RF IC Signal Conversion for Low-Cost Test Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of testing integrated RF circuits in semiconductor devices leads to high costs and time consumption due to the need for expensive automatic test equipment that processes high-frequency RF signals, making it challenging to efficiently identify 'good' and 'bad' ICs during production.
Innovation Solution
An RF testing system where an integrated circuit (IC) generates or receives RF signals in response to command signals from external test equipment, with module circuitry performing signal conversion to generate evaluation signals that are analyzed by the test equipment, reducing the need for high-speed processing of RF signals within the test equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If expensive automatic test equipment is used to process high-frequency RF signals, then testing capability is improved, but cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary signal conversion system that transforms high-frequency RF signals into low-frequency baseband signals. This intermediary conversion layer allows simple, low-cost test equipment to effectively test complex RF circuits by processing only the converted low-frequency signals, thereby resolving the contradiction between testing capability and equipment complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for complex high-frequency RF signal processing hardware with a signal conversion approach. Instead of using expensive equipment designed to handle high-frequency RF signals directly, the system converts these signals to low-frequency equivalents that can be processed by simpler, more affordable test equipment, thus substituting a complex mechanical/electrical system with a more manageable approach.
2Reliability
If expensive automatic test equipment is used to process high-frequency RF signals, then testing capability is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The signal conversion system acts as an intermediary that accelerates the testing process by transforming high-frequency RF signals into low-frequency baseband signals. This conversion enables faster processing by simpler equipment, reducing the overall time consumption while maintaining testing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent fundamentally changes the frequency parameter of the test signals by converting high-frequency RF signals to low-frequency baseband signals. This parameter transformation allows the use of faster, simpler processing equipment that can handle the converted signals more quickly, thereby reducing time consumption while preserving testing effectiveness.
3Reliability
If expensive automatic test equipment is used, then RF signal processing capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an intermediary signal conversion mechanism that transforms high-frequency RF signals into low-frequency baseband signals. This intermediary layer enables the use of inexpensive test equipment to achieve RF signal processing capability that would otherwise require expensive specialized hardware, thereby resolving the contradiction between processing capability and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes expensive high-frequency RF processing hardware with a more economical signal conversion system. By converting RF signals to low-frequency baseband signals, the system replaces the need for costly RF-specific test equipment with simpler, cheaper general-purpose processing equipment, thus reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining processing capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated circuit (IC) is provided. The IC includes an RF transmitter configured to generate an RF signal in response to a command signal from test equipment; an RF receiver configured to generate an evaluation signal according to the RF signal, and report the evaluation signal to the test equipment, so that the test equipment performs a test analysis on the evaluation signal to determine a test result, wherein the test equipment is external to the IC.