Noisecom, Rohde & Schwarz demo 60-GHz noise-figure measurement at IMS
The two companies jointly set up a test solution for making Y-factor noise figure measurements in the 60 GHz frequency range.
By Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief -- Test & Measurement World, 6/12/2009 2:41:00 PM
Noise figure measurements at 60 GHz were the focus of joint effort by Rohde & Schwarz and Noisecom at the IEEEMTT-SInternational Microwave Symposium this week. The two companies jointly set up a test solution for making Y-factor noise figure measurements in the 60-GHz frequency range. Noisecom, a division of Wireless Telecom Group, contributed to the demo its new noise figure test set for the 60-GHz wireless communication band. Rohde & Schwarz contributed its R&S FSU67 spectrum analyzer, which provides continuous coverage from 20 Hz to 67 GHz, therby eliminating the need for additional hardware such as harmonic mixers to cover the measurement frequency range. Rohde & Schwarz also provided its R&S FS-K30 noise figure option.
According to Bob Muro, product manager and senior applications engineer at Wireless Telecom Group, 60-GHz wireless communications technology is gaining traction because the 60-GHz frequency band is suitable for applications that require high data rates over a short distance, such as HD video transmission within the home. Other potential applications include satellite-to-satellite links.
During the IMS demo, firmware in the R&S FSU67 controlled the Noisecom test set, and R&S FS-K30 noise figure software enabled pushbutton collection of measurement results. The DUT used in the demo was a SiGe BiCMOS 60-GHz superheterodyne receiver IC that operates from 57 to 64 GHz and has an onboard image-reject filter, a 9-GHz IF filter, a frequency synthesizer, a low-noise preamplifier, and programmable IF gain blocks. It has a generic I/Q interface that accommodates all likely modulation types, as well as internal AM and FM demodulators.
Noisecom’s 60-GHz noise figure test sets come in two versions: the NC5115-60G has a waveguide flange, while the NC5115-60GT has a coaxial transition. The sets consists of precision noise sources that cover the 60-GHz band, isolators for optimal VSWR match, and very low noise amplifiers with 30 dB gain to increase the DUT output, if it is too low for direct measurement. The Noise source delivers 17.5 dB excess noise ratio (ENR). The NC5115-60G and NC5115-60GT sets come standard with an ENR calibration table.
See related article, “Rohde & Schwarz demos coherent-source, nonstandard-OFDM, and group-delay measurements; touts AWR link.”
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