Evaluation Engineering - 15

technologies by taking advantage of the
switch design's inherently low insertion
loss, very high linearity, and extreme reliability, " he said.
Leitner said Release 16 is opening
up applications from V2x to satellite
to advanced IIoT, with a push to support higher frequency bands and channel bandwidths. The MM5130 operates
past 20 GHz, with a roadmap to support
mmWave frequencies and a product portfolio beyond just switches, he said. " Menlo
has leveraged the Ideal Switch technology to build RF subsystems such as filters, phase shifters, RF switch matrices,
and more, " he commented. " All of these
operate with low RF losses and at very
high linearity, and therefore RF systems
can now target and operate with greater
dynamic range, operate more efficiently,
and at lower power levels. The results can
be simplified test setups with higher performance at a lower cost. "
Looking ahead, " We see a continuing
push towards massive MIMO and highly integrated beam-steering antennas
to address emerging 5G infrastructure
systems, " Leitner said. " Menlo has developed a compact and scalable delay-line
phase shifter driving a 3.5-GHz CBRSband beam-steering antenna. " Unlike
traditionally large infrastructure antennas using motorized mechanical phase
shifters to control the beam pattern and
down tilt, he said, this phase shifter is entirely electronically controlled. The core
is the MM5130 switch, with 85-dBm IP3
and 0.2-dB insertion loss, which results
in a smaller phase shifter and a more
integrated antenna that better meet the
requirements for emerging 5G small and
microcell radios, he explained.
And finally, " Molex is fully invested in
5G research and development, " according to Stephen Drinan, director, core
products. " We utilize the latest, highfrequency testing chambers. Seeing the
growing need for 5G testing, we have been
early adopters of 5G testing equipment
with the implementation of an in-house
testing operation. " He added that Molex
offers product design and system manufacturing expertise that enables design
engineers to create 5G products suitable for mass production. " The need and

demand for 5G testing is very high, " he
said. " Extreme care and expertise are required for 5G testing, causing the testing
lead times to grow exponentially. Molex
already serves the 5G market with a number of antennas and high-speed board-toboard connectors and continues to grow
these product lines. "

Several subject-matter experts who
contributed to this report elaborated on
the implications of 3GPP releases 15, 16,
and 17 as well as the cooperative efforts
needed to drive 5G technology forward.
A subsequent article will discuss their
responses in detail.

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* Process Control
* Test and Measurement
* Automotive
* Battery Testing
* Avionics/Space
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Evaluation Engineering

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