference, 2003. Proceedings. ITC 2003..

[4]  L. Noor,et al.  Direct conversion receiver for radio communication systems , 2005, IEEE Potentials.

[5]  Madhavan Swaminathan,et al.  A novel self-healing methodology for RF Amplifier circuits based on oscillation principles , 2012, 2009 Design, Automation & Test in Europe Conference & Exhibition.

[6]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Low-cost production testing of wireless transmitters , 2006, 19th International Conference on VLSI Design held jointly with 5th International Conference on Embedded Systems Design (VLSID'06).

[7]  S. Bhattacharya,et al.  Production test technique for measuring BER of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[8]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Alternate Diagnostic Testing and Compensation of RF Transmitter Performance Using Response Detection , 2007, 25th IEEE VLSI Test Symposium (VTS'07).

[9]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Fast specification test of TDMA power amplifiers using transient current measurements , 2005 .

[10]  A.A. Abidi,et al.  Power-conscious design of wireless circuits and systems , 2000, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[11]  Tim Schenk,et al.  RF Imperfections in High-rate Wireless Systems: Impact and Digital Compensation , 2008 .

[12]  J. Freidman,et al.  Multivariate adaptive regression splines , 1991 .

[13]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Low-cost parametric test and diagnosis of RF systems using multi-tone response envelope detection , 2007, IET Comput. Digit. Tech..

[14]  Tejasvi Das,et al.  Self-calibration of gain and output match in LNAs , 2006, 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[15]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  EVM Testing of Wireless OFDM Transceivers Using Intelligent Back-End Digital Signal Processing Algorithms , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Test Conference.

[16]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  DSP-Driven Self-Tuning of RF Circuits for Process-Induced Performance Variability , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems.

[17]  Sule Ozev,et al.  Digital calibration of RF transceivers for I-Q imbalances and nonlinearity , 2007, 2007 25th International Conference on Computer Design.

[18]  Abhijit Chatterjee,et al.  Alternate Testing of RF Transceivers Using Optimized Test Stimulus for Accurate Prediction of System Specifications , 2005, J. Electron. Test..