Test and Measurement
ipTEST wins King’s Award for Innovation 2023
ipTEST has been honoured with the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of advancing the test capabilities available for high power SiC and GaN semiconductors.
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ide bandgap SiC and GaN semiconductors have opened up new possibilities for power device performance. The
benefits are widespread, from allowing electric vehicles to travel further on the same battery, to enabling more efficient, lower cost electricity conversion in power-hungry data centres. Testing power devices before they reach the customer is crucially important to ensure they perform reliably throughout their lifetime. For the most accurate results, devices should be tested as close to their operating speed as possible. However, this is a challenge for SiC and GaN which are usually switched at much higher speeds than
conventional silicon. A silicon tester just cannot keep up.
To solve this problem, ipTEST developed the DS5 test generator. The whole layout of DS5 was designed from the ground up to operate at the highest speeds and perform the fastest dynamic tests. The result is that DS5 gives the clearest picture of SiC and GaN device performance at speed, allowing manufacturers to maximize the quality of their products. This is particularly important for electric vehicle applications where power devices are at the heart of the drivetrain - nobody wants their electric car to fail on the freeway. “DS5 has been tremendously well received by our customers and I’m so proud it’s been recognised in the Innovation category of
the King’s Award,” said Dr Conor McCarthy, managing director at ipTEST. “This has been a true team effort by everyone within our company.” This is not the end of the story as SiC and GaN semiconductors will continue to evolve and have much more performance to offer. As Demos Malaos, technical director at ipTEST, said: “DS5 is the first step of the journey. We’ll continue to innovate to offer the highest performance testing capabilities for power devices.”
The King’s Awards for Enterprise was previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, and the new name reflects His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II, by
recognising outstanding UK businesses. The Award programme, now in its 57th year, is said to be the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years. ipTEST helps semiconductor manufacturers test their most cutting-edge power devices to achieve optimal performance.
iptest.com/ds5
Anritsu company enhances signal analyzer MS2840A function
Supports efficient tests of pulse radar Tx characteristics
nritsu Company has released its new pulse radar measurement function MX284059B software option for the Signal Analyzer MS2840A. As well as adding
new functions to the earlier MX284059A, this MX284059B release also supports new interlocked control of the USB Peak Power Sensor MA24406A/18A/40A for automatic high-accuracy transmission (Tx) power and pulse-width measurements. In addition to facilitating pulse-radar field maintenance tests, these new functions help reduce production-line test times for more efficient line throughput.
Development background Pulse radars must always operate accurately and reliably because they are used widely for meteorological, shipping, coastguard, and aerospace monitoring applications as
50 April 2023
important social infrastructure assuring safety and security on land and sea, and in the air. Inspection of the Tx characteristics is key for stable pulse-radar operation and conventionally requires various test instruments, including a separate spectrum analyzer, oscilloscope, power meter, and frequency counter. In particular, when testing Tx spurious emissions, field engineers must create spectrum emission masks (pass/ fail base lines) using results from several pieces of test instruments, which is time consuming. Moreover, more private weather forecasting businesses are installing high- performance pulse radar that is essential for monitoring increasingly frequent severe weather, such as sudden downpour and linear rainband causing heavy rain and flooding. Consequently, demand for pulse- radar maintenance testing is also increasing. However, the shortage of experienced field
Components in Electronics
engineers may be unable to meet this rising test demand, which creates a need for automated shorter field tests using easily portable test instruments.
Analyzer outline
The MX284059B is configured easily in combination with the MS2840A and MA24406A/18A/40A to support tests of Tx characteristics and replaces the four conventionally required pieces of test instruments. Additionally, all test stages from data acquisition to spectrum emission mask creation are fully automated. In comparison to its predecessor MX284059A, the MX284059B has a wider pulse-width measurement range for testing high-performance radar, including aerospace and maritime applications using short pulses as well as long-range radar using long- repetition cycles (long pulses).
Key Features
● S-, C-, X-, and Ku-band (3 to 15 GHz band) pulse-radar Tx tests
● Automatic tests of Tx power and frequency, pulse width, pulse rise/fall times and repetition frequency, 40 dB bandwidth, and spurious emissions, with integrated saving of measured data, measurement screens, and pass/fail results ● Evaluation of spurious emissions test results using masks based on the Recommendation ITU-R SM.329, SM.1541 and M.1177 with masks superimposed on MS2840A test trace display
www.anritsu.com
www.cieonline.co.uk.uk
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