Reconfigurable data converter as a building block for mixed-signal test

Abstract

A reconfigurable data converter (RDC) that can be configured to a number of ADCs and DACs having different speeds and resolutions for testing mixed-signal systems is proposed. It can be used as a building block in mixed-signal boundary scan or built-in self-test (BIST) techniques. The RDC can also be configured as random noise generators and used as test stimuli in BIST. Since the required area of the proposed RDC is only slightly larger than that of a conventional pipelined ADC, it can be used in many mixed-signal systems.