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Testing RF Front-End ICs With STSPublish Date: Mar 02, 2015

OverviewThe Semiconductor Test System (STS) series features production-ready test systems that combine the NI PXI platform, TestStand test management software, and LabVIEW graphicalprogramming inside a fully enclosed test head. Its “tester-in-a-head” design houses all the key components of a production tester including system controllers; DC, AC, and RF instrumentation;device under test (DUT) interfacing; and device handler/prober docking mechanics.

Table of Contents

Figure 1. All systems support an interchangeable device interface board and the same measurement hardware and software. (From left: STS T2, T1, and T4)

STS HighlightsFully production-ready, high-performance systems at disruptive cost

Ability to economically scale to characterization with the same hardware and software to simplify the correlation task

World-class NI services and support

Target DevicesRF Power Amplifiers

RF Filters

RF Switches

RF Front-End Modules (FEMs)

Test CoverageCovers a broad range of wireless standard-based measurements and general-purpose measurements including:

EVM

IMD/TOI

ACPR

Spurs and Harmonics

S Parameters

Noise Floor

Advanced CapabilitiesEnvelope Tracking (ET)

Digital Predistortion

FPGA Processing for Accelerated Test Speed

STS RF Subsystem for Fully Integrated RF Test CapabilityTo lower overall cost of test and shorten time to market for radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) manufacturers, STS for RFICs comes with an RF subsystem, which is a configurable multiportRF subsystem built around the NI vector signal transceiver (VST).

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Figure 2. STS T2 With Multiport RF Subsystem

The VST combines a vector signal generator and vector signal analyzer with FPGA-based real-time signal processing and control. Key VST features include:

Fast measurement speed and small form factor of a production test box

Flexibility and high-performance of R&D-grade box instruments

User-programmable FPGA

200 MHz instantaneous bandwidth

The rest of the RF subsystem includes:

RF Port Control Module

RF Quad Port Module

RF Blind Mate Interface

Automatic Multiport RF Calibration Module

Overall, STS for RFICs offers a fully integrated RF test capability to meet the stringent measurement and scalability requirements for RF production test.

STS SoftwareAt the core of STS is TestStand ready-to-run test management software, which is designed to help engineers quickly develop, debug, and deploy test programs. Key features include:

Test Sequence Editor with multisite support

Operator interface

DUT-centric test programming

STDF reports

Handler/prober integration

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Figure 3. The STS operator interface provides a single powerful interface to select, run, and view all key data.

STS Interfacing and System Calibration

Figure 4. The spring probe interface includes Coax, DC, and RF (blind mate). STS comes with system-level calibration to spring probe interfaces (coax and DC) and RF blindmates.

Figure 5. The automatic RF Multiport Calibration Module provides efficient in-situ system-level calibration to minimize system downtime. To ensure accurate measurements at DUT, the RFsubsystem comes with the capability to de-embed RF paths on the device interface board.

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Typical System Resources for RF Front-End ICs With an STS T2

RF Subsystem 1 with up to 48 RF portsVST

2 s with up to 24 RF portsVST

4 s with up to 12 RF portsVST

DC Source Measure (SMUs) Precision System SMU (up to 24 channels per system)

4-channel SMU (up to 96 channels per system)

Digital Instruments Up to 200 MHz with PPMU (up to 240 channels)

Optional Instruments Digitizers/Oscilloscopes

Arbitrary Waveform Generators

Dynamic Signal Acquisition Instruments

Power Supplies

High-Speed Serial Interfaces

Multimeters are available for configuration inside STS

Figure 6. Example Configuration of an STS T2 With One VST With 12 RF Ports

For more information on configuring an STS or to speak with a semiconductor expert, email .sts@ni.com