Comparative analysis of CML and MOS differential automatic amplitude level control regulators for Built-In-Self-Test applications

Bilal El Kassir (1) , S. Wane , Bernard Jarry (1) , Michel Campovecchio (1)

1 C2S2

This paper presents Automatic Amplitude Level Regulators (AALR) as a practical Built-In-Test (BIST) and demonstrates its application for on-chip testing and local Calibration of integrated RF blocks. The proposed circuit performs full-wave rectification and generates a dc voltage proportional to the amplitude of an RF signal over a wide frequency range. Both CML and MOS RF AALR are designed and fabricated using NXP-Semiconductors advanced BiCMOS technology process. Very low area occupation with low power consumption are demonstrated for a wide-range of RF input signal power. Digitally controlled bits are introduced for scalable amplitude-level adjustment and control. Measurements show that fabricated RF test devices demonstrate detection dynamic range of 21 dB from 25 MHz to 5 GHz. Advantages and limitations of designed CML and MOS RF regulators are drawn based on careful correlation analysis between simulations and measurement results.

Bilal El Kassir, S. Wane, Bernard Jarry, Michel Campovecchio. Comparative analysis of CML and MOS differential automatic amplitude level control regulators for Built-In-Self-Test applications. IEEE BCTM International Conference on Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology, Oct 2010, Austin, United States. pp.228-231, ⟨10.1109/BIPOL.2010.5667996⟩. ⟨hal-00631587⟩