Automated Control of Down Converter Testing

The physical layout of down converter circuit boards must be carefully planned when automated testing procedures are to be used. A 6 GHz microwave communications system down converter that was designed for automated testing will be described. The design objectives for automated testing and the board layouts to meet these requirements are discussed for the RF microstrip board and the surface mount technology (SMT) IF amplifier and control circuit board. The down converter discussion is followed by a review of the considerations that must be given to the automated testing of GaAs MMIC mixers at the wafer level.