A BIST Solution for Frequency Domain Characterization of Analog Circuits

This work presents an efficient implementation of a BIST solution for frequency characterization of analog systems. It allows a complete characterization in terms of magnitude and phase, including also harmonic distortion and offset measurements. Signal generation is performed using a modified filter, while response evaluation is based on 1st-order ΣΔ modulation and very simple digital processing. The signal generator and the response analyzer have been implemented using the Switched-Capacitor (SC) technique in a standard 0.35 μm–3.3 V CMOS technology. Both circuits have been separately validated, and an on-board prototype of the complete test system for frequency characterization has been implemented. Experimental results verify the functionality of the proposed approach, and a dynamic range of 70 dB@62.5 kHz (1 MHz clock) has been demonstrated.