Midrange VNA Delivers Fast, Accurate EVM Measurements
This video is part of the TechXchanges: 5G Test and Measurement and Vector Network Analyzers.
Keysight Technologies' E5081A ENA-X is presented as the first midrange vector network analyzer (VNA) that produces fast, accurate error-vector-magnitude (EVM) measurements, promising to accelerate the characterization of 5G component designs by up to 50%.
To ensure 5G New Radio (NR) transmitters meet operational demands, the performance of components such as power amplifiers (PAs) must be obtained under realistic conditions, which can be time-consuming and require multiple instruments and test setups. The ENA-X addresses this need by giving RF engineers a midrange network-analyzer platform offering integrated modulation distortion analysis with full vector correction at the device-under-test (DUT) plane in a single test setup.
Able to perform multiple measurements with a single connection, features of the Keysight ENA-X include an integrated upconverter and direct receiver access. There's also modulated distortion analysis software to enable characterization of RF amplifier performance under complex modulation schemes in high-power systems at up to 44 GHz.
The single test setup has one connection and only a single calibration, which can accelerate the characterization of PAs for 5G transmitters in the 5G NR FR1 and FR2 frequency bands by up to 50%. In the video above, a pair of Keysight engineers explain the device and its functionality.
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About the Author
Alix Paultre
Editor-at-Large, Microwaves & RF
Alix is Editor-at-Large for Microwaves & RF.
An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the U.S. military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications, most recently as Editor-in-Chief of Power Systems Design.
Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.