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Protocol Testing for MIPI Alliance DigRF v4 RFICs

27 February 2013 – Agilent Technologies announced a new protocol testing solution for MIPITM Alliance Gear2 DigRf v4 RFICs. The Agilent M9252A DigRF host adapter allows developers to speed testing and analysis of RFICs used in cellular phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Part of the Agilent RDX family, the M9252A DigRF host adapter provides the serial stimulus needed to evaluate and characterize circuits based on the DigRF v4 specification. A single module combines stimulus and Rx side capture to generate configurable control and data traffic and allow developers to observe the response from the device under test. Engineers can work in the domain of their choice (digital or radio frequency) to quickly characterize the device’s digital and wireless behavior.

The Agilent M9252A supports configurable traffic generation with customizable headers, payloads and frame-sequence control. The host adapter allows the user to characterize and analyze RFIC performance with LTE-Advanced transmit and receive waveforms.

The new host adapter works with Agilent vector signal generation and analysis software to perform cutting-edge LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation and RF quality analysis. The M9252A module can be combined with an RF signal generator and analyzer for RF interface stimulus and analysis. The same signal generation and analysis software can be used to build stimulus and analyze data on both the DigRF and antenna sides of the RFIC.

“The ability to test and verify the operation of the new DigRF v4 specification to the full Gear2 speed of 3 Gbps will enable mobile device developers to deliver on the promise of new interoperability standards that we at MIPI have worked hard to define,” said Joel Huloux, chairman of the MIPI Alliance. “We are excited to see Agilent delivering the test solutions needed by the industry.”

 “With an expanding portfolio of solutions implemented in the PXIe modular system, Agilent offers a complete solution to the challenge of testing and validating the latest RFIC designs,” said Ross Nelson, general manager of Agilent’s Digital Debug Solutions. “Providing support for Gear1 and Gear2 speeds, as well as multiple links and lane extension, the M9252A takes advantage of all of the functionality of the DigRF interface.”

The Agilent M9252A DigRF host adapter will be featured in demonstrations hosted by Ericsson at the 2013 Mobile World Congress, Feb. 25-28 in Barcelona, Spain. To see the new Agilent module in a connected environment with Ericsson RFICs and other test instrumentation and analysis software, attendees should visit Hall 2, Stand 2D140.

Additional Information

The M9252A DigRF host adapter will begin shipping in March.

www.agilent.com/