Groundless radio frequency test probe
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsKwan Yin Lau, Chin Hsiu Chuang, Adrian Napoles
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A groundless radio frequency (RF) test probe comprises a first connector to receive a signal from a system under test and a second connector to present the signal as an output. The probe further comprises an antenna array coupled between the first connector and the second connector, the antenna array to couple the signal from the first connector to the second connector, wherein the antenna pair is impedance matched with the system under test. The probe does not have a physical ground connection with the system under test.
Claims20
A groundless radio frequency (RF) test probe comprising:
- a housing;
- a pogo pin connector to make contact with a test pad on a printed circuit board (PCB) under test, the pogo pin to receive an RF signal from the test pad, wherein at least a portion of the pogo pin connector is external to the housing;
- an antenna pair residing within the housing, the antenna pair comprising a first antenna and a second antenna, wherein the first antenna is coupled to the pogo pin connector, the first antenna to transmit the RF signal to the second antenna, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are designed to present a probe impedance that matches a board impedance of the PCB under test, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are mounted on opposite sides of a shared substrate within the housing, and wherein the probe does not have a physical ground connection with the PCB under test;
- and
- a sub-miniature version A (SMA) connector coupled to the second antenna, the SMA connector to receive the RF signal from the second antenna and provide the RF signal to test equipment connected to the probe, wherein at least a portion of the SMA connector is external to the housing.
An apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a first connector coupled to the housing to receive a signal from a system under test;
- a second connector coupled to the housing to output the signal;
- and
- an antenna array disposed within the housing and coupled between the first connector and the second connector, the antenna array to couple the signal from the first connector to the second connector, wherein the antenna array is impedance matched with the system under test, wherein the antenna array comprises a first antenna and a second antenna mounted on opposite sides of a shared substrate within the housing, and wherein the apparatus does not have a physical ground connection to the system under test.
A tunable probe comprising:
- a housing;
- a first connector coupled to the housing to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal from an integrated circuit;
- a second connector coupled to the housing to output the RF signal;
- an antenna pair disposed within the housing and coupled between the first connector and the second connector, the antenna pair to couple the signal from the first connector to the second connector, wherein the antenna pair comprises a first antenna and a second antenna mounted on opposite sides of a shared substrate within the housing;
- and
- a tunable matching circuit disposed within the housing and coupled to the antenna pair, the tunable matching circuit to tune the antenna pair so that a probe impedance of the antenna pair at a given frequency of the RF signal matches a board impedance of the integrated circuit, wherein the tunable probe does not have a physical ground connection with the integrated circuit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.