A new four-channel vector signal generator claims to provide broadband frequency design services in real-time for demanding wireless applications in 5G, 6G research, satellite communications and radar. It covers the frequency range from 9 kHz to 54 GHz and generates test signals with RF bandwidths up to 5 GHz.
Wireless designs now approaching the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum increasingly use multi-antenna techniques such as spatial diversity, spatial multiplexing, and beamforming to achieve antenna gain for high throughput and robust communications. The new microwave signal generator facilitates multi-antenna test applications such as MIMO and beamforming with precise phase coherence and time synchronization.
Additionally, the M9484C VXG Microwave Signal Generator, when used with the V3080A Vector Signal Generator Frequency Extender, extends the frequency range up to 110 GHz to meet the needs of the latest and evolving standards. Therefore, a fully integrated, calibrated and synchronized signal generator provides low phase noise and minimizes measurement uncertainty.
At high frequencies, such as the mmWave band, engineers face excessive path loss with distortion at low error vector magnitude (EVM) and high output power. Therefore, Keysight has added new chips to its signal generators to provide powerful digital signal processing for digital up-conversion. It generates IF/RF signals up to 8.5 GHz directly from a high sample rate 14 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) without the signal impairments found in traditional vector signal generator architectures.
This enables advanced RF performance through direct digital synthesis (DDS) technology to accurately characterize the device under test (DUT). It also increases the dynamic range of the signal and provides advanced signal fidelity, especially for wideband signal generation.
Another DSP chip integrated in the M9484C VXG can simulate up to 8 baseband signals and aggregate them into a wideband signal in real time. This enables engineers to perform real-time manipulation of baseband signals; each baseband signal can be independently controlled, filtered, attenuated, and placed anywhere within the 2.5 GHz bandwidth in real-time.
Combining these two chips and other design options facilitates real-time signal processing and synthetic signal creation to handle complex test scenarios. In other words, it simplifies the complexity of receiver and performance testing. Engineers can reduce the complexity of test system setup and achieve accurate and repeatable multi-channel measurements in a single instrument.
