Keysight Technologies Inc. announced that the company's new Modulation Distortion Analysis test suite has enabled Qorvo to fully characterize 5G mmWave front end module (FEM) performance in production test.

Qorvo selected Keysight's new Modulation Distortion Analysis test suite to measure wideband modulated signals and ensure full 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) compliance on all front-end technology up to 43 GHz. This additional production testing capability increases customers' system level yields over the lifetime of a product.

Ensuring reliable and efficient 5G mmWave communications requires the performance of integrated circuit (IC) elements to be rigorously tested under linear and nonlinear conditions across the entire workflow from design, validation to manufacturing. Keysight's recently launched modulation distortion application, which is fully integrated with the company's PNA-X Vector Network Analyzer, enables designers of 5G ICs and FEMs to accurately, repeatably and quickly characterize the behavior of a device under modulated wideband signal stimulus.

"Keysight's collaboration with Qorvo on advanced 5G measurement techniques has contributed to the development of a new approach to evaluating active devices under protocol correct stimulus conditions," said Kailash Narayanan, vice president of Keysight's wireless test group. "Our suite of IC test solutions with the new modulation distortion analysis application, offers the industry's widest system dynamic range, leading to accurate measurements of parameters such as error vector magnitude (EVM) and adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR), which play a significant role in delivering efficient and reliable communications in a 5G network."

"We're pleased to be working with Keysight, a proven partner with the technical expertise and comprehensive suite of solutions needed to accurately characterize our new 5G mmWave front end modules," said Roger Hall, general manager of high-performance solutions at Qorvo. "Keysight's IC test capability helps us meet our strategic goals of delivering the highest quality products to our customers."