Title :
A built-in current monitor for testing analog circuit blocks
Author :
Tabatabaei, Sassan ; Ivanov, André
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC, Canada
Abstract :
A novel built-in current (BIC) monitor circuit is proposed for supply current (IDD) measurement and testing of embedded analog circuits. The BIC monitor provides high current measurement sensitivity without introducing a large impedance in the IDD path. It also includes a current integrator circuit which generates a digital signature proportional to the average IDD (I¯ D¯D¯). The integrator uses only small capacitors (totaling 74 pF), 4 comparators, 14 switches and a counter to perform integration over a long time (1 ms) window and to digitize I¯ D¯D¯. The monitor occupies a small area and is suitable for BIST applications on mixed-signal ICs
Keywords :
built-in self test; electric current measurement; integrated circuit testing; integrating circuits; mixed analogue-digital integrated circuits; monitoring; BIST applications; analog circuit block testing; built-in current monitor; current integrator circuit; digital signature generation; embedded analog circuits; high current measurement sensitivity; mixed-signal ICs; supply current measurement; Analog circuits; Capacitors; Circuit testing; Current measurement; Current supplies; Digital signatures; Impedance; Integrated circuit measurements; Monitoring; Switches;
Conference_Titel :
Circuits and Systems, 1999. ISCAS '99. Proceedings of the 1999 IEEE International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5471-0
DOI :
10.1109/ISCAS.1999.780631
