Modular RF Test System supports 802.11ac WLAN mobile devices.

Press Release Summary:




Supporting transmitter and receiver testing within one PXI modular RF test system, PXI 3000 Series is intended for silicon vendors, WLAN board integrators, consumer electronics device manufacturers, and contract manufacturers. Modules support wideband signal analysis and generation for frequencies up to 6 GHz, covering bandwidth and frequency requirements of 802.11ac. Providing GUI, Aeroflex PXI Studio application software generates and analyzes 802.11a, b, g, n, and ac signals.



Original Press Release:



Aeroflex Introduces Measurement Suite for WLAN 802.11ac Devices



New PXI software modules support RF parametric measurements for manufacturing

STEVENAGE, UK - Aeroflex Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX), announced today that the company is adding 802.11ac support to its popular PXI 3000 Series test system to facilitate the worldwide growth of 802.11ac Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) mobile devices.

Wireless devices using the 802.11ac standard will boast a 6X increase in network speed over 802.11n. The 802.11ac devices are faster because they use a less congested portion of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, have wider bandwidth, and use more advanced digital modulation techniques.

"We continue to stay ahead of the market, offering measurement suites for the latest wireless devices," said Tim Carey, Product Manager for PXI, Aeroflex. "Our ability to continue to evolve the PXI 3000 platform quickly through software modularity is the key to its longevity and popularity with customers around the world."

Aeroflex offers both transmitter and receiver testing for 802.11ac

Aeroflex PXI 3000 Series supports transmitter and receiver testing within one compact PXI modular RF test system.

The system is designed for use by silicon vendors, WLAN board integrators, consumer electronics device manufacturers, and contract manufacturers who need to perform RF parametric tests on devices during manufacturing.

Aeroflex's PXI 3000 Series RF modules support wideband signal analysis and generation for frequencies up to 6 GHz, easily covering the bandwidth and frequency requirements of 802.11ac. Modulation schemes for 802.11ac are supported, from BPSK to 256QAM. Testing 256QAM demands lower EVM (error vector magnitude) within the test equipment. Aeroflex provides excellent residual EVM to help customers pinpoint signal degradation and identify the source of their problem.

About Aeroflex's PXI Studio and IQCreator® software

The Aeroflex PXI Studio application software provides a graphical user interface to generate and analyze 802.11a,b,g,n and ac signals. IQCreator application software provides a graphical user interface to create WLAN 802.11a,b,g,n,ac arbitrary waveforms for use in PXI 3000 modular instruments.

The same analysis and waveform generation application software can be expanded to support a range of other communication standards on the same PXI 3000 system hardware including WiMAX, Bluetooth® BR/EDR/LE, ZigBee®, FM as well as all 2G, 3G and 4G cellular standards.

Remote programming user interfaces are available to support integration into automated test systems.

Price and availability

802.11ac software for analysis and waveform generation is available for immediate delivery. It is offered as an optional extension to the existing WLAN measurement software supporting 802.11a,b,g and n.

The recommended PXI RF hardware modules for 802.11ac testing are as follows:

o For transmitter measurement, PXI RF digitizers 3035C or 3036 with Option 103 (WLAN a,b,g,n) and Option 113 for extension to WLAN ac are required.

o For receiver testing, PXI RF signal generators 3025C or 3026C with Option 100 for WLAN a,b,g,n and ac are required.

Application software can be downloaded from Aeroflex's web site at www.aeroflex.com/ats/products/category/PXI/Application_Software.html. IQCreator supporting 802.11ac is offered as a free of charge upgrade to all existing PXI 3000 users with signal generator modules fitted with Option 100.

For more information, contact your local Aeroflex sales office by visiting or calling Aeroflex Sales at (800) 835-2352 or info-test@aeroflex.com.

About Aeroflex

Aeroflex Incorporated is a leading global provider of high performance microelectronic components and test and measurement equipment used by companies in the space, avionics, defense, commercial wireless communications, medical and other markets.

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