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Our RF product solutions are ideal for point-to-point, satellite, or other high-frequency applications.

The next frequency frontier is the millimeter wave (mm-wave) band, which occupies the 30 GHz to 300 GHz spectrum (wavelengths from 10 to 1 mm). Emerging applications now span radio astronomy, communication, imaging, space research, and homeland security, and are starting to seriously populate this vast spectrum resourse. Market forecast and limited available spectrum suggest that attractive growth is just over the horizon so explorers are naturally migrating to stake their claim in this next frontier.

Intermodulation distortion or IMD has always existed in RF transmission paths. Until about the early 1990s, cellular communications had relatively low power carrier levels. Intermodulation distortion in passive devices was not necessarily a problem because the distortion levels were significantly below the noise floor of the broadcast system. Typical RF connectors such as the N connector satisfied the earlier demands but as the sensitivity of the receivers increased, a condition within RF connectors was exposed.

This White Paper begins by explaining how fading occurs and describing traditional methods of radio channel emulation. It continues to describe the innovative, all-digital, approach used in the Aeroflex 7100 Series Radio Test Platform. It will be demonstrated that the Aeroflex platform allows realistic testing of LTE user equipment to be performed in a way that is impractical with traditional methods.

The Anritsu VectorStar’s Noise Figure – Option 041 enables the capability to measure noise figure (NF), which is the degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio caused by components in a signal chain. The NF measurement is based on a cold source technique for improved accuracy.

Higher data rates can create challenges for traditional de-embedding techniques. As frequencies approach 70 GHz or even 110 GHz, errors related to fixturing can be greater than those of the “device under test” or DUT.

Designers, modelers, and manufacturers of RF and microwave frequency amplifiers used in applications such as radar, wireless communication, or high-speed digital communication systems at either the wafer-level or as a packaged part face many test challenges.