Method of test characterization of an analog front end receiver in a communication system
First Claim
1. In a transceiver having a plurality of ports with each port including a transmitter with a variable amplitude and a receiver having a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog to digital converter (ADC), a method for testing the components of the transceiver, comprising:
- (1) coupling a transmitter of a first port to a receiver of a second port, wherein an amplitude of the transmitter of the first port is set to a maximum amplitude and a gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port is set to a minimum gain;
(2) transmitting a signal from the transmitter of the first port to the receiver of the second port; and
(3) varying the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port over a range of amplitude settings and detecting if the signal transmitted by the transmitter of the first port has been received by the receiver of the second port without error over the range of amplitude settings of the transmitter of the first port.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-port transceiver includes a transmitter and receiver for each port. The invention is a test method and apparatus for testing individual components in the transmit and receive paths. Specifically, the invention includes a method of testing the full range of a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog to digital converter (ADC) in the receive path of each port. This is accomplished by connecting the transmitter of one port directly to the receiver of a second port, and varying the amplitude of the transmitter over a range of gain settings of the PGA while examining if the dynamic range of the receiver has been exceeded.
29 Citations
28 Claims
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1. In a transceiver having a plurality of ports with each port including a transmitter with a variable amplitude and a receiver having a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog to digital converter (ADC), a method for testing the components of the transceiver, comprising:
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(1) coupling a transmitter of a first port to a receiver of a second port, wherein an amplitude of the transmitter of the first port is set to a maximum amplitude and a gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port is set to a minimum gain; (2) transmitting a signal from the transmitter of the first port to the receiver of the second port; and (3) varying the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port over a range of amplitude settings and detecting if the signal transmitted by the transmitter of the first port has been received by the receiver of the second port without error over the range of amplitude settings of the transmitter of the first port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. In a transceiver having a plurality of ports with each port including a transmitter with a variable amplitude and a receiver having a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog to digital converter (ADC), a method for testing the components of the transceiver, comprising:
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(1) coupling a transmitter of a first port to a receiver of a second port and setting the gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port to a minimum gain and setting the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port to a maximum amplitude; (2) transmitting a signal from the transmitter of the first port to the receiver of the second port; and (3) varying the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port over a range of amplitude settings and detecting if the signal transmitted by the transmitter of the first port has been received by the receiver of the second port without error over the range of amplitude settings of the transmitter of the first port by; (a) decreasing the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port if the dynamic range of the receiver of the second port has been exceeded; (b) detecting if the receiver of the second port has correctly converged to the signal received from the transmitter of the first port; (c) detecting if the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port is consistent with the gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port; (d) increasing the gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port; and (e) repeating steps (a)-(d) while the gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port is not at a maximum. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A transceiver having a plurality of ports, comprising:
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a first port including a transmitter with a variable amplitude; a second port including a receiver having a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog to digital converter (ADC); an output of the transmitter of the first port connected to an input of the receiver of the second port, wherein an amplitude of the transmitter of the first port is set to a maximum amplitude and a gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port is set to a minimum gain; wherein the transmitter of the first port is configured to transmit multiple signals to the receiver of the second port, wherein the multiple signals have a range of amplitude settings, the receiver of the second port is configured to be monitored to detect if the multiple signals transmitted by the transmitter of the first port have been received by the receiver of the second port without error over the range of amplitude settings of the transmitter of the first port. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. In a transceiver having a plurality of ports with each port including a transmitter with a variable amplitude and a receiver having a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and an analog to digital converter (ADC), a method for testing the components of the transceiver, comprising:
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(1) coupling a transmitter of a first port to a receiver of a second port, wherein an amplitude of the transmitter of the first port is set to a maximum amplitude and a gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port is set to a minimum gain; (2) transmitting a signal from the transmitter of the first port to the receiver of the second port; (3) decreasing the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port if a dynamic range of the receiver of the second port has been exceeded; (4) detecting if the receiver of the second port has correctly converged to the signal received from the transmitter of the first port; (5) detecting if the amplitude of the transmitter of the first port is consistent with the gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port; and (6) increasing the gain of the PGA of the receiver of the second port. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification