Hybrid BiST solution for Analog to Digital Converters with low-cost Automatic Test Equipment compatibility

Abstract

The cost of testing mixed signal circuitry with conventional analog-stimulus is significantly higher than digital circuitry due to higher cost Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) required for generation of analog stimulus. Multiple variants of low cost testers have been developed for digital testing which rely on relaxed timing, power or tester channel requirements to lower hardware cost. Systems containing mixed-signal/RF components can thus not be tested on such ATE due to the cost and limitations of analog/RF stimulus and measurement modules. This paper proposes a hybrid BIST scheme for Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs) to enable full production-quality testing with low cost ATE. The two major challenges addressed are generating the input stimulus, and a fully functional at-speed test to maintain the test quality of a pure analog ATE solution.