6 Test Set-Up and Procedures

Single-event effects (SEE) testing was conducted on a TRF0108-SEP device mounted on a TRF0108SEP-EVM evaluation board. Power was supplied to the device through the J2 input connector (SUPPLY = +5.25V/+5V and GND) using a PXIe-4139 precision power supply configured in a 4-wire mode. The TRF0108-SEP was evaluated with an ac differential input signal applied to the INP and INM pins, generated by an R&S® SGS100A signal generator (6GHz capability) and converted to differential using a Hyperlabs HL9402 balun connected by high-speed coaxial cables. The input frequency was set to 500MHz. Throughout all testing, the PD pin (J13 jumper) remained connected to ground.

The device was operated in differential mode. Single-event transients (SETs) were monitored using a Tektronix™ MSO58B mixed signal oscilloscope (8channels, 1GHz bandwidth, 25GS/s sampling rate, 62.5M record length). The single-ended output of the SGS100A signal generator was converted to a differential signal using a Hyperlabs HL9402 balun and connected to the differential input of the TRF0108-SEP. The single-ended output of the TRF0108-SEP was connected to the MSO58B oscilloscope configured for 50Ω termination.

The power supply (PS) was controlled and monitored using a custom-developed LabView™ program (PXI-RadTest) running on a NI PXIe-8135 controller. The R&S SGS100A was controlled via the GPIB bus, using the stand alone LabView™ drivers. The MSO58B was controlled using the front-panel interface. The MSO58B oscilloscope was kept in the cave at all times to minimize the probe cable length. A keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) extender was used to control and view the MSO from the control room at TAMU. Figure 6-1 shows a block diagram of the setup used for SEE testing of the TRF0108-SEP. Equipment settings and compliance used during the characterization are shown in Table 6-1. For SEL testing, the device was heated using a convection heat gun aimed at the die. A thermal imaging camera was employed to verify that the die temperature had stabilized at 125°C before proceeding with measurements

All boards used for SEE testing were fully checked for functionality and dry runs were performed to verify that the test system was stable under all bias and load conditions prior to being taken to the TAMU facility. During the heavy-ion testing, the LabView™ control program powered up the TRF0108-SEP device and set the sourcing and monitoring functions of the external equipment. After functionality and stability had been confirmed, the beam shutter was opened to expose the device to the heavy-ion beam. The shutter remained open until the target fluence was achieved (determined by external detectors and counters).