IFR Unveils the 3410 Series: The New Face of Digital RF Signal Generators.Business Editors WICHITA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2002 Editor Summary: Designed for R&D and manufacturing test applications, the IFR IFR abbr. instrument flight rules 3410 series digital RF signal generators set a new standard in compact size and weight while incorporating a new user interface to simplify even the most complex RF tests. IFR, an Aeroflex Company (Nasdaq:ARXX), today introduced the 3410 series, an entirely new family of digital RF signal generators. Available in three frequency ranges from 250 kHz to 2 GHz, 3 GHz and 4 GHz, the 3410 series is used for testing and emulation of 2G, 3G and 4G systems; digital Private Mobile Radio; Wireless Local Area Networks and Bluetooth systems. The 3410 series is the first high-performance digital RF signal generator family to combine full digital, vector and analog modulation The altering of a carrier by an analog signal. See modulation and carrier. in a 2U rack size. The 3410 series offers excellent RF level accuracy of +/-0.5 dB. Combined with a low output VSWR VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio VSWR Vertical Standing Wave Ratio specification, measurement errors for real-world applications are kept to a minimum. Precise and repeatable measurements can be performed on even the most sensitive analog or digital receivers. Additional modes of operation are provided that allow the user to optimize the signal generator for specific measurement tasks. The prerequisite for any manufacturing system is to maximize throughput. With fast GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) An IEEE 488 standard parallel interface used for attaching sensors and programmable instruments to a computer. Using a 24-pin connector, up to 15 devices can be daisy chained together. HP's version is the HPIB. operation and the incorporation of a high-performance electronic attenuator at·ten·u·a·tor n. A device that attenuates an electrical signal. Noun 1. attenuator - an electrical device for attenuating the strength of an electrical signal , the 3410 series offers fast and reliable manufacturing test capability. Carrier frequency and RF level switching speeds are less than 5 ms and the instrument is hardware-ready to support USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. 1.1 interfaces. The use of an electronic attenuator ensures that test system down time is kept to a minimum. Complex Modulation Modes Made Simple With a Touch-Panel Interface While offering more than 30 different modulation combinations, the 3410 series takes the complexity out of the configuration process through a new user interface that is capable of controlling all the advanced features required for digital and vector modulation. The 3410 series introduces the first touch-screen user interface to digital RF signal generators. A deeply nested menu structure is avoided and a refreshingly simple and intuitive user interface is provided instead. Wherever touch control is provided, an equivalent hard-key method is also available, allowing the 3410 series to be used in the harshest of working environments. At the same time, the 3410 series' new system architecture incorporates high-performance RF modulation (Radio Frequency modulation) Transmitting a signal within a carrier frequency by blending an alternating frequency or amplitude onto the carrier wave. See modulate, carrier and RF. in a small package. As modulation formats have multiplied rapidly and become increasingly complex, RF signal generators have become bulky and complicated. The 3410 series reduces the size and weight of RF signal generators by 35 to 50 percent over competitive instruments -- and delivers the high performance expected by customers in research and development and wireless manufacturing. Digital, Vector and Analog Modulation Using the external IQ inputs, the 3410 series provides an RF modulation bandwidth of up to 100 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. . Over this bandwidth, and covering the full frequency range of the signal generator, excellent modulation characteristics are achieved through the use of a proprietary IQ modulator Modulator Any device or circuit by means of which a desired signal is impressed upon a higher-frequency periodic wave known as a carrier. The process is called modulation. The modulator may vary the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the carrier. design. With an Adjacent Channel Power (ACP (Associate Computing Professional) The award for successful completion of an examination in computers offered by the ICCP. It is geared to newcomers in the computing field. For more information, visit www.iccp.org. ACP - Algebra of Communicating Processes ) performance typically better than -68 dBc for a 3GPP GPP Government Performance Project GPP General Purpose Processor GPP General Physical Preparedness GPP Gambian People's Party GPP Good Pharmacy Practice GPP Gross Primary Productivity GPP Green Procurement Program GPP Generic Packetized Protocol FDD (1) Abbreviation for floppy disk drive. See floppy disk. (2) (Frequency Division Duplexing) A transmission method that separates the transmitting and receiving channels with a guard band (some amount of spectrum that acts as a buffer or insulator). signal, the performance of the 3410 series meets the most exacting requirements of testing 3G radio receivers and power amplifiers. User-definable internal calibration routines ensure that the modulator performance can be quickly optimized to reduce vector errors and ensure low carrier leak at all operating frequencies. With an optional dual-channel arbitrary waveform generator An arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) is a piece of electronic test equipment used to generate electrical waveforms. These waveforms can be either repetitive or single-shot (once only) in which case some kind of triggering source is required (internal or external). (ARB), the 3410 series is capable of generating digitally modulated carriers with an RF modulation bandwidth of 45 MHz. Using an interpolation interpolation In mathematics, estimation of a value between two known data points. A simple example is calculating the mean (see mean, median, and mode) of two population counts made 10 years apart to estimate the population in the fifth year. filter design, the ARB operates at a high sample rate that allows smaller files to be created and eliminates the need for selectable hardware filtering and the associated errors that this can introduce. The 3410 series offers the full range of analog modulation modes. Wide bandwidth FM and AM is provided as standard allowing the instrument to be used in a wide variety of applications, including jitter A flicker or fluctuation in a transmission signal or display image. The term is used in several ways, but it always refers to some offset of time and space from the norm. For example, in a network transmission, jitter would be a bit arriving either ahead or behind a standard clock cycle tolerance assessment in telecommunications systems and the transmission of analog TV signals. In DC-coupled FM mode a patented technique is implemented that results in exceptional frequency accuracy and low drift. This allows the 3410 series to be used to simulate a voltage-controlled oscillator A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic oscillator designed to be controlled in oscillation frequency by a voltage input. The frequency of oscillation is varied by the applied DC voltage, while modulating signals may also be fed into the VCO to cause when designing a receiver or to precisely reproduce digital signaling for FM receivers that have selective squelch squelch v. squelched, squelch·ing, squelch·es v.tr. 1. To crush by or as if by trampling; squash. 2. control. Best in Class Dual-Channel Arbitrary Waveform Generator The 3410 series includes an optional dual-channel ARB with an interpolation filter design. This technique significantly reduces the ARB configuration process to a simple file selection operation. The interpolation rate of the filter is automatically set in such a way that aliasing In computer graphics, the stair-stepped appearance of diagonal lines when there are not enough pixels in the image or on screen to represent them realistically. Also called "stair-stepping" and "jaggies." See anti-aliasing. products of the wanted signal are shifted into the stop-band range of the anti-aliasing (reconstruction) filter. This eliminates the confusing reconstruction filter In a mixed-signal system (analog and digital), a reconstruction filter (or anti-imaging filter) is used to construct a smooth analogue signal from the output of a digital to analogue converter (DAC) or other sampled data output device. selection process required on less sophisticated ARBs. As a result, incorrect instrument configuration is avoided and correct file generation is guaranteed. The 3410 series ARB is capable of storing a maximum of 22.5 Msamples. The ARB's memory is partitioned into 60 sectors, each can be further divided into three sub-sectors. Consequently, up to 180 files can be stored at any given time. Sectors and sub-sectors can be merged together to form larger files. In fact, it is possible to save one file that uses the entire memory space. As a result, the 3410 series ARB is capable of storing a 3GPP file representing 153 frames (1.53 s). The 3410 series can be loaded with files representing different wireless RF transmission formats. This allows handsets from two different manufacturing lines -- one from GSM, for example, and the other devoted to CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) A method for transmitting simultaneous signals over a shared portion of the spectrum. The foremost application of CDMA is the digital cellular phone technology from QUALCOMM that operates in the 800 MHz band and 1.9 GHz PCS band. -- to be fed into a single test bay. The 3410 series can instantly switch back and forth between testing sets of GSM and CDMA phones without incurring any load time overhead for new files. ARB files can be generated once or looped continuously. Marker bits can be used to gate the RF signal on and off using defined RF level versus time profiles to simulate the operation of TDD (Time Division Duplexing) A transmission method that uses only one channel for transmitting and receiving, separating them by different time slots. No guard band is used. Contrast with FDD. See also TDD/TTY. TDD - Telecommunications Device for the Deaf and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) A satellite and cellular phone technology that interleaves multiple digital signals onto a single high-speed channel. For cellular, TDMA triples the capacity of the original analog method (FDMA). signals. The 3410 series is supplied with IQCreator, an IFR software package to aid in the creation and downloading of files to the ARB. Key specifications of the IFR 3410 Series The 3410 series is a no-compromise, high-performance family of digital RF signal generators packed into a 2U-high (3.5 inch), 10.5 kg (23 lb.) package.
Carrier Frequency
Range: 250 kHz to 2 GHz (3412)
250 kHz to 3 GHz (3413)
250 kHz to 4 GHz (3414)
RF Output
Maximum Level Range: -140 dBm to +16 dBm (Electronic
Attenuator)
-140 dBm to +19 dBm (Mechanical
Attenuator)
Resolution: 0.01 dB
Level Accuracy (CW): +/-0.5 dB
Spectral Purity
Noise Floor: less than -142 dBc/Hz greater than 5 MHz
offset in AM, CW modes, typically less
than -148 dBc/Hz
Adjacent Channel Power: less than -65 dBc 3GPP test model 1 64
channel, typically less than -68 dBc
FM Modulation
Bandwidth: With input impedance set to 100 kOHM, the
1 dB bandwidth is 200 kHz.
With the input impedance set to 50OHM,
the 3 dB upper bandwidth is typically
20 MHz.
AM Modulation
Bandwidth: With input impedance set to 100 kOHM, the
1 dB bandwidth is 200 kHz.
With the input impedance set to 50OHM,
the 3 dB upper bandwidth is typically
30 MHz.
Pulse Modulation
Rise/Fall Time: less than 20 ns
On/Off Ratio: greater than 80 dB (for RF levels greater
than -60 dBm)
IQ Modulation
Bandwidth: +/-0.5 dB relative to DC for frequencies
up to 5 MHz.
Typically +/-3.0 dB relative to DC for
frequencies up to 50 MHz.
DC Vector Accuracy: EVM less than 1
%Residual carrier leak less than -50 dBc
Option 5: Dual-Channel Arbitrary Waveform Generator (ARB)
Characteristics
Memory Size: 23,592,960 sample pairs
Maximum number of files: 180
D/A converter resolution: 14 bits
D/A sampling rate: 44 - 66 Msamples
The interpolator included in the ARB
automatically sets the sample rate.
Dimensions and Weight
Weight: 10.5 kg
Dimensions (h x w x d): 107 mm x 419 mm x 510 mm
Price and Availability Pricing for the 3410 series digital RF signal generators starts at U.S. $16,800. All 3410 series products are available immediately. Delivery is six to eight weeks upon receipt of order. About IFR, an Aeroflex Company IFR is a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced wireless test solutions for communications, avionics and general test and measurement applications. For more information about IFR in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , contact: IFR, 10200 West York West York may refer to one of these places:
About Aeroflex Aeroflex Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops and manufactures state-of-the-art microelectronic module, integrated circuit, interconnect and testing solutions used in broadband communication applications. The Company's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol ARXX and is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 index. Additional information concerning Aeroflex Incorporated can be found on the Company's Web site: www.aeroflex.com. |
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