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S O L U T I O N B R I E FS O L U T I O N B R I E F

Streamlining high-volume test of 5G NR base stations 5G Base Station Manufacturing Test Solution

Compact, scalable solution accelerates deployment of 5G equipment5G New Radio (NR) network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) face a wide range

of new challenges as they race through integration and verification (I&V) toward

final, volume manufacturing test. The 3GPP standard dramatically expands the

complexity of the physical layer, while also adding new requirements for millimeter

wave (mmWave) spectrum bands, wider bandwidths and spatial/beamforming

performance. This is leading to the need for connectorless “over-the-air” (OTA)

testing techniques that require careful system integration. The test set-up also

needs to remain flexible enough to address a wider variety of next generation

equipment, all within a compressed market timeframe and cost envelope.

The Keysight S9100A 5G Base Station Manufacturing Test Solution has been

designed to offer users the flexibility, performance, and lean, compact efficiency

they need to address these challenges. Its versatility facilitates high asset

utilization and faster transition from design validation to manufacturing.

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The Keysight S9100A 5G Base Station Manufacturing Test Solution is targeted

at automated, non-signaling test of 5G NR infrastructure equipment in both FR1

(sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (24 to 44 GHz) spectrum bands. It uses Keysight’s PXI vector

transceiver (VXT) to provide industry-leading RF performance in a compact modular

design. The VXT’s wide bandwidth support of up to 1.2 GHz, combined with high-

performance mmWave transceiver heads, deliver best-in-class EVM and ACLR

performance in a small footprint.

The S9100 addresses two needs simultaneously: the need for fast, automated design

validation, and the need for efficiency and scalability in manufacturing test, especially in

OTA chamber test environments. The S9100A leverages common hardware and software

platforms including Keysight PathWave Test and 5G measurement personalities.

The S9100A enables NEMs to quickly address requirements and challenges introduced

by new technologies to accelerate time-to-market.

Applications: High-volume test of 5G NR network equipment and radio components• 5G NR base station transceiver systems

• 5G NR components, including remote radio heads (RRH), distributed units (DU), active antenna arrays, amplifiers, chipsets

Moving from R&D into manufacturing

Keysight offers hardware platforms with different performance levels and capabilities

that share common software tools to make it easy to transition from R&D to design

validation to volume manufacturing.

M9384B VXG Microwave Signal Generator

N9040B UXA Signal AnalyzerS9100A 5G Base Station Manufacturing Test Solution

Performance High performance Mid-range performance

Frequency coverage Continuous coverage up to 44/50 GHz Banded: 380 MHz to 6 GHz, 24.25 to 43.5 GHz

Targeted usage

• R&D and design verification • In-band and out-of-band measurements

(harmonics, spurious emissions)

• Manufacturing

• In-band and limited out-of-band measurements (ACLR, limited spectrum emission mask)

SoftwareSignal Studio for waveform generation

X-series applications for signal analysis (89600 VSA)

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Figure 1: The S9100A 5G Base Station Manufacturing Test Solution is based on a PXIe chassis that

combines with a remote mmWave radio head (M1740A) and a Common Interface Unit (E7770A).

Scalable, compact design with mid-range RF performance offers clear path for 5G volume manufacturing

Lower cost of test OTA readiness Confidence for 5G manufacturing

Single configuration scales easily from < 6 GHz to millimeter wave

Space and cost efficient with a single bi-directional head across all 24 to 44 GHz bands

Up to 1.2 GHz bandwidth Tx/Rx for 5G NR

Reduced footprint vs. benchtop instruments

Remote heads deliver superior power and EVM measurements at antenna port

Operates as a single instrument (including switching, heads, API, measurements), for easy automation

High test throughput

In-head switching for dual polarization test improves performance and lowers cost at mmWave

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Reducing path loss at mmWave frequencies for OTA testing

Unlike connectorized testing, typical at FR1 sub-6GHz, over-the-air (OTA) testing is

necessary for FR2 network equipment due to the high integration levels of mmWave

radios with their antenna arrays. The S9100A uniquely utilizes a single mmWave remote

radio head to extend across the entire FR2 mmWave band (24.25 GHz - 43.5 GHz).

The typical manufacturing test set-up places the OTA test chamber far from the test

instrument bench. This results in substantial mmWave coaxial cable loss from mmWave

source bench instruments to the OTA chamber. With the S9100A 5G Base Station

Manufacturing Test Solution, the dual bi-directional ports of the M1740A mmWave

remote radio head can be placed at the OTA chamber reference antenna location,

replacing the long and lossy mmWave coaxial cable with a much lower loss IF coaxial

cable. This substantially reduces RF path loss by as much as 10dB compared to using

an equivalent mmWave bench instrument set-up.

Figure 2: Keysight’s architectural advantages result in superior raw performance, which yields faster

insights and higher confidence at lower overall cost.

+5 dBmTx modulated

power

H V

2-4 meters

3-6 GHz IFTX & RX

Typical distancefrom test benchto OTA chamber

Head biascontrol, LO

Ruggedpanel

1chTX/RX

gNB

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Figure 3: The S9100A base configuration (gray box) includes one TX/RX channel for FR1 and/or FR2.

Smallest Footprint and Lowest Cost of Test

The S9100A allows the user to select a built-in FR1 VXT to address sub-6GHz

connectorized or OTA testing requirements via the N-type front panel connectors. The

VXT has the accuracy and signal bandwidth to also serve as the intermediate frequency

(IF) signal source or analyzer for mmWave bands. This modular architecture lets the user

minimize the number of test assets needed to serve all bands, saving space and cost

relative to R&D benchtop equipment and single-purpose configurations.

Nominal EVM performance is approximately 1% in the 28 GHz and 39 GHz FR2 bands,

providing good performance for manufacturing test at a lower price point than typical

R&D solutions.

Multi-band

24.25 to 29 GHz37 to 40 GHz

gNBDUT

FR2

0.38 to 6 GHzFR1

Head biascontrol, LO

Keysight S9100A 5G multi-band vector transceiver

mmWTX/RX

1:2MUX

1chTX/RX

Page 6This information is subject to change without notice. © Keysight Technologies, 2019, Published in USA, June 13, 2019, 5992-3334EN

Find us at www.keysight.com

Learn more at: www.keysight.com

For more information on Keysight Technologies’ products, applications or services,

please contact your local Keysight office. The complete list is available at:

www.keysight.com/find/contactus

Advanced Multi-band Configurations with Multiple mmWave Remote Radio HeadsThe flexibility of the modular form factor and the high system throughput allow for

compact, reconfigurable test architectures that lower cost-of-test, increase asset

utilization, and improve responsiveness to dynamic market demands. Multiple

different kinds of tests can be incorporated in a single chassis, such as S-parameter,

DC/parametric testing, waveform generation, and digital control.

With its superior connectivity and transfer rates, the Keysight S9100A makes an

excellent technology base to scale to distributed, enterprise-level test architectures.

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