0320 Mw Rohde Schwarz Decawave Uwb Tester Promo 5e5452577d241

Joint Effort Develops T&M Capabilities for UWB Technologies

Feb. 24, 2020

Testing of ultra-wideband in chips and devices gets a boost as two expert companies in their fields combine to expand the functionality of a radio tester.

David Maliniak

Test-and-measurement equipment expert Rohde & Schwarz and UWB technology expert Decawave teamed up to develop T&M capabilities for production-line testing of ultra-wideband (UWB) functions in chipsets and complete devices. As part of the cooperative effort, Decawave provided knowledge of the required test strategy and test methods, as well as the Decawave DW3000 as a test device. Rohde & Schwarz added UWB test capabilities to its R&S CMP200 radio communication tester, making it the only test platform on the market able to provide R&D and production RF tests for both 5G FR2 and UWB functions.

UWB technology, based on the IEEE 802.15.4a and 802.15.4z standards, enables centimeter-accurate location measurements at distances up to 75 meters. UWB also includes secure data communication at rates up to 27 Mb/s, with very low power requirements. UWB is an ideal candidate for implementing low-latency, highly accurate, reliable, and secure local-area location services. UWB opens new doors in the fields of mobile communication, automotive, IoT, and Industry 4.0 applications. The very wide bandwidth and very low power density make it possible for UWB signals to share spectrum with other narrowband and wideband systems without causing interference.

The 802.15.4a/z standards include several frequency bands; Decawave, as a founding member of the UWB Alliance, already supplies products using frequencies from 3.5 to 6.5 GHz. However, interest is now concentrating on the high band, with channels defined between 5.8 and 10.6 GHz, supporting higher power transmission that leads to longer range. The DW3000 chipset will operate using UWB channels 5 and 9 in the high band, with a bandwidth of 500 MHz.

Anton Messmer, Vice President Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, said, “As OEM and ODM customers get ready to deploy their UWB products, they expect test equipment to be ready and capable to meet their manufacturing needs.”

Jeff Clancy, Vice President of Engineering at Decawave, said, “This joint cooperation enables our customers to efficiently manufacture high-volume products with reduced time-to-market. We are happy to work together with Rohde & Schwarz by enabling their solutions to meet the testing requirements of the UWB ecosystems.”

The R&S CMP200 radio communication tester is designed to meet RF test requirements for devices operating from 6 to 20 GHz in standalone mode, and for all essential 5G FR2 bands including 28 GHz and 39 GHz when used with the R&S CMPHEAD30 remote radio head. This solution from Rohde & Schwarz is the only test instrument available with the necessary specification to support R&D and production test for UWB and 5G FR2 technologies in a single device.

For further information on the R&S CMP200 test platform, go to www.rohde-schwarz.com/product/cmp200. For further information on Decawave, go to www.decawave.com.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

You can send press releases for new products for possible coverage on the website. I am also interested in receiving contributed articles for publishing on our website. Use our contributor's packet, in which you'll find an article template and lots more useful information on how to properly prepare content for us, and send to me along with a signed release form.

About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.