RF channel cards cut test costs and time to market

The V93000 Wave Scale RF8 card, capable of both highly parallel multi-site and in-site parallel testing, reduces the cost of test and time to market for leading-edge radio-frequency (RF) semiconductors while also creating a path for testing future 5G-NR devices.

The instrument’s high-multi-site capability is enabled by its wide range of operating frequencies up to 8GHz with a modulation bandwidth of 200MHz.

The V93000 platform can be configured with up to six Wave Scale RF8 cards, each having 32 bi-directional RF ports, with the ability to scale up to 192 RF ports.

With an architecture optimised for high throughput, the new card features four complete RF subsystems.

Each subsystem has an independent modulated source, a mixer/digitizer, scattering parameters, an optional low-phase-noise local oscillator and a test processor capable of making multiple RF measurements in the shortest time possible.

The Wave Scale RF8 card achieves ultra-fast settling, with a frequency/power switching time of less than 600 microseconds and a power switching time under 80 microseconds. In addition, Wave Scale RF8 cards support both Wave Scale RF18 and Wave Scale Millimeter test systems.

“With multiple independent subsystems in a single card, our Wave Scale RF8 is designed for cost-efficient production of the latest generation Wi-Fi 6E devices while also providing a path to testing tomorrow’s 5G and Wi-Fi communication ICs,” said Jürgen Serrer, executive officer and executive vice president, V93000 Business Unit at Advantest.

Advantest also announced that it had topped the ratings chart of the 2020 VLSIresearch Customer Satisfaction Survey with a score of 9.5 out of 10, capturing the number one spot on this annual survey of global semiconductor companies. This score represents a personal-best and the highest rating ever achieved by a test company.