802.11ac power measurement and timing analysis

There are a number of challenges to anticipate when testing WLAN 802.11ac [1] power amplifier (PA) modules during design and verification. One of the key challenges is acquiring accurate peak burst measurements of the 802.11ac wide bandwidth signal, which goes up to 160MHz. When measuring or troubleshooting such a wide bandwidth signal, it is important to select a power measurement instrument with sufficient video bandwidth. This capability ensures that the desired segment of the 802.11ac burst signal can be captured, analysed and accurately measured.

The appropriate power measurement instrument also allows the analysis of the timing relationship between the control circuitry and the RF burst signal. Selecting and configuring the correct test and measurement instruments ensures troubleshooting work during design and development goes quickly, minimises the use of resources, and keeps costs low.

This paper provides a brief introduction to 802.11ac. It explains how the Agilent Technologies 8990B peak power analyser (PPA) supports the unique 802.11ac power amplifier and transmitter design and validation test requirements. Testing applications such as burst power versus time, power ramp on/off, complimentary cumulative density function (CCDF), power-added efficiency (PAE), and control trigger delay measurements are highlighted using test setup configuration diagrams and screen captures.

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Originally published by Agilent Technologies at www.agilent.com as "802.11ac Power Measurement and Timing Analysis: Using the 8990B Peak Power Analyser".