Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom

Rohde & Schwarz, a supplier of test and measurement equipment for wireless applications, has announced the availability of test solutions for the Broadcom 6GHz Wi-Fi 6E chipsets, the industry’s first to operate in the 6 GHz band. In collaboration with Broadcom Inc., Rohde & Schwarz has successfully verified the new R&S CMP180 next generation wireless device test platform, which is especially suitable for R&D as well as production. OEMs and ODMs of wireless equipment, who integrate Broadcom Wi-Fi 6E chipsets, now have access to the right test solution for R&D, quality control, and production prototyping.

The IEEE 802.11ax amendment (Wi-Fi 6/6E), operating in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, intends to improve WLAN system efficiency, especially the throughput per station in dense signal environments and outdoor environments. With up to 1.2 GHz of Wi-Fi spectrum available for unlicensed use in the 6-GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E can access up to seven 160-MHz channels to support various bandwidth-driven use cases.

These technologies pose challenges for test and measurement equipment. For example, the 1024QAM modulation requires signal generation capabilities which transmit reference signals with very low distortion over a bandwidth of up to 160 MHz and the required analysis bandwidth. The R&S CMP180 has been qualified for characterizing Broadcom 6 GHz Wi-Fi chipsets at the RF level for tests such as error vector magnitude (EVM), timing measurements and spectrum emission compliance. Rohde & Schwarz also provides a Wireless Manufacturing software for Broadcom 6 GHz Wi-Fi chipsets and service solutions to OEMs and ODMs.

Christoph Pointner, Senior Vice President Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, says: “We are happy to provide tailored test solutions that help Broadcom’s customers bring the newest Wi-Fi technology to the market. The joint efforts with Broadcom for Wi-Fi 6E also provide a solid foundation to enhance our test solution for next generation Wi-Fi 7, which will leverage on the 6 GHz band to deliver higher performance and throughput.” Gabriel Desjardins, Director of Product Marketing in the Wireless Communications & Connectivity Division at Broadcom Inc., says: “We continue to collaborate with Rohde & Schwarz in developing 6 GHz Wi-Fi test systems. The availability of these systems has enabled our customers and partners to accelerate deployment of 6GHz Wi-Fi.”

The R&S CMP180 radio communication tester is a future-proof, non-signaling testing solution for wireless devices in research and development, validation and production. Together with advanced frequency, 1/2 bandwidth and RF capabilities, it enables testing of new wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 and many more. Additionally, the doubled number of analyzers (2xVSA), generators (2xVSG) and RF ports (2x8) enable simultaneous measurements of technologies and devices in a VSA/VSG single-box tester.