EMSCAN announces RFX2 an enhancement to RFxpert which enables antenna engineers and wireless designers to test base station antennas on their lab bench.
RFX2 is a desktop scanner that characterizes antennas without the need for a chamber. RFX2 provides far-field patterns, bisections, EIRP and TRP in less than two seconds. Novel near-field results, including amplitude, polarity and phase give insights into the root causes of antenna performance challenges and help troubleshoot far-field radiation patterns.
Due to the time and cost constraints of conducting far-field measurements of base station antennas many mobile service providers cannot afford to measure the antennas as much as they would like. Directly testing far-field in an anechoic chamber is not appropriate because of the large distances required for the far-field to establish. Outdoor test sites can be difficult to find and their use is constrained by weather. Specific chambers for testing large antennas using specialized techniques are required. In addition, many base station antennas have mechanical adjustments which alter the pattern of the array creating a need for measurement with multiple setups.
You can overcome these hurdles by RFX2. RFX2 is a desktop scanner that characterizes antennas without the need for a chamber. RFX2 provides far-field patterns, bisections, EIRP and TRP in less than two seconds. Novel near-field results, including amplitude, polarity and phase give insights into the root causes of antenna performance challenges and help troubleshoot far-field radiation patterns.
RFX2 can also integrate with a network analyzer to measure gain, efficiency and S11 of an antenna, and with a base station emulator to test cell phones. Users can execute real-time analysis of their embedded antenna designs and test multiple design iterations, on the lab bench, in seconds at each stage of the design process. RFX2 also gives wireless engineers the freedom to do rapid prototyping and explore new designs, new materials and new forms. Wireless engineers and designers can test multiple design variations and optimize complex embedded antenna designs at their desktop in seconds without wasting time waiting in congested anechoic chamber lines. They can optimize positioning and effects from layout, monitor changes from packaging or layout changes or verify performance of final product in seconds and then go to the chambers for final certification requirements with their mind at ease, knowing that their design will achieve a first-time pass.