MWC 2016: Test solutions target next generation wireless comms

The services and applications that 5G will provide as well as the technologies will that make them possible have not yet been defined. However, even today, it is clear that it will be necessary to transmit extremely broadband signals up into the millimetre-wave range. Rohde & Schwarz supports the many research activities to make this spectrum usable for 5G.

At the Barcelona event, the electronics group will demonstrate generation and analysis for broadband applications in the millimetre-wave range.

The R&S SMW200A is a vector signal generator capable of producing an internal modulation bandwidth of 2GHz in the frequency range up to 40GHz and can therefore implement a basic test setup without additional baseband sources. The R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyser and the R&S RTO oscilloscope make it possible to achieve a 2GHz analysis bandwidth with a frequency range up to 85GHz. The combination of 85GHz and 2GHz is unique on the market.

Another test setup can generate and analyse 5G air interface candidates.

While orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is currently used to modulate LTE downlink signals, this air interface is not capable of meeting all the demands of 5G.

Possible 5G signal formats include: universal filtered multicarrier (UFMC), generalised frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) and filtered OFDM (f-OFDM). All of these options improve the form of the signal in terms of interference in the adjacent spectrum. Additionally, modified parameterisation, such as a higher subcarrier offset, enables optimal exploitation of frequencies in the millimetre-wave range.

The R&S SMW200A vector signal generator from Rohde & Schwarz allows users to easily generate these 5G air interface candidates.

The R&S FS-K196 vector signal analysis software expands the capabilities of spectrum and signal analysers by adding modulation measurements for UFMC, GFDM and f-OFDM waveforms.

The introduction of 5G will extend the bandwidth of the wanted signal. These new wireless communications channels will need to be comprehensively analysed to ensure optimal utilisation. Channel sounding is the primary analysis method.

Rohde & Schwarz offers a test solution for this as well. The R&S TS-5GCS test setup combines the new R&S TS-5GCS channel sounding software with the R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyser and R&S SMW200A vector signal generator. This setup lets users conveniently measure channels in the new frequency bands in the centimetre and millimetre ranges. Users can select the analyser and generator based on their channel frequency and bandwidth requirements.