A low-cost test approach for embedded RF passive circuits

A new low-cost test approach is proposed for testing embedded RF passive filters (ERPFs) by one-port measurement. By this method, ERPFs testing is possible without a vector network analyzer. This method also enables testing of ERPFs without external test stimulus. In the proposed test approach, a shift in the oscillation frequency of the test-setup is used to detect faults in the filters, but this test approach does not require reconfiguration or conversion of filters into an oscillator as it is done in conventional oscillation-based methods. The core principle of the method is to include an ERPF through a one-port substrate surface probe into an external RF oscillator circuitry, located on the probe card. Such one-port probing causes a change in the oscillation frequency of the oscillator because of the loading from the RF filter, thus enabling low-cost testing of RF filters.