Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) has launched the NRPM over-the- air (OTA) power measurement solution, which is the first-of-its-kind solution for measuring transmit power over the air interface for 5G and wireless gigabit components.
Base stations, access points, wireless devices and radio modules use phased array antennas to transmit 5G and wireless gigabit radio signals. Beamforming is used to control the direction of radiation of the transmit antenna in order to maximise the power level at the receiver. The R&S NRPM OTA power measurement solution allows users to measure and calibrate the output power of a device under test (DUT) as well as test its beamforming function with a simple test set-up. The solution works in the frequency range of 27.5 GHz to 75 GHz and covers the 28 GHz band currently being discussed for 5G. It also covers the frequency range from 55 GHz to 66 GHz for wireless local area network (WLAN) in line with the IEEE 802.11ad standard and frequencies above 66 GHz in line with the IEEE 802.11ay standard.
The R&S NRPM OTA power measurement solution consists of two core components: the antenna module and the three-channel sensor module. The R&S NRPM A66 antenna module is a simple, polarised Vivaldi antenna with an integrated diode detector for power measurements. Owing to its high linearity, the module measures the relative power with measurement accuracy better than 0.2 dB. As the power is measured directly on the antenna, the user does not need any additional radio frequency cables. With a single antenna module, the user can calibrate the output power on a DUT. Meanwhile, with several spatially offset antenna modules, it is possible to test a DUT’s beamforming function.
The R&S NRPM3 three-channel sensor module processes measurements from up to three antenna modules. If more than three antennas are needed for a test set-up, users can operate any number of sensor modules in parallel. The additional measurement points increase the measurement resolution during beamforming tests.
R&S also offers a free Power Viewer Plus PC software for evaluating and processing the measurement data. It can be used to visually monitor measurements on up to 12 channels Moreover, for undertaking measurements in its TS7124 19-inch shielded chamber, the company also offers the NRPM-ZD3 cable feedthrough with integrated feedthrough filter. This allows users to get signals in a shielded measurement environment for measurement results that are reproducible.
