Advances In Millimeter Wave Measurements Banded Differential and Pulse Measurements

Agenda Enabling Hardware Configurations Measurement Capability and Features Example of Four Port Device Measurements Pulsed Millimeter Wave Measurements

Enabling Hardware PNA-X (N5242A) MM-Wave Controllers (N5261A / 2A) OML MM-Wave Modules Direct IF access Dual spectrally pure sources, low phase noise Frequency offset measurements Built-in mm-wave module configuration Integrated pulse measurement Differential measurement capability Multiport calibration capability Integrated RF and LO distribution High current DC power distribution Accurate control of RF power to modules Flexibility to attach 2 or 4 banded modules 50 GHz to 0.5 THz Optimized for PNA / PNA-X Provides T/R and or T only modules Close proximity to on-wafer DUT

N5261A / 2A Block Diagram Rear panel jumper for direct connection of RF to test set DC power supply for up to 4 mm- wave modules up to 0.5 THz 5 channel IF multiplexing ALC enable/disable for RF to module LO distribution for up to 4 modules Easily re-configured for 2 port support Allows for the use of a single and dual Source PNA-X

Agenda Enabling Hardware Configurations Measurement Capability and Features Example of Four Port Device Measurements Pulsed Millimeter Wave Measurements

Measurement Capabilities Standard S-Parameter Measurements –S11……S44 Mixed Mode Measurements –Differential P1 and P3 –Sdd11, Sds21, Scs21, Full 2-Port pulse on Port 1 and 2 Support up to 0.5 THz mm-wave modules (without external power Supplies)

Feature Set New millimeter module configuration interface, requires new firmware update. Test set ALC control On/Off Front or rear panel interconnect of RF to the mm-wave test set Presetting system maintains all RF and test set ALC settings by the user. Uses the multiport calibration for 4-port. When used on a 2-port PNA-X requires option 551

Millimeter Module Configuration Multiple configurations including a standard PNA configuration Selection of supported mm-wave test sets Front and rear panel RF configuration for PNA-X ALC enable/disable for power control to module and pulse measurements Frequency setting for mm-wave modules including multiplier and port frequency Selection of PNA-X or external RF and LO sources

Agenda Enabling Hardware Configurations Measurement Capability and Features Example of Four Port Device Measurements Pulsed Millimeter Wave Measurements

Example of a Four Port Device Port 3 Port 4 Port 1 Port 2 Magic Tee

Magic Tee Characteristics Sum and difference ports are isolated Signals from the difference port are 180º out of phase Signals from the sum port remain in phase Applications for power combiner and signal division

Single Ended Measurements of a Magic Tee Magnitude of port 3 and 4 with respect to the difference of port 1 Isolation between sum and difference ports Magnitude of port 3 and 4 with respect to the Sum of Port 2

Single Ended Measurements of a Magic Tee Phase measurement of S32 and S42 Both measurements are in phase with each other Differential Phase Ports 3 & 4 with respect to port 1

Differential Measurements Port 3 Port 4 Port 1 Port 2 Port 3 Port 4 Port 1 Port 2 Measurement One: Difference Port SE - BAL Measurement Two: Sum Port SE - BAL

Difference Port SE- Balanced Port 2+ Port 2- Port 1 Sum Port Terminated

Sum Port SE- Balanced Port 2+ Port 2- Difference Port Terminated Port 1

Verification of Measurements Comparison of Single Ended and Differential measurements Port 3 Port 4 Port 1

Single Ended versus Balanced measurement Common Mode Differential

Agenda Enabling Hardware Configurations Measurement Capability and Features Example Four Port Device Measurements Pulsed Millimeter Wave Measurements

Pulsed Signal in Time and Frequency Domain fcfc Pulse repetition frequency (PRF = 1/PRI) 1/PW Time domain Pulse width (PW) Pulse repetition period (PRP) Pulse repetition interval (PRI) Carrier frequency (f c ) Measured S-parameters Frequency domain Duty cycle = on time/(on+off time) = PW/PRI

Mathematical Representation of Pulsed Signal

Pulsed Frequency Domain Spectrum This is the spectrum of a pulsed signal at a pulse repetition frequency of 1.69 kHz and a pulse width of 7 us.

Pulsed Frequency Domain Spectrum (Zoom) This is the same pulsed spectrum zoomed in on the fundamental frequency that is pulsed (center). Notice that the spectrum has components that are n*prf away from the fundamental. In pulse narrowband detection mode, ideally we would want a rectangular filter to filter out everything but the fundamental pulsed frequency.

Pulsed S-Parameter Measurement Modes Wideband/synchronous acquisition –Majority of pulse energy is contained within receiver bandwidth –Incoming pulses and analyzer sampling are synchronous (requires a pulse trigger, either internal or external ) –Pulse is “on” for duration of data acquisition –No loss in dynamic range for small duty cycles (long PRI's), but there is a lower limit to pulse width Receiver BW Pulse trigger Time domain Frequency domain

Pulsed S-Parameter Measurement Modes Narrowband /Asynchronous Acquisition –Extract central spectral component only; measurement appears CW –Data acquisition is not synchronized with incoming pulses (pulse trigger not required) –Sometimes called “high PRF” since normally, PRF >> IF bandwidth –“Spectral nulling" technique achieves wider bandwidths and faster measurements –No lower limit to pulse width, but dynamic range is function of duty cycle IF filter Time domain Frequency domain D/R degradation = 20*log[duty cycle]

Agilent PNA-X Pulse Enhancements Key Pulse Features: –Internal Pulse Generators (option 025) Up to 4 independent output channels that can be configured to drive internal components (modulators) or external components 60 MHz clock frequency(16.7 ns resolution) –Internal Pulse Modulators Can option with either 1 (option 021) or 2 (option 022) modulators (One per source) PW < 100 ns (rise time < 5 ns) –Time resolution on receiver is less than 100 ns (20 ns typical) in narrowband mode –Enhanced Narrowband Detection Technique Substantial increase in measurement sensitivity and speed over current narrowband technique based on new patented pulse receiver architecture and algorithms –Wideband mode current detection BW is 600 kHz (work is being done to increase this detection BW) –Improved UI One Box Test Solution New

PNA-X Pulse Hardware Enhancements The New PNA-X can be configured in a number of different pulse configurations (more option information can be found in the PNA-X configuration guide): –2-Port, 1 Source, 1 Modulator Provides pulse stimulus in one direction only (option 021) Can use internal (option 025) or external pulse generators –2 or 4-Port, 2 Source, 1 or 2 Modulators Provides pulse stimulus in one (option 021) or two (option 021 and 022) directions Can use internal (option 025) or external pulse generators

New PNA-X Pulse Detection Techniques The New PNA-X has added significant enhancements in the narrowband detection mode using the narrowband IF path: –Digital Filter Nulling (Patent Pending) The digital filter nulls can be placed precisely on the pulse spectral lines since their location is known when using the internal pulse generators. –Crystal Filter (Invention Disclosed) There is a narrowband crystal filter (BW = 30 kHz) in the narrowband pulse IF path which is used to increase the narrowband pulse mode sensitivity. –SW Gate (Patented) When using HW IF gating and internal pulse generation, we know the on and off times of the gate (signal) precisely. Since the off times of the gate contain undesirable noise and/or residual gate isolation, the algorithm can replace the off times with an ideal off state (i.e. zeros) thereby improving the receiver sensitivity.

Pulsed Millimeter Wave Measurements Support’s NB and WB Pulse Configure the mm-wave system for modules connected Turn off ALC in the test set Then start either Narrow or WB Pulse application Configure the Pulse RF and Gate settings RF ALC Control

PNA-X Pulse Application – Main Form The current pulse application (option H08) has been modified to include the use of the internal pulse generators and pulse modulators.

PNA-X Pulse Application – Pulse Profile New PNA-X solution is substantially faster due to: - Virtually no communication overhead using internal pulse generators - Increased measurement sensitivity allows use of wider IF BW’s 77 GHz CW Pulse Profile

Automotive Radar Application Measurements Autonomous Cruise Control Transceiver Module Pulsed Millimeter Wave System Measurements Complete S-Parameter Measurements of 76 GHz PIN Switch Isolation between TX and RX channels

Test Set Ordering Configuration N5262A (4-Port Test Set) –Option Set of 4 RF, LO, IF and DC cables* 1.2 meter –Option Set of 4 RF, LO, IF and DC cables 2 meter –Option Set of 4 RF, LO, IF and DC cables 3 meter –Option Set of 4 RF, LO, IF and DC cables** 5 meter –Option Test interconnect for 2-Port PNA-X –Option Test Interconnect for 4-Port PNA-X *Default for RF, LO and DC cables ** Not recommended for use with 325 or 500 GHz Modules (Loss) N5261A (2-Port Test Set) –Comes with standard 48 inch RF, LO, IF and DC cables –Option 102 – Test interconnect for 2-Port PNA-X –Option 104 – Test Set interconnect for 4-Port PNA-X

Agenda Enabling Hardware Configurations Measurement Capability and Features Example Four Port Device Measurements Pulsed Millimeter Wave Measurements