INSTRUMENTATION
Radio Heads Expand to Meet Frequency Challenge
N
ational Instruments (NI) has launched the PXIe-5831 vector signal transceiver (VST) to further address time-to- market challenges for X-band, Ku- band and Ka-band radar and satellite
communications (SATCOM) components and systems. As the electromagnetic spectrum rapidly evolves
to keep up with expanding requirements in areas like the electronic battlefield and SATCOM, engineers need to reduce the time it takes to prototype, validate and test radar and communication systems at higher frequency bands. The PXIe-5831 VST with modular millimeter wave (mmWave) heads expands the VST product family to provide frequency coverage up to 44 GHz. It delivers 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth for generation and analysis and features a high- performance FPGA, so users can perform faster and optimised measurements, inline signal processing and high-speed data transfer. According to Luke Schreier, vice president and
general manager of NI’s aerospace, defence and government business, the 2012 release of NI’s first vector signal transceiver marked a revolution in the way high-performance RF test sets were developed, offering the dependability of calibrated RF measurements, the flexibility of user-programmable inline processing and the ability to program in LabVIEW or make use of existing VHDL hardware description language. “By extending the capabilities of the VST to even
more radar and SATCOM frequencies, we are helping address the schedule, cost-of-test and quality issues inherent in the development of complex transmission and receiving systems. As a company, we also gain significant technological advantage between these applications and the commercial 5G sectors, which enables us to more efficiently support the product,” he says.
❱ ❱ mmWave radio heads and PXI modules form part of the modular set of instrumentation for meeting the VST frequency challenge for 5G and other test applications
Testing and development work at higher frequencies has been eased with a new Vector Signal Tranceiver from National Instruments with extended bandwidth.
5G AND MMWAVE 5G is an important excursion into the commercial arena from a technology with its roots firmly set in defence applications. With its high profile presence in 5G test and development technologies, NI sees a clear path describing the commercialisation of its technology in the field of consumer and IoT telecommunications. A crucial aspect of 5G is the use of mmWave beamforming and the PXIe-5831 combines the PXIe-5820 baseband VST with the PXIe-3622 vector signal upconverter / downconverter for direct RF generation and analysis from 5 to 21 GHz. Modular mmWave heads further expand coverage to include frequencies from 23 to 44 GHz with integrated and calibrated switching for up to 32 channels. This enables multichannel beamformer and phased-array measurements without the need for additional infrastructure. The PXIe-5831 complements NI’s modular
instrumentation portfolio of more than 600 PXI products, ranging from DC to mmWave. It also offers NI platform features such as high throughput data movement using PCI Express Gen 3 bus interfaces and performs subnanosecond synchronisation across PXI modules with integrated timing and triggering. Users can take advantage of the productivity of
LabVIEW software, the flexibility of the LabVIEW FPGA Module and a vibrant network of partners, add-on IP and applications engineers. These benefits help them adapt to fast-changing technology and demanding technical requirements so they can deliver new systems on time and on budget.
DAQ, Sensors & Instrumentation Vol 2 No. 2 /// 9
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