Evaulation_Engineering_August_2020 - 19

mmWave devices is a major challenge for
suppliers of device and SoC components.
" M TS re c ent ly i nt ro duc e d a
mmWave/5G production test system
capable of supporting the testing of 50GHz devices," Semancik said. "The system integrates laboratory-grade RF instrumentation with a high performance
DUT-instrument interface to support the
testing of mmWave devices for multisite
production test or device characterization. The system also includes digital
and parametric test capabilities as well
as SPI/I2C interface support to functionally control and monitor the device under test. For production test applications
requiring integration with an automated
handler, the TS-960e-5G is available with
an inTEST manipulator which provides
precise positioning of the test head, and

Marvin
Test Solutions
TS-960e-5G
mmWave production
test system.

the flexibility to interface to automated
probers and device handlers. The TS-960e5G's device interface board (DIB)/receiver
interface is designed to be compatible with
virtually any device handler."
Smith at LitePoint said the company's
products typically serve the product development (R&D), design characterization
(DVT), and high-volume manufacturing
phases of a wireless product's life cycle.
He cited as an example the IQgig-5G
Model B. "In 2019, we saw the introduction of early 5G products in the market,"
he said. "In 2020, we are on the cusp of
the high-volume ramp for 5G end-products.

The IQgig-5G is currently helping device
makers scale their mmWave 5G products
to volume manufacturing."
He also commented on the IQxel-MW
7G. "The IQxel-MW 7G is in heavy use in
R&D and product characterization (DVT)
teams, helping to bring new Wi-Fi 6E products to market later this year that take
advantage of the new 6 GHz unlicensed
band."
NI helps customers meet the challenges
of cellular V2X test with its recent introduction of a solution for characterizing
C-V2X chip performance in the lab. "The
C-V2X Open Loop Test System helps our
customers validate the functionality of
their V2X applications, whether based on
EU, US, or Chinese regional standards,"
said Phillips. "With a flexible, softwareconnected architecture, this solution reduces the risk in adapting to continuallyevolving technologies."
Phillips said NI helps its customers protect their investment in test
solutions by being open. "We're built
on COTS processors and software
capabilities."
For communications applications,
Avnet offers products such as their
XRF16 RFSoC system-on-module, released in May 2020. Langlois described
the XRF16 as a production-ready 16x16
direct-RF sampling module with 5
GHz analog bandwidth featuring the
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC Gen 2,
with 16 RF-ADC and 16 RF-DAC channels.
"The SOM is designed for integration into
deployed RF systems demanding small
footprint, low power, and real-time processing," he said. "An XRF carrier card and
comprehensive software suite are available
for rapid prototyping, enabling you to develop application code for the XRF16 SOM
that is ready for deployment when your
custom carrier arrives."
The company also offers the Avnet
Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC Development
Kit, which Langlois said enables system
architects to explore the entire signal
chain from the antenna to the digital circuitry using tools from MathWorks and
RF components from Qorvo. He described
Avnet's RFSoC Explorer as "...a graphical
interface that allows system designers
and RF engineers to generate signals to

the RFSoC hardware, and acquire signals
from the hardware within the MATLAB
environment."
Digilent also addresses Xilinx Zynq
technology and recently released the
Genesys ZU-3EG prototyping and development board-an advanced computing
platform with multiple network connectivity interfaces," a spokesperson said, adding
that 5G and Wi-Fi 6 will bring scalability,
predictable latency, and power efficiency
to networks expected to accommodate
an increasing number of connected devices. "Reprogrammable devices like the
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ allow systems to
adapt to requirements like low latency, low
power consumption, or wide area coverage,
opening the door to differentiated service
offerings."
He continued, "As a heterogeneous
computing platform, it offers a single-chip
radio solution that can also implement a
radio protocol stack, network functions
and multimedia capabilities close to
where they are needed. The Genesys ZU
is a well-rounded prototyping platform
for Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. Radio
front-ends and ADC/DACs can be easily
interfaced through the FMC and Zmod
connectors, while different modulation
schemes and MIMO beamforming are
implemented in the programmable logic.
The integrated 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi and the Mini
PCIe expansion option provide a good
wireless connectivity base to compare
custom implementations against."
In addition, he said, "The versatility of
the Genesys ZU-3EG makes it a flexible solution that can adapt as communications
standards continue to evolve."
When asked about specific products,
Haj-Omar at Tektronix cited the 6 Series
mixed-signal oscilloscope and the release
of a 2-GHz span for SpectrumView software; the latter allows customers to use
the MSO6 as an analyzer for 5G and Wi-Fi
6 signals. "With the latest releases around
Wi-Fi 6, customers need to be able to operate at up to 7.125-GHz center frequency,
and the upper range of the MSO6 is 8 GHz,"
making the instrument suitable for timedomain and RF measurements on 5G and
Wi-Fi 6 devices.
"For V2X communications, Tektronix
has introduced new capabilities in our
AUGUST 2020 EVALUATIONENGINEERING.COM

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