Nxp B.v.

Abdellatif Zanati

Jan-Peter Schat

Adrianus Buijsman

Michael Doescher

Holger Mahnke

Giorgio Carluccio

Henrik Asendorf

Jonas Ove Harm

Michael B Vincent

Cicero Silveira Vaucher

Antonius Johannes Matheus De Graauw

Maristella Spella

Waqas Hassan Syed

Gennaro Gentile

Nicolas Lamielle

Dominik Xaver Simon

A circuit-board interposer includes contacts on a top surface and a bottom surface and includes a millimeter-wave coaxial transition structure formed using contacts on the top surface and vias extending into the interposer. A first via extends into the interposer to a first depth and is surrounded by additional vias that penetrate the interposer to a second depth smaller than the first depth. The interposer also includes a hollow conductive waveguide structure formed within the interposer that extends from the second depth to a third depth that has a first end and a second end. The first via extends into the waveguide at the first end and an aperture is present at the second end. The coaxial transition and the waveguide together are configured to couple millimeter-wave energy from a feed contact on the top surface of the interposer and direct it to the aperture.

Interposers with millimeter-wave coaxial-to-waveguide transistions

A compact integrated circuit (IC) that outputs millimeter-wave energy can be assembled into a highly compact package that can utilize ultrasmall contacts and/or contacts arrange with nonstandard pitch. The millimeter-wave IC can be assembled onto an interposer that includes an integrated transition configured to be coupled to a millimeter-wave waveguide on a printed circuit board having contacts that have a standardized size and pitch.

Interposers with millimeter-wave transitions

An integrated circuit package comprising an encapsulant, a semiconductor die in the encapsulant the semiconductor die comprising a plurality of die terminals, an integrated waveguide launcher, wherein the integrated waveguide launcher is connected to one of the die terminals and a land grid array provided on a bottom surface of the package. The land grid array comprises a plurality of package terminals, each package terminal configured to be soldered to a printed circuit board, and an opening, wherein the opening is aligned with the integrated waveguide launcher.

Integrated circuit package with integrated waveguide launcher

A semiconductor device and a method of making the same. The device includes an encapsulant. The device also includes a semiconductor die in the encapsulant. The device further includes electromagnetic radiation transmitting and receiving parts in the encapsulant. The device also includes an intermediate portion having a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is attached to the encapsulant. The device also includes an antenna portion attached to the second surface of the intermediate portion. The antenna portion includes one or more openings for conveying electromagnetic radiation. The intermediate portion includes one or more corresponding openings aligned with the openings of the antenna portion. Each opening of the antenna portion and each corresponding opening of the intermediate portion forms an electrically contiguous passage for conveying the electromagnetic radiation to the electromagnetic radiation transmitting and receiving parts in the encapsulant.

Semiconductor device and method

A method of manufacturing a device is provided. The method includes forming a first cavity in a first substrate with the first cavity having a first depth. A second cavity is formed in a second substrate with the second cavity having a second depth. The first cavity and the second cavity are aligned with each other. The first substrate is affixed to the second substrate to form a waveguide substrate having a hollow waveguide with a first dimension substantially equal to the first depth plus the second depth. A conductive layer is formed on the sidewalls of the hollow waveguide. The waveguide substrate is placed over a packaged semiconductor device, the hollow waveguide aligned with a launcher of the packaged semiconductor device.

Hollow waveguide assembly formed by affixing first and second substrates to form a cavity therein and having a conductive layer covering the cavity

A test apparatus and method for testing a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes an integrated circuit and a plurality of external radiating elements located at a surface of the device. The external radiating elements include at least one transmit element and receive element. The test apparatus includes a plunger. The plunger includes a dielectric portion having a surface for placing against the surface of the device. The plunger also includes at least one waveguide. Each waveguide extends through the plunger for routing electromagnetic radiation transmitted by one of the transmit elements of the device to one of the receive elements of the device. Each waveguide comprises a plurality of waveguide openings for coupling electromagnetically to corresponding radiating elements of the device. The dielectric portion is configured to provide a matched interface for the electromagnetic coupling of the waveguide openings to the plurality of external radiating elements of the device.

Test apparatus and method for testing a semiconductor device

A method of testing a semiconductor device. An apparatus comprising a semiconductor device and a test apparatus. The semiconductor device includes an integrated circuit and a plurality of external radiating elements at a surface of the device, the radiating elements include transmit elements and receive elements. The test apparatus includes a surface for placing against the surface of the device. The test apparatus also includes at least one waveguide, which extends through the test apparatus for routing electromagnetic radiation transmitted by one of the transmit elements of the device to one of the receive elements of the device. Each waveguide comprises a plurality of waveguide openings for coupling electromagnetically to corresponding radiating elements of the plurality of radiating elements located at the surface of the device. A spacing between the waveguide openings of each waveguide is larger than, or smaller than a spacing between the corresponding radiating elements.

Method and apparatus comprising a semiconductor device and test apparatus

A radar unit () is described that comprises: a frequency generation circuit () configured to generate a millimetre wave, mmW, frequency modulated continuous wave, FMCW, transmit signal comprising a plurality of chirps; a transmitter circuit () configured to transmit the generated mmW FMCW transmit signal: a receiver circuit () configured to receive an echo of the mmW FMCW transmit signal; and a built-in self-test, BIST, circuit () coupled to the receiver circuit () and configured to process the echo of the mmW FMCW transmit signal. The receiver circuit () is configured to operate with at least two different paths for at least two successive chirps of the mmW FMCW transmit signal and create therefrom at least two respective received chirp signals; and the BIST circuit () is configured to process and compare the at least two respective received chirp signals and determine therefrom an operational state of at least one circuit or component within the receiver circuit ().

Built-in self-test for a radar unit receiver and method therefor

Embodiments of a method and a device are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method for operating a radar system is disclosed. The method involves generating a chirp signal having a repeating pattern of chirps, each chirp in the repeating pattern of chirps having a base frequency and a chirp bandwidth, wherein the repeating pattern of chirps includes at least two chirps that differ from each other in at least one of base frequency and chirp bandwidth, transmitting a radar signal according to the chirp signal, receiving radio frequency energy that includes a reflected portion of the radar signal, and selecting for processing from the received radio frequency energy a signal that matches the repeating pattern of chirps of the chirp signal.

Radar systems and methods for operating radar systems

An ATE testing system () for millimetre wave (mmW) packaged integrated circuits () includes: at least one packaged integrated circuit (); a radio frequency, RF, socket () configured to receive the at least one packaged integrated circuit () and facilitate routing RF signals thereto via at least one input connector and at least one output connector; and at least one interface configured to couple a tester to at least one packaged integrated circuit (). The RF socket () includes a mmW absorber () located adjacent the at least one output connector of the RF socket ().

ATE testing system and method for millimetre wave packaged integrated circuits

A built-in self-test, BIST, radar unit () is described. The BIST radar unit () comprises: a frequency generation circuit () configured to generate a mmW transmit signal; a transmitter circuit comprising: at least one phase shifter () configured apply at least one phase shift to the mmW transmit signal; and at least one phase inverter () coupled to the at least one phase shifter () and configured to invert a phase of the phase shifted mmW transmit signal. A receiver configured to receive and process a received version of the mmW transmit signal. The at least one phase inverter () is configured to rotate the phase shifted mmW transmit signal to apply a secondary modulation to the mmW transmit signal; and the receiver is configured to receive and process a received version of the mmW transmit signal to determine an operational state of the BIST radar unit () based on a determined phase shift performance of the secondary modulation of the received version of the mmW transmit signal.

Built-in self-test radar unit and method for phase shift measurement therein

An example method includes stressing, under different circuit-stress test conditions, a plurality of different types of regional circuits susceptible to time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), and in response, monitoring for levels of reliability failure associated with the plurality of different types of regional circuits. The method includes storing a set of stress-test data based on each of the levels of reliability failure, the set of stress-test data being stored within the integrated circuit to indicate reliability-threshold test data specific to the integrated circuit. Within the integrated circuit, an on-chip monitoring circuit indicates operational conditions of suspect reliability associated with dielectric breakdown of at least one of the plurality of different types of regional circuits. And, the method further includes, during operation of the integrated circuit, adjusting at least one of the different circuit-stress test conditions based on the indicated operational conditions of suspect reliability.

Apparatuses and methods involving adjustable circuit-stress test conditions for stressing regional circuits

Embodiments are provided for a radar device and a method for operating a radar device, the radar device having a transmitter and a receiver, the method including: generating a noise signal; mixing the noise signal with a transmitter output radio frequency (RF) signal to produce an intermediate signal, wherein the transmitter output RF signal is a version of a local oscillator (LO) signal having linearly increasing frequency; attenuating the intermediate signal to produce a test signal; adding the test signal to a receiver input RF signal to produce a combined receiver input RF signal; downmixing an amplified version of the combined receiver input RF signal with the LO signal to produce a combined low frequency signal; and correlating the combined low frequency signal with the noise signal to produce an error detection signal.

RF radar device BIST using noise injection

An apparatus comprising a hand-portable electronic device including a detection-and-ranging element configured to provide spatial information of one or more physical objects in a space around the hand-held portable electronic device for collision avoidance, the detection-and-ranging element configured to transmit one or more electromagnetic, wireless detection signals and configured to detect one or more reflections of said one or more electromagnetic, wireless detection signals from the one or more objects.

Apparatus and associated methods for collision avoidance

An apparatus includes a processor configured to receive first sensor data from a sensor system of the first entity and a receiver. The receiver is configured to receive second sensor data from a second entity in the vehicle to vehicle network over a communication network and provide the second sensor data to the processor. The second sensor data comprises a first type of sensor data having a first bandwidth requirement. The processor is further configured to determine an available bandwidth of the communication system; and when the first bandwidth requirement exceeds the communication bandwidth, select a second type of sensor data having a second bandwidth requirement. The second bandwidth requirement is less than the first bandwidth requirement. The processor is further configured to process the first and second sensor data to at least partially determine an environment surrounding the first entity.

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Hamburg, Germany

Abdellatif Zanati