Efficient testing of high-performance data converters using low-cost test instrumentation

Testing is an essential part of the semiconductor integrated-circuit manufacturing process. Technology scaling has made designing and manufacturing of high-performance semiconductor devices possible. Testing such devices necessitates the use of high-performance, and thus, high-cost test equipment. As a result, the test costs are rising and it is a major cause of concern for the industry. For this reason, there is a need to reduce the cost incurred in testing semiconductor devices without compromising the coverage of manufacturing defects. This thesis focuses on efficient test procedures for data converters that are widely used in a variety of applications.; Data converters are tested for static and dynamic specifications. Static specifications are measured using a low-frequency test stimulus. The static specification testing of data converters incurs large test time. This is resulting from the large number of codes that are measured and the high number of hits per code that are required to obtain repeatable results. The dynamic specifications are measured using a high-frequency sinusoidal test stimulus. The frequency of the test stimulus depends on the input bandwidth of the device. The generation of a low-noise and high-frequency test stimulus requires high-performance automated test equipment (ATE). Long test time and the use of high-performance test platforms for high-volume production testing increase the production testing cost significantly [1].; In this research work, several test strategies were developed to reduce the overall production testing cost. A static linearity testing methodology aimed at reducing the test time of A/D converters was developed. It uses the architectural information of A/D converters, and measures specific codes instead of all the codes. As the use of high-performance test equipment during production testing incurs large cost, a test methodology was developed to test high-performance A/D converters using low-performance, thereby, low-cost test equipment. This involved post processing of measurement data. The effect of ground bounce on accuracy of specification measurement was analyzed, and a test strategy to estimate the A/D converter specifications more accurately in presence of ground bounce noise was developed.; The proposed test strategies were simulated using behavioral modeling techniques in MATLAB and were implemented on commercially available A/D converter devices. The hardware experiments validated the proposed test strategies. The outcome of the research was development of test procedures for "Efficient Testing of High-Performance Data Converters Using Low-Cost Test Instrumentation." These test procedures can be used in the production testing of A/D converters to significantly reduce the testing cost.