National Instruments is giving a technology preview of their new 802.11ad, or WiGig, test solution at EDI CON USA 2016. The preview highlights new capabilities in the emerging field of mmWave test, and demonstrates parametric testing of an 802.11ad radio using their mmWave instrument technology.
This demonstration of a new 802.11ad test solution is based on their wideband mmWave transceiver technology used by leading automotive and wireless infrastructure researchers to prototype advanced radar and 5G systems. The setup consists of a vector signal generator and vector signal analyzer operating at 55 to 68 GHz with more than 2 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth.
This mmWave transceiver technology is a new approach to 802.11ad testing giving customers an alternative to slow, expensive and low-performing traditional instruments. This new technology for 802.11ad testing also complements their comprehensive product portfolio for wireless test, including existing solutions testing 802.11a/b/h/j/n/p/ac/ax, Bluetooth, GSM, UMTS, LTE/LTE-A, FM/RDS and GNSS.
With proposed 5G bands at 28, 38, and 73 GHz, WiGig at 60 GHz, and automotive radar at 77 GHz, mmWave seems to be the next frontier of wideband instrument technology. NI is working with leading semiconductor vendors to further refine this technology.
Broadcom is one of their partners who is using this new test technology. 802.11ad is a critical addition complementing WiFi technology, enabling multi-gigabit wireless throughput for demanding consumer and mobile applications such as UHD video streaming, as well as enabling high bandwidth data transmission for wireless infrastructure including mobile backhaul and wireless access points. NI’s developments in mmWave test solutions have allowed them to address various testing challenges like reducing test costs and providing high-volume manufacturing and over-the-air test capabilities.
The 802.11ad test solution is a vital part of the NI platform and ecosystem that engineers can use to build smarter test systems. These test systems benefit from more than 600 PXI products ranging from DC to mmWave and feature high-throughput data movement using PCI Express Gen 3 bus interfaces and sub-nanosecond synchronization with integrated timing and triggering. Engineers can take advantage of the development productivity of the LabVIEW and TestStand software environments, along with the out-of-the-box experience with interactive soft front panels for making basic measurements and debugging. Supported by a vibrant ecosystem of partners, add-on IP and applications engineers, the NI platform helps to significantly lower the cost of test, reduce time to market and future-proof testers for tomorrow’s challenging requirements.
