Functional vs. multi-VDD testing of RF circuits

In this paper we present a comparison of the results obtained between functional testing and applying the multi-VDD approach on an RF circuit. The multi-VDD approach incorporates both VDD ramp and DC ramp techniques. The VDD ramp technique has been previously evaluated on standalone devices with good results as presented in J. Pineda de Gyvez et al. (2004) and S. Ozev and A Orailoglu (2001). However, most of the work has been accomplished in the Lab. Here we present results obtained by applying the concepts in a production environment. Correlations between the functional and the multi-VDD methodologies are shown. The studies are conducted using a WLAN 802.11a transceiver.