Programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of radio frequency chip testing, particularly relates to an automatic testing system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip, and aims to solve the problems that an existing testing system cannot meet the requirements of configuring and testing a to-be-tested chip in real time and cannot ensure the accuracy and stability of radio frequency parameter testing. The system comprises a controller and a test instrument which are integrated in a PXI case; the software control system runs in the controller; an input port and an output port of the radio frequency switch are respectively connected with the test instrument and the test adapter plate through radio frequency cables. The test adapter plate is respectively connected with the chip to be tested, the test instrument and the radio frequency switch array; the digital relay array is distributed and integrated on the test adapter plate; the digital relay array is respectively connected with a relay driver and a chip to be tested in the test instrument; and the chip control module is used for transmitting and receiving control instructions through the LAN interface and the controller. According to the system, the chip to be tested can be configured and tested in real time, and the accuracy and the stability of radio frequency parameter testing are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of radio frequency chip testing, and in particular relates to an automatic testing system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip. Background Art

[0002] As the core part of wireless communication systems, programmable RF transceiver chips are widely used in phased array radar, satellite communications, drone reconnaissance and other fields, and have extremely important application prospects in future information warfare and electronic warfare. Programmable RF transceiver chips are highly integrated, including multiple digital, analog and RF modules and multiple working modes. During the testing of programmable RF transceiver chips, the test functions cover various dynamic and static parameters such as ADC, DAC, RF link, SPI, etc. During the testing process, not only the instrument needs to be controlled, but also the chip working mode needs to be configured in real time. The test process of each test item is relatively independent, which greatly increases the time cost of test program development and the test process.

[0003] The representative production test equipment in the field is ATE (Automated Test Equipment), such as Advantest V93K and Teradyne ULTRA. ATE can perform functional and reliability tests on digital and analog circuits, but it cannot meet the requirements of real-time configuration and testing of the chip under test, resulting in only testing of specific working modes of the chip under test, and low coverage of RF parameter testing; at the same time, the RF boards of Advantest V93K and Teradyne ULTRA are expensive and the system itself has high noise, which cannot guarantee the accuracy and stability of RF parameter testing. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the above problems in the prior art, that is, to solve the problem that the existing programmable RF transceiver chip test system cannot meet the requirements of real-time configuration and testing of the chip to be tested and cannot ensure the accuracy and stability of RF parameter testing, the present invention proposes a programmable RF transceiver chip automatic test system, which includes: a controller, a test instrument, a software control system, a RF switch, a test adapter board, a digital relay array, a chip control module, and a chip to be tested;

[0005] The controller and the test instrument are integrated in a PXI chassis; the software control system runs in the controller;

[0006] The RF switch is composed of a multi-channel RF switch array, and the input and output ports of the RF switch are respectively connected to the test instrument and the test adapter board through RF cables;

[0007] The test adapter board is respectively connected to the chip to be tested, the test instrument, and the RF switch array through RF cables;

[0008] The digital relay array is distributed and integrated on the test adapter board; the digital relay array is respectively connected to the relay driver in the test instrument and the chip to be tested;

[0009] The chip control module sends and receives control instructions with the controller via a LAN interface.

[0010] In some preferred embodiments, the controller is a PXI controller board, and the devices integrated on the PXI controller board include a CPU, a hard disk drive, a RAM, an Ethernet port, a video output interface, a keyboard interface, a mouse interface, a serial port, and a USB interface.

[0011] In some preferred embodiments, the test instrument includes a spectrum analyzer, a radio frequency signal source, a precision power supply, a relay driver, a digital multimeter, and an oscilloscope;

[0012] The precision power supply, the relay driver, the digital multimeter, and the oscilloscope are all connected to the test adapter board via a PXIe connector;

[0013] The RF signal source and the spectrum analyzer are both connected to the input end of the RF switch by a coaxial cable; the output end of the RF switch is connected to the RF input / output port of the chip to be tested by a coaxial cable;

[0014] The spectrum analyzer is used to test the power and / or frequency characteristics of the chip under test; the frequency characteristics include signal frequency and nonlinear frequency;

[0015] The radio frequency signal source provides radio frequency signal input for the chip to be tested;

[0016] The precision power supply provides power to the chip under test and the chip control module and tests the power consumption of the chip under test;

[0017] The digital multimeter is used to test the level of the pin output of the chip to be tested;

[0018] The oscilloscope is used to test the logic input and output interface and SPI timing parameters of the chip to be tested.

[0019] In some preferred embodiments, the software control system includes a power management unit, a chip control unit, an instrument control unit, a radio frequency switch control unit, and a data processing unit;

[0020] The power management unit is used to control the precision power supply on the test instrument;

[0021] The instrument control unit is used to transmit instructions to the board of the test instrument via the PXI bus to control the test instrument; that is, to control the relay driver, the digital multimeter, the oscilloscope, the spectrum analyzer, and the radio frequency signal source;

[0022] The chip control unit is used to communicate with the FPGA to configure the working mode and parameters of the chip to be tested;

[0023] The RF switch control unit generates control instructions using Labview, and sends and receives control instructions with the RF switch through the STM32 control board;

[0024] The data processing unit is used to save the test data of the chip to be tested into a table file and perform data analysis.

[0025] In some preferred embodiments, the RF switch includes 1-8, 1-4, and 1-2 RF switch matrices; the RF switch frequency range is DC-18 GHz; the input end of the RF switch is connected to the test instrument, and the output end of the RF switch is connected to the test adapter board; the controller sends and receives control instructions with the RF switch through the STM32 control board, controls the on and off of the RF switch, and realizes switching of different paths from the spectrum analyzer, the RF signal source to the RF input and output ports of the chip to be tested.

[0026] In some preferred embodiments, the digital relay array is connected to the relay driver via a PXIe connector, and the relay driver provides a control signal to control the on and off of the relay array.

[0027] In some preferred implementations, the chip control module is an FPGA including a processor and a dedicated I / O; the chip control module controls and communicates with the chip to be tested via an SPI, LVDS or CMOS interface.

[0028] In some preferred embodiments, the test adapter board is a PCB board; the test adapter board integrates a chip test socket, a PXIe interface and an SMA interface; the chip to be tested is arranged in the chip test socket;

[0029] The PXIe interface is used to connect the test adapter board with the precision power supply, the relay driver, the digital multimeter, and the oscilloscope; the SMA interface is connected with the radio frequency switch.

[0030] In some preferred embodiments, the chip to be tested includes a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip.

[0031] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0032] The present invention can configure and test the chip to be tested in real time, complete the test using a parallel testing method, improve the test coverage and test efficiency, as well as the accuracy and stability of radio frequency parameter testing, and further achieve effective improvement of the chip to be tested based on the test results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Other features, objects and advantages of the present application will become more apparent by reading the detailed description of non-limiting embodiments made with reference to the following drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 is a software structure block diagram of a chip control module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 The present invention is a schematic diagram of a test flow of a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of the present invention, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] The present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the relevant invention, rather than to limit the invention. It is also necessary to explain that, for ease of description, only the parts related to the relevant invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0039] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other.

[0040] A programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system of the present invention comprises: a controller, a test instrument, a software control system, a radio frequency switch, a test adapter board, a digital relay array, a chip control module, and a chip to be tested;

[0041] The controller and the test instrument are integrated in a PXI chassis; the software control system runs in the controller;

[0042] The RF switch is composed of a multi-channel RF switch array, and the input and output ports of the RF switch are respectively connected to the test instrument and the test adapter board through RF cables;

[0043] The test adapter board is respectively connected to the chip to be tested, the test instrument, and the RF switch array through RF cables;

[0044] The digital relay array is distributed and integrated on the test adapter board; the digital relay array is respectively connected to the relay driver in the test instrument and the chip to be tested;

[0045] The chip control module sends and receives control instructions with the controller via a LAN interface.

[0046] In order to more clearly illustrate a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system of the present invention, each module in an embodiment of the system of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] A programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic testing system of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the system includes: a controller, a test instrument, a software control system, a radio frequency switch, a test adapter board, a digital relay array, a chip control module, and a chip to be tested;

[0048] Both the controller and the test instrument are in the form of boards based on the PXI bus and are integrated into a PXI chassis, which provides power and communication bus for the controller and the test instrument.

[0049] The controller is a PXI high-performance embedded controller board, which integrates CPU, hard disk drive, RAM, Ethernet port, video output, keyboard / mouse interface, serial port, USB and other peripheral devices. The operating system is preferably Windows system;

[0050] The software control system runs in the controller, is written based on the Labview environment, and controls the operation of the entire test system. It includes a power management unit, a chip control unit, an instrument control unit, a radio frequency switch control unit, and a data processing unit. The power management unit and the instrument control unit are both developed using the VISA protocol; the power management unit is used to control the precision power supply on the test instrument; the instrument control unit transmits instructions to the test instrument board via the PXI bus to achieve instrument control and data acquisition functions;

[0051] The RF switch control unit uses Labview to generate control instructions, and sends and receives control instructions through the STM32 control board and the RF switch array control device (i.e., RF switch); the chip control unit is written in function code for communication between the controller and FPGA, and directly communicates with the FPGA in automated testing to realize the working mode and parameter configuration of the chip under test; the data processing unit saves the test data to a spreadsheet file and performs data analysis, thereby improving the performance of the chip under test.

[0052] All test instruments are in the form of PXI boards, integrated in the PXI chassis, including spectrum analyzers, RF signal sources, precision power supplies, relay drivers, digital multimeters, and oscilloscopes. The test instruments communicate with the controller through the PXI bus. The precision power supply, relay driver, digital multimeter, and oscilloscope are connected to the test adapter board through the PXIe connector; the RF signal source and spectrum analyzer are connected to the input end of the RF switch array using coaxial cables, and the output end of the RF switch array is connected to the RF input / output port of the chip under test using coaxial cables. The spectrum analyzer is used to test frequency characteristics such as signal power, frequency, and nonlinearity. The RF signal source provides RF signal input for the chip under test. The precision power supply provides power to the chip under test and the chip control module and tests the chip power consumption. The digital multimeter is used to test the chip pin output level, and the oscilloscope is used to test the logic input and output interface and SPI timing parameters.

[0053] The RF switch is composed of a multi-channel RF switch array, which is an RF switch array control device, including 1-8, 1-4, and 1-2 RF switch matrices. The RF switch frequency range is DC-18GHz. The input end of the RF switch is connected to the test instrument, and the output end of the RF switch is connected to the test adapter board. The controller sends and receives control instructions with the RF switch array control device through the STM32 control board to control the on and off of the RF switch, and realizes the switching of different paths from the spectrum analyzer, RF signal source to the RF input and output ports of the chip under test (that is, controlling the switching of RF signal paths).

[0054] The digital relay array is distributed and integrated on the test adapter board and connected to the relay driver through the PXIe connector. The relay driver outputs a control signal to control the on / off of the relay array (or signal path switching).

[0055] The chip control module is an embedded system control motherboard, such as Figure 2As shown in FIG. 2 (where SOM (system on module) represents an embedded system control motherboard, i.e., a hardware board), specifically, an FPGA including a processor and dedicated I / O, which controls and communicates with the chip under test through SPI and LVDS / CMOS interfaces. The software structure includes a Linux RT application and FPGA code. The Linux RT application is generated by the driver file of the chip under test, and the FPGA code is used to implement the interface communication of LVDS and CMOS. The controller uses a dynamic link library to encapsulate the function of communicating with the FPGA, and Labview is used to call the dynamic link library file to directly communicate with the FPGA during the test to realize the real-time configuration of the chip under test.

[0056] The test adapter board is a PCB board that integrates a chip test socket, a PXIe interface, and an SMA interface. The chip to be tested is placed in the chip test socket to realize power supply and electrical signal input and output between the chip to be tested and the test adapter board; the PXIe interface is used to connect the test adapter board with a precision power supply, relay driver, digital multimeter, and oscilloscope; the SMA interface is connected to the RF switch.

[0057] The chip to be tested includes a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip.

[0058] In addition, the specific operation process of a programmable RF transceiver chip automatic test system is divided into three steps, namely, hardware connection, execution of automatic test program, and test data analysis;

[0059] Step 1: Hardware connection. The controller and test instrument are both in the form of PXI bus-based boards, integrated in the PXI chassis. The controller controls and communicates with the test instrument through the PXI bus. The precision power supply, relay driver, digital multimeter, and oscilloscope are connected to the test adapter board through the PXIe connector; the RF signal source and spectrum analyzer are connected to the input of the RF switch array using coaxial cables, and the output of the RF switch array is connected to the RF input / output port of the chip under test using coaxial cables.

[0060] Step 2: Execute the automatic test process. The automatic test system process of a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip of the present invention is as follows: Figure 3 As shown. It includes the following steps:

[0061] Step 301, check the hardware connection of the test system, the controller and the test instrument, and the chip control module complete the handshake action to confirm that they can communicate normally;

[0062] Step 302: Power on the chip control module, execute the driver file of the chip to be tested, and check whether the chip control module works normally. The tester needs to send instructions to the chip control module through the LAN interface on the controller side to execute the driver file of the chip to be tested and confirm that the driver file is executed normally;

[0063] Step 303, input the parameter information to be tested. The tester selects the parameters to be tested in the software control system and inputs the test time, operating temperature, chip number and other information;

[0064] Step 304, placing the chip to be tested in a chip socket (i.e., a chip test socket);

[0065] Step 305: Control the precision power supply to power on the chip under test and check whether the chip under test works normally. The tester operates the power management unit in the software control system to execute the chip power-on option, operates the chip control unit in the software control system to perform the initialization operation, and confirms that the chip has completed initialization;

[0066] Step 306, configure the working mode of the chip under test. According to the test parameters selected in step 303, the tester operates the chip control unit in the software control system to configure the chip under test, including configuration parameters such as working mode, working spectrum, gain value, attenuation value, etc.;

[0067] Step 307, control the RF switch to switch to the corresponding channel. The RF switch control unit in the operating software control system generates a control instruction, sends the control instruction to the RF switch array control device through the STM32 control board, and establishes a path from the spectrum analyzer, the RF signal source to the RF input / output port of the chip under test;

[0068] Step 308, control the test instrument to perform relevant tests and collect data. The instrument control unit in the operating software system controls the spectrum analyzer, RF signal source, digital multimeter, oscilloscope and other instruments to perform relevant parameter tests. By using the multi-tasking processing capability of Labview, control instructions can be sent to multiple test instruments at the same time to perform tests, such as collecting data of analog parameters such as voltage and current and RF parameters at the same time, and transmitting the test data to the data processing unit;

[0069] Step 309, test result determination. The data processing unit determines whether the test data meets the index requirements, and saves each test data and the corresponding determination result into a table file;

[0070] Step 310, the test is finished, all parameters of the current programmable RF chip are tested, and the process returns to step 303 to start the next chip test;

[0071] Step 3: Test data analysis. After the test is completed, the test data can be further statistically analyzed, including drawing the RF parameter frequency characteristic curve, voltage characteristic curve, and data comparison under different chip working modes, and then improving the corresponding functions of the chip under test based on the comparison data, such as RF.

[0072] In summary, the present invention can realize real-time configuration and testing of the chip to be tested, complete the test using a parallel testing method, improve test coverage and test efficiency, and improve the accuracy and stability of RF parameter testing.

[0073] It should be noted that the programmable RF transceiver chip automatic test system provided in the above embodiment is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules. In practical applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the modules or steps in the embodiments of the present invention can be decomposed or combined. For example, the modules in the above embodiment can be combined into one module, or further divided into multiple sub-modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The names of the modules and steps involved in the embodiments of the present invention are only for distinguishing the modules or steps, and are not regarded as improper limitations of the present invention.

[0074] Those skilled in the art should be able to appreciate that the modules and method steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented with electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two, and the programs corresponding to the software modules and method steps can be placed in random access memory (RAM), internal memory, read-only memory (ROM), electrically programmable ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the technical field. In order to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of electronic hardware and software, the composition and steps of each example have been generally described in the above description according to the function. Whether these functions are performed in electronic hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present invention.

[0075] The terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects rather than to describe or indicate a particular order or sequence.

[0076] The term "comprise" or any other similar term is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus / device that includes a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus / device.

[0077] So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the protection scope of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the principle of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make equivalent changes or substitutions to the relevant technical features, and the technical solutions after these changes or substitutions will fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system, characterized in that: The system includes: a controller, a test instrument, a software control system, a radio frequency switch, a test adapter board, a digital relay array, a chip control module, and a chip to be tested; The controller and the test instrument are integrated in a PXI chassis; the software control system runs in the controller; The RF switch is composed of a multi-channel RF switch array, and the input and output ports of the RF switch are respectively connected to the test instrument and the test adapter board through RF cables; The test adapter board is respectively connected to the chip to be tested, the test instrument, and the RF switch array through RF cables; The digital relay array is distributed and integrated on the test adapter board; the digital relay array is respectively connected to the relay driver in the test instrument and the chip to be tested; The chip control module sends and receives control instructions with the controller via a LAN interface.

2. The programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller is a PXI controller board, and the devices integrated on the PXI controller board include a CPU, a hard disk drive, a RAM, an Ethernet port, a video output interface, a keyboard interface, a mouse interface, a serial port, and a USB interface.

3. The programmable radio frequency transceiver chip automatic test system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The test instrument includes a spectrum analyzer, a radio frequency signal source, a precision power supply, a relay driver, a digital multimeter, and an oscilloscope; The precision power supply, the relay driver, the digital multimeter, and the oscilloscope are all connected to the test adapter board via a PXIe connector; The RF signal source and the spectrum analyzer are both connected to the input end of the RF switch by a coaxial cable; the output end of the RF switch is connected to the RF input / output port of the chip to be tested by a coaxial cable; The spectrum analyzer is used to test the power and / or frequency characteristics of the chip under test; the frequency characteristics include signal frequency and nonlinear frequency; The radio frequency signal source provides radio frequency signal input for the chip to be tested; The precision power supply provides power to the chip under test and the chip control module and tests the power consumption of the chip under test; The digital multimeter is used to test the level of the pin output of the chip to be tested; The oscilloscope is used to test the logic input and output interface and SPI timing parameters of the chip to be tested.

4. The automatic test system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip according to claim 3, characterized in that: The software control system includes a power management unit, a chip control unit, an instrument control unit, a radio frequency switch control unit, and a data processing unit; The power management unit is used to control the precision power supply on the test instrument; The instrument control unit is used to transmit instructions to the board of the test instrument via the PXI bus to control the test instrument; that is, to control the relay driver, the digital multimeter, the oscilloscope, the spectrum analyzer, and the radio frequency signal source; The chip control unit is used to communicate with the FPGA to configure the working mode and parameters of the chip to be tested; The RF switch control unit generates control instructions using Labview, and sends and receives control instructions with the RF switch through the STM32 control board; The data processing unit is used to save the test data of the chip to be tested into a table file and perform data analysis.

5. The automatic test system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip according to claim 4, characterized in that: The RF switch includes 1-8, 1-4, and 1-2 RF switch matrices; the RF switch frequency range is DC-18GHz; the input end of the RF switch is connected to the test instrument, and the output end of the RF switch is connected to the test adapter board; the controller sends and receives control instructions with the RF switch through the STM32 control board, controls the on and off of the RF switch, and realizes switching of different paths from the spectrum analyzer, the RF signal source to the RF input and output ports of the chip to be tested.

6. The automatic test system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip according to claim 5, characterized in that: The digital relay array is connected to the relay driver via a PXIe connector, and the relay driver provides a control signal to control the on and off of the relay array.

7. The automatic test system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip according to claim 6, characterized in that: The chip control module is an FPGA including a processor and a dedicated I / O; the chip control module controls and communicates with the chip to be tested via an SPI, LVDS or CMOS interface.

8. The automatic test system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip according to claim 7, characterized in that: The test adapter board is a PCB board; the test adapter board integrates a chip test socket, a PXIe interface and an SMA interface; the chip to be tested is arranged in the chip test socket; The PXIe interface is used to connect the test adapter board with the precision power supply, the relay driver, the digital multimeter, and the oscilloscope; the SMA interface is connected with the radio frequency switch.

9. The automatic test system for a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip according to claim 8, characterized in that: The chip to be tested includes a programmable radio frequency transceiver chip.

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