Methods for validating radio-frequency test stations
First Claim
1. A method of validating a plurality of inspection test stations, the method comprising:
- with a plurality of calibration reference structures, calibrating at least one master test station that is different from the plurality of inspection test stations;
testing a plurality of verification reference structures with the at least one master test station after calibrating the at least one master test station with the plurality of calibration reference structures; and
using the plurality of verification reference structures that have been tested with the at least one master test station, determining whether each inspection test station in the plurality of inspection test stations has satisfactory performance.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A manufacturing system for assembling wireless electronic devices is provided. The manufacturing system may include test stations for testing the radio-frequency performance of components that are to be assembled within the electronic devices. A reference test station may be calibrated using calibration coupons having known radio-frequency characteristics. The calibration coupons may include transmission line structures. The reference test station may measure verification standards to establish baseline measurement data. The verification standards may include circuitry having electrical components with given impedance values. Many verification coupons may be measured to enable testing for a wide range of impedance values. Test stations in the manufacturing system may subsequently measure the verification standards to generate test measurement data. The test measurement data may be compared to the baseline measurement data to characterize the performance of the test stations to ensure consistent test measurements across the test stations.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of validating a plurality of inspection test stations, the method comprising:
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with a plurality of calibration reference structures, calibrating at least one master test station that is different from the plurality of inspection test stations; testing a plurality of verification reference structures with the at least one master test station after calibrating the at least one master test station with the plurality of calibration reference structures; and using the plurality of verification reference structures that have been tested with the at least one master test station, determining whether each inspection test station in the plurality of inspection test stations has satisfactory performance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of calibrating a master test station, the method comprising:
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sequentially coupling the master test station to each passive reference test structure of a plurality of passive reference test structures; with the master test station, obtaining calibration measurement data by testing each of the passive reference test structures of the plurality of passive reference test structures while the passive reference test structures are coupled to the master test station; and calibrating the master test station using calibration data generated by comparing the obtained calibration measurement data to reference data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of validating a plurality of inspection test stations, the method comprising:
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sequentially coupling each inspection test station of the plurality of inspection test stations to each passive reference test structure of a plurality of passive reference test structures; with each inspection test station in the plurality of inspection test stations, obtaining verification measurement data by performing radio-frequency testing on each of the passive reference test structures of the plurality of passive reference test structures while each of the passive reference test structures of the plurality of passive reference test structures is coupled to that inspection test station; and determining whether each inspection test station in the plurality of inspection test stations has satisfactory performance by comparing the verification measurement data to reference data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification