Roadmapping RFIC test

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), The Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC), and the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) have expanded US industry-wide consensus efforts to chart out the futures of everything from semiconductor lithography to factory automation technologies, including the first draft of a roadmap for RF components in the 1996 NEMI work. This paper reviews recent RF industry practice in the areas of RFIC on-wafer and package testing, and predicts future trends in RFIC production testing. The testing and packaging issues for GaAs IC's are substantially the same as for Si IC's operating in the same frequency range and function. So while it is unlikely that there will be any inherent differential packaging or test advantages of GaAs over Si, it is similarly imperative to stay on or ahead of the industry roadmap to be competitive with the latest packaging and test technologies.