In it, when discussing 5G, he noted the significance of millimeter-wave frequencies along with signal bandwidths that could be as high as 1 GHz. “What this does is drive a fundamental change in the design architecture of the devices that we have,” stated Hansen.
“No longer do you have a traditional cabled environment when you are designing RF front ends,” he added. “What you now have at these frequencies is a phased-array antenna, which is bonded directly to an RF integrated circuit (RFIC). Phased-arrays are required at millimeter-waves and, as such, are introducing ‘no-connectorized test.’ That means that you no longer have the traditional cable that you once had.” Expect to hear more from Keysight regarding OTA testing in the near future.
OTA Public Demonstration
NI is another company at the forefront of OTA test solutions. At the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) in March, the company demonstrated a real-time OTA prototype for 5G at 28 GHz (see figure). The demonstration system, which was aligned with Verizon’s 5G specification, contained eight independently configurable 100-MHz component carriers. “The Verizon 5G demonstration system received a lot of attention and was a must-see for the WCNC attendees—which included the top wireless researchers in the world,” said James Kimery, director of marketing for RF, communications, and software-defined radio (SDR) initiatives at NI.
