mmWave Test Solution to Accelerate 5G Commercialization

The new mmWave Vector Signal Transceiver reduces the cost and risk of testing 5G NR devices

NI announced the mmWave Vector Signal Transceiver (VST) to address the test challenges of 5G mmWave RFIC transceivers and power amplifiers.

With chipmakers racing to commercialize 5G mmWave technology, engineers face the daunting challenge of accelerating product schedules combined with new and often unsolved technical requirements. NI’s mmWave test solutions address these challenges in both the R&D lab and the high-volume manufacturing environment. They deliver:

  • Measurement quality to meet rigorous technical requirements
  • An architecture designed to scale to the specific needs of production test for mmWave chips
  • A unified software experience that simplifies measurement and automation
  • Identical instrumentation in validation and production to simplify correlation efforts and reduce development time

NI’s solutions use the mmWave VST, which combines an RF signal generator, an RF signal analyzer and integrated switching with 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth at frequencies up to 44 GHz. In addition to existing PXI-based characterization systems in the lab, this instrument natively integrates into the NI Semiconductor Test System (STS) for deployment in high-volume manufacturing applications. 5G mmWave STS configurations support up to eight mmWave VST instruments, with integrated IF capabilities, and up to 72 mmWave ports in a tester configuration that is optimized for EVM performance. Choosing a tester built on the modular PXI platform helps engineers adopting STS to quickly integrate new measurement capabilities like 5G into their test cells more cost-effectively and with less risk of delaying time to market.

“In the race to bring 5G technology to market, traditional approaches to RF semiconductor test are struggling to deliver on the flexibility and cost expectations of 5G devices,” said Eric Starkloff, president and chief operating officer at NI. “The mmWave VST is yet another example of NI’s ability to combine our industry-leading platform with deep customer insight to enable customers’ disruptive innovations.”

Find more information about the NI mmWave test solution here