New Test Solution Spans Digital and RF Domains to Accelerate Development of LTE and WiMAX™ Wireless Devices
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 1, 2008 – Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced the industry’s first Digital Radio Frequency (DigRF) V4 test solution. It enables comprehensive stimulus and analysis for developers of radio-frequency integrated circuits (RF-IC) and baseband ICs (BB-IC) as well as integrators of wireless handsets.
DigRF V4, driven by the MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) Alliance, is a high-speed digital serial bus between mobile baseband and RF chips that is a key enabling technology for LTE and WiMAX.
“Cross-domain” test, such as DigRF V4, offers new insights that reach from individual digital bits all the way through to IQ-modulated RF signals. Agilent’s test solution allows engineers to work in the domain (digital or RF) and abstraction level (physical or protocol layers) of their choice to quickly characterize RF-ICs and rapidly solve cross-domain integration problems.
The Agilent digital wireless test solution integrates DigRF V4 stimulus and protocol analysis tools into Agilent’s popular portfolio of digital, RF and wireless instruments. The new Agilent RDX (Radio Digital Cross-Domain) tester consists of two new modules, the Agilent N5343A exerciser module and the N5344A analysis module, which are housed in small, modular Agilent N2X mainframes. The modular structure is built to accommodate future MIMO designs.
The Agilent E5345A and E5346A active probing solutions with ultralow capacitive loading (less than 0.15 pF) and high sensitivity provide system insight with minimum disturbance at the gigabit speeds used in DigRF V4 testing. Design engineers can choose between Agilent’s new N5345A Midbus Probe with Soft Touch technology for fast probing on prototype boards, and B5346A flying leads probing solutions, which enable effortless monitoring of DigRF V4 links in space-constrained designs.
This solution also protects one’s investment by supporting both DigRF V4 and V3 specifications. The test software environment includes protocol generation and analysis, and interoperates with industry-leading Agilent Signal Studio software and 89600 vector signal analysis software. RF engineers save time by using familiar vector signal generation and analysis software, which supports the DigRF exerciser and analysis modules, as well as signal analyzers and signal sources.
“This DigRF V4 solution allows RFIC engineers and system integrators to develop their 4G mobile products with the fastest insight in cross domains,” said Siegfried Gross, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Digital Test Division. “Agilent’s offering for digital, serial protocol and wireless test allows customers to transform mobile device architectures to digital technologies with a new set of tools that are well integrated into the wireless use model.”
“As WiMAX and LTE technologies advance, the need to integrate the digital and wireless worlds -- while driving interoperability through test standards -- is becoming essential,” says Ron Nersesian, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Wireless Business Unit. “We have expertise in both domains and offer a complete solution for unifying the two worlds to help build the greatest confidence into mobile handset design from turn-on through integration.”
U.S. Pricing and Availability
The Agilent N5343A analysis and N5344A exerciser modules, including software, are available for order now. Pricing for each module starts at $15,000.
The Agilent N5344A and N5345A Active probes are available for order now. Pricing for each probe starts at $22,000.
Information about Agilent’s DigRF V4 test solutions is available at www.agilent.com/find/digrf.
