As in years past, the 2012 IMS exhibition provides an effective means of quickly assessing current industry test and measurement capabilities. One booth worth a visit is Agilent Technologies (No. 1015), with 25 different instrument and simulation software demonstrations. The firm traditionally uses the IMS exhibition as a launching pad for new products, and 2012 is no exception. Barry Alcorn, Americas Market Segment Manager in Agilent's Electronic Measurement Group, notes: "We are really excited about our new tools for circuit-level modeling through system verification for general RF/microwave, 4G communications, and aerospace/defense applications. Plus, we are pleased to present a range of premier solutions with our partners. You'll find these co-located on Agilent Avenue and around the IMS show floor."
An example is the model N5245A PNA-X microwave vector network analyzer, available for two- or four-port operation from 10 MHz to 50 GHz. It offers a 126-dB system dynamic range with the capability of producing +16 dBm test port power with low harmonics of -60 dBc. The test receiver has a noise floor of -111 dB, measured in a 10-Hz intermediate-frequency (IF) bandwidth. Another new product is the MXA X-Series signal analyzer, with versions available covering 10 Hz to 3.6 GHz, 8.4 GHz, 13.6 GHz, and 26.5 GHz. The analyzers provide resolution as fine as 1 Hz, with resolution bandwidths from 1 Hz to 8 MHz. For fans of software, the company will also have on hand the latest releases of its Advanced Design System (ADS), EMPro, GoldenGate, SystemVue, Genesys, and IC-CAP programs.