An Area Efficient Built-in Phase Testing Equipment for Phased Array Front-End ICs

A Built-in Test Equipment (BITE) to measure the phase of the channel in front-end phased array ICs is presented. A built-in measurement algorithm is employed which enables a compact design approach. A frequency divider is used as quadrature generator, amplifier, limiter, and frequency scaler (all-in-one), for reduced circuitry and complexity. A proof of concept of the proposed BITE is fabricated in an in-house BiCMOS process. The size of the BITE is 0.026 square millimeters, and the measured phase accuracy at 30.5 GHz is with an RMS error of 5.2 degrees.