A sigma-delta modulation based BIST scheme for A/D converters

In this paper, a built-in self test (BIST) methodology to measure the four key parameters of A/D converters, namely offset error, gain error, integral nonlinearity error and differential nonlinearity error is proposed. A sigma-delta modulation based signal generator is presented which can concurrently produce analog sinusoidal test stimuli and digital sinusoidal reference signals on chip. By comparing the sinusoidal histogram of the ADC output signals with that of the generated reference digital signals, the parameters can be determined on chip based on some previously-derived equations. This BIST scheme has the following advantages: (1) high accuracy; (2) parameter measurement capability for different frequencies; (3) dynamic sinusoidal testing capability; and (4) low chip area overhead. An 8 bit A/D converter with the proposed BIST architecture is designed and simulated using the TSMC 0.35 μm 1P4M technology. The simulation results show that the test accuracies for the four parameters are all within 0.05 LSB.