The programmable variable attenuator is a standard piece of hardware in RF labs. It controls RF signal levels for various kinds of testing. Multi-channel attenuation arrays can facilitate handovers between radio sources. A typical RF lab will have many of these devices. They can take up a lot of space and use a lot of power.
The Compact LAA series of attenuators from Acentury solves these problems. These digital attenuators have all the features and capabilities of a regular, full-size multi-channel variable attenuator but in a much smaller form factor. They take up much less space on a test station desk and can even fit inside a small desktop RF shield box. Figure 1 shows an example of one of the attenuators in the Compact LLA series of attenuators.
Figure 1 LAA8 Compact 8-channel attenuation array.
Figure 2 LAA4 Compact 4-channel attenuation array inside an RF shield box.
The family contains four-, six-, eight- and 16-channel versions with impressive performance specifications. Supporting a frequency range of 500 MHz to 7.5 GHz, the LAA Compact series of attenuators offer 0 to 95 dB of variable attenuation up to 6 GHz and 0 to 80 dB of attenuation from 6.0 to 7.5 GHz. The least significant attenuation bit value for all family members is 0.25 dB for both frequency ranges. With a maximum input power of +30 dBm and channel-to-channel isolation greater than 80 dB, these units are perfect for nearly any type of RF testing. The Compact LAA series is powered directly with 5 VDC or via USB-C. Using an adapter, these attenuators can also be powered via Power over Ethernet (PoE), providing significant flexibility in the lab. Figure 2 shows the LAA4 Compact 4-channel attenuation array in a typical application.
Table 1 shows the performance of the attenuator family. While all members of the family achieve the same performance specifications, the 4-channel version is quite compact, measuring 130 × 67 × 21 mm in size. The 16-channel version, the largest of the Compact LAA series, is only 370 × 67 × 21 mm. This is less than 3x the size of the 4-channel model, with 4x the capacity. The Compact LAA series uses SMA connectors to achieve this size reduction and has no external display. Therefore, fewer internal electronics are required, which results in lower power consumption.
REMOTE ATTENUATION CONTROL VIA LAMTA SOFTWARE
Without a display or local control interface, the Compact LAA series attenuators are controlled via LAMTA software. LAMTA is an RF lab orchestration platform that provides RF signal distribution and attenuation control. Through a local or Ethernet connection, LAMTA controls the attenuation levels on each channel of the Compact LAA independently to facilitate handovers and other capabilities.
In addition to controlling Compact LAA series attenuators, LAMTA can also control RF attenuation matrices and switches for RF distribution control. This control and these devices allow RF resources to be shared among multiple test stations and locations. LAMTA also supports attenuation equipment from other manufacturers, such as Quintech, octoScope, Mini-Circuits and more. Beyond RF signal distribution and attenuation control, LAMTA also controls other lab equipment to orchestrate end-to-end testing. There are options to control Android UE, network elements via TR.069 and optical link impairment using the Xena Chimera. Figure 3 shows the LAMTA platform block diagram.
Figure 3 LAMTA lab orchestration block diagram.
LAMTA can control a single attenuator or an entire lab full of equipment using a browser-based GUI from a remote location. It can save hours of manual test setup and tear-down efforts that require physical, on-site presence. With LAMTA, the lab can be reconfigured in minutes to run different tests. Once the test is ready, LAMTA can replicate complex RF scenarios such as handovers under MIMO and carrier aggregation.
Acentury’s RF lab solution provides an ideal combination for lab managers: compact LAA Series attenuators that save space and power and LAMTA software that helps save testing time and labor costs while enabling more sophisticated testing scenarios.
Acentury
Richmond Hill, Ontario
acentury.co