Test equipment plays a major role in product development and production, which was apparent at IMS 2023. In the photos and videos below, you’ll get a taste of test developments at RF, mmWave, and sub-THz frequencies. This year, D-band (110 GHz to 170 GHz) seized a larger portion of the exhibit hall than in past […]
Analyzer
SoC generates RF test signals and analyzes results
The Apollo MxFE software-defined signal processing SoC from Analog Devices digitizes and generates analog signals with DSP in between. Applications cover aerospace & defense, instrumentation, and wireless communications. Digitizing high-speed signals, processing them, and creating responses typically requires separate ADCs, DACs, and DSPs or FPGAs. The Apollo MxFE system-on-chip (SoC) combines signal capture, creation, and […]
What is de-embedding and how do I perform it (part 2)?
When testing a device in a fixture, you can use transfer scattering parameters (T-parameters) to help remove the fixture’s contribution from your measurement result.
What are insertion loss and return loss and how can I measure them?
These basic RF measurements often uncover system problems in wired and wireless communications. If you observe a signal traveling from a source to a load through a passive system of some sort, you will notice that the signal attenuates by the time it reaches the load, and you will also notice that some of the […]
What is a Smith chart and why do I need one? (Part 2)
Take a journey around a Smith chart to find capacitance and inductance values in a matching network. Before computers became ubiquitous, the Smith chart simplified calculations involving the complex impedances found in RF/microwave circuits such as the one shown in Figure 1. That circuit includes a source with impedance Zs, transmission line with characteristic impedance […]
What is a Smith chart and why do I need one? (Part 1)
A Smith chart provides insight into RF/microwave designs. Even if you work primarily with low-speed analog and mixed-signal designs, you could benefit from familiarity with the Smith chart as wireless products proliferate and as high-speed-serial data signals exhibit microwave-like effects. When a signal’s wavelength (λ) approaches the lengths of the conductors carrying it, you can […]
Margin tester checks out PCIe Gen 3, Gen 4 designs
The new TMT4 Margin Tester breaks conventions of PCIe testing, delivering fast test times. Plug-and-play set up and easy-to-use interface combine to deliver in minutes results that, until now, required hours or even days of set up and testing, often stretching costs to seven figures. “TMT4 Margin Tester is the latest example of how Tektronix […]
High-speed digitizer cards perform on-board summation averaging
A new firmware option has been created by Spectrum Instrumentation that allows the company’s high-speed M5i.33xx series of PCIe high-speed digitizers cards to perform on-board summation averaging. Averaging is a useful tool for reducing unwanted signal noise, while at the same time improving measurement resolution, dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The new option enables […]
BERT supports PCI Express 6.0 base specification receiver test
The Signal Quality Analyzer-R MP1900A now supports the PCI Express 6.0 (PCIe 6.0) Base Specification Receiver Test (Rx Test) and has been further enhanced with an SKP function to filter SKP packets to support separate clock architecture (SRNS). As a result, one MP1900A supports PCIe 3.0 to PCIe 6.0 and can calibrate stressed test signals […]
BERT Ethernet test gear handles 224 Gbps signals
New 224G Ethernet test solutions enable system-on-a-chip (SoC) makers to validate next generation electrical interface technology, accelerating 1.6 terabit per second (1.6T) transceiver design and pathfinding. 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) applications are driving growth in data traffic, creating unprecedented bandwidth demands in networks and data centers. High-speed digital interfaces that […]
