National Instruments at the International Microwave Symposium in Honolulu today announced the PXIe-5820 baseband model of its second-generation Vector Signal Transceiver (VST). The introduction followed on yesterday’s announcement of a pre-5G waveform generation and measurement technology demonstration IMS.
NI describes the PXIe-5820 module as the industry’s first baseband VST with 1 GHz of complex I/Q bandwidth; it is designed to address challenging RF front-end module and transceiver test applications, such as envelope tracking, digital predistortion, and 5G test.
“In 2016, NI disrupted the industry by introducing the RF model of our second-generation VST with 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth,” said Charles Schroeder, vice president of RF and wireless at NI. “We’re continuing the disruption with the baseband model of our second-generation VST. Engineers can use the baseband VST with LabVIEW system design software to address the evolving and changing needs of transceiver test applications. Engineers can take advantage of the software-designed architecture of NI’s VSTs to help accelerate the pace of design, reduce the cost of test and solve measurement problems previously unsolvable through traditional test approaches.”
The PXIe-5820 combines a wideband I/Q digitizer, wideband I/Q arbitrary waveform generator, and high-performance user-programmable FPGA into a single 2-slot PXI Express module. With 1 GHz of complex I/Q bandwidth, the baseband VST suits a wide range of applications including baseband I/Q testing of wireless and cellular chipsets as well as envelope tracking of digitally pre-distorted waveforms for power amplifiers and generation and analysis of new wireless standards such as 5G, 802.11ax and LTE-Advanced Pro.
“The baseband VST is a deliberate evolution of our original software-designed architecture,” said Ruan Lourens, chief architect of R&D for RF at NI. “We have managed to optimize in every possible domain, from thermal and electrical to digital signal processing, to successfully deliver 1-GHz complex I/Q bandwidth in a small form factor. The baseband VST can be tightly synchronized with the PXIe-5840 RF VST to subnanosecond accuracy, to offer a complete solution for RF and baseband differential I/Q testing of wireless chipsets.”
Pre-5G waveform generation
Yesterday’s pre-5G waveform generation and measurement technology demonstration at IMS featured signal generation and analysis of waveforms representative of both the Verizon 5G Technical Forum (5GTF) and 3GPP’s proposed New Radio (NR) physical layers.
The technology demonstration combined the 1 GHz bandwidth of the PXIe-5840 VST with pre-5G software for waveform modulation and demodulation. Key features of waveform modulation include support of both discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) along with flexible subcarrier spacing and component carrier configurations supporting 3GPP 5G NR and Verizon 5GTF specifications up to a combined total bandwidth of 1 GHz. The demonstration supported modulation types up to 256-QAM and measurement results including power, adjacent channel power and error vector magnitude. Typical applications for this demonstration include testing RFICs such as RF power amplifiers, front end modules and transceivers.
“NI’s software-centric approach to test and measurement allows us to evolve PXI test systems at the speed of software,” said Schroeder. “Because of this approach, engineers can use the same VST-based test systems currently testing LTE-A and LTE-A Pro products today, to test 5G products in the future.”
In related news, NI said Oregon Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Aaron Sher has developed a breadth of computer-aided design assignments using NI AWR Design Environment to support technical learning objectives for RF and wireless engineering and electromagnetics classes.
The integration between Microwave Office circuit design software and AXIEM 3D planar EM analysis software provides Prof. Sher’s students with a platform for actively exploring RF/microwave circuit/component designs like filters, baluns, and antennas.
“NI AWR Design Environment software is multi-faceted and therefore can be used in each and every step of the design process, from conception to iteration to layout” said Prof. Sher. “Once students learn the flow of the software, they can do things like optimize passive structures with relative ease.”
View the complete success story at http://www.awrcorp.com/customer-stories/oregon-institute-technology.
