Rohde & Schwarz, Broadcom Team to Test Wi-Fi 6/6E Chipsets

Dec. 22, 2021

Rohde’s CMP180 radio communication tester has been successfully validated for Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6E chipsets, enabling OEMs to bring next-generation 6-GHz products to market.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

Check out our CES 2022 coverage.

Rohde & Schwarz, in a collaboration with Broadcom, has successfully verified R&S’s new CMP180 wireless device test platform for test of Broadcom’s 6-GHz Wi-Fi 6E chipsets. This means that OEMs and ODMs of wireless equipment planning to integrate Broadcom’s industry-first chipsets have access to a test platform for R&D, quality control, and production prototyping.

The IEEE 802.11ax amendment (Wi-Fi 6/6E), operating in the 2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz bands, intends to improve WLAN system efficiency, especially the throughput per station in dense signal environments and outdoor environments. With up to 1.2 GHz of Wi-Fi spectrum available for unlicensed use in the 6-GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E can access up to seven 160-MHz channels to support various bandwidth-driven use cases.

These technologies pose challenges for test and measurement equipment. For example, the 1024QAM modulation requires signal generation capabilities which transmit reference signals with very low distortion over a bandwidth of up to 160 MHz and the required analysis bandwidth. The R&S CMP180 has been qualified for characterizing Broadcom’s 6-GHz Wi-Fi chipsets at the RF level for tests such as error vector magnitude (EVM), timing measurements, and spectrum-emission compliance. Rohde & Schwarz also provides a Wireless Manufacturing software for Broadcom 6-GHz Wi-Fi chipsets and service solutions to OEMs and ODMs.

The R&S CMP180 radio communication tester is a future-proof, non-signaling testing solution for wireless devices in research and development, validation, and production. Together with advanced frequency, bandwidth, and RF capabilities, it enables testing of new wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7, and many more. Additionally, the doubled number of analyzers (2xVSA), generators (2xVSG), and RF ports (2x8) enable simultaneous measurements of technologies and devices in a VSA/VSG single-box tester.

At CES 2022 in Las Vegas from January 5 to January 8, 2022, Rohde & Schwarz (LVCC, West Hall, #4069) will showcase a Wi-Fi 6E test setup featuring the R&S CMP180 and the BCM4389 Wi-Fi 6E device from Broadcom.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.