20 Jun 2012

Aeroflex adds IEEE 802.11ac to S-Series

Aeroflex has added IEEE 802.11ac capability to its S-Series RF signal generators and analysers.

Designed for wireless local area network (WLAN) research, design, and manufacturing, the 802.11ac capability has been added to the SGD RF digital signal generators (Option 119) and the SVA vector signal analysers (Option 110).

The S-Series product’s standard features include 200 MHz, level and frequency settling times of 100µs; and phase noise performance of -135 dB/Hz at 1 GHz, 20 kHz offset. The series has a 4U height and half-rack width.

According to Aeroflex, fast settling times enable rapid device throughput for manufacturing while the touch-screen and user interface make complex measurements quick and easy.

Using Aerolock™, the S-Series instruments can be locked together to build complex test set-ups. Two instruments are combined within a width of 19”, allowing both transmit and receive functions in one small space.

"The S-Series is highly accurate and with 200MHz factory-calibrated bandwidth, we can easily cover the needs of 802.11ac with plenty of room for future technologies,"” said David Asquith, Aeroflex product line manager for the S-Series.

The SGD WLAN signal generation suite will now support bandwidths of 20, 40, 80, 80+80 and 160MHz and up to 8 spatial streams.

Using an embedded version of Aeroflex'’s IQCreator waveform creation software, 802.11ac waveforms are quickly created and played from within the signal generator. Modulation schemes up to 256QAM are supported with excellent residual EVM (Error Vector Magnitude), says the company, to identify the exact nature of signal degradation and source of the problem.

Testing 256QAM modulation demands lower EVM within the test system. To achieve the best possible EVM, Aeroflex has created a new type of factory calibration to maintain its orthogonality (the 90 degree relationship between I and Q) as the baseband frequency increases.

The calibration mechanism creates an effective digital filter that pre-distorts the baseband signal before it is applied to the IQ modulator. This new method gives the SGD its 200MHz of factory-calibrated signal bandwidth and enables testing of the very latest wireless devices.

The SVA is said to offer high linearity, low noise, excellent level accuracy, and includes a built-in spectrum analyser.

A variety of trace and text displays are available for each communication standard, permitting close examination of signal parameters and performance.

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