To tackle the over-the-air (OTA) testing of multi-antenna systems, LG Electronics has adopted Elektrobit's (EB's) hardware/software suite. The solution is based on the company's Propsim F8 radio-channel emulator and related channel modeling software. With EB's multi-antenna OTA testing application, LG can test final mobile-phone designs with embedded antennas and the cover in place. The OTA application uses geometrical radio-channel models to replicate real network-like conditions in the lab. The Propsim F8 solution offers RF input levels of -30 to 0 dBm with a crest factor of 6 dB for full reference (SNR above 60 dB). It provides an input signal level to 30 dB below nominal to SNR above 30 dB. Adjustable channel-gain dynamics range from 0 to 100 dB in 0.1-dB steps. Path-delay resolution is rated at 0.1 ns while path-delay accuracy is rated at 1 ns. Propagation delay ranges to 3000 s with a noise floor of -167 dB/Hz and an output gain setting of -20 dB. In-band spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is typically 60 dB.
The system offers 125-MHz bandwidth with the ability to test multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configurations to bi-directional 4 x 4 systems or uni-directional 4 x 8 or 2 x 16 systems. Bandwidth of 70 MHz is available for multiple MIMO configurations of 2 x 2, 4 x 4, 8 x 8, 2 x 16, or 4 x 16. The Propsim F8 emulator provides as many as eight fading channels with as many as 32 logical fading channels in one unit. Multiple units can be synchronized to function as a single emulation system. A multitude of fading profiles is available for mobile OTA MIMO testing including: constant, Rayleigh, Rice, Nakagami, log-normal, Suzuki, pure, Doppler, flat, rounded, Gaussian, Jakes, Butterworth, and arbitrary (with external tools). Among the delay profiles are constant, sinusoidal sliding delay, linear sliding delay, and 3GPP birth-death profiles.
Elektrobit, Inc., 22745 29th Dr. SE, Ste. 200, Bothell, WA 98021; (425) 686-3100, FAX: (425) 686-3102, Internet: www.elektrobit.com.
