S9100A 5G Multi-Band Vector Transceiver

Applications: High-volume test of 5G NR network equipment and radio components

• 5G NR base station transceiver systems
• 5G NR components, including remote radio heads (RRH), distributed units (DU), active antenna arrays

Benefits

• Designed for OTA
     - Uses a remote head to physically place at your antenna chamber and provide the best mmWave link budget
     - Remote heads deliver higher RF modulated power and EVM at your OTA chamber
     - In-head switching for 2 polarizations saves both performance and cost at mmWave
• Lower Cost of Test
     - Base configuration includes FR1 and FR2 bands for production flexibility
     - Reduced footprint vs. benchtop instruments
     - Extremely high test-throughput ("cloud ready")
         - Save space and cost with a single bi-directional head across all 24-44 GHz bands
• Flexible and Effective for Manufacturing
     - 1.2 GHz bandwidth TX/RX with low EVM and ACLR for 5G NR
         - Core SA/SG component is the M9410A VXT-II allowing flexibility to use for FR1 and FR2 without high costs

Functionality

• Wideband signal generation and analysis of 5G NR (3GPP Release 15 and higher) waveforms in both
     - FR1 frequency bands (0.38-6.0 GHz)
     - FR2 frequency bands (24-44 GHz)
• Features "OTA-friendly" expandable architecture that:
     - avoids high losses from switching and long cable runs
     - supports multiple remote millimeter wave heads and polarizations
     - supports multiple TX/RX channels

Measurement applications and software

The S9100A 5G Multi-Band Vector Transceiver is compatible with Keysight's Signal Studio Pro, VSA and Test Automation Platform. These additional recommended software options can be found in the configuration guide and include:

• N7631C Signal Studio Pro for 5G NR creates sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave 5GNR waveforms (Also, N7630C for pre-5G, N7608C for custom IQ and OFDM)
• 89600 VSA software to demodulate NR and pre-5G waveforms (option BHN), custom IQ (BHK), and custom OFDM (BHF) waveforms
• KS8400A Test Automation Platform allows quick creation of automated test harnesses, for rapid design validation

The S9100A 5G Multi-Band Vector Transceiver leverages Keysight's proven PXI vector transceiver platform to provide:

• Signal Analyzer and Generator providing industry-leading RF performance in a compact modular and scalable design
• Wide bandwidth support for 5G NR waveform generation of up to 1.2 GHz
• High performance mmWave remote transceiver radio heads in a small footprint
• EVM and ACLR in FR1 and FR2 bands over the widest power range
• Simplified measurement set-up in line with 3GPP requirements
• Streamlined high-volume test of 5G NR base stations using Keysight's KS8400A Test Automation Platform
• Cloud analytics compatibility with PathWave™ solution software

Reduced path loss at mmWave frequencies for OTA testing

The solution includes a M1740A mmWave remote radio head with dual bi-directional ports that can be positioned close to the over-the-air (OTA) test chamber reference antenna. This approach enables a user to replace long and lossy mmWave frequency coaxial cable with much lower loss IF coaxial cable to substantially reduce RF path loss by as much as 10dB compared to using a mmWave bench instrument set-up.

The S9100A 5G Multi-Band Vector Transceiver is a streamlined, non-signaling measurement system that enables automated testing of 5G NR infrastructure equipment in both the FR1 (sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (24-44 GHz) spectrum bands. This compact solution enables users to validate 5G RF radio performance in high-volume test in 4G as well as 5G millimeter wave. It offers the precision required for in-band design validation in all the new 5G NR bands. Together with a modular architecture, easy to use API, and Keysight PathWave™ solution software the S9100A reduces your cost of test, and accelerates your time to volume, especially in millimeter wave applications.

To explore your requirements and available services, please contact your local Keysight representative.