Honolulu, HI. Noise XT at the International Microwave Symposium today introduced the PNG-A phase-noise generator, a small and light instrument, weighing just 2 lbs. and costing less than $3,000. The company said the PNG-A is the first signal source to deliver a signal with mathematically computed phase noise in real time.
“There is no test industry standard for phase-noise calibration,” said Guillaume De Giovanni, president, Noise XT. “This is a new type of instrument in the phase noise industry; no one has ever released such universal solution.” PNG-A’s applications are spread across the RF, microwave, and digital industries. Typical users are engineers in calibration labs or production test environments who need to speed up phase-noise testing and calibration.
De Giovanni continued, “As circuits become more complex, they cannot tolerate the slightest noise. Accurate detection and depiction of phase noise is critical for rapid 5G development.”
The PNG-A is a small instrument that allows engineers and cal labs the opportunity to calibrate without wasting time building large equipment set-ups. With the PNG-A, users can verify their phase noise analyzers, jitter analyzers, and spectrum analyzers, all in a few minutes.
The user can design the exact phase noise shape, according to the instrument to be tested. Or, the user can simply load one of Noise XT’s pre-loaded generic profiles. These profiles can be chosen specifically to test an oscilloscope, a signal source analyzer, or a spectrum analyzer with phase-noise features. Remote settings are through Ethernet.
The phase and amplitude noise from the PNG-A does not rely upon temperature, time, humidity, or other environmental conditions to perform. The phase and amplitude noise are always correct. Phase noise calibration can be performed on a ship, an airplane, a secured lab, or any manufacturing facility—all without requiring bothersome logistics.
Noise XT’s unique intellectual property is embedded in a complex FPGA. It has been engineered according to complex mathematical calculations; internal architecture allows continuous verification of the generated signal. The virtualization of the signal generation allows great flexibility as the PNG-A can generate a programmable phase or amplitude profile.