Load-pull test method, system and storage medium for manual tuner

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of load-pull test, and discloses a load-pull test method, system and storage medium for a manual tuner, wherein the method comprises: in response to a load-pull test instruction of a target user, controlling the signal source to turn on, performing calculations based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device under test, obtaining the drain efficiency of the device under test, and then obtaining the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator, and finally performing calculations based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter, obtaining the power value of the device under test. The power value and drain efficiency of the device under test can be accurately tested, thereby improving the effect of the load-pull test.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of load-pull testing of manual tuners, and in particular to a load-pull testing method, system and storage medium for a manual tuner. Background Art

[0002] Microwave power amplifiers are the main components of radio frequency systems. They are used at the end of transmitters to radiate high power and are widely used in communications and radar fields. According to the design process classification, the current radio frequency power amplifiers are mainly divided into three types of manufacturing technologies, namely power transistor external matching, monolithic integrated circuits, and hybrid integrated circuit process technologies to achieve chip design. Regardless of the design implementation process, the design of the core power tube is one of the most important factors in realizing product design. Since the device is in a nonlinear state under high power, in order to obtain the best impedance matching point, a load pull test method is required.

[0003] Load-pull test technology is widely used in the output matching design of driver amplifiers and power amplifiers. With the continuous improvement of EDA modeling technology, load-pull simulation can be performed using conventional commercial EDA software. However, when some high-power devices are used, the design of the power tube unit cell has a great impact on the efficiency index and frequency response index, and load-pull testing is still required.

[0004] In applications where the output power level is less than 3W, a probe can usually be used to connect the chip to an external test system for testing. When the output power is high, the PAD size is usually too large to be tested with a probe. In addition, the probe test usually requires a power of no more than 5W. When using a probe to test the power tube, a bias tee is added to the outside of the tuner. The power tolerance of a standard bias tee is usually low, so a separate bias circuit needs to be designed for high-power testing.

[0005] The industry has mature and available test fixture solutions for load-pull testing of packaged power tubes. The fixture carrier can be selected according to the size of different packaged chips. This is because the outer shells of power tube shells on the market tend to be uniform and relatively fixed. In the design of internal matching devices implemented in some hybrid integrated circuit process designs, it is necessary to accurately obtain the impedance parameters of the power tube die. There are large differences in the power tube designs of various design manufacturers, so customized fixtures are required when testing power tube dies. Summary of the invention

[0006] Based on this, it is necessary to address the technical problem that the load-pull test effect of the prior art is poor, and propose a load-pull test method, a load-pull test system and a storage medium for a manual tuner.

[0007] In a first aspect, a load-pull test method for a manual tuner is provided, which is applied to a load-pull test system, wherein the load-pull test system comprises a signal source, a driving amplifier, an isolator, a first DC block, a TRL calibration fixture of a microstrip structure, a manual tuner, a second DC block, an attenuator, and a power meter connected in sequence, wherein the TRL calibration fixture of the microstrip structure clamps a device under test and is connected to the device under test through a microstrip, and the device under test is powered by a DC regulated power supply;

[0008] The load-pull test method of the manual tuner comprises:

[0009] In response to a load-pull test instruction from a target user, the signal source is controlled to be turned on, a power value of a power meter and a drain current value of a device under test are obtained, and a calculation is performed based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device under test to obtain a drain efficiency of the device under test, wherein the device under test has a small signal gain of a preset size, and the reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point;

[0010] Obtain the S parameter data of both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator;

[0011] The power value of the device under test is obtained by calculation based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter.

[0012] In a second aspect, a load-pull test system is provided, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the steps of the load-pull test method for the manual tuner when executing the computer program.

[0013] In a third aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the load-pull test method of the manual tuner are implemented.

[0014] The load-pull test method of the manual tuner proposed by the present invention controls the signal source to be turned on by responding to the load-pull test instruction of the target user, obtains the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device to be tested, and calculates based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device to be tested to obtain the drain efficiency of the device to be tested, wherein the device to be tested has a small signal gain of a preset size, and the reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point, and then obtains the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator, and finally calculates based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator, and the power value of the power meter to obtain the power value of the device to be tested. The present invention can accurately test the power value and drain efficiency of the device to be tested, and improves the effect of the load-pull test. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0016] in:

[0017] Figure 1 A diagram showing an application environment of a load-pull test method for a manual tuner in one embodiment;

[0018] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a load-pull test method for a manual tuner in one embodiment;

[0019] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a boss of a manual tuner in one embodiment;

[0020] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of target S parameter calculation of a manual tuner in one embodiment;

[0021] Figure 5 is a structural block diagram of a load traction test system in one embodiment;

[0022] Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a structural block diagram of a load pull test system in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by technicians in the technical field of the present application; the terms used in the specification of the application herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application; the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application or the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order.

[0024] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0025] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of 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.

[0026] The load-pull test method for a manual tuner provided in an embodiment of the present invention can be applied in the following aspects: Figure 1 In the load traction test system, the load traction test system can be directly or indirectly connected to the server through wired or wireless communication. The server can be an independent physical server, or a server cluster or distributed system composed of multiple physical servers. It can also be a cloud server that provides basic cloud computing services such as cloud services, cloud databases, cloud computing, cloud functions, cloud storage, network services, cloud communications, middleware services, domain name services, security services, CDN, and big data and artificial intelligence platforms. This application does not limit this. Reference Figure 1 The load-pull test system specifically includes a signal source, a driving amplifier, an isolator, a first DC block, a microstrip structure TRL calibration fixture, a manual tuner, a second DC block, an attenuator and a power meter connected in sequence, wherein the microstrip structure TRL calibration fixture clamps the device under test and is connected to the device under test through a microstrip, and the device under test is powered by a DC regulated power supply.

[0027] See also Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2A flow chart of a load-pull test method for a manual tuner provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0028] Step S101: 1. A load-pull test method for a manual tuner, characterized in that it is applied to a load-pull test system, the load-pull test system comprising a signal source, a driving amplifier, an isolator, a first DC block, a TRL calibration fixture of a microstrip structure, a manual tuner, a second DC block, an attenuator and a power meter connected in sequence, wherein the TRL calibration fixture of the microstrip structure clamps a device to be tested and is connected to the device to be tested via a microstrip, and the device to be tested is powered by a DC regulated power supply;

[0029] The load-pull test method of the manual tuner comprises:

[0030] Step S101: in response to a load-pull test instruction from a target user, the signal source is controlled to be turned on, a power value of a power meter and a drain current value of a device under test are obtained, and a calculation is performed based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device under test to obtain a drain efficiency of the device under test, wherein the device under test has a small signal gain of a preset size, and the reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point;

[0031] In one embodiment, the device under test can be a bare chip, and the load-pull test interface needs to be strictly at the device output, converting the conventional coaxial test port into a microstrip structure TRL calibration fixture. In order to meet the high-frequency test of the device, the length of the bonding wire should be shortened as much as possible when installing the device under test on the TRL calibration fixture. Figure 3 In order to compensate for the height difference between the bare chip and the PCB of the TRL calibration fixture, the DUT is positioned for welding. A boss design is adopted on the metal structure. The design of the PCB and the boss needs to ensure that the upper surface of the bare chip and the PCB are at the same height. The DUT is located above the boss and clamped by the PCBs on both sides. In order to achieve a good connection between the DUT and the metal structure, gold is plated on the boss of the copper metal structure, and the device is directly installed by gold-tin welding. In order to ensure good welding quality, the surface of the metal structure boss is gold-plated>3um.

[0032] In one embodiment, before the test, the input end needs to be simply matched and debugged to ensure that the device under test installed on the fixture has sufficient gain to complete the test. Before the test, it is necessary to have a rough judgment on the impedance value of the device under test. If the impedance data is difficult to determine, you can first refer to the competing products for a preliminary judgment of the impedance data, and select 5-6 points around the value for testing. The device under test is subjected to gain debugging at the test frequency on the TRL calibration fixture to obtain a small signal gain greater than 15dB. This matching step is to enable the power tube die to have sufficient gain to meet the test needs. The reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on the preset impedance point when the manual tuner, the second DC block, the attenuator and the power meter are connected in sequence.

[0033] As an example, 5-6 points can be selected for preliminary impedance point selection by referring to the simulation or impedance data of competing products with similar processes. After the impedance points are obtained by calculation or simulation, the reflection coefficient of the tuner is manually adjusted based on the impedance points (that is, the impedance seen from the surface of the device under test reaches the preset impedance point).

[0034] Step S102: acquiring S parameter data of both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, S parameter data of the attenuator, S parameter data of the manual tuner, and reflection coefficient of the attenuator;

[0035] In one embodiment, the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture are calculated using an 8-item error model, the S parameter data of the manual tuner are measured using a vector network analyzer when the manual tuner, the second DC block, the attenuator and the power meter are connected in sequence, and the S parameter data of the attenuator and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator are tested by the vector network analyzer.

[0036] Step S103: Calculate based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter to obtain the power value of the device under test.

[0037] In one embodiment, the target loss is calculated based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator; the power value of the device under test is obtained by calculation based on the target loss and the power value of the power meter.

[0038] In this embodiment, the power loss is mainly composed of three parts, 1 is the loss of the attenuator, 2 is the loss of the manual tuner, and 3 is the loss of the fixture output part, that is, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture. The losses of these three parts can be calculated by formulas. It should be clear that the S parameters of these three parts need to be tested before calibrating the attenuator, and then the losses of each level are calculated using the following formula. The multi-level cascade can be programmed and calculated in matlab mathematical calculation software. In addition to calculation, EDA software can also be used for simulation, import the S2P files of the three parts, and use Pprobe readings to obtain the loss at the output end. This completes the test of an impedance point.

[0039] As an example, when using a power meter for load-pull testing, the power at the output of the device cannot be read directly, and it is necessary to reversely infer from the reading of the power meter that the power at the output of the device under test is transmitted to the power sensor through three levels of loss. When calculating the actual power value, it is necessary to perform de-embedding calculations, convert the three-level S parameter data into an ABCD matrix, and then cascade the ABCD matrix and convert the ABCD matrix into S parameters. Figure 4 That is to say, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner (S2), and the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture (S3) are respectively converted into ABCD matrices (ABCD1, ABCD2, ABCD3), and then the ABCD matrices are cascaded to obtain the target ABCD matrix, and then the target ABCD matrix is ​​converted into the target S parameter.

[0040] When using the formula for calculation, each S parameter data uses the target S parameter S obtained by cascade calculation. 21 , Γ L Uses data from attenuator input cable testing.

[0041]

[0042] Among them, Loss is the total loss, is the total loss expressed in decibels, Γ L is 1, Γ in is the reflection coefficient of the attenuator, S 21 is the target S parameter.

[0043] In one embodiment, a load traction test system is provided. The load traction test system may be a server, and its internal structure diagram may be as shown in FIG. Figure 5As shown. The load traction test system includes a processor, a memory, a network interface and a database connected through a system bus. Among them, the processor of the load traction test system is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the load traction test system includes a non-volatile and / or volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system, a computer program and a database. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The network interface of the load traction test system is used to communicate with an external client through a network connection. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the functions or steps on the server side of a load traction test method for a manual tuner.

[0044] In one embodiment, a load traction test system is provided. The load traction test system may be a client, and its internal structure diagram may be as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown. The load traction test system includes a processor, a memory, a network interface, a display screen and an input device connected through a system bus. Among them, the processor of the load traction test system is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the load traction test system includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system and a computer program. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The network interface of the load traction test system is used to communicate with an external server through a network connection. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the functions or steps on the client side of a load traction test method for a manual tuner.

[0045] In one embodiment, a load pull test system is provided, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the following steps when executing the computer program:

[0046] In response to a load-pull test instruction from a target user, the signal source is controlled to be turned on, a power value of a power meter and a drain current value of a device under test are obtained, and a calculation is performed based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device under test to obtain a drain efficiency of the device under test, wherein the device under test has a small signal gain of a preset size, and the reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point;

[0047] Obtain the S parameter data of both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator;

[0048] The power value of the device under test is obtained by calculation based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter.

[0049] The present invention can accurately test the power value and drain efficiency of the device to be tested, thereby improving the effect of the load-pull test.

[0050] In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented:

[0051] In response to a load-pull test instruction from a target user, the signal source is controlled to be turned on, a power value of a power meter and a drain current value of a device under test are obtained, and a calculation is performed based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device under test to obtain a drain efficiency of the device under test, wherein the device under test has a small signal gain of a preset size, and the reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point;

[0052] Obtain the S parameter data of both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator;

[0053] The power value of the device under test is obtained by calculation based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter.

[0054] The present invention can accurately test the power value and drain efficiency of the device to be tested, thereby improving the effect of the load-pull test.

[0055] It should be noted that the functions or steps that can be implemented by the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium or load traction test system can be correspondingly referred to the relevant descriptions on the server side and the client side in the aforementioned method embodiment. In order to avoid repetition, they will not be described one by one here.

[0056] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application can include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link (Synchlink) DRAM (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM).

[0057] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional units and modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be distributed and completed by different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0058] The embodiments described above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A load-pull test method for a manual tuner, characterized in that: The load-pull test system is applied to a load-pull test system, which includes a signal source, a driving amplifier, an isolator, a first DC block, a TRL calibration fixture of a microstrip structure, a manual tuner, a second DC block, an attenuator, and a power meter connected in sequence, wherein the TRL calibration fixture of the microstrip structure clamps the device to be tested and is connected to the device to be tested through a microstrip, and the device to be tested is powered by a DC regulated power supply; The load-pull test method of the manual tuner comprises: In response to a load-pull test instruction from a target user, the signal source is controlled to be turned on, a power value of a power meter and a drain current value of a device under test are obtained, and a calculation is performed based on the power value of the power meter and the drain current value of the device under test to obtain a drain efficiency of the device under test, wherein the device under test has a small signal gain of a preset size, and the reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point; Obtain the S parameter data of both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator; The power value of the device under test is obtained by calculation based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter.

2. The load-pull test method of a manual tuner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device under test is subjected to gain adjustment at a test frequency on a TRL calibration fixture to obtain a small signal gain greater than 15 dB.

3. The load-pull test method of a manual tuner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture are calculated using an 8-item error model.

4. The load-pull test method of a manual tuner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The S parameter data of the manual tuner is measured by a vector network analyzer when the manual tuner, the second DC block, the attenuator, and the power meter are connected in sequence.

5. The load-pull test method of a manual tuner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reflection coefficient of the manual tuner is adjusted based on a preset impedance point when the manual tuner, the second DC block, the attenuator and the power meter are connected in sequence.

6. The load-pull test method of a manual tuner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The S parameter data of the attenuator and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator are obtained by testing with a vector network analyzer.

7. The load-pull test method of a manual tuner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of calculating based on the S parameter data on both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, the reflection coefficient of the attenuator and the power value of the power meter to obtain the power value of the device under test includes: Calculate the target loss based on the S parameter data of both sides of the TRL calibration fixture, the S parameter data of the attenuator, the S parameter data of the manual tuner, and the reflection coefficient of the attenuator; The power value of the device under test is obtained by performing calculation based on the target loss and the power value of the power meter.

8. A load-pull test system, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that: When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the load-pull test method for a manual tuner according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are implemented.

9. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the load-pull test method for a manual tuner according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are implemented.

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