Using VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) several interfaces allow communication between your computer and instruments. This application note describes the usage of both - R&S® VISA- NI VISA running on Microsoft Windows 10™ with the following connection types: ► USB VCP (Virtual Com Port), also called USB CDC (Communications Device Class) ► USB TMC (Test and Measurement Class)► Ethernet Raw Port Socket► Ethernet in general e.g. VXI11 or HislipAll the examples are shown using the R&S® HMC8042 unless otherwise stated. There may be some difference when integrating other devices. As example some interface types are not available on every unit.This application note does not claim to be complete. All information has been compiled with care. However, errors can’t be ruled out.

28-Oct-2021 | AN-No. 1SL374

Functional Testing

Although data services in the context of eMBB, URLLC and mMTC are the pivotal drivers behind the 5G evolution, legacy services like voice and video communications still represent important services that operators want to offer to their subscribers. As part of the technology evolution, we have seen a major change from circuit-switched 2G networks with an initial focus on telephony to fully packet-switched 4G networks focused on internet data communications.This application note focuses on different details of voice services in 5G networks. Besides some theoretical background this document describes the procedure to setup a 5G network with R&S®CMW500 and R&S®CMX500 radio communication testers and how to carry out different functional voice call tests for 5G networks.

06-Oct-2021 | AN-No. 1SL364

The signal purity of clock sources has a direct impact on system performance. To ensure proper operation, it is necessary to verify that the purity meets the design requirements.

30-Sep-2021

Getting EMI emissions under control is one of those tasks that R&D engineers do not enjoy doing . EMI must often be taken into consideration as early as the design phase, particularly in the case of power electronics systems with increasing switching speeds of wideband gap semiconductors. While EMI receivers or spectrum analyzers are always the preferred choice for these measurements, they are often not available as standard measurement equipment in the R&D lab. To allow optimization early on in the R&D lab, Rohde & Schwarz provides a free tool to simplify conducted emissions debugging using oscilloscopes.

27-Sep-2021 | AN-No. 1SL372

Simulation can be a big time-saver when designing EMI filters for DC/DC converters. Power supply control chip vendors offer various filter design tools that provide reasonable design choices for filter simulation before any hardware prototype is available. However, simulated results can differ significantly for different tools if simulated models are not accurate or do not cover all the relevant components. Performing a hardware measurement to evaluate the effectiveness of a simulated EMI filter is therefore indispensable.

21-Sep-2021

R&S®Server-Based Testing helps reduce test times for workloads that can be parallelized. 5G New Radio (5G NR) multicarrier signals are an ideal workload because each component carrier can be analyzed independently and in parallel. In an example EVM measurement, scenario test times are reduced significantly even when receiving I/Q data from just a single instrument.

13-Sep-2021

The present R&S®SMW-K503/-K504 Interface Control Document contains information on- the R&S descriptor word format, including pulse descriptor words and timed control descriptor words in basic and expert mode- Timing requirements and limitations of the real-time control interface- Properties of the ADV DATA/CTRL network interfaceIt is intended for use by customers using descriptor words to control the R&S®SMW200A in real-time. The interface control document specifies the interface between the customers hardware used for provision of descriptor words and the R&S®SMW200A ADV DATA/CTRL interface. Additional information on descriptor word processing inside the R&S®SMW200A is provided.

25-Aug-2021 | AN-No. 1GP133

The strict requirement of network synchronization is as old as digital cellular mobile networks. As soon as cells have a neighbor relationship, network synchronization is mandatory in both the frequency and time domains in order to ensure UE QoE and performance (Handover, MIMO, data throughput, etc.). This educational note describes how 5G NR with its extremely flexible specifications is affected by these synchronization requirements, and how it can be measured?

17-Aug-2021 | AN-No. 8NT05

Linking EDA design simulation and hardware testing to enable an easy, straightforward process flow and first-pass design.

16-Aug-2021

Automated Solution with High Efficiency

5G New Radio (NR) presents dramatic challenges to the testing of User Equipment (UE) Power Amplifier (PA). Multiple frequency bands, flexible 5G operation mode, multiple PA performance metrics and the MIPI control interface increases the potential PA testing workload significantly. Manually repeating these tests under so many different scenarios can be costly and time consuming. An automated testing solution can help the test engineer to highly improve the testing efficiency.In this application note, it introduces an example of automated testing of 5G UE PA with R&S signal generator, signal and spectrum analyzer, vector signal explorer software, power meter along with power supply.The entire application note is organized with following structure:Chapter 2 outlines the challenges to 5G UE PA testing.Chapter 3 introduces the setup for 5G signal generation and analysis. For 5G signal generation, a batch program of converting *.CSV files with IQ vectors to ARB waveform files is introduced. For 5G signal analysis, the R&S®VSE software is recommended, which enables the separation of RF signal collection and measurement to improve testing efficiency.Chapter 4 provides the informative content about the integration of MIPI control interface for the PA ON/OFF state switching and register configuration.Chapter 5 gives a guide on the implementation of a quick power servo, in which the techniques to speed up the PA power level adjustment are discussed.Chapter 6 summarizes the automated testing procedure.

09-Aug-2021 | AN-No. 1SL365

In civil aviation, instrument landing system (ILS) transmitters use antenna arrays to provide guidance to approaching aircraft. ILS performance strongly depends on the precise alignment of the magnitude and phase of each element in an antenna array. The R&S®ZNH handheld vector network analyzer with a built-in source allows fast, convenient on-site measurements on the ILS antenna system.

09-Aug-2021

Connecting simulation and measurements on physical devices

This application note is based on collaborative work between MathWorks® and Rohde & Schwarz. The focus is on linearization of a non-linear device, in our case the RF power amplifier. It is shown how simulation and the integrated functions of the Rohde & Schwarz instruments R&S®SMW200A and R&S®FSW work hand-in-hand with the simulation capabilities from MathWorks in MATLAB / Simulink. The goal is to provide a toolset to enable proper modeling and linearization approaches to optimize and verify the behavior of the power amplifier when used with complex wideband signals as used in 5G NR or latest satellite links.The application note brings code examples and an exemplary block set for MATLAB / Simulink to provide an easy start to replicate and use the described procedure.

05-Aug-2021 | AN-No. 1SL371

The R&S®ZNA vector network analyzer with integrated LO output and direct IF input options is a simple, cost-effective solution for 2-port and 4-port measurements using Rohde & Schwarz mmWave converters.

19-Jul-2021

Vector network analyzers are the most accurate instruments in the microwave engineer’s lab. The R&S®ZNA takes accuracy to a new level. Not only is the instrument extremely precise, but now it also calculates and displays the measurement uncertainty right on the screen as the device under test is being measured.

19-Jul-2021

A turnkey 5G Field-to-Lab solution based on R&S®CMX500

5G New Radio (NR) is the fifth-generation radio interface and radio access technology (RAT) which was officially published by 3GPP in release 15. With the 5G technology, it enters a new era to meet the ever-increasing demands of mobile communications not only in the conventional cellular communication world, but also in the vertical industries.Since the commercialization of 5G NR, worldwide 162 networks have been deployed as per the report of GSA. On the path to the 5G NR network commercialization and service launch, field test is one of the essential user centric processes that User Equipment (UE) vendors should go through. Sophisticated features and versatile deployment options have to be thoroughly checked to ensure the reaching of certain confidence level before the official launch.However, field test is often linked with some challenges, such as► High costs due to the extensive drive tests► Time tedious analysis of a drive test that lowers the efficiency► Lack of test repeatability that makes the regressing tests impossibleWhat if providing an alternative solution in a laboratory environment to cope with all above mentioned challenges during the field test? R&S® as a world-wide well established test measurement equipment manufacturer and solution provider developed a 5G field-to-lab (F2L) turn-key solution, R&S®CM360°. It features► the simulation of the network with the real network configurations to avoid the cost intensive drive test by utilizing mobile radio tester R&S®CMX500► intuitive tools to visualize, drill down the problems and therefore enhance the debugging efficiency based on R&S®SmartAnlytics► the specialized key performance indicator (KPI) tests configured through real network data offered on R&S®CMX500 that guarantee the test reliability and repeatabilityThis application note aims to demonstrate the status of quo R&S®CM360° F2L solution.

16-Jul-2021 | AN-No. 1SL369

Using R&S®RTP high-performance oscilloscopes and R&S®VSE-K6A phased array measurement option

12-Jul-2021

EW receiver mission data files can contain hundreds of emitters with thousands of modes and beams that must be tested by simulation at RF. Often, these emitters, their modes and beams are listed on intelligence databases and must be imported from a spreadsheet into to an emitter simulation application such as the R&S®Pulse Sequencer software. For this purpose, the R&S®Pulse Sequencer software offers an internal script editor which allows to import user data and automatically generate emitter, sequence or platform configurations that can then immediately be played into RF without any additional software. Furthermore, the R&S®Pulse Sequencer offers a SCPI recorder tool to collect manual entries during scenario data creation into a list of corresponding SCPI commands. This list of commands can easily be used to create user defined scripts that can either run in the internal script editor or an external software (e.g. Matlab, Python).

01-Jul-2021 | AN-No. 1GP131

Assessing the functionality and performance of 5G VoNR service

30-Jun-2021

The verification of emissions according to EN or FCC standards is mandatory to avoid any interference with existing users. Besides the common emission tests with measurement bandwidth up to 1 MHz and mean power measurements, most regulations also require to test peak transmission power within a 50 MHz bandwidth to avoid interference with any existing wideband applications, for example radar receivers. This application note provides information how to perform spectral emission measurements on UWB signals with spectrum analyzers using wide bandwidth RBW filters, and explains the capabilities and the limiting factors of the Rohde & Schwarz FSW signal and spectrum analyzer to perform this measurement. The next sections will give further details.

28-Jun-2021 | AN-No. 1EF109

EN-DC Mode According to 3GPP 38.521-3

5G New Radio (NR) is a radio access technology (RAT) specified by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in release 15 technical standard which was first published in 2018. It is designed to enhance the spectrum efficiency to meet the diverse needs of wireless communication applications, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC) and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC).Two deployment modes are defined for 5G NR technology► non-standalone (NSA) mode involving both E-UTRA (access technology used for LTE) and 5G NR RAT► standalone (SA) mode allows the user equipment (UE) to access 5G core network (5GC) over LTE or 5G NR RATAll 5G NR air interface related core specifications as well as associated test specifications are included in the 3GPP 38 series specifications. In an UE product lifecycle, UE vendor is obliged to go through the device certification process by passing all the required conformance tests which include RF, protocol, performance tests before official launch of the product. RF conformance testing is of course essential for the market access. The conformity of 3GPP specification has to be ensured even in the early product R&D phase.This application note aims to guide the R&D reader through the 5G NR Frequency Range 1 (FR1) NSA RF UE conformance test according to 3GPP38.521-3 based on mobile radio tester R&S®CMX and associated web user interface R&S®CMsquares in interactive operation mode, i.e. manual operation mode, through test configuration examples. After reading this application note, the reader should be able to conduct 3GPP RF conformance tests with proper settings manually and understand measurement results in R&S®CMsquares.

25-Jun-2021 | AN-No. 1SL368

Rohde & Schwarz presents a customizable solution for testing barometric performance to ensure z-axis accuracy in line with FCC regulations.

24-Jun-2021

In general, most of the existing electronic devices are connected to the AC mains and require a power conversion stage to convert the AC-Voltage to a smaller DC-Voltage. Voltages and frequencies of the power grid differ between different regions. However, different types of AC-DC conversion stages exist to supply the electronic equipment with adequate DC-power.In AC-DC conversion combined with power levels less than 50W, the flyback converter is a commonplace chosen topology because of its simplicity and its low cost. The majority of consumer products make use of this converter type like wall brick power supplies or power adapters for any consumer application and other type of stand-by auxiliary power supply like used in white and brown goods. In AC to DC converter application, an electrical isolation between input and output is mandatory. The flyback topology provides this galvanic barrier.Beside the common advantages of a flyback converter, it has inherently parasitic components, which typically produce ringing waveforms with considerably high voltage spikes. Without suppressing this unwanted ringing, it may have some negative effect on other components like the switching elements. This ringing can also influence the EMI emissions adversely. Therefore, it is an important task to adequate suppress and damp the ringing effect. This damping circuit is known as snubber circuit and provides this functionality. In the flyback converter, different snubber structures can be applied and each of the structure has its advantage and disadvantage.The demand having a snubber circuit in the power supply topology leads to specific verification methods during the design to obtain a proper and reliable design. These verification methods are the main focus of the discussions within this document.

23-Jun-2021 | AN-No. 1SL363

5G is the fifth generation of wireless communication technology supporting cellular networks. From GSM (2G) through to LTE (4G), each generation addresses technical challenges not overcome by its predecessor. As with previous generations, 5G requires new mobile devices and new base stations (BTS).Unlike previous generations, the use of radio beams in 5G requires completely new approaches with regard to the compliance, coverage, and quality of service testing.The new air interface is called 5G NR ("new radio"). This application note describes the measurement challenges of 5G NR and makes clear the benefits of using a monitoring receiver for measuring 5G signals.Real-world examples explain how to perform various key 5G measurements. The final section covers further 5G measurement possibilities using R&S products. "Over-the-air" (OTA) measurements are essential in 5G. This means staff from regulators and operators must work in unknown radio environments that vary according to location (e.g. urban or suburban) and mission (e.g. 5G BTS compliance testing or interference hunting). Measurement equipment must operate in a wide range of scenarios (close to the mast and far from the mast) and offer user-friendly functionality that enables the required measurements.Considering current global deployment trends, this paper focuses on the FR1 frequency band (sub 6 GHz).

07-Jun-2021 | AN-No. 1SL366

This application Note is based on CMW500, SMBV100B and Vector CANoe.Car2x Software and guides to how to simulate the specific Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) wireless environment in respect to road transport scenarios and transmitted messages around the Device Under Test (DUT) like a Telematics Control Unit (TCU). It shows how to verify and validate the C-V2X application of the DUT in laboratory environment. The virtual simulation scenario is not limited to the requirements of CSAE53-2017 specification, and it could be modified by user according to this operating guide with CANoe.Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) is a new generation of information and communications technologies that connect vehicles to everything. The objective of V2X is to increase road safety and manage traffic efficiently.C-V2X is designed to offer low-latency vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-roadside infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications services to add a new dimension to future advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). C-V2X as one communications standard defined by 3GPP in Release 14 uses LTE technology as the physical interface for communications. The standard describes two types of communications. The vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications type, exploits the cellular Uu interface, uses traditional cellular link to enable cloud services to be integrated into end-to-end solutions, e.g. to allow road and traffic information for a given area to be distributed to the vehicles.The second type is referred to as direct or PC5/Sidelink (V2V, V2I, V2P) communications, where data transmission takes place over the PC5 interface. In that type, C-V2X does not necessarily require a cellular network infrastructure. It can operate without a SIM and without network assistance and uses GNSS as its primary source for time synchronization.Verifying system functionality and performance exclusively by field testing in a real-world environment can be time-consuming, costly and very challenging. Requirements regarding functionality, and consequently the required assistance functions, are constantly changing. Due to this fact, test solutions are needed during the development and introduction phase to verify compliance with the standards. The PC5 direct communications type allows exchange of time sensitive and safety relevant information. Using a mobile communication tester like the R&S® CMW500 together with a C-V2X scenario simulation tool delivers reproducible test scenarios. This is essential for the standardization of verification processes for C-V2X in order to obtain reliable and comparable results, and it helps to demonstrate that end-to-end functionality between two C-V2X devices from different vendors works properly.

02-Jun-2021 | AN-No. GFM341

Primer

A power sensor is a fundamental measurement tool in RF engineering. However, today's marketplace is filled with myriad choices, and many are making bold claims about attributes such as measurement speed and readings per second. As a result, it can be difficult to cut through the hyperbole and determine which sensor will actually meet the requirements of a specific measurement.This primer outlines the basics of RF power sensors and highlights a few key characteristics that will help you select the best one for each application. The narrative has three parts. First, we focus on choosing the right type of sensor: multipath, wideband, average power and thermal can satisfy slightly different measurement needs. The second section covers the five major attributes of sensor performance, and what to look for relative to your requirements. Finally, we outline three ways to integrate a sensor into your measurement application.

26-May-2021

The test case wizard enables the signal generator to set up all required parameters for conformance testing of 5G NR base stations in no time with just a few clicks.

25-May-2021

The UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) technology is a low power wide-band technology specified for device to device communication.It is an optimal RF positioning technology that enables accurate and secure peerto-peer distance measurement between mobile devices with robust resistance to interference while consuming very low energy and coexisting well with other radio communication systems.This application note describes how to use the UWB measurement functionality provided by R&S®CMP200 radio communication tester to perform HRP UWB PHY measurements for R&D and production purposes.

19-May-2021 | AN-No. GFM362

Secondary surveillance radar (SSR) bridges the gap between communications systems and classic radar systems. Despite the increasing capabilities of mobile communications, SSR remains a major component in airspace surveillance. State-of-the-art methods such as Mode S reply enhance SSR with broadcast-like capabilities and enable airports in remote locations to surveil the airspace even if no radar is available. More advanced techniques such as automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) utilize the infrastructure provided by a Mode S reply transponder to provide even more information for ground control and other aircraft.

17-May-2021

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) uses radar wavelengths for airborne or spaceborne ground mapping. The resolution of the SAR ground map depends on the range and cross-range SAR processing resolution. Cross-range resolution is determined by integrating pulses along a flight path for a period of time to create a synthetic aperture. Longer synthetic apertures result in finer cross-range resolution. Range resolution is achieved by radar waveform bandwidth in the form of a linear frequency modulated (LFM) chirp. Wider bandwidth enables finer range resolution.

16-Apr-2021

This document provides information on how to perform manual testing based on current R&S TA-TRS QuickStep V4.05 platform in order to adapt to the new released EN 303 345 for broadcast sound receivers. It serves as a bridged document before new standard software package released by R&S for upgrade.

14-Apr-2021