EP-4736331-A1 - TRANSCEIVER BUILT-IN SELF-TEST

EP4736331A1EP 4736331 A1EP4736331 A1EP 4736331A1EP-4736331-A1

Abstract

A method of self-testing a transceiver integrated circuit substrate includes: providing a test signal to a transmission line that is communicatively coupled, or selectively communicatively coupled, to an input of a power amplifier of a first transceiver subcircuit of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; providing the test signal from the transmission line to an LNA of an LNA of a second transceiver subcircuit of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; and measuring the test signal before amplification by the LNA, or after amplification by the LNA, or both.

Inventors

FENG, YUNFEI
CHEN, WU-HSIN
EMBABI, Sherif Hassan Kamel
LIU, LI
WANG, CHUAN
DABBAGH REZAEI, Vahid
PANIKKATH, VINOD
MEDRA, ALAAELDIEN MOHAMED ABDELRAZEK
DAVIERWALLA, ANOSH
YU, XINMIN
HASSAN, Muhammad

Assignees

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240603

Claims (20)

1. A transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry, the transceiver integrated circuit substrate comprising: a transmission-signal source configured to produce a test signal; a first transceiver subcircuit including a power amplifier that includes a poweramplifier input that is communicatively coupled, or selectively communicatively coupled, to a transmission line that is communicatively coupled to the transmissionsignal source to receive the test signal and that includes a power-amplifier output communicatively coupled to a first input/ output of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; a second transceiver subcircuit including a low-noise amplifier (LNA) that includes an LNA input communicatively coupled to a second input/output of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; a feedback circuit that is configured to selectively communicatively couple the transmission line to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit; test circuitry communicatively coupled to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit, or communicatively coupled to an LNA output of the LNA of the second transceiver subcircuit, or a receive chain intermediate frequency output, or any combination of two or more thereof; and a controller communicatively coupled to the transmission-signal source, the first transceiver subcircuit, the second transceiver subcircuit, and the feedback circuit, and configured to cause the feedback circuit to communicatively couple the transmission line of the first transceiver subcircuit to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit.
2. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to inhibit the power amplifier from providing an output signal to the power-amplifier output based on the test signal and, concurrently, cause the feedback circuit to communicatively couple the transmission line to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit to provide the test signal to the LNA of the second transceiver subcircuit.
3. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 2, wherein to inhibit the power amplifier from providing the output signal to the power-amplifier output based on the test signal the controller is configured to cause the power amplifier to be off.
4. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 2, wherein to inhibit the power amplifier from providing the output signal to the power-amplifier output based on the test signal the controller is configured to disconnect the transmission line from the power-amplifier input.
5. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the power amplifier is disposed in close proximity to a first edge of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate and the LNA is disposed in close proximity to a second edge of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate that is distinct from the first edge of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate.
6. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 5, wherein the first edge of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate is an opposite edge of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate relative to the second edge of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate.
7. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 5, wherein the feedback circuit extends proximate to a perimeter of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate.
8. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the feedback circuit is configured to selectively communicatively couple the transmission line of the first transceiver subcircuit to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit without extending between the first transceiver subcircuit and the second transceiver subcircuit.
9. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the test circuitry comprises a signal measurement device communicatively coupled to the LNA input.
10. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the signal measurement device is coupled to measure an outgoing signal from a power amplifier of the second transceiver subcircuit.
11. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the test circuitry comprises a signal measurement device communicatively coupled to the LNA output of the LNA.
12. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver subcircuit includes a phase shifter coupled to the transmission line and the feedback circuit is coupled to the transmission line between the phase shifter and the power amplifier.
13. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the feedback circuit is a first feedback circuit, the power-amplifier input of the first transceiver subcircuit is a first power-amplifier input, and the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit is a first LNA input, the transceiver integrated circuit substrate further comprising a second feedback circuit that is configured to selectively communicatively couple a second transmission line at least selectively coupled to a second power-amplifier input of the second transceiver subcircuit to a second LNA input of the first transceiver subcircuit.
14. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the test circuitry is configured to determine a receive gain of the second transceiver subcircuit.
15. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver subcircuit comprises a portion of first polarization circuitry configured to process signals corresponding to a first polarization, and the second transceiver subcircuit comprises a portion of second polarization circuitry configured to process signals corresponding to a second polarization that is different from the first polarization.
16. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the transmission line is a first transmission line, and wherein the feedback circuit is configured to selectively communicatively couple the first transmission line to a signal measurement device of the second transceiver subcircuit, and to a coupler that is configured to couple the test signal to a second transmission line, of the second transceiver subcircuit, that is communicatively coupled to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit.
17. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the feedback circuit comprises a shunt switch configured to tune an impedance to adjust a signal strength of the test signal provided to the LNA input.
18. The transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry of claim 1, wherein the feedback circuit is configured to selectively communicatively couple the transmission line to one or more of a plurality of LNA inputs of the second transceiver subcircuit.
19. A method of self-testing a transceiver integrated circuit substrate, the method comprising: providing a test signal to a transmission line that is communicatively coupled, or selectively communicatively coupled, to an input of a power amplifier of a first transceiver subcircuit of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; providing the test signal from the transmission line to a low-noise amplifier input (LNA input) of an LNA of a second transceiver subcircuit of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; and measuring the test signal before amplification by the LNA, or after amplification by the LNA, or both.
20. A transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry, the transceiver integrated circuit substrate comprising: means for providing a test signal to a transmission line that is communicatively coupled, or selectively communicatively coupled, to an input of a power amplifier of a first transceiver subcircuit of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; means for providing the test signal from the transmission line to a low-noise amplifier input (LNA input) of an LNA of a second transceiver subcircuit of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; and means for measuring the test signal before amplification by the LNA. or after amplification by the LNA, or both.

Description

TRANSCEIVER BUILT-IN SELF -TEST CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/611,179, filed March 20, 2024, entitled "TRANSCEIVER BUILT-IN SELF-TEST,” and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/51 1,072, filed June 29, 2023, entitled “TRANSCEIVER BUILT-IN SELF-TEST,” and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/511 ,487. filed June 30, 2023, entitled “TRANSCEIVER BUILT-IN SELF-TEST.” which are assigned to the assignee hereof, and the entire contents are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND [0002] Wireless communication devices are increasingly popular and increasingly complex. For example, mobile telecommunication devices have progressed from simple phones, to smart phones with multiple communication capabilities (e.g., multiple cellular communication protocols, Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH® and other short-range communication protocols), supercomputing processors, cameras, etc. Wireless communication devices have antennas to support various functionality such as communication over a range of frequencies, reception of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, also called Satellite Positioning Signals (SPS signals), etc. [0003] With several antennas disposed in a single wireless communication device, available volume for antennas is at a premium. For example, smartphones may have numerous antennas (e.g., eight antennas, 10 antennas, or more) with very limited volume due to the size of devices that consumers desire. Consequently, antenna assemblies (e.g., modules) may be limited to very' small volumes, e.g., with widths of 4mm or less. [0004] Despite the volume restrictions for antennas, desired functionality of the antennas continues to increase. With the advent of 5th generation (5G) of wireless communication technology, mmW (millimeter- wave) phased array antennas have received extensive attention to address the propagation loss and aperture blockage hurdles by introducing higher antenna gain and beamforming features. Multiple-input- multiple-output (MIMO) systems is one of the key enablers of 5G technology to increase the spectral efficiency and system capacity by effectively streaming the transmit/receive data with two orthogonally polarized signals (cross-polarized signals) in desired directions. The trend in consumer electronics is to develop RF (Radio Frequency) assemblies (radio frequency assemblies) with small form factors which can be easily accommodated within the limited space of the emerging smart devices including cell phones and tablets. The physical requirements of antennas make maintaining or improving performance (e.g., in terms of coverage, latency, and quality of service over desired coverage area) difficult. [0005] Production of wireless communication devices, including millimeter-wave integrated circuit (IC) production, is costly in terms of test procedures, equipment, and testing time. On-chip built-in self-test (BIST) circuitry may reduce cost, including testing time, but presents challenges to enable accurate test results. SUMMARY [0006] An example transceiver integrated circuit substrate with built-in self-test circuitry includes: a transmission-signal source configured to produce a test signal; a first transceiver subcircuit including a power amplifier that includes a power-amplifier input that is communicatively coupled, or selectively communicatively coupled, to a transmission line that is communicatively coupled to the transmission-signal source to receive the test signal and that includes a power-amplifier output communicatively coupled to a first input/output of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; a second transceiver subcircuit including a low-noise amplifier (LNA) that includes an LNA input communicatively coupled to a second input/output of the transceiver integrated circuit substrate; a feedback circuit that is configured to selectively communicatively couple the transmission line to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit; test circuitry communicatively coupled to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit, or communicatively coupled to an LNA output of the LNA of the second transceiver subcircuit, or a receive chain intermediate frequency output, or any combination of two or more thereof; and a controller communicatively coupled to the transmission-signal source, the first transceiver subcircuit, the second transceiver subcircuit, and the feedback circuit, and configured to cause the feedback circuit to communicatively couple the transmission line of the first transceiver subcircuit to the LNA input of the second transceiver subcircuit. [0007] An example method of self-testing a transceiver integrated circuit substrate includes: providing a test signal to a transmission line that is communicatively coupled, or selectively communicatively coupled, to an input of a power amplifier of a first transceiver su