Dco frequency stepping test apparatus and method

Abstract

The application discloses a DCO frequency stepping test device and method, the device comprises: an input code configuration module, which configures input codes corresponding to f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals generated by a DCO to be tested; a radio frequency transmitting module, which transmits each frequency signal generated by the DCO to be tested to a static environment in the form of a radio frequency transmitting signal; a radio frequency receiving module, which receives radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to each frequency signal in the static environment after a fixed delay path from the radio frequency transmitting module; and a phase detection module, which calculates the phase delay of the radio frequency receiving signals and the radio frequency transmitting signals corresponding to each frequency signal, and determines whether the phase delay corresponding to each frequency signal meets an expectation, so as to determine whether the DCO to be tested is a good product. The application utilizes the characteristic that the phase of the radio frequency receiving signal with a fixed delay path changes linearly with frequency, can accurately measure the frequency stepping, and thus realizes screening of DCO capacitor manufacturing defects, reduces test cost, and improves test efficiency.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of electronic device testing, and particularly relates to a DCO frequency stepping test device and method. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of advanced semiconductor processes, more and more designs use DCO (Digital Controlled Oscillator) to replace VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) as a clock source. In millimeter wave radar and 5G / 6G communication chips, DCO needs to implement fine frequency stepping, and often uses a large number of nanometer-sized metal capacitors to achieve ultra-fine frequency adjustment. Manufacturing defects and uncertainties can cause the stepping accuracy of some chips to be substandard, which requires FT (Final Test, product testing) to screen out defective products.

[0003] If the DCO is used as part of a phase-locked loop, it can be determined whether the DCO has manufacturing defects by detecting whether the phase-locked loop is locked and reading the input code of the DCO, and then according to the change rule of the input code. However, the disadvantage is that it cannot accurately control the input code of the DCO, and it is necessary to select an appropriate locking frequency point to cover all DCO input codes as much as possible, which increases the test complexity and test time, and this method is not suitable for DCO devices without phase-locked loop control.

[0004] In order to screen out manufacturing defects of a certain capacitor in the DCO, the most direct method is to directly select the specified capacitor of the DCO to output a specific frequency, and according to the implementation characteristics of the capacitor array in the DCO, the test can be simplified, such as using binary encoding or binary plus thermometer hybrid encoding. When the binary encoding part does not need to be traversed one by one, but only needs to select a certain bit in the binary encoding one by one, the number of tests is reduced.

[0005] After selecting the specified capacitor to be tested, how to measure the frequency is the key to the whole test. The conventional method is to use a high-frequency spectrum analyzer or a signal analyzer, but this also brings a series of problems such as test cost and test time, mainly in the following aspects:

[0006] (1) The test equipment cost is high, and it depends on high-frequency spectrum analyzers / signal analyzers and special probes;

[0007] (2) The test efficiency is low, and the DCO has multiple frequency points to be tested, and the total time consumption is super-second level (including instrument initialization, frequency configuration and data reading, etc.);

[0008] (3) The test system complexity is high, and the development cycle is long. SUMMARY

[0009] The application provides a DCO frequency stepping test device and method, aiming at reducing test cost and improving test efficiency.

[0010] In a first aspect, the application provides a DCO frequency stepping test device, comprising:

[0011] An input code configuration module is configured to configure input codes corresponding to f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals generated by the DCO under test.

[0012] A radio frequency transmitting module is configured to transmit f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals generated by the DCO under test as radio frequency transmitting signals into a static environment.

[0013] A radio frequency receiving module is configured to receive radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals respectively after a fixed delay path from the radio frequency transmitting module in the static environment.

[0014] A phase detection module is configured to calculate phase delays of radio frequency receiving signals and radio frequency transmitting signals corresponding to f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals, and determine whether the phase delays corresponding to f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals respectively meet expectations, and determine that the DCO under test is a good product if the phase delays meet expectations.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution, the static environment is a shielding space formed by a radio frequency signal shielding mechanism.

[0016] As a preferred technical solution, the radio frequency transmitting module is arranged on one side of the static environment, the radio frequency receiving module is arranged on the opposite side of the radio frequency transmitting module in the static environment, and the radio frequency receiving module directly receives radio frequency transmitting signals transmitted by the radio frequency transmitting module; the fixed delay path is the distance between the radio frequency receiving module and the radio frequency transmitting module; let the fixed delay path be d, and the frequency of the frequency signal currently generated by the DCO under test be f, then the phase delay corresponding to the frequency signal f currently generated by the DCO under test is represented as:

[0017] ; wherein c is the speed of light, and the unit is m / s.

[0018] As a preferred technical scheme, the DCO frequency stepping test device further comprises a radio frequency signal reflecting device, the radio frequency transmitting module and the radio frequency receiving module are equidistantly arranged on the same side relative to the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the radio frequency receiving module receives a radio frequency echo signal transmitted by the radio frequency transmitting module and reflected by the radio frequency signal reflecting device; the fixed delay path is twice the distance between the radio frequency receiving module or the radio frequency transmitting module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device; assuming that the distance between the radio frequency receiving module or the radio frequency transmitting module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device is d, the fixed delay path is 2d, and the frequency of the frequency signal currently generated by the DCO under test is f, the phase delay corresponding to the frequency signal f currently generated by the DCO under test is represented as:

[0019] ; wherein c is the speed of light, and the unit is m / s.

[0020] As a preferred technical scheme, when Φ exceeds 2π, the phase detection module performs a phase unwrapping operation on the measured phase delay data.

[0021] As a preferred technical scheme, the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module and the phase detection module are integrated on a radio frequency device; the radio frequency device is provided with a containing position for containing the DCO under test, and the containing position is provided with an electrical connection mechanism for connecting the DCO under test with the input code configuration module and the radio frequency transmitting module.

[0022] As a preferred technical scheme, the radio frequency signal reflecting device is adjustably connected to the radio frequency device.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a DCO frequency stepping test method based on the above-mentioned DCO frequency stepping test device, comprising the following steps:

[0024] An input code corresponding to each of f0, f1,..., fn is configured for the DCO under test.

[0025] Each of f0, f1,..., fn generated by the DCO under test is transmitted as a radio frequency transmitting signal to a static environment.

[0026] In the static environment, each of f0, f1,..., fn is received as a radio frequency receiving signal corresponding thereto after a fixed delay path from the radio frequency transmitting module.

[0027] The phase delay of the radio frequency receiving signal and the radio frequency transmitting signal corresponding to each of f0, f1,..., fn is calculated, and it is determined whether the phase delay corresponding to each of f0, f1,..., fn meets an expectation, and if so, the DCO under test is determined to be a good product.

[0028] In a third aspect, the present application provides another DCO frequency stepping test method based on the above-mentioned DCO frequency stepping test device, comprising the following steps:

[0029] Step 1: placing the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module and the phase detection module in the static environment;

[0030] Step 2: configuring the initial input code of the DCO to be tested to generate a frequency signal with a frequency f0;

[0031] Step 3: the radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signal of the radio frequency transmitting module, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ0;

[0032] Step 4: adjusting the input code of the DCO according to the DCO capacitance coding characteristics to generate a frequency signal with a frequency f1;

[0033] Step 5: the radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signal of the radio frequency transmitting module, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ1;

[0034] Step 6: repeating the above steps to obtain an array [Φ0, Φ1, …, Φn];

[0035] Step 7: calculating the first-order difference [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1, …, ΔΦn-1] of the array;

[0036] Step 8: judging whether ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides another DCO frequency stepping test method based on the above-mentioned DCO frequency stepping test device, comprising the following steps:

[0038] Step 1: placing the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module, the phase detection module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device in the static environment;

[0039] Step 2: configuring the initial input code of the DCO to be tested to generate a frequency signal with a frequency f0;

[0040] Step 3: the radio frequency receiving module receives the reflected echo of the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ0;

[0041] Step 4: adjusting the input code of the DCO according to the DCO capacitance coding characteristics to generate a frequency signal with a frequency f1;

[0042] Step 5: the radio frequency receiving module receives the reflected echo of the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ1;

[0043] Step 6: repeating the above steps to obtain an array [Φ0, Φ1, …, Φn];

[0044] Step 7: Calculate the first-order difference of the array [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1, …, ΔΦn-1];

[0045] Step 8: Determine whether ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

[0046] The DCO frequency step test device and method provided by the application provides a new test mode compared with the prior art, and the beneficial effects brought by the technical scheme include at least: the phase of the radio frequency received signal of the fixed delay path changes linearly with the frequency, the frequency step can be accurately measured, the screening of the DCO capacitor manufacturing defects is realized, the test cost is obviously reduced, and the test efficiency is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0047] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.

[0048] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conventional DCO.

[0049] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the DCO frequency step test device provided by the basic embodiment of the application.

[0050] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the DCO frequency step test device provided by one specific embodiment of the application.

[0051] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the DCO frequency step test device provided by another specific embodiment of the application.

[0052] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the test method of the DCO frequency step test device provided by the basic embodiment of the application.

[0053] Figure 6 is a flowchart of the test method of the DCO frequency step test device provided by one specific embodiment of the application.

[0054] Figure 7 is a flowchart of the test method of the DCO frequency step test device provided by another specific embodiment of the application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In order to make the technical solutions of the present application clearer and the technical advantages more obvious, the technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely in combination with specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work belong to the scope disclosed by the present application.

[0056] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising", "containing", or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or apparatus that includes a list of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or further includes elements inherent in such a process, method, article or apparatus. Without more limitations, the element defined by the statement "comprising a…" does not exclude the presence of another identical element in the process, method, article or apparatus comprising the element, in addition, components, features, elements with the same name in different embodiments of the present application may have the same meaning or different meanings, and the specific meaning thereof should be determined in combination with the explanation thereof in the specific embodiment or further in combination with the context in the specific embodiment.

[0057] It should be understood that, although each step in the flowchart in the embodiments of the present application is displayed in sequence according to the arrow, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the arrow. Unless otherwise stated herein, the execution of these steps has no strict sequence limitation, and they can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least part of the steps in the figure can include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, which are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed alternately or alternately with at least part of other steps or sub-steps or stages of other steps.

[0058] In this document, referring to "embodiments" means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in combination with the embodiments can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily mean the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment to other embodiments. Those skilled in the art explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0059] As Figure 1As shown in the LC oscillator, the conventional DCO includes a gain tube, an inductor, a capacitor array, etc., wherein the capacitor array generally adopts customized metal MOM capacitors for fine frequency adjustment, and the minimum capacitor size is only several tens to several hundred nanometers. The relationship between the output frequency f of the DCO and the capacitor value C is shown in the following formula:

[0060] ;

[0061] Wherein, L is the inductance value.

[0062] When the change of C is very small, i.e. |ΔC| << C0:

[0063] ;

[0064] Wherein, f0 and C0 are the initial frequency and initial capacitor value of the DCO respectively. Therefore, if the influence of the wire and the capacitor position is ignored, the DCO output frequency f and the capacitor value C approximately satisfy the linear relationship within the limited adjustment range.

[0065] As shown in the LC oscillator, the conventional DCO includes a gain tube, an inductor, a capacitor array, etc., wherein the capacitor array generally adopts customized metal MOM capacitors for fine frequency adjustment, and the minimum capacitor size is only several tens to several hundred nanometers. The relationship between the output frequency f of the DCO and the capacitor value C is shown in the following formula: Figure 1 The encoding of the capacitor array can generally adopt binary encoding, thermometer encoding or mixed encoding of the two. For the thermometer encoding part, it is necessary to traverse the input code of the DCO one by one and observe whether the phase delay approximately changes in linear steps to determine whether there is a manufacturing defect in the capacitor array; for the binary encoding part, it is only necessary to select each bit of the binary code from high to low one by one and observe whether the phase delay approximately changes in exponential steps, thereby greatly reducing the number of measurements; if the phase delay meets the expectation, the frequency step error can be deduced to meet the expectation, thereby realizing the measurement of the DCO frequency step for large-scale FT test.

[0066] Based on this, the present application provides an innovative DCO frequency step test device and method, which judges whether the phase delay meets the expectation by fixing the phase of the radio frequency receiving wave of the delay path, and then realizes the measurement of the DCO frequency step.

[0067] Referring to Figure 2 As shown in the LC oscillator, the conventional DCO includes a gain tube, an inductor, a capacitor array, etc., wherein the capacitor array generally adopts customized metal MOM capacitors for fine frequency adjustment, and the minimum capacitor size is only several tens to several hundred nanometers. The relationship between the output frequency f of the DCO and the capacitor value C is shown in the following formula:

[0068] The input code configuration module is configured to configure the input code corresponding to the f0, f1……fn frequency signals generated by the DCO to be tested;

[0069] The radio frequency transmitting module is configured to transmit the f0, f1……fn frequency signals generated by the DCO to be tested as radio frequency transmitting signals into a static environment;

[0070] a radio frequency receiving module, configured to receive radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals respectively after a fixed delay path from the radio frequency transmitting module in the static environment;

[0071] a phase detection module, configured to calculate phase delays of the radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals and the radio frequency transmitting signals, and determine whether the phase delays corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals respectively meet an expectation, and determine that the DCO under test is a good product if the phase delays meet the expectation.

[0072] The static environment means that there is no interference of other radio frequency signals or other electromagnetic signals in the environment, and preferably is a shielding space formed by a shielding cover (or other shielding mechanism). The radio frequency transmitting module includes a radio frequency transmitting front end and a transmitting antenna, and the radio frequency receiving module includes a receiving antenna and a radio frequency receiving front end. The multiple input codes configured by the input code configuration module are used to control the DCO under test to output the frequency points (f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals) in sequence, and the radio frequency transmitting front end and the transmitting antenna are used to emit the radio frequency transmitting signals. The radio frequency transmitting signals are received and amplified by the receiving antenna and the radio frequency receiving front end after being transmitted in the static environment for a preset fixed delay path, and the radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals are obtained. The phase detection module is further configured to calculate the phase delays of the radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals and the radio frequency transmitting signals, determine whether the phase delays corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals respectively meet an expectation, and determine that the DCO under test is a good product if the phase delays meet the expectation, or determine that the DCO under test is a defective product if the phase delays do not meet the expectation.

[0073] The DCO frequency stepping test device described above is not limited to one transmitting and one receiving during the test process, and can be one transmitting and multiple receiving, multiple transmitting and multiple receiving, as long as the phase delays of the radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to the f0, f1,..., fn frequency signals and the radio frequency transmitting signals are obtained.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 1, Figure 3 As a feasible specific embodiment, the DCO frequency stepping test device provided by the application is provided, the radio frequency transmitting module is arranged on one side of the static environment, the radio frequency receiving module is arranged on the opposite side of the radio frequency transmitting module in the static environment, and the radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signals emitted by the radio frequency transmitting module. In this embodiment, the fixed delay path is the distance between the radio frequency receiving module and the radio frequency transmitting module.

[0075] Supposing that the fixed delay path is d, and the frequency of the frequency signal currently generated by the DCO under test is f, the phase delay corresponding to the frequency signal f currently generated by the DCO under test is represented as:

[0076] ;

[0077] where c is the speed of light (unit: m / s). It should be noted here that when Φ exceeds 2π, the measured phase will jump, and the measured value will appear periodic ambiguity, which can be unwrapped on the data.

[0078] The above formula shows that the phase delay Φ is proportional to the frequency f, that is, when the transmission frequency changes by a linear equal step, the phase delay will also change by a linear equal step, and when the same transmission frequency changes by an exponential step, the phase delay will also change by an exponential step.

[0079] The phase detection module represents the respective phase delay of the radio frequency receiving signal of each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn as a first array: [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn]; calculates the first difference of the first array: [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn], and then obtains a second array [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1,..., ΔΦn-1]; judge whether each ΔΦ meets the expectation, if so, it is a good product.

[0080] Referring to Figure 4 As another possible embodiment, the DCO frequency stepping test device provided by the application further comprises a radio frequency signal reflecting device, the radio frequency transmitting module and the radio frequency receiving module are arranged at the same side of the radio frequency signal reflecting device at equal distances, and the radio frequency receiving module receives the radio frequency echo signal emitted by the radio frequency transmitting module and reflected by the radio frequency signal reflecting device; in this embodiment, the fixed delay path is twice the distance between the radio frequency receiving module or the radio frequency transmitting module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device.

[0081] Let the distance between the radio frequency receiving module or the radio frequency transmitting module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device be d, then the fixed delay path is 2d, and the frequency of the frequency signal currently generated by the DCO to be tested is f, then the phase delay corresponding to the frequency signal f currently generated by the DCO to be tested is represented as:

[0082] ;

[0083] where c is the speed of light (unit: m / s). Similarly, it should be noted that when Φ exceeds 2π, the measured phase will jump, and the measured value will appear periodic ambiguity, which can be unwrapped on the data.

[0084] Similarly, the above formula shows that the phase delay Φ is proportional to the frequency f, that is, when the transmission frequency changes by a linear equal step, the phase delay will also change by a linear equal step, and when the same transmission frequency changes by an exponential step, the phase delay will also change by an exponential step.

[0085] The phase detection module represents the respective phase delay of the radio frequency receiving signal of each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn as a first array: [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn]; calculates the first order difference of the first array: [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn], and further obtains a second array [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1,..., ΔΦn-1]; judges whether each ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

[0086] As a preferred embodiment, in the above-mentioned another possible embodiment, the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module and the phase detection module are integrated on a radio frequency device; the radio frequency device is provided with a containing position for containing the DCO to be tested, and the containing position is provided with an electrical connection mechanism for connecting the DCO to be tested with the input code configuration module and the radio frequency transmitting module.

[0087] As a further preferred embodiment, in the above-mentioned another possible embodiment, the radio frequency signal reflecting device is adjustably connected with the radio frequency device.

[0088] Referring to Figure 5 Based on the DCO frequency stepping test device provided by the above-mentioned basic embodiment, the application further provides a test method, which comprises:

[0089] Configuring the input code corresponding to each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn generated by the DCO to be tested;

[0090] Respectively transmitting each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn generated by the DCO to be tested to a static environment as a radio frequency transmitting signal;

[0091] In the static environment, after a fixed delay path from the radio frequency transmitting module, respectively receiving the respective radio frequency receiving signal corresponding to each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn;

[0092] Calculating the phase delay of the radio frequency receiving signal and the radio frequency transmitting signal corresponding to each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn, judging whether the respective phase delay corresponding to each frequency signal f0, f1,..., fn meets the expectation, and if so, judging that the DCO to be tested is a good product.

[0093] Wherein, assuming that the distance between the radio frequency device and the reflecting target is d, when the transmitting frequency starts from f0 and changes to generate each frequency signal f1,..., fn with a step Δf, the phase delay change of the radio frequency reflection echo is mainly caused by the frequency change, and is irrelevant to the target motion (no Doppler effect in the static environment).

[0094] Referring to Figure 6As shown, based on the DCO frequency stepping test device provided by the above feasible embodiment, the application further provides a test method, comprising:

[0095] Step 1: Place the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module and the phase detection module in the static environment;

[0096] Step 2: Configure the initial input code of the DCO to be tested to generate a frequency signal of frequency f0;

[0097] Step 3: The radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signal of the radio frequency transmitting module, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ0;

[0098] Step 4: According to the DCO capacitance coding characteristics, adjust the input code of the DCO to generate a frequency signal of frequency f1;

[0099] Step 5: The radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signal of the radio frequency transmitting module, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ1;

[0100] Step 6: Repeat the above steps to obtain the array [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn];

[0101] Step 7: Calculate the first-order difference [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1,..., ΔΦn-1] of the array;

[0102] Step 8: Determine whether ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

[0103] Wherein, when the transmitting frequency starts from f0 and changes with a step Δf, the phase delay change of the radio frequency receiving signal is mainly caused by the frequency change, and is irrelevant to the target motion (no Doppler effect in the static environment).

[0104] Referring to Figure 7 As shown, based on the DCO frequency stepping test device provided by the above feasible embodiment, the application further provides a test method, comprising:

[0105] Step 1: Place the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module, the phase detection module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device in the static environment;

[0106] Step 2: Configure the initial input code of the DCO to be tested to generate a frequency signal of frequency f0;

[0107] Step 3: The radio frequency receiving module receives the reflected echo of the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ0;

[0108] Step 4: According to the DCO capacitance coding characteristics, adjust the input code of the DCO to generate a frequency signal of frequency f1;

[0109] Step 5: the radio frequency receiving module receives the reflected echo of the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ1;

[0110] Step 6: repeat the above steps to obtain the array [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn];

[0111] Step 7: calculate the first-order difference [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1,..., ΔΦn-1] of the array;

[0112] Step 8: judge whether ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

[0113] In the above test method, the capacitor array can be encoded in binary, thermometer or a mixture of the two. Using the thermometer encoding part, the input code of the DCO can be traversed one by one, and whether the phase delay changes approximately linearly with equal steps is observed; using the binary encoding part, each bit of the binary code can be selected from high to low one by one, and whether the phase delay changes approximately exponentially with equal steps is observed.

[0114] The present application utilizes the linear relationship between the fixed distance radio frequency echo phase change and the frequency step, realizes the low-cost and high-precision DCO frequency step measurement, converts the physical phenomenon of radio frequency echo phase change into a measurement tool for the precision of DCO frequency step, breaks through the traditional electrical measurement thinking, simplifies the test process, does not depend on external equipment, reduces the test cost and shortens the test time.

[0115] The above only discloses the preferred embodiments of the present application, and of course cannot limit the scope of the present application, so the equivalent changes made according to the claims of the present application still fall within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A DCO frequency stepping test apparatus, characterized by, include: The input code configuration module is used to configure the input codes corresponding to the frequency signals f0, f1...fn generated by the DCO under test; The radio frequency transmission module is used to transmit the frequency signals f0, f1...fn generated by the DCO under test to a static environment as radio frequency transmission signals. The radio frequency receiving module is used to receive the radio frequency received signals corresponding to each frequency signal of f0, f1...fn respectively, after a fixed delay path away from the radio frequency transmitting module in the static environment. The phase detection module calculates the phase delay of the RF received signal and RF transmitted signal corresponding to each frequency signal f0, f1...fn, and determines whether the phase delay of each frequency signal f0, f1...fn meets the expectation. If it meets the expectation, the DCO under test is judged to be good.

2. The DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The static environment is a shielded space formed by the radio frequency signal shielding mechanism.

3. The DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The radio frequency (RF) transmitting module is located on one side of the static environment, and the RF receiving module is located on the opposite side of the RF transmitting module in the static environment. The RF receiving module directly receives the RF transmitting signal transmitted by the RF transmitting module. The fixed delay path is the distance between the RF receiving module and the RF transmitting module. Let the fixed delay path be d, and the frequency of the frequency signal currently generated by the DCO under test be f. Then, the phase delay corresponding to the frequency signal f currently generated by the DCO under test is expressed as: ； Where c is the speed of light, in m / s.

4. The DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The DCO frequency stepping test device also includes an RF signal reflection device. The RF transmitting module and the RF receiving module are equidistantly positioned on the same side relative to the RF signal reflection device. The RF receiving module receives the RF echo signal transmitted by the RF transmitting module and reflected back by the RF signal reflection device. The fixed delay path is twice the distance between the RF receiving module or the RF transmitting module and the RF signal reflection device. Let the distance between the RF receiving module or the RF transmitting module and the RF signal reflection device be d, then the fixed delay path is 2d. Let the frequency of the frequency signal currently generated by the DCO under test be f. Then the phase delay corresponding to the frequency signal f currently generated by the DCO under test is expressed as: ； Where c is the speed of light, in m / s.

5. The DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 3 or 4, wherein, When Φ exceeds 2π, the phase detection module performs a phase unwinding operation on the measured phase delay data.

6. The DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The input code configuration module, RF transmission module, RF reception module, and phase detection module are integrated into a single RF device. The RF device is provided with a accommodating bit for accommodating the DCO under test, and the accommodating bit is provided with an electrical connection mechanism for connecting the DCO under test to the input code configuration module and the RF transmission module.

7. The DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The radio frequency signal reflector is connected to the radio frequency device at an adjustable distance.

8. A DCO frequency stepping test method based on the DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Configure and generate input codes corresponding to frequency signals f0, f1...fn for the DCO under test; The frequency signals f0, f1...fn generated by the DCO under test are transmitted to a static environment as radio frequency transmission signals. In the static environment, after a fixed delay path from the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving signals corresponding to the f0, f1, fn frequency signals are respectively received; The phase delays of the radio frequency receiving signals and the radio frequency transmitting signals corresponding to the f0, f1, fn frequency signals are calculated, and it is judged whether the phase delays corresponding to the f0, f1, fn frequency signals meet the expectation, and if so, the DCO under test is a good product.

9. A DCO frequency stepping test method based on the DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 3, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: Step 1: placing the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module and the phase detection module in the static environment; Step 2: configuring the initial input code of the DCO under test to generate a frequency signal of frequency f0; Step 3: the radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signal of the radio frequency transmitting module, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ0; Step 4: according to the DCO capacitance coding characteristics, adjusting the input code of the DCO to generate a frequency signal of frequency f1; Step 5: the radio frequency receiving module directly receives the radio frequency transmitting signal of the radio frequency transmitting module, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ1; Step 6: repeating the above steps to obtain an array [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn]; Step 7: calculating the first-order difference [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1,..., ΔΦn-1] of the array; Step 8: judging whether ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

10. A DCO frequency stepping test method based on the DCO frequency stepping test apparatus of claim 4, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: Step 1: placing the input code configuration module, the radio frequency transmitting module, the radio frequency receiving module, the phase detection module and the radio frequency signal reflecting device in the static environment; Step 2: configuring the initial input code of the DCO under test to generate a frequency signal of frequency f0; Step 3: the radio frequency receiving module receives the reflected echo of the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ0; Step 4: according to the DCO capacitance coding characteristics, adjusting the input code of the DCO to generate a frequency signal of frequency f1; Step 5: the radio frequency receiving module receives the reflected echo of the radio frequency signal reflecting device, and the phase detection module calculates the phase delay Φ1; Step 6: repeating the above steps to obtain an array [Φ0, Φ1,..., Φn]; Step 7: calculating the first-order difference [ΔΦ0, ΔΦ1,..., ΔΦn-1] of the array; Step 8: judging whether ΔΦ meets the expectation, and if so, it is a good product.

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