Keysight delivers digital wideband transceiver test solution

Defense radars and satellite communications and 5G employ phased-array antennas (PAA) to meet performance and versatility requirements to millimeter wave frequencies. Digital signals are highly integrated into the RF front-end architecture of modern antennas, introducing the need for a new measurement methodology for stimulus and response measurements.

Keysight's Digital Wideband Transceiver test solution compares digital and RF signals between device input and output and measures the transmitter and receiver responses independent from other test instrumentation. It is comprised of the following Keysight hardware and software solutions:

• N52xxB PNA/PNA-X Vector Network Analyser: an integrated, flexible microwave test engine for measuring amplifiers, mixers, frequency converters and other active devices.
• S94601B Device Measurement eXpert Software: configuration assistant that enables users to set up complex measurements for various types of devices.
• S94610B Digital Wideband Transceiver Analysis software: test waveform creator and configuration assistant that enables users to set up mixed-digital RF devices.

Wideband stimulus waveforms are generated by Keysight's VXG Vector Signal Generator (M938xB) and the PNA-X Device Measurement eXpert Software enables device characterisation and a complete solution control interface. Customers can utilise the high measurement quality and signal fidelity of Keysight's RF test equipment for testing mixed-digital RF devices, minimising errors to yield highest possible performance characteristics.

"Digital signals are highly integrated into the RF front-end architecture of modern antennas, which require a new measurement methodology for performance characterisation," stated Dan Dunn, Vice President of Keysight's Aerospace and Defence Government Solutions. "Keysight's digital wideband transceiver test solution enables true RF performance characterisation, while speeding measurements and data analysis that ultimately accelerate the entire design cycle."

Keysight's Digital Wideband Transceiver test solution delivers the following customer benefits:

• Reduces weeks of in-house measurement and data analysis effort to a few minutes.
• Can be leveraged to component level, such as analog to digital converters, digital to analogue converters and transceiver integrated circuits; subsystem level such as radar/electronic warfare transmit and receive modules; satellite communications transmitters/receivers; and system level including whole signal paths of 5G PAAs utilising massive multiple-input, multiple-output technology.
• Maintains high measurement accuracy of gigahertz bandwidth in millimeter wave frequencies.
• Adapts to proprietary digital designs with Keysight's custom system solution.