LadyBug Technologies is developing a series of small form factor, USB C power sensors, designated SF. Combining small size with the capability to measure multiple signal types—from single tone and multi-tone CW to wideband, complex digital waveforms—the SF series will provide an attractive combination of performance, size and cost.

The SF line will have both diode sensors with > 95 dB dynamic range and thermally-based CW sensors with frequency coverage to 110 GHz. LadyBug will release lower frequency models in early 2023, with the thermally-based sensors by the end of the year. The thermal sensors, fabricated with a new foundry process, will extend frequency coverage to V-, E- and W-Band. All transducer technologies have sub-millisecond rise times, and all sensor models use LadyBug’s patented NoZero NoCal functionality, which is stable over temperature and traceable to NIST (first-tier).

This SF series of power sensors is the first to adopt the type C USB interface. USB enables PC connectivity with triggering and embedded system control to be achieved with a single, standard connector. USB communication will continue using the USB 2.0 protocol to support the widest range of computers, operating systems and interface standards, including SPI, I2C, Ethernet and SCPI.

SF power sensors will work well from the lab to ATE systems on the manufacturing floor, particularly where small size is important. For example, 16 sensors can be placed side by side in a 1U rack, eliminating the need for a 16-way switch feeding a single power sensor in an ATE system.