Software based fixture design for the transmission parameter measurement of RAFT (radio antenna frequency tuner)

• Main Author: Medrano, Anthony Hilmer S.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2011
• Subjects: Radio frequency integrated circuits; Radio—Receivers and reception; Antennas (Electronics); Electrical and Electronics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6869
• Institution: De La Salle University

The practicum project involves a study on the new RFIC product of STMicroelectronics. A research on its core technology was conducted and analysis of its datasheet and specification was performed. The outcome of the research and analysis were used in defining the necessary transmission parameters needed for characterization. Upon identifying the necessary parameters the essential test bench instruments were identified. The main part of the project is to recommend an in-fixture measurement scheme for the characterization of the RFIC. A proposed test fixture for the device under test (DUT) was designed using EDA software Agilent Advance Design Systems (ADS) and Ansoft Software. The proposed test fixture was evaluated by performing simulations and a de-embedding process and calculation was conducted to remove the effects of the fixture on a simulated in-fixture measurements. For the test fixture design, the dielectric constants, thickness, trace width and characteristic impedance were decided using the ESTIMATE’s function of this software. Then a model of the microstrip line was then created in Agilents Advance System Design (ADS) for simulation and S-parameter determination. Agilent’s ADS was also used to simulate the performance of the proposed test fixture. A passive network was programmed via ADS after which its S-parameter was determined via computer simulations. An EDA microstrip fixture model was was then included in the simulation schematic and the S-parameters were again determined. The iv simulations results of the S-parameters with the fixture and the S-parameter of the fixture halves were then used in the de-embedding calculations, this was performed via MatLab. Comparisons were then made between the De-embedded S-parameter and the S-parameter of the DUT only.