RF Explained

RF Explained Episode 4 – Tune in as we talk to Kimberly, our product manager for high-performance signal generators, and Riadh, our product planner. In this short video, they discuss the new M9484C VXG vector signal generator, along with its high performance and technical capabilities for multi-channel functionality. Riadh speaks to some customer challenges and how the new VXG phase noise capabilities enhance testing performance.

Transcript:

Hi, my name is Mark Sand, I am the product marketing manager for high-performance signal generators at Keysight. Welcome back to ‘RF Explained’. In today’s episode, we will be exploring how some of our product engineers go through the design process, as well as delve more into one of our newer vector signal generator models and the challenges RF engineers face.

Hi, I’m Kimberly Cassacia, Product Manager at Keysight Technologies and I’m excited to tell you more about the new M9484C VXG Vector Signal Generator. The new VXG brings incredible density and scalability with up to 4 channels in a single instrument and the ability to easily synchronize multiple instruments for very high channel count systems. That means less time spent setting up complex multi-channel systems and more time spent making actual measurements.

To adjust the ever-present need for higher frequency, a new vector signal generator frequency extender can pair with the VXG for frequency coverage up to 110 Gigahertz. Similarly, signals continue to scale wider in bandwidth, and with the new VXG, 2 channels can easily be combined for up to 5 Gigahertz of bandwidth in a single instrument. With the new architecture that leverages Keysight proprietary technology, the new VXG delivers outstanding signal fidelity, phase noise, EVM, and ACPR performance. The product development team is very excited about this new platform and we are thrilled to have some of them here today to talk more about the innovations that they helped deliver.

Hello, my name is Riadh Said, I am the product planner for the VXG vector signal generator. And as a product planner I have the honor of actually going out and visiting all sorts of customers. Whether you’re in 5G, you’re military, or satellite customers working on Wi-Fi, I was able to see where their challenges are, where their problems are, where their headaches are, over-the-air testing, those sorts of things. My job as a planner is to synthesize all those challenges and problems and try to figure out how can we solve them. One of the common themes that I’m seeing as this 5G revolution takes off, is they’re really trying to take 6 Gigahertz frequency coverage and translate it all the way to 50, 70 Gigahertz, without losing performance and coverage, especially in the 5G space or even for satellite links. You gotta imagine they’ve been given the challenge, I want the same coverage capacity, times ten, up to millimeter wave frequencies. How do you do that? The performance challenge for them is huge. And now you gotta do everything over the air.

We’ve been challenged to make that easier for them. One of the ways we’re doing that is applying a lot of new technology: things like solid-state electronic attenuation all the way to 110 Gigahertz. This is going to get repeatability up, it’s going to get level accuracy up, we have new phase noise capabilities that basically makes EVM almost constant all the way to millimeter wave as if you’re operating at 6 Gigahertz, unheard of capabilities. That’s the joy that I have, is working with this team and having the creative freedom to try something new and different, and actually making it happen and seeing it come to life. That’s been a great experience.

Thank you all for watching, if you want to learn more, be sure to check out our Keysight VXG products at the following link and below the video and tune in next time!