First single box, multi-channel solution for wideband mmWave measurements

1 min read

Keysight has announced the first single box multi-channel solution for wideband mmWave measurements in a move designed to speed up the development of next generation mmWave communications, satellite communications and radar applications.

Keysight says that its UXR-Series of oscilloscopes will deliver fast, affordable, coherent analysis for wideband measurements up to 110GHz.

mmWave and RF technologies have pushed frequencies above 100GHz in recent years, with wide bandwidth needs easily reaching 10s of GHz. With technologies such as 802.11ay (WiGig), 802.11ad (gigabit wireless), satellite communications, radar, and 5G having frequencies that reach well into the mmWave spectrum, measurements at these frequencies has traditionally required a mixture of instruments and impairment causing down-converters or the need to purchase an expensive 1mm input oscilloscope with 80 to 110GHz of bandwidth.

Keysight's mmWave Wideband Analyzer and UXR-Series oscilloscopes look to provide a multi-box solution and enable dynamic wideband analysis for frequencies of up to 110 GHz. Customer will benefit from:

  • A unique bandwidth pricing model that matches typical RF equipment, in which the price correlates with the analysis bandwidth needed – eliminating the need to purchase the full frequency range the oscilloscope hardware supports.
  • The ability to configure optional 5GHz or 10GHz analysis bandwidth windows within and above the UXR's natively licensed bandwidth – limited only by the hardware's maximum supported frequency range.
  • Hardware accelerated DDC to decimate oscilloscope captures in real-time enabling deep captures exceeding several seconds of time and accelerating processing up to 100x faster than non-decimated measurements.
  • Availability of >2GHz of Digital Down Conversion (DDC) analysis bandwidth that can be used in conjunction with available mmWave frequency extension options to extend DDC accelerated frequency ranges as high as 110GHz.
  • Superior signal integrity with error vector magnitude (EVM) below 0.6 percent for 5G new radio (NR) FR2 tests and 1 percent for 802.11ay technologies, i.e. EVM measurements taken now reflect the true device under test (DUT) performance, without impairments caused by noise of the measurement system.

"Keysight recognised the growing need for a cost-effective oscilloscope that supported today’s emerging mmWave technology wide bandwidth measurement requirements," said Brad Doerr, vice president and general manager of digital and photonics R&D for Keysight's Communications Solutions Group.

"Keysight's UXR is the first oscilloscope on the market to address mmWave technologies and advanced applications such multiple input multiple output (MIMO) with up to four channels for the price of a 25 GHz scope."