Single PVT360A can tests FR1 base station, small cell and RF components
For high speed, high throughput testing of all forms of 5G FR1 base stations and small cells as well as for RF components characterisation or production, the PVT360A performance vector tester is a compact single box instrument from Rohde & Schwarz.
The minimal footprint, single box instrument provides signal generation and analysis capabilities. It can also fulfil minimum error vector magnitude (EVM) in test signals and high test throughput. An optional second generator and analyser support multi-port component tests, true MIMO testing or can be used to simply double the test capacity.
The VSG / VSA single box tester meets the increasingly demanding requirements for 5G NR FR1 base station and small cell tests, resulting from additions to the original 3GPP Release 15 specification in Releases 16 and 17, said Rohde & Schwarz. The instrument’s frequency range from 400MHz to 8GHz covers not just all 5G FR1 requirements, but also the extension to unlicensed frequency bands in the USA to 7.125GHz. The 500MHz maximum signal bandwidth far exceeds the 5G FR1 maximum of 100MHz, supporting out of band and adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) measurements.
For maximum test throughput, two independent signal generators and analysers enable fast parallel measurements. The twin channels each support eight parallel full-duplex test ports. For each channel, the output test signal can be broadcast to all eight ports. For input, ports are fast-switched in less than 10 microseconds for sequential analysis of either parallel or multiport devices. Transmitter and receiver tests can be carried out in parallel, confirmed Rohde & Schwarz. The R&S PVT360A optimises test sequences to minimise any idle time between result processing. With the second channel installed, users can run True MIMO 2×2 tests with the signal paths tested in parallel, not sequentially. The optional smart channel mode divides the R&S PVT360A in up to eight separate virtual instruments, each with independent output signals and input measurements. The generator and analyser are shared across the virtual instruments, with optimised resource scheduling for all calculations and processing.
For most production test requirements, standard compliant waveforms for 5G NR release 15, 16 and 17 (plus WLAN standards up to 8GHz) support all typical base station transmitter and receiver tests such as EVM, output power or frequency error. For component characterisation applications, the low EVM of the R&S PVT360A signal generator provides high precision test signals, said Rohde & Schwarz. If additional signals are required, customised waveforms may be created using WinIQSIM2, the PC-based waveform creation program. For additional analysis the R&S VSE Vector Signal Explorer PC-based signal analyser software is used.
To cover the full range of requirements in the extremely price-sensitive market for production test with a single instrument, the R&S PVT360A option concept supports setups from a single generator and analyser with eight test ports for frequencies from 400MHz to 6GHz and a bandwidth of 250MHz, up to the complete twin channel configuration each with the full frequency and bandwidth ranges of 8GHz and 500MHz. All updates are by keycode and can be installed instantly.
The new R&S PVT360A performance vector tester is available now.
