Wednesday, September 24, 2008
2008 R&D 100 Winner
Development of new radio frequency (RF) test systems is proceeding quickly to keep up with next-generation mobile communication devices, including the kind of systems envisioned for city-wide wireless access. These include multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) systems which use several antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to improve performance. The 4x4 MIMO RF Test System, from Keithley Instruments Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, was designed to accommodate the growing test needs for next-generation systems and a wide range of communications standards.
Built from multi-input signal analyzers and signal generators, RF software, and a MIMO synchronization unit, the 4x4 MIMO uses four independent channels to precisely synchronize the RF carriers and signal samplers between each of the MIMO channels. The system uses a common local oscillator to achieve accuracy between two channels of less than ±1-ns signal sampler synchronization, less than ±1-ns peak-to-peak signal sampler jitter, and less than ±1° peak-to-peak RF-carrier phase jitter.Highly flexible, the 4x4 MIMO can test for single-input, single-output and be used in any channel configuration. Keithley has recently extended this system to an 8-channel set.
Technology
RF test system
Developer
Keithley Instruments Inc.
