It is the second in a series of modular reference solutions, a new concept introduced by Agilent this year, comprised of fundamental test system components, including hardware, software, and measurement expertise.
This reference solution increases the number of antenna measurements per second, provides multiple phase-coherent channels measured in parallel, and optimizes data through real-time digital downconversion (DDC). The system integrates seamlessly into a multi-channel antenna calibration test environment for receiver channel calibration using near-field and narrowband array testing.
Phased array antennas can consist of thousands of individual transmit/receive modules, and calibrating them can be time-consuming. This can negatively impact manufacturing costs and limit the potential for increased production capacity. Agilent's new reference solution helps reduce manufacturing costs by significantly decreasing measurement time while simultaneously expanding the flexibility of test systems to cover a wider range of applications.
“Our customers have long been requesting a scalable, modular, multi-channel solution for testing antenna arrays that offers good narrowband sensitivity and can be expanded to perform broadband measurements in the future,” said Mario Narduzzi, Director of Marketing for Modular Solutions at Agilent. “The new reference solution provides phase-coherent sampling on all input channels, sample software templates that include relative magnitudes, and, finally, phase measurements. All of this allows customers to overcome measurement hurdles and accelerate element-by-element calibration of large phased-array antennas.”.
The reference solution for multichannel antenna calibration can be expanded from 8 to 40 digitizing channels in a 5-slot chassis (more in the case of a 14-slot chassis). Furthermore, it offers ultra-stable coherent channels (phase difference of less than one degree between channels), flexible analysis bandwidth (300 MHz with DDC and 600 MHz without DDC), and up to one million narrowband measurements per second.
Agilent's reference solutions include utilities such as highly optimized sample program source code for specific applications, teaching users how to get the most out of their test systems. Agilent has demonstrated that reference solutions enable the rapid evaluation of test solutions for specific applications and dramatically reduce the time required to integrate a new system into a test environment.
