Practices in Mixed-Signal and RF IC Testing

Mixed-signal (analog and digital) testing and RF testing pose major cost and quality challenges to the development of high-speed wired and wireless network and communication ICs. This article presents a brief overview of common industry practices for testing mixed-signal and RF ICs. We also present examples of DFT and BIST techniques for wired and wireless transceivers. Finally, we discuss the testing challenges of system-in-package (SiP) products and selected DFT approaches in use today.