Use of pipeline converters for ATE applications

Today´s SoC devices used in DVD, set-top boxes and game controllers, HDTV, xDSL and cellular baseband applications require high-performance digital and analog capabilities. The test of D/A converters with high sampling rates and high SFDR in these devices can be effectively accomplished using pipelined A/D converters. The drawback of this technology is the relatively high minimum sampling frequency. This would limit its use in applications with low sampling frequencies (like undersampling) or non periodic clocks (like linearity tests of D/A converters). The technique presented in this paper shows how to overcome this limitation and allow the user to expand the range of applications that can be accomplished with the same hardware, thus providing a better return on investment.