The dynamics of the RF mobile communications market is continuing to pressure engineers to pack more data into a limited spectrum. Ever increasing data rates mean the life span of modulations schemes is shortening. Wide band arbitrary or flexible waveform creation and analysis is fast becoming a key requirement for RF sources and analyzers.
At the IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS) Keithley was demonstrating the 2910 vector source and 2910 vector analyzer that allows engineers to create new signal formats and analyze them using general lab tools such as Matlab.
Product manager Ron Rauch said, “We have many innovations in our instruments, allowing us to provide measurement quality signal creation and analysis that until now was only available in an instrument two or three times the price of the 2810 and 2910. For example, the 2810 has a continuous frequency range from 400 MHz to 2.5 GHz. Within that range we can perform spectrum analysis and vector analysis. We offer unprecedented signal demodulation quality using our 40 MHz IF that has 14 bits of resolution, ensuring engineers can extract and export IQ records into their favorite analysis or modeling tools.”
In the booth Keithley was showing how quickly a 802.11a waveform can be downloaded from Matlab to the 2910 source. The 2910 creates an RF signal by converting the time record to an IF, with 16 bits of resolution and up converting the signal to an RF frequency. Conversely, the newly created signal was captured by the 2810, down converted and digitized with 14 bits of resolution, and stored as an IQ time record in the analyzers memory. In less than a second the record was exported from the instrument and displayed as a constellation on the PC using Matlab.
This type of capability is often found in a higher priced analyzer, but Keithley's innovative HW design and powerful DSP-based architecture allows the company to sell the 2810 vector signal analyzer with wide demodulation BW as a standard feature for less than $16,000 US list. The 2910 equipped with the Arbitrary Waveform Generator option is available for less than $18,500 US list. The 2810 and 2910 have frequency ranges up to 2.5 GHz, which make them the ideal analyzer for the development and manufacture of 80211b/g devices.