Rohde & Schwarz has demonstrated an innovative test system that uses compacted fields (CATR) to perform radiation measurements on 5G mmWave devices in the 20 GHz to 87 GHz range. The new solution will provide 5G RF engineers with significant advantages, significantly accelerating time-to-market for 5G mmWave cellular devices.
Munich, November 12, 2018 – The Crunch Field (CATR) is the solution of choice for designing and validating upcoming 5G smartphones, tablets and laptops that will operate in the new frequency band (FR2: 24.250 GHz to 52.600 GHz) GHz). The CATR test system uses Indirect Far Field (IFF), which has been adopted by 3GPP and is a certification test method for 5G mobile devices, where active antenna arrays are a default design.
Active antenna arrays integrate the antenna, power amplifier and phase shifter in one package and can be placed on a PCB board. Active antenna arrays enable active beam steering in cellular devices for the first time. To provide a reliable communication link, multiple active antenna arrays would be distributed in a mobile device (for example, at the edge of a smartphone), and in a real mobile device, they would be dynamically switched on and off within milliseconds. Therefore, it is important to have a measurement area large enough to cover the entire device when the mobile device is turned to test the performance of the orientation in which it is used.
Test solutions announced for the first time at the 40th AMTA Conference
Rohde & Schwarz addresses this testing challenge with innovative testing solutions. It offers an unrivaled measurement area – quiet zone – up to 20 cm/7.8 inches in diameter with a tabletop footprint of less than 0.8 square meters/8.6 square feet and the ability to automate the rotation of the device under test (DUT) during measurement.
Rohde & Schwarz presented the new test system to the public for the first time at the 40th AMTA Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, November 4-9, 2018.
Gold-coated reflectors and ultra-wideband feed antennas ensure excellent quiet zone uniformity in magnitude and phase, enabling RF engineers to make measurements in the 20 GHz to 87 GHz range. Dual-polarized feed antennas measure horizontal and vertical polarization in one go, cutting test time in half. At the same time, with the high-precision, full 360-degree 2D turntable, radiation performance measurements can be performed with a resolution better than 0.1 degrees, ensuring high test accuracy and repeatability. Test automation can be achieved by using R&S CONTEST sequence software or any third-party test equipment that provides C/C++/C#/VB.NET/MATLAB/Python and NI LabVIEW’s extended API library.
The new CATR test system from Rohde & Schwarz will be available from December 2018.
The Links: 2DI200-100 CDCM6208V2RGZT