Production Realization of MTPR Test on Low-Cost ATE for OFDM Based Communication Devices

Abstract

Multi-tone power ratio (MTPR) test is fast replacing multiple single-carrier linearity and non-linearity tests for mixed-signal IC's employed in broadband communication. Competitive cost models rule out the use of expensive automated test equipment that can perform MTPR test in a specification compliant manner. In this paper, deployment of a multi-tone dither based approach to perform MTPR tests on lower cost test platforms is presented. The proposed method uses existing resources of a low-cost ATE to improve the linearity performance of other resources required during the MTPR test. An `on-the-fly' dither generation algorithm is developed to derive a robust dither signal accounting for variations typically encountered in production testing. Results obtained from multiple test benches including ADSL mixed-signal CODEC ICs on TI's internal low-cost platform is presented to validate the proposed test method. Finally, statistical test data obtained from conducted experiments is presented to evaluate the repeatability of the proposed approach.