Topic - Test & Measurement

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Test & Measurement

377 results found for Test & Measurement, displaying items 1 - 20

September 2008
Design A Scanning RSSI Receiver For WiMAX Measurements
WiMAX broadband wireless technology offers the promise of untethered, highspeed Internet access in supported service areas. Based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, WiMAX is specified for use in a wide range of frequencies through 66 GHz, with a variety of operational profiles differentiated by frequency band, channel bandwidth, and duplexing mode.1-3 WiMAX has been developed rapidly from inception to deployment. According to a recent (January 2008)... — Zhengbo Jiang , et al.

September 2008
Achieving Amplitude Accuracy In Modern Spectrum Analyzers
Spectrum analyzers are among the most versatile of RF/microwave measurement tools, with signal power among the most common measurement made with the instruments. Traditionally, the combination of a power meter and power sensor has been the measurement tool of choice for its well-characterized traceability path back to reference standards at national standards laboratories. But modern spectrum analyzers have made dramatic improvements in amplitude... — Joe Gorin

September 2008
Multipurpose Impedance Tuner Is Portable Solution
Impedance tuners are unique but vital tools that can provide invaluable insight into the behavior of active component designs, such as amplifiers, as well as passive circuits, such as antennas. Precision impedance tuners are based on sliding mechanical probes, with the impedance shown to a component or device under test determined by the position of the sliding probes. While such impedance tuners can represent a major capital investment for many ... — Jack Browne

August 2008
Use Pulse I-V Testing To Characterize RF Devices
Pulsed current-voltage (I-V) testing is becoming an invaluable method for evaluating the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices. The measurement approach is relatively cost effective and avoids the negative effects of self-heating and transient trapped charges, which can result in misleading test results. And pulsed I-V testing provides the accurate device data needed for improved computeraided- engineering (CAE) software models. ... — Pete Hulbert

August 2008
Design An X-Band Vivaldi Antenna, Part 2
Vivaldi antennas can provide excellent directional propagation at microwave frequencies. As introduced in Part 1 of this article (July Microwaves & RF), the Vivaldi antenna can be a simple design based on a tapered-slot-antenna (TSA) architecture. This concluding installment in this two-part article will compare measurements of a designed and fabricated X-band antenna with simulations from the Advanced Design System (ADS) software from Agilent ... — Dr. J.S. Mandeep , et al.

August 2008
Analyze Antenna Approaches for LTE Wireless Systems
Multiple-input, multiple- output (MIMO) spatial-diversity antenna configurations are specified for emerging 3GPP Long- Term Evolution (LTE) mobile communications systems. In reality, LTE systems specify three types of antenna techniques: MIMO, beamforming, and diversity approaches. The three techniques are considered essential for improving signal robustness and achieving LTE system capacity. Understanding how the different antenna techniques work... — Moray Rumney , et al.

August 2008
Rohde & Schwarz Celebrates 75 Years
Germany has long been associated with the type of precision engineering that has produced high-quality cameras, fast automobiles, and even the Autobahn roadway to accommodate those higher driving speeds. But this proud country is also home to one of the leading and most innovative test-andmeasurement companies in the world: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH. From its humble beginnings, the firm has grown through the years to now achieve its 75th anniversary, a... — Ulrich L. Rohde

August 2008
Test Software Simplifies Phase, Power Measurements
Microwave measurements can be made easier with the help of the right software. This was the thinking behind the introduction of two software tools by Anritsu Co. (www.us.anritsu.com) designed to assist with phase-noise and power measurements when using the firm’s MS271xB family of economy spectrum analyzers and its ML2490A series of power meters, respectively. The programs run on a personal... — Jack Browne

August 2008
Software Tools Simplify GPS Testing
Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers have been guiding travelers for some time, and now they are guiding drivers of many new cars and even pedestrians by means of embedded circuits in cellular telephones. Of course, with this rapid spread of GPS receivers comes a corresponding need for efficient testing of both stand-alone GPS receivers and units embedded into other devices. For that purpose, the NI GPS Toolkit for Labview from National Instruments (... — Jack Browne

August 2008
170-MHz Signal Generator Fits Benchtop
BY LEVERAGING an internal temperature-controlled crystal oscillator (TCXO), a direct-digital-synthesized (DDS) signal generator provides accuracy of better than +/-2 ppm. Model 2918A contains two synchronized 170-MHz DDS sources that can be individually set to any value between 0.1 Hz and 170 MHz with a resolution of 0.1 Hz. The phase between the channels can be controlled with 14-b resolution. The standard output level is +4 dBm with 10 b programming range.... — Nancy Friedrich

August 7, 2008
UWB Test Solution Claimed To Be Industry First
Taiwanese provider of wireless test-system solutions, LitePoint Corporation, has developed three new systems for testing wireless standards. The new IQnxn Plus system provides a multi-stream signal — Paul Whytock

July 2008
AUTOTESTCON Gathers ATE Equipment Suppliers
Automatic measurement solutions for military applications have their place, and each year they can be found in abundance at the annual IEEE AUTOTESTCON conference. The next AUTOTESTCON (www.autotestcon.com), which is scheduled for Sept. 8-11 in the Salt Palace Convention Center (Salt Lake City, UT), has been held annually since 1965. It features more than 250 exhibition booths. What follows is a... — Jack Browne

July 2008
Enhanced Scopes Race To 20 GSamples/s
Oscilloscopes are still a main workhorse measurement tool for evaluating transient and difficult-to-find signal anomalies, and LeCroy Corp. has been relentless in its pursuit of improved scope performance. But the enhanced performance of the company’s WavePro 7Zi series of digital oscilloscopes may wipe away any thought on an engineer’s part that these are “just another” test instrument. The WavePro 7Zi digital oscilloscopes provide the performance ... — Jack Browne

July 2008
Integrated System Tests Device Flicker Noise
Flicker noise is one of those important, but often misunderstood, semiconductor device parameters that can greatly impact the performance of wireless communications systems. Although measurement solutions for evaluating device flicker noise have often been “bootstrap” systems formed of available instruments and components, and with often questionable accuracy, Cascade Microtech (www.cascademicrotech. com) has announced a dramatic improvement to the... — Jack Browne

July 10, 2008
Signal Generator Has Power-Analysis Option
Rohde & Schwarz, Munich, Germany, has expanded the capabilities of the R&S SMF100A microwave signal generator with the addition of two new options. First, the SMF-K27 option allows users to configure pulse trains for radar-specific developments and tests — Paul Whytock

July 10, 2008
Upgrade Debuts For CMA 3000 Field Tester
Instrument company Anritsu, Copenhagen, Denmark, has developed a new SDH STM-1/-4/-16 test option for the CMA 3000 field tester — Paul Whytock

June 16, 2008
Test System Takes On 3GPP LTE Technology
The Aeroflex TM500 LTE test platform is designed to address the challenges of 3GPP LTE (3G Long Term Evolution) network infrastructure development test and rollout. platform has Layer 1, Layer 2, and higher layer test features, and provides visibility into the lowest layers of the radio modem by — Lisa Maliniak

June 16, 2008
Software Option Analyzes Nonlinear Behavior of Active Components
A software option adds nonlinear vector network analyzer (NVNA) capability to Agilent Technologies' PNA-X microwave network analyzer. With minimal external hardware requirements, the Agilent NVNA software effectively converts a — Lisa Maliniak

June 2008
RFID Testbed Measures Multiple Tags At Once
ATLANTA, GA—Researchers have designed a system that is capable of simultaneously measuring hundreds of radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tags and rapidly testing new RFID-tag prototypes. According to Gregory Durgin, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, “This testbed allows us to measure the signal strength of tags hidden behind other tags and to rapidly test unique antenna and multiple... — Dawn Hightower

June 2008
Making Advanced Radar Measurements
Evaluating the performance of an advanced radar system depends upon the capabilities of both the operator and the test equipment. The test gear must be properly specified to achieve accurate results for a number of key measurements, including rise time, frequency error estimation, and pulse-to-pulse phase measurements. Matching the capabilities of the test equipment to the expected performance of the radar system can ensure accurate and repeatable ... — Darren McCarthy