Agilent extends LTE test capability leadership with PXA signal analyzer

SANTA CLARA, USA: Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced an LTE test solution that combines the market-leading Agilent 89600 VSA LTE FDD and LTE TDD analysis software with the highest-performance member of the Agilent X-Series, the Agilent N9030A PXA signal analyzer.

The PXA provides industry-leading RF performance that supports both LTE FDD and LTE TDD. It delivers up to 140 MHz analysis bandwidth and up to 75 dB of spurious-free dynamic range with typical flatness of ±0.4 dB, making it an ideal solution for 3G, 4G and beyond. LTE Advanced, one of the standards candidates for true 4G mobile broadband systems, will extend LTE to even wider bandwidth, up to 100 MHz, making the PXA an ideal investment for customers transitioning from 3G to 4G.

The PXA’s bandwidth allows multi-carrier signal analysis as well as analysis and troubleshooting of the digital-predistortion (DPD) techniques applied to power amplifiers used in advanced wireless technologies such as LTE.

Using the PXA’s unique simultaneous 140 MHz-wide bandwidth, with up to 75 dB of spurious-free dynamic range, users can capture higher-order intermodulation products, up to seventh order for 20 MHz LTE systems, for characterization of power amplifiers using DPD techniques. Powerful, real-time corrections offer accurate, low-distortion measurements that allow vector measurements with very low residual Error Vector Magnitude (EVM).

The combination of the Agilent PXA and the Agilent 89600 VSA LTE FDD and LTE TDD analysis software enables the user to analyze all of the LTE bandwidths and all of the uplink and downlink channels and signals. It also enables the ability to make channel-selective measurements to troubleshoot by resource block, sub-carrier, slot or symbol.

The VSA software has a well-designed user interface, including up to six simultaneous, user-selected displays, color coding and marker coupling among multiple traces. Using the software, users can make RF transmitter measurements on a base station as well as on user equipment using a single option.

In addition to its excellent LTE performance, the PXA’s industry-leading specifications include -128 dBc/Hz phase noise at 10 kHz offset (1 GHz), 0.19 dB absolute amplitude accuracy, and -172 dBm displayed average noise level (DANL) at 2 GHz (with preamplifier and Noise Floor Extension technology).

The Noise Floor Extension technology reduces the effective noise level of the signal analyzer, improving its dynamic range. This allows the PXA to achieve excellent ACLR dynamic range for complex LTE signals. The unmatched accuracy and performance reveals any issues in design, delivering confidence to the user.