Agilent Technologies Inc. announces the new PXB MIMO Receiver Tester for quicker, more accurate test of Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) receivers earlier in the design cycle. Providing the best simulation of real-world conditions available on the market today, the PXB significantly reduces development cycle time. The new instrument transforms MIMO test with its ability to minimize design uncertainty and equipment and lab setup time while maximizing the performance and scalability needed to meet future test needs. Such capabilities make the new PXB MIMO Receiver Tester ideal for R&D engineers developing and integrating MIMO receivers for 3GPP LTE, WiMAX™ and emerging wireless standards.
“With the communications environment as complex and ever-changing as it is, Agilent is taking a smart approach by being agnostic in its point of view and delivering solutions that address the needs of both the LTE and WiMAX markets,” said Godfrey Chua, research manager for IDC’s Wireless and Mobile infrastructure service.
The Agilent PXB MIMO Receiver Tester delivers the most up-to-date, versatile signal creation and channel emulation capabilities for the latest LTE and WiMAX standards. It supports 2x2, 2x4 and 4x2 MIMO with the industry’s best bandwidth of 120 MHz, and features custom MIMO correlation settings (e.g., channel models, antenna pattern and correlation matrix). Agilent’s industry-leading Signal Studio signal-creation software runs in the instrument and provides the most up-to-date standards-compliant signal creation.
Using PXB, R&D engineers can simulate real-world conditions in the lab that more quickly test corner cases and stress devices beyond standards requirements. Engineers can also test co-existence to ensure design robustness earlier in the design process. Using Agilent’s Signal Studio or Advanced Design System, or even the engineer’s own waveform creation tool, up to four high-performance baseband generators (BBG) can be summed for multi-format co-existence testing. Each BBG supports 120 MHz modulation bandwidth with 512 Msa of playback memory for long, complex signal simulation. Because design problems can now be identified earlier in the lifecycle, engineers can design with a higher level of confidence, thereby reducing design uncertainties, minimizing rework and shortening time-to-market.
A critical feature of the PXB MIMO Receiver Tester is its ability to minimize equipment and lab setup time. Its seamless signal routing and automated power calibration eliminates the tedious, time-consuming system setup required for fading and multi-format co-existence signal summing, and minimizes test time. Further test-time reductions come from pre-defined test configurations, which allow the engineer to quickly define complex instrument settings for BBG and fading. An intuitive graphical user interface with easy-to-use drop-down menus provides quick and easy setup of test settings (e.g., MIMO channel models and editable path configuration table) and also shortens the user’s learning curve.
Agilent’s new PXB MIMO Receiver Tester features a scalable platform based on a field upgradeable architecture. This high-performance platform ensures a simple and cost-effective upgrade – that takes only an hour – to support the test needs of future technologies like 4G and higher order MIMO implementations. As a result, it maximizes the user’s equipment investment and the longevity of the investment. By leveraging existing Agilent signal generators and analyzers and other RF test equipment, the scalable platform also reduces the cost of test.
The Agilent Signal Studio family of signal-creation software features a complete portfolio of WiMAX and 3GPP-specific solutions.