RF testing system

Abstract

An integrated circuit (IC) is provided. The IC includes an RF transmitter configured to generate an RF signal in response to a command signal from test equipment; an RF receiver configured to generate an evaluation signal according to the RF signal, and report the evaluation signal to the test equipment, so that the test equipment performs a test analysis on the evaluation signal to determine a test result, wherein the test equipment is external to the IC.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 731,845, filed at Nov. 30, 2012, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and in particular to radio frequency (RF) testing systems for semiconductor devices.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Semiconductor devices are manufactured in the form of wafers comprising many thousands of devices. The wafers are diced into dies and packaged into integrated circuits (IC). Each IC has been implemented by integrating more and more digital and analog circuits into a single chip.[0006]Due to the increasing complexity of the testing of integrated RF circuits, to identify the “good” and “bad” ICs during production is a challenging problem for those conducting the wafer-level test or final test. In the traditional testing of RF circuit...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes an integrated circuit (IC) that can communicate with test equipment and perform signal conversion to generate an evaluation signal for testing. The test equipment can then analyze the evaluation signal to determine the test result. This allows for more efficient and accurate testing of RF signals. The technical effect is improved efficiency and accuracy in RF testing.

Problems solved by technology

Due to the increasing complexity of the testing of integrated RF circuits, to identify the “good” and “bad” ICs during production is a challenging problem for those conducting the wafer-level test or final test.

In the traditional testing of RF circuits, what is used is expensive automatic test equipment (ATE), such as UltraFlex or Flex with RF instruments, or equipment used in mixing signals is used for generating an RF test signal (or RF patterns) to a device under test (DUT) and processing RF signals emanating from the DUT, leading to increased cost and time to conduct the tests.

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