How to take measurement engineering to the next level? Here’s what the ADI Engineering Measurement Team says

"Going to the next level" has been implicit in ADI's corporate strategy for many years, but it is becoming clearer today. Once we only provided discrete devices and data sheets, our new philosophy is to engage and understand the entirety of the problem we are trying to solve for our customers. As part of this new philosophy, ADI's measurement engineering has moved beyond the traditional approach of testing only ICs to testing solutions, including software, signal chain systems in packages, micromodules, and other components. This approach will ensure that the solutions we develop create significant value for our customers.

Within ADI, the measurement engineering team is sometimes viewed as the people who develop the hardware and software to bring products to market. However, the measurement department, which consists of test and evaluation engineering, is one of the most challenging engineering disciplines at ADI today. Measurement engineers are the foundation of our relationships with our customers. They are the people you trust when looking at guaranteed maximum and minimum device specifications, typical performance, maximum ratings, and robustness. As designs continue to increase in performance, we rely on the experience of our measurement engineers to keep pace with improvements in every aspect of performance, whether speed, noise, power consumption, or new integrated features.

The measurement profession consists of test and evaluation engineering, and the challenges faced include breakthrough performance, on-time delivery, and ever-increasing quality requirements. Not long ago, we were dealing with simple single-function ICs (converters) with 10-bit or 12-bit accuracy. Today, 20-bit SAR converters, 20-bit DAC converters, and 32-bit Σ-Δ converters show how the measurement challenges have changed as IC technology has advanced over the past few years. To illustrate the extent of the change, we will examine the evolution of low-power Σ-Δ products to help illustrate the completeness of signal chain integration achieved and highlight the demands and advances this has placed on our measurement capabilities.

As we now look to take SiPs (systems in packages), micromodules, and modules to the next level, customers will again present us with new measurement challenges that will force us to improve our measurement methods and develop novel test and measurement solutions. SiPs leverage complex core technologies to integrate passive and active devices (and sometimes a central processing unit to perform configuration and control) to achieve unprecedented levels of system integration. This level of integration introduces an increasing number of functions, embedded feature sets, advanced packaging, internal node access issues, embedded software, system-level calibration, and more. These solutions simplify the experience of using complex converter products, whose complexity and design and measurement barriers are handled and resolved within ADI.

A prime example of the latest test and measurement challenges is the advancement of our low power Σ-Δ family of products. To demonstrate the progress made, Figure 1 highlights the fact that the level of our system-on-chip is now far superior to previous generations of converters. The latest product in this family is a low power, low noise, fully integrated analog front end for high precision measurement applications. The level of signal chain integration required measurement experience in the 24-bit Σ-Δ ADC domain, reference performance and accuracy, channel sequencing and timing, digital features and functions, and oscillator performance. For comparison, Figure 1 also shows a typical previous 16-bit device, which was considered breakthrough performance at the time. The challenges have been solved and today’s technology has improved by several orders of magnitude. Unless the technology advances match our test and measurement capabilities, we will not be able to maintain our industry technology leadership.

In-depth knowledge of converter architectures, expertise in mixed-signal test circuit design, PCB layout techniques, and measurement software allow us to extract the best performance from these highly integrated converters. This facilitates SiP/module development, allowing our experience to be used to solve more customer design challenges and reduce development time.

As we move forward and tackle our customers' future problems, our toolbox is filled with a wealth of products and measurement expertise. Throughout ADI's history, we have continued to make breakthroughs in practical signal processing and continue to expand our core technologies through on-chip integration. In recent years, we have begun to enter the fields of DSP, RF, and MEMS, and break new ground in emerging fields such as the Internet of Things.

ADI's acquisition of Linear Technology is a further step, integrating our strong product portfolio and adding industry-leading high-performance analog and power solutions. This solidifies our position to combine these technologies and impact customers with solutions that truly demonstrate our capabilities.

Figure 2 shows our progress in accumulating technologies both horizontally and vertically, and we are now using these building blocks in SiP/module development to provide solutions beyond silicon. Measurement engineers support this goal by integrating our expertise in these core technologies.

Why does ADI think this is necessary? From our interactions with customers, we know that they are evolving, and they are moving to the next level. The landscape is changing, your mixed-signal design team may be smaller, you may have other areas of focus and expertise, and you are looking for ways to shorten design cycles and time to market. ADI can help you overcome these design challenges by providing the complete signal chain, which requires effective measurement solutions as support.

By working with customers early, measurement engineers can leverage our hardware expertise to prototype SiP/module development. We can perform proof of concept for novel ideas and quickly debug and evaluate, iterating schematics and layouts as necessary to achieve optimal performance. We can perform mission testing, evaluate customer sensors, test the entire system in specific application scenarios, and analyze the data to ensure all requirements are met before developing the final SiP or module.

These prototypes also allow us to develop ATE solutions to address new test challenges that system-level devices may present, such as package size, test node access points, or firmware interfaces.

With our experience with the core technologies of the modules that make up these products, we can apply our device-level know-how to get the best performance out of these devices and even take system-level performance to new levels. The prototype allows us to easily interface with benchmark stimulus signals and measurement instruments and evaluate which test nodes need to be accessed for production testing. This prototype allows us and our customers to begin verifying system-level calibration of the entire system signal path.

As the SiP/module evolves, processors are needed to complete configuration, control, and algorithm processing, and firmware may need to be developed to simplify and remove the burden on the customer. This can start with a prototype and evolve. By developing and testing firmware, measurement engineers apply their troubleshooting mindset to detect errors and predict situations that may cause problems. This can be fed back into the system design and improved. This prototype can be used to show ideas to customers, stimulate feedback, and then determine the direction of module development. In this way, customers can influence the solution from an early stage.

Over the years, as the complexity and integration of core technologies have continued to grow, so have the capabilities of the ADI measurement team. We now test much more than just core converters, and the increased integration of chips has in turn led to advances in measurement techniques and skills. Our measurement solutions in the lab and production test have evolved along with technology. Combining our measurement expertise in core converters, sensors, amplifiers, references, power supplies, and digital circuits, we are able to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Looking ahead, ADI will continue to scale new heights with the continued development of multi-chip SiPs, modules, and micromodules. These modules take technology to the next level, bringing new challenges to measurement engineering, but also reducing the engineering burden on our customers. Simplifying our customers' application development work is the central mission of ADI technology. We have expanded and will continue to expand our measurement technology capabilities to fully leverage our expertise to support these new technologies. Whether through prototype PCB design, mission testing, firmware development, or prototype demonstrations, ADI's measurement engineers are key to the success of these products.

As the pace of advancement in our technology products accelerates, the ADI measurement team will stay one step ahead, ensuring world-class measurements go hand in hand with world-leading technology.