Wireless Test Highlighted at CTIA 2013

EE-Evaluation Engineering's June issue carries extensive coverage on RF/microwave test topics. You'll find special reports on real-time spectrum analyzers and wireless test applications plus a summary of recently introduced RF/microwave instruments. Since that issue went to press, CTIA 2013 (held May 21-23 in Las Vegas) has provided an opportunity for companies including Azimuth Systems, Aeroflex, and Rohde & Schwarz to highlight new products and capabilities. Aeroflex, for example, debuted new software and PXI instruments and Rohde & Schwarz announced what it calls an integrated end-to-end test solution that measures smartphones' impact on network performance. Rohde & Schwarz also announced separate initiatives undertaken with CETECOM, on over-the-air (OTA) testing, and 7Layers, on Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) test. And Azimuth Systems announced a collaborative effort with JDSU.

Rohde & Schwarz's initiative with CETECOM will enhance the test laboratory's OTA testing capabilities. Rohde & Schwarz said that a new test system installed at the lab, the TS8991, includes LTE multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) and 802.11n functionality. The TS8991 test system can perform OTA measurements for LTE MIMO in addition to all cellular 2G, 3G, and 4G technology standards. It is not only capable of performing the legacy IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards for a, b, and g, but, said Rohde & Schwarz, is the first system in any third-party test lab worldwide capable of performing 802.11n WLAN OTA measurements. Unique to the system is its auto-calibration capability, which decreases system calibration time from hours to under 30 minutes, while achieving the same accuracy and repeatability in results. (Read more here.)

Rohde & Schwarz also said that it and 7Layers have verified and validated the Synchronized test approach to determine the ECC, a value characterizing the antenna subsystem of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) LTE devices. The Synchronized ECC approach delivers significantly shorter test durations and repeatable results, ultimately resulting in reduced costs. Long term, the companies said, this collaboration will also help product manufacturers develop devices that achieve greater data speeds over LTE by using highly optimized MIMO antenna configurations. (Read more here.)

In addition, Rohde & Schwarz announced it has developed what it calls the world's first integrated end-to-end test solution that examines the impact applications have on smartphones and the network using IP and protocol statistical analysis. Equipped with the new R&S CMW-KM051 option, the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester can comprehensively analyze and test IP-based applications utilizing ipoque’s deep-packet inspection (DPI) engine. The combination of RF, protocol, and application testing in a single instrument allows network operators, smartphone manufacturers, and application developers to test how mobile apps affect the performance of wireless communication devices and the networks they operate on. (Read more here.)

Aeroflex announced the PXI Maestro next-generation automatic test software for use in wireless device manufacturing. The company said the new software lowers the cost of test and accelerates test development. The software works with the Aeroflex PXI 3000 platform for manufacturing test of cellular, wireless LAN, GPS, and Bluetooth wireless devices. PXI Maestro adds significant capability to the PXI 3000 platform and provides a production-ready test system with integrated chipset-specific device control and the ability to test multiple devices in parallel. (Read more here.)

Aeroflex also announced that it has launched a new generation of wide-bandwidth RF signal generators and analyzers in the PXI format, enabling a high-performance, flexible, and cost-effective solution for RF component and wireless device testing to the latest standards, including WLAN 802.11ac. The PXI 3050A low-noise RF signal generator and the PXI 3320 arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) work together to provide a fully configurable RF signal generator with wide-bandwidth vector modulation, low phase noise, and fast frequency and level settling. The signal generator is available in two frequency range options—from 100 kHz to either 3 GHz or 6 GHz—and with a choice of +10 dBm or +20 dBm output power. (Read more here.)

Finally, Azimuth Systems and JDSU formally announced a collaborative effort to answer the mobile industry’s call for more efficient, effective, and end-to-end test solutions. Azimuth’s Field-to-Lab system replays live-network radio environments by parsing captures and logs from the JDSU E6474A RANAdvisor Wireless Network Optimization Software and W1314A/B Multi-Band Wireless Measurement Receiver. By more closely approximating the conditions experienced in actual network environments in the lab, the solution has been proven to reduce field test costs by up to 30%, Azimuth reported. (Read more here.)

You can expect to see even more RF/microwave/wireless test introductions and initiatives at next week's International Microwave Symposium June 2-7 in Seattle. Agilent Technologies, for example, has already announced that it will demonstrate 25 of its newest design and measurement solutions at the show. (Read more here.)

View previous online exclusives:

“Moore's Law Drives Data Acquisition” (May Web Exclusive),

“Big Data Comes to Semiconductor Test,”

“Modularity protects investment in MIL/aero test applications” (April Web Exclusive),

“Design and test links help support multistandard radios from design to production” (March Web Exclusive),

“Nonintrusive Test Complements ATE to Meet PCB Test Needs” (February Web Exclusive),

“LXI Positioned for Challenging Applications,”

“Software Helps Address Signal Integrity Challenges for Serial-Bus Test” (January Web Exclusive).

“Anritsu looks to eliminate 'hoist and hope' with portable instruments,”

“ITC topics extend from jitter measurement to board and system test,”

“Mild Hybridization Could Boost Automotive Efficiency,”

“Autotestcon Panelists Highlight Modular Instrumentation,”