Rohde & Schwarz Presents Test Solutions for Embedded Systems

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

April 22, 2024

News

Rohde & Schwarz Presents Test Solutions for Embedded Systems

Rohde & Schwarz offers comprehensive test and measurement solutions to meet the challenges of diverse consumer electronics, telecommunications, industrial, medical, automotive, and aerospace applications, which must align with today’s efficiency, safety, reliability, and interoperability requirements. 

One highlight of the Rohde & Schwarz test and measurement solutions is the R&S CMW wideband radio communication test platform (R&S CMW500 and R&S CMW270) covering the new Low Energy (LE) feature Bluetooth® Channel Sounding (CS). CS extends the positioning capabilities of low-energy devices based on high-accuracy distance measurements. The R&S CMW platform offers fully featured RFPHY test capabilities using the phase-based ranging (PBR) principle. High-performance internal signal generators and analyzers allow repeatable high-quality device verification.

The R&S CMW platform also supports Bluetooth® Low Energy over-the-air (OTA) receiver and transmitter measurements, as defined in the upcoming Unified Test Protocol (UTP) test mode. The OTA test capability enables RFPHY testing of devices that do not have a physical test connector. The new Bluetooth® core specification defining the CS and UTP modes is expected to be released later this year.

The R&S CMW platform is a comprehensive, fully automated test solution for verifying the physical layer functions of Bluetooth® Low Energy and Bluetooth® Classic with the addition of LE audio measurements. Visitors can experience the new LE test modes live at the Rohde & Schwarz booth.

Another highlight is the MXO 5 oscilloscope from Rohde & Schwarz, an eight-channel oscilloscope that can detect 4.5 million acquisitions and a total of 18 million waveforms per second across multiple channels. The MXO 5 shows a signal’s activity in both the time and frequency domains. With a simultaneous acquisition memory of 500 Mpoints across all eight channels, per the company, it offers twice the standard memory of competitive models. As the first eight-channel oscilloscope with digital triggering, it sets a new standard for signal analysis. It is also the first oscilloscope to offer 45,000 FFTs per second. 

In addition, Rohde & Schwarz supports a solution for fully automated (pre-)compliance testing and verification of high-speed cables (IEEE 802.3bj/by/cd/ck and PCIe 5.0/6.0) using the R&S ZNrun automation test suite, an R&S ZNA or R&S ZNB vector network analyzer and the R&S OSP320 open switch and control platform. The multiport physical layer analysis of a PCIe 6.0 compliant cable is performed by accurately de-embedding the signal with the R&S ZNB43 vector signal analyzer.

The new Wi-Fi 7 standard supports up to 16x16 MIMO with 320 MHz wide channels and 4096 QAM modulation, providing quick and stable connections. When developing Wi-Fi 7 devices, the RF TX and RX characteristics must be measured under real-world conditions in signaling mode. The R&S CMX500 multi-technology multi-channel signaling tester is now available with integrated Wi-Fi 7 test functions. Test environments with multiple RF chains are important in Wi-Fi 7, where multilink operation (MLO) is a key feature. The tester's flexibility, support for multiple radio technologies, and embedded IP test capabilities make it a versatile solution for a wide range of Wi-Fi 7-specific tests, such as 2x2 MIMO, 6 GHz band with out-of-band discovery, coexistence, and E2E test capabilities.

Rohde & Schwarz offers the R&S ESW EMI test receiver for final EMC compliance tests. With the new R&S ESW-B1000 wideband option, the R&S ESW can expand its FFT bandwidth to up to 970 MHz to measure the complete CISPR frequency Bands C and D in a single operation. The wide bandwidth helps to intercept sporadic interference and enables high reliability and repeatability in commercial and MIL-STD tests. The high measurement speed is designed to open up new possibilities for compliance testing and for emissions analysis and debugging. The R&S EPL1000 EMI test receiver offers EMI compliance measurements up to 30 MHz at a competitive price in the full CISPR 16-1-1 compliance receiver class for both device developers and conformance test houses.

Battery life is usually one of the most important specifications for battery-powered devices. The R&S NGM200 high-precision DC power supply in a battery testing and simulation setup is another offering from Rohde & Schwarz. The application software facilitates battery discharging and the repeated discharge and recharge of batteries. Continuous monitoring and recording of open circuit voltage and voltage under load are integral features. The DC power supply can be remotely controlled from a PC with the application software installed.

Another test setup allows visitors to use various smartwatch apps to observe how GPS affects power consumption in real-time. A new analysis tool helps developers analyze power consumption data collected with the R&S NGU power supply. These source measure units can be used for battery modeling and simulation. They measure the current consumption of battery-powered devices in all phases and during the transition from sleep to active mode, which is important for design engineers.

Rohde & Schwarz's R&S FSPN high-speed phase noise analyzer offers up to 50 GHz and is equipped with two low-phase noise synthesizers and a real-time cross-correlation engine for increased measurement sensitivity, ideal for characterizing sensitive synthesizers and oscillators in R&D. In addition, Rohde & Schwarz's R&S LCX200 LCR meters with customized impedance measurement functions are suitable for all discrete passive components up to 10 MHz. Using the R&S LCX sweep software tool, they can even perform sweep measurements displaying numerous charts. 

For more information, visit: www.rohde-schwarz.com

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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