One of the biggest challenges with testing 5G systems has been the cost and complexity of the instruments available for assessing millimeter wave frequencies. Anritsu has launched a new pocket-sized mmwave spectrum analyzer series with the aim of addressing that issue for 5G test market in the field, in the lab and in manufacturing.
Russell Lindsay, product marketing engineer with Anritsu, said that the new analyzers are meant for basic spectrum analysis functions, as opposed to the full range of features on a benchtop spectrum analyzer. The Spectrum Master MS2760A family has half a dozen models to support testing at 32 GHz, 44 GHz, 50 GHz, 70 GHz and 100 GHz, as well as a 90 GHz model for countries where special licensing is required for analyzers above 90 GHz. The capabilities include spectrum measurement, channel power, adjacent channel power and occupied bandwidth, with six traces and 12 markers.
“Millimeter wave is the open frontier in product development,” Lindsay said. “The spectrum isn’t as crowded there. There is a lot of work going on to develop new technologies, … [but] the industry can only go as far as we can measure it.”
Applications for mmWave spectrum analyzers include 5G use cases, but also microwave backhaul, WiGig/802.11ad measurements at 57 to 66 GHz, automotive radar and satellite links, among others.
Lindsay noted that the significant signal loss at millimeter wave frequencies can make testing a challenge, but test offerings for the millimeter wave market have also been few and expensive, hampering the pace of development; or have required mixers to get to high frequencies, adding to measurement uncertainty. Low-loss cables for millimeter-wave test set-ups can cost as much as $3,000 apiece. Lab networks that rely on large, expensive benchtop mmWave spectrum analyzers can lose testing time and continuity as test equipment is shipped from location to location.
“This is a very nice supplement to put in each lab,” Lindsay said. “The testing doesn’t have to come to a stop when the equipment goes somewhere else.”
In a manufacturing environment, he added, testing millimeter wave frequencies has been so expensive that companies “stop doing tests that they would otherwise have,” Lindsay said. “This is one opportunity for them to continue with those tests.” The new Spectrum Master series are equipped with mounting holes for direct connection to wafer probes.
In the field, he added, the new analyzers will be able to clip to a tech’s belt and, paired with an antenna and a tablet, can be used for one-man testing that will scale more cost-effectively than bulkier, pricier options. The analyzers are about the size of one of the large iPhone models, Lindsay said, and about twice as thick.
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