Rohde & Schwarz Upgrades R&S PWC200 Software
Rohde & Schwarz has updated its R&S PWC200 plane wave converter (PWC) software.
The latest software update to the R&S PWC200 plane wave converter (PWC) increases measurement accuracy and refines usability thanks to a new calibration method.
Adam Tankielun, Senior Development Expert of Antenna Test Systems at Rohde & Schwarz, says: “Our creative and enthusiastic development team completely redefined the calibration procedure of the R&S PWC200. Consequently, we can offer our customers the opportunity of testing their new generation base station products with the lowest possible measurement uncertainty and the maximum usability of a PWC test system. And they get a turnkey solution from a single vendor, complete with full support and service that can be tailored to their needs.”
With these updates, Rohde & Schwarz extends the possible use cases of its innovative 5G massive MIMO base station testing solution in R&D, quality assurance and production as well as conformance testing. While the software will be preinstalled in new units, existing R&S PWC200 units can be upgraded.
Rohde & Schwarz has a strong portfolio of solutions for OTA testing, designed to answer these challenges. Some of them are based on compact antenna test range (CATR) technology, where a gold-plated reflector is used to create the plane waves, allowing the DUT to be relatively close to the antenna.
However, with large DUTs such as base stations, the size of the high-precision mirror would be prohibitively large and increase the price of the system considerably. With a solution based on the PWC technology in its OTA test portfolio, Rohde & Schwarz is broadening the options available to the users, especially for large DUTs.
The R&S PWC200 needs four times less space than solutions based on other OTA technologies such as CATR. The R&S PWC200 is based on a phased antenna array consisting of 156 wideband Vivaldi antennas to form plane waves within an adjustable QZ, placed in the radiating near field of the DUT.
The R&S PWC200 features an internal RF verification solution. This makes it possible to perform precise monitoring and correction of the R&S PWC200 antenna without using an external antenna.
