22 June 2018

NI’s software-centric test platform aids Skyworks’s early entry into 5G

© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno PublishiPicture: Disco’s DAL7440 KABRA laser saw.

NI of Austin, TX, USA, which provides a software-defined platform that helps to accelerate the development and performance of automated test and automated measurement systems, is coordinating with Skyworks Solutions Inc of Woburn, MA, USA (which manufactures analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) to test products from their Sky5 unifying platform enabling 5G applications. The companies are jointly demonstrating Skyworks’ 5G New Radio (NR) devices at the GTI Summit in Shanghai, China (25-26 June).

The imminent deployment of 5G NR networks in the 3.3-5.0GHz bands is driving rapid innovation across RF front-end architectures, notes NI. Consumer demand for enhanced mobile broadband technology requires new 5G NR designs to support considerably wider bandwidths and new frequency bands while maintaining power budgets appropriate for mobile devices. To meet early demand for sub-6GHz 5G NR use cases, Skyworks has developed fully integrated solutions that feature up to 200MHz of bandwidth and are designed to support mobile architectures.

Skyworks used NI’s software-defined PXI platform to verify the RF and DC performance of its integrated products. NI’s test software features up to 1GHz of instantaneous bandwidth through its RF vector signal transceiver (VST) technology and advanced DC measurement quality. As a result, a wide range of 5G NR measurement requirements can be addressed, including testing for carrier aggregation and wideband DPD (digital pre-distortion) conditions.

“Skyworks is pleased to be utilizing NI’s RF VST to validate performance of our Sky5 solutions for 5G NR applications,” says Kevin Walsh, Skyworks’ senior director of Mobile Marketing. “Using NI’s PXI platform, we are able to validate key performance benchmarks,” he comments.

Tags: Skyworks

Visit: www.skyworksinc.com

Visit: www.ni.com/5g