Munich, Germany, and Dublin, Ireland: Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) and Benetel will collaborate on test and measurement solutions for femtocell access points (FAPs) from product development through pilot production to mass production. The relationship benefits from test and measurement equipment from R&S with experience from Benetel in test software and custom solutions.
The BTS-114RS production test system is the first femtocell test system to use parallel RF testing to reduce the cost of test (COT). The design and verification system, FAST, helps shorten product development time during the R&D phase.
The test system is a flexible hardware and software platform. It is the first FAP test system to apply throughput optimized parallel testing to volume manufacturing. Also, it has been successfully integrated into FAP production lines. Parallel automated highly isolated test fixtures allow over-the-air (OTA) testing of the units under test (UUTs). The system’s compact design minimizes floor space requirements. Other features include auto calibration, remote log-in capability, and a database with tools for analyzing production data.
The platform can be configured to provide boundary scan, functional testing, RF calibration, RF test, and application code download, all of which is followed by final functional test. For the manufacturing test solution, Benetel has test profiles for UMTS, CDMA2000, GSM, and GPS available today, with Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX planned for later in 2010.
The BTS-114RS utilizes the R&S SMBV100A vector signal generator and the R&S FSV signal and spectrum analyzer. Both units meet the requirements for volume production for accuracy and for speed. The multiple standards supported by the R&S platforms make it possible to offer the range of standards for femtocell test provided by the BTS-114RS.
Benetel’s design verification system, FAST, also benefits from the cooperation. It helps femtocell developers shorten product development time by automating device verification. Test times can be reduced by up to 80% compared to manual testing. This allows more time for the rigorous stress testing of new products prior to compliance testing.
The system uses Benetel’s FAST software and Test Set with two R&S SMBV100A signal generators, one R&S FSV13 spectrum analyzer, and one R&S SMF100A microwave signal generator for blocking tests to measure according to 3GPP TS25.141 transmitter and receiver specifications.