National Instruments Introduces 6.6 GHz PXI Express RF Vector Signal Analyser and Vector Signal Generator

The new RF modular instruments, which take full advantage of high-performance multicore processors, are ideal for high-speed RF and wireless automated test environments. With LabVIEW 8.6 to implement parallel measurement algorithms on multicore CPUs, engineers can use the new RF vector signal analyser and RF vector signal generator to perform many common RF measurements significantly faster than traditional instruments. For example, the RF modular instruments can perform many individual WCDMA measurements more than 20 times faster than traditional instruments. With the ability to implement measurements such as adjacent-channel leakage ratio (ACLR) in only 8 ms, engineers can perform full WCDMA device characterisations up to five times faster.

Engineers can also use these instruments to perform general-purpose measurements faster. For example, a typical 50 MHz spectrum sweep with a 30 kHz resolution bandwidth takes just under 4 ms with an NI PXIe-8106 controller, while leading traditional instruments can take 100 ms or more for the same measurement. As new multicore processors are released, PXI-based RF measurement times will continue to decrease without requiring changes to the RF instrumentation or NI LabVIEW programming, thus ensuring maximum measurement performance, increased system longevity and decreased capital investment.

In addition to performance, the new RF modular instruments offer industry-leading measurement flexibility through a completely software-defined architecture. Engineers can develop and test wireless protocols by simply reconfiguring the software using standard-specific LabVIEW toolkits or writing their own custom modulation algorithms. NI and National Instruments Alliance Partners provide toolkits based on LabVIEW for many current and emerging communications technologies, including WiMAX, GPS, WCDMA, GSM, EDGE, broadcast video, 802.11, Bluetooth, OFDM and MIMO. In addition, engineers can integrate PXI RF instrumentation with more than 1,500 PXI modules including high-speed digitisers, signal generators and precision DC instruments to meet their complete test needs.

The new 6.6 GHz modular instruments achieve these new levels of performance using the latest commercial technologies including 16-bit digital-to-analogue converters and analogue-to-digital converters used to generate and digitise signals for superior dynamic performance. The NI PXIe-5673 RF vector signal generator uses direct RF upconversion to provide up to 100 MHz of RF bandwidth. Using an additional “impairments mode,” engineers can take advantage of an onboard field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to manually adjust the gain imbalance, IQ offsets and quadrature skew quickly. With baseband impairments optimised for a particular frequency, engineers can achieve better than -85 dBc of carrier and image suppression. The NI PXIe-5663 RF vector signal analyser offers passband flatness and low phase noise so it can accurately measure modulated signals. For example, typical EVM performance for WCDMA is 0.8 percent at 2 GHz for more than 2,600 symbols. Additionally, typical EVM performance for WiMAX is -52 dB at 3.8 GHz.

“Now engineers can experience the performance benefits of true software-defined RF instrumentation based on LabVIEW and the PXI platform,” said Joseph E. Kovacs, Senior RF and Communications Manager for National Instruments. “With the bandwidth of PXI Express and parallel processing capabilities of multicore processors, NI software-defined RF instrumentation will continue to get faster as technology evolves. Our customers will benefit from speed improvements of 10 times compared to traditional instruments today as well as improvements that will occur as processors with more cores come to market.”

The NI PXIe-1075 18-slot chassis provides eight hybrid slots that engineers can use for either PXI Express or PXI hybrid-slot-compatible modules to maximise reuse of existing PXI modules. Designed for high-performance systems, the NI PXIe-1075 chassis offers an operating temperature range of 0 to 50 degrees Celsius and provides integrated system monitoring features including power management, fan health and temperature monitoring for the entire chassis.