TW202227832A - Calibration system, processing device, and calibration method - Google Patents

Abstract

A calibration system, a processing device, and a calibration method are provided. The processing device controls a signal generator to generate a first signal with first signal strength value and transmit the first signal to a fixture. A sensor measures the first signal which is transmitted through the fixture and a splitter to obtain a second signal strength value of the first signal and transmits the second signal strength value to the processing device to make the processing device calculate a first path loss according to the first signal strength value and the second signal strength value. The processing device reads a second path loss from the sensor and calculates a third path loss of a second transmission line that connects to the signal generator and the fixture. The processing device controls the signal generator to generate a second signal with a third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third path loss.

Description

Calibration system, processing device and calibration method

The present invention relates to a calibration system, a processing device and a calibration method. Specifically, the calibration system of the present invention can compensate for the loss of signal transmission between the signal generator and the fixture.

The semiconductor test system is used to test whether the characteristics of integrated circuits meet the specifications of yield and function. HDRF (high density radio frequency) is mainly a system test module for wireless application IC-related functions, and HDRF is provided by R&S CMW100. Signals (output and measurement of RF signals).

The complete test system consists of HDRF placed in the 3680 Tester, the test computer host and the test system operating software. During the test process, the user test terminal and the CMW100 are connected through a mechanism, and the connection path will cause the loss of the signal energy value, resulting in the test error in the measurement value.

Conventionally, when measuring the path loss value, the energy loss value is usually calculated by obtaining the value and the expected value of the terminal measuring equipment, and the energy loss value is input into the instrument as a calibration value. However, the calibration process using this calibration method is limited in that the calibration path must be the same as the test path. When there are multiple calibration paths, the measurement paths need to be manually adjusted, resulting in low efficiency of the calibration process.

In view of this, a correction mechanism is urgently needed in the art to improve the efficiency of the correction process.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a calibration mechanism, which uses the signal generator and the jig to match the known loss value of the calibration device to calculate the path loss of the signal generator and the jig, and further compensate the signal generator. Accordingly, after the RF signal generated by the signal generator is compensated, the signal strength value of the RF signal received by the fixture will be the same as the signal strength value of the RF signal output by the signal generator before compensation. In addition, the calibration process of the present invention can calibrate the paths of multiple output ports of the signal generator at one time, thereby further improving the efficiency of the calibration process.

To achieve the above objective, the present invention discloses a calibration system, which includes a processing device, a separator and a sensor. The processing device is electrically connected to a signal generator for controlling the signal generator to generate a first signal with a first signal strength value and transmit the first signal to a fixture. The separator is electrically connected to the fixture for receiving the first signal from the fixture. The sensor is electrically connected to the separator for measuring the first signal to obtain a second signal strength value of the first signal, and transmitting the second signal strength value to the processing device, so that the The processing device calculates a first loss value based on the first signal strength value and the second signal strength value. The processing device is used for reading a second loss value from the sensor, and based on the first loss value and the second loss value, calculates the corresponding second transmission line between the signal generator and the fixture and the The third loss value of one of the fixtures. The processing device controls the signal generator to generate a second signal with a third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value. The third signal strength value is substantially the sum of the first signal strength value and the third loss value.

In addition, the present invention further discloses a processing device, which includes a transceiver, a storage and a processor. The storage is used for storing a first loss value of a calibration device. The processor is electrically connected to the transceiver and the storage, and is used for transmitting a first command to a signal generator through the transceiver, so that the signal generator generates a signal having a first signal strength based on the first command A first signal of value; control the signal generator to transmit the first signal to a fixture through a first transmission line, and transmit the first signal from the fixture to the calibration device through a second transmission line, so that The calibration device measures the first signal to obtain a second signal strength value of the first signal; receives the second signal strength value from the calibration device; and based on the first signal strength value, the second signal strength value value and the first loss value, a second loss value of the first transmission line is calculated.

In addition, the present invention further discloses a calibration method for a calibration system. The calibration system includes a processing device and a calibration device. The processing device is electrically connected to a signal generator. The calibration method is executed by the processing device and includes the following steps: controlling the signal generator to generate a first signal with a first signal strength value, transmitting the first signal to a fixture, and using the fixture to generate the first signal The first signal is sent to the calibration device; through the calibration device, a second signal strength value of the first signal is measured; the second signal strength value is received from the calibration device, and based on the first signal strength value and the Calculate a first loss value from the second signal strength value; read a second loss value from the calibration device; calculate a third loss value between the signal generator and the fixture based on the first loss value and the second loss value loss value; and controlling the signal generator to generate a second signal with a third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value, wherein the third signal strength value is the first signal strength value and the sum of this third loss value.

After referring to the drawings and the embodiments described later, those skilled in the art can understand other objects of the present invention, as well as the technical means and implementation aspects of the present invention.

The content of the present invention will be explained by the following examples, which are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention in any specific environment, application or special manner as described in the embodiments. Therefore, the description of the embodiments is only for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, rather than limiting the present invention. It should be noted that, in the following embodiments and drawings, elements not directly related to the present invention are omitted and not shown, and the dimensional relationships among the elements in the drawings are only for easy understanding, not for limiting the actual scale.

The first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 . FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the calibration system of the present invention. FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of signal transmission in the calibration system of the present invention. The calibration system 100 of the present invention is mainly used for calibrating the test signal (eg, radio frequency signal) output by the signal generator 120 . Specifically, when measuring the integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as the DUT), the general practice in the industry is to place the DUT on the fixture 130 , and the signal generator 120 provides the test signal to the test signal on the fixture 130 . The object under test will generate a corresponding electrical signal after receiving the test signal, and then judge whether the object under test is abnormal or not by observing whether the electrical signal has a value corresponding to the test signal. The internal signal of the fixture 130 The input probes and the signal output probes are directly connected through a one-to-one path, and the fixture 130 can be any platform that can carry an integrated circuit. The signal generator 120 can include a plurality of multiple Inside one of the function boards.

However, since the connection path between the signal generator 120 and the fixture 130 (such as a transmission line) will cause the loss of the signal energy value, the test signal actually received by the DUT is not the test signal provided by the signal generator 120. Rather, the difference is a loss value generated by the connection path between the signal generator 120 and the fixture 130 . Therefore, the calibration system 100 of the present invention is used to calculate the loss value and compensate the loss value to the test signal provided by the signal generator 120 .

The calibration system 100 includes a processing device 110 , a separator 140 and a sensor 150 . Before calibration, the processing device 110 is electrically connected to the signal generator 120 and the sensor 150 . The signal generator 120 and the fixture 130 are connected through a transmission line TL2. The fixture 130 and the separator 140 are connected through a transmission line TL1. The separator 140 and the sensor 150 are connected through a connecting line.

The processing device 110 can be a computer or other electronic device with data processing capability and device control function. The splitter 140 can integrate multiple transmission paths and be connected to the sensor 150 .

Please refer to Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 at the same time. Figure 3 depicts a schematic diagram of the processing apparatus of the present invention. The processing device 110 controls the signal generator 120 to generate a first signal 122 having a first signal strength value, and the first signal 122 is then transmitted to the fixture 130 through the transmission line TL2.

After receiving the first signal 122 from the device 130 , the separator 140 transmits the first signal 122 to the sensor 150 , so that the sensor 150 measures the first signal 122 to obtain the second signal strength value of the first signal 122 . The second signal strength value is the signal strength left by the path loss after the signal generator 120 transmits the first signal strength value of the first signal 122 through the transmission line TL2 , the fixture 130 , the transmission line TL1 and the splitter 140 . The sensor 150 transmits the second signal strength value to the processing device 120, so that the processing device 120 calculates the first loss value based on the first signal strength value and the second signal strength value.

The processing device 120 reads the second loss value from the sensor 150, and calculates the third loss value corresponding to the transmission line TL2 between the signal generator 120 and the fixture 130 and the fixture 130 based on the first loss value and the second loss value . Finally, the processing device 120 controls the signal generator 120 to generate the second signal 124 having the third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value. The third signal strength value is substantially the sum of the first signal strength value and the third loss value.

For example, it is assumed that the detection system 3680 tester is equipped with an HDRF function board that provides radio frequency (RF) signals. power board), CMW100 is the signal generator 120 in the HDRF function board.

In the present invention, the separator 140 and the sensor 150 can be regarded as a calibration device, such as the calibration device 160 shown in FIG. 3 . The calibration device 160 is internally provided with an Electronically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), which stores the loss value of the separator 140 and the connection line between the separator 140 and the sensor 150 . loss value.

Before starting the calibration process, first connect the signal generator 120 , the transmission line TL2 , the fixture 130 , the transmission line TL1 , the separator 140 and the sensor 150 , and then connect the signal generator 120 and the sensor 150 to the processing device 110 . In this embodiment, it is assumed that the processing device 110 is a computer, which includes a transceiver 111 , a storage 113 , a processor 115 and a display screen 117 . The processor 115 is electrically connected to the transceiver 111 , the storage 113 and the display screen 117 , loads a measurement software, and displays the user operation interface of the measurement software on the display screen 117 .

CMW100 can test up to 32 paths (that is, CMW100 contains 32 output ports). When calibrating, the user can select one or more paths to be calibrated (ie, select the output port to be calibrated) on the user interface. Since calculating the path loss between the CMW100 and the fixture 130 needs to know the loss value of the splitter 140 and the loss value of the connecting line between the splitter 140 and the sensor 150, the measurement software will detect the splitter 140 and the sensor 150 connection is normal.

When the connection between the separator 140 and the sensor 150 is normal, the measurement software further detects whether the paths between the output ports selected for calibration and the fixture 130 (ie, the transmission line TL2 ) are normally connected. When the aforementioned connection conditions of the signal generator 120 , the transmission line TL2 , the fixture 130 , the transmission line TL1 , the separator 140 and the sensor 150 are all normal, the calibration process can be started.

The first output port of the CMW100 outputs an RF signal with a first signal strength value of -20dBm and a frequency of 1GHz. When the RF signal reaches the sensor 150 through the transmission line TL2, the fixture 130, the transmission line TL1 and the separator 140, the sensor 150 The measured second signal strength value is -35dBm. The sensor 150 transmits the second signal strength value -35dBm to the processing device 110 .

Next, the processing device 110 determines whether the second signal strength value -35dBm falls within a signal strength range corresponding to the first output port. Specifically, if the frequency band measured by the first output port is 0.07GHz-6GHz, the processing device 110 will store the signal strength values of the sensor 150 at multiple frequencies in the 0.07GHz-6GHz frequency band, and target the same frequency Measure once, and use the obtained signal strength value as the reference value of the signal strength of the first output port, or measure the same frequency several times to obtain the signal strength range corresponding to a specific frequency.

Therefore, the processing device 110 determines whether the second signal strength value -35dBm falls within the signal strength range corresponding to the frequency of 1GHz. If the second signal strength value -35dBm exceeds the signal strength range corresponding to the frequency of 1GHz, the processing device 110 determines the connection status between the transmission line TL2 and the signal generator 120, and determines whether to control the signal generator 120 again to generate a signal with the first signal according to the connection status. A first signal of a signal strength value. In other words, when the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range corresponding to the frequency, the processing device 110 determines whether to re-measure. In other embodiments, the processing device 110 may display the connection status through the display screen 117 .

If the second signal strength value -35dBm falls within the signal strength range corresponding to the frequency of 1GHz, the processing device 110 subtracts the first signal strength value -20dBm from the second signal strength value -35dBm to calculate the first loss value of the entire path is -15dBm, and a second loss value of 10dBm is read from the sensor 150. The second loss value is the sum of the loss value of the transmission line TL1 , the loss value of the splitter 140 and the loss value of the connecting line between the splitter 140 and the sensor 150 .

Finally, the processing device 110 calculates a third loss value of 5 dBm corresponding to the CMW 100 and the fixture 130 according to the first loss value -15 dBm and the second loss value 10 dBm, and controls the CMW 100 to generate a third loss value with the first signal strength value and the third loss value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value. The second signal 124 of the three signal strength values is used to compensate the path loss between the CMW 100 and the fixture 130 . The third signal strength value is substantially the sum of the first signal strength value and the third loss value.

After calculating the path loss between the signal generator 120 and the fixture 130, the user can place the object to be tested on the fixture 130, and the processing device 110 controls the signal generator 120 to transmit the second signal having the third signal strength value. The signal is sent to the DUT on the fixture 130 to detect the DUT.

For another example, the second output port of the CMW100 outputs an RF signal with a first signal strength value of -20dBm and a frequency of 2.5GHz. The RF signal reaches the sensor 150 through the transmission line TL2 , the fixture 130 , the transmission line TL1 and the separator 140 . When , the second signal strength value measured by the sensor 150 is -40.5dBm. The sensor 150 transmits the second signal strength value -40.5dBm to the processing device 110 .

Next, the processing device 110 determines whether the second signal strength value -40.5dBm falls within the signal strength range corresponding to the second output port when the frequency is 2.5GHz. If the second signal strength value -40.5dBm exceeds the signal strength range corresponding to the frequency of 2.5GHz, the processing device 110 determines the connection state between the transmission line TL2 and the signal generator 120, and determines whether to control the signal generator 120 again to generate the signal according to the connection state. A first signal having a first signal strength value.

If the second signal strength value -40.5dBm falls within the signal strength range corresponding to the frequency of 2.5GHz, the processing device 110 subtracts the first signal strength value -20dBm from the second signal strength value -40.5dBm to calculate the first signal strength value of the overall path. A loss value is -20.5dBm, and the second loss value 15dBm is read from the sensor 150 , and the third loss value between the CMW100 and the fixture 130 is calculated according to the first loss value -20 dBm and the second loss value 15 dBm. The loss value is 5.5 dBm, and according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value, the CMW100 is controlled to generate the second signal 124 with the third signal strength value -14.5 dBm to compensate the path loss between the CMW100 and the fixture 130 . The third signal strength value is substantially the sum of the first signal strength value and the third loss value.

The second embodiment of the present invention describes a calibration method, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 4 . The calibration method is applicable to a calibration system (eg, the calibration system 100 of the aforementioned embodiment). The calibration system includes a processing device and a calibration device (eg, the processing device 110 and the calibration device 160 in the foregoing embodiments). The processing device is electrically connected to the signal generator. The calibration method is executed by the processing device, and the steps included in the calibration method are described below.

First, in step S402, the control signal generator generates a first signal with a first signal strength value, transmits the first signal to the jig, and transmits the first signal to the calibration device through the jig. In step S404, the second signal strength value of the first signal is measured through the calibration device.

In step S406, the self-calibrating device receives the second signal strength value, and calculates the first loss value based on the first signal strength value and the second signal strength value. In step S408, the second loss value is read from the calibration device. In step S410, a third loss value between the signal generator and the fixture is calculated based on the first loss value and the second loss value. In step S412, the signal generator is controlled to generate a second signal having a third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value. The third signal strength value is the sum of the first signal strength value and the third loss value.

In other embodiments, the calibration method of the present invention further includes determining whether the second signal strength value falls within the signal strength range. When the second signal strength value falls within the signal strength range, the third loss value is calculated.

In addition, in other embodiments, the signal generator is connected to the fixture through the first transmission line. When the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range, the calibration method of the present invention further determines the connection state between the first transmission line and the signal generator , and determine whether to control the signal generator again to generate the first signal with the first signal strength value according to the connection state.

In addition, in other embodiments, the processing device includes a display screen, and when the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range, the connection status is displayed on the display screen.

In addition to the above steps, the calibration method of the present invention can also perform all operations described in all the foregoing embodiments and have all corresponding functions. Those skilled in the art can directly understand how this embodiment is implemented based on all the foregoing embodiments. Such operations and such functions are not repeated here.

To sum up, the calibration mechanism of the present invention uses the signal generator and the jig to match the known loss value of the calibration device to calculate the path loss of the signal generator and the jig, and further compensate the signal generator. Accordingly, after the RF signal generated by the signal generator is compensated, the signal strength value of the RF signal received by the fixture will be the same as the signal strength value of the RF signal output by the signal generator before compensation. In addition, the calibration process of the present invention can calibrate the paths of multiple output ports of the signal generator at one time, thereby further improving the efficiency of the calibration process.

The above-mentioned embodiments are only used to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and to illustrate the technical characteristics of the present invention, and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any changes or equality arrangements that can be easily accomplished by those skilled in the art fall within the claimed scope of the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention should be subject to the scope of the patent application.

100: Correction System 110: Processing device 120: Signal generator 130: Jig 140: Separator 150: Sensor 160: Correction device 122: First Signal 124: Second Signal TL1: Transmission Line TL2: Transmission Line 111: Transceiver 112: First Order 113: Storage 115: Processor 117: Display screen

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the calibration system of the present invention; FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of signal transmission in the calibration system of the present invention; FIG. 3 depicts a schematic diagram of the processing apparatus of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the calibration method of the present invention.

none

110: Processing device

120: Signal generator

130: Jig

140: Separator

150: Sensor

122: First Signal

124: Second Signal

Claims (10)

A correction system comprising: a processing device electrically connected to a signal generator for controlling the signal generator to generate a first signal with a first signal strength value and transmitting the first signal to a fixture; a separator electrically connected to the fixture for receiving the first signal from the fixture; and a sensor electrically connected to the separator for measuring the first signal to obtain a second signal strength value of the first signal, and transmitting the second signal strength value to the processing device, causing the processing device to calculate a first loss value based on the first signal strength value and the second signal strength value; The processing device is used for reading a second loss value from the sensor, and based on the first loss value and the second loss value, calculates a second transmission line corresponding to the signal generator and the fixture and The fixture has a third loss value, and controls the signal generator to generate a second signal with a third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value, wherein the third signal strength value is substantially the sum of the first signal strength value and the third loss value. The calibration system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further configured to determine whether the second signal strength value falls within a signal strength range, and when the second signal strength value falls within the signal strength range, used to calculate the third loss value. The calibration system according to claim 2, wherein when the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range, the processing device is further configured to determine a connection state between the second transmission line and the signal generator, and according to the The connection state determines whether to control the signal generator again to generate the first signal with the first signal strength value. The calibration system of claim 3, wherein the processing device comprises a display screen, and when the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range, the display screen is used to display the connection status. The calibration system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further configured to control the signal generator to transmit the second signal with the third signal strength value to an object to be tested on the fixture to detect the to-be-tested object measure. A processing device, comprising: a transceiver; a storage for storing a first loss value of a calibration device; and a processor, electrically connected to the transceiver and the storage, and configured to perform at least the following operations: sending a first command to a signal generator through the transceiver, so that the signal generator generates a first signal with a first signal strength value based on the first command; Control the signal generator to transmit the first signal to a fixture through a first transmission line, and transmit the first signal from the fixture to the calibration device through a second transmission line, so that the calibration device measures the first signal a signal to obtain a second signal strength value of the first signal; receiving the second signal strength value from the calibration device; and A second loss value of the first transmission line is calculated based on the first signal strength value, the second signal strength value and the first loss value. A calibration method for a calibration system, the calibration system includes a processing device and a calibration device, the processing device is electrically connected to a signal generator, the calibration method is executed by the processing device and includes the following steps: controlling the signal generator to generate a first signal with a first signal strength value, and transmitting the first signal to a fixture, and transmitting the first signal to the calibration device through the fixture; measuring a second signal strength value of the first signal through the calibration device; receiving the second signal strength value from the calibration device, and calculating a first loss value based on the first signal strength value and the second signal strength value; read a second loss value from the calibration device; calculating a third loss value between the signal generator and the fixture based on the first loss value and the second loss value; and The signal generator is controlled to generate a second signal having a third signal strength value according to the first signal strength value and the third loss value, wherein the third signal strength value is the first signal strength value and the third signal strength value Sum of loss values. The calibration method as described in claim 7 further comprises the following steps: determining whether the second signal strength value falls within a signal strength range; and When the second signal strength value falls within the signal strength range, the third loss value is calculated. The calibration method according to claim 8, wherein the signal generator is connected to the fixture through a first transmission line, and the calibration method further comprises the following steps: When the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range, determine a connection state between the first transmission line and the signal generator; and Whether to control the signal generator again to generate the first signal with the first signal strength value is determined according to the connection state. The calibration method according to claim 9, wherein the processing device comprises a display screen, and the calibration method further comprises the following steps: When the second signal strength value exceeds the signal strength range, the connection status is displayed on the display screen.

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