LitePoint Corporation, a provider of wireless test-system solutions, launched three new systems for testing four wireless standards at a press conference, here, today. The new IQnxn system offers true multi-steam signal capabilities for WiFi and WiMAX MIMO development. IQultra - the industry's first Ultra-Wideband (UWB) EVM test system - covers both development and manufacturing testing of UWB devices. And, the new IQnav test system is aimed at high-volume manufacturing testing of the proliferating, embedded, GPS-equipped devices. "From our position of strength in WiFi and WiFi MIMO testing, we are expanding into UWB and GPS markets with uniquely competitive offerings," stated Benny Madsen, LitePoint's chief executive officer.
IQnxn - for WiFi/WiMAX MIMO development LitePoint's new IQnxn MIMO R&D test system comes at just the right time in both the WiFi and WiMAX MIMO development cycles to help ODMs and OEMs verify designs and get them into production, and into the market, sooner, and at lower overall cost.
LitePoint IQnxn test systems are a modular approach to MIMO R&D testing. Each module contains its own vector signal analyzer (VSA) and vector signal generator (VSG). A synchronizer subsystem ensures that the modules work in lockstep. One can develop test programs on this system and then easily port them to a single IQmax tester for production testing.
The systems can be configured from a 1x1 (e.g. one module and a synchronizer subsystem) to a 4x4 (e.g. four modules and a synchronizer subsystem). The modules support WiFi and WiMAX frequency ranges of 2.15 to 2.7GHz, 3.3 to 3.8GHz, and 4.9 to 6.0GHz. The included graphical user interfaces (GUIs) - IQsignal for WiFi and IQsignal for WiMAX - provide powerful analysis and display capabilities for single, multi-stream and beam-forming adaptive-antenna functionality testing.
Because the IQnxn system shares the same architecture as LitePoint's IQmax manufacturing test system, there is consistency across development and manufacturing test processes and results that simplify and speed up design-problem resolution. In fact, the IQnxn modules can also be used for automated manufacturing testing to provide additional test capacity during periods of increased demand.
For more details, see http://www.litepoint.com/content/view/216/196/
IQultra - for UWB development and manufacturing testing The IQultra WiMedia test system features a special-purpose vector signal analyzer (VSA) combined with an attenuator for UWB receive testing. The system can capture and analyze all WiMedia band groups (1 to 6) and time frequency codes (TFCs; 1-10).
The new systems come with LitePoint's IQsignal for WiMedia graphical user interface (GUI) that controls the unit and supports signal analysis. Using IQultra's C++ software application program interface (API), users can quickly and easily create automated test programs.
LitePoint's IQultra WiMedia test system comes in two versions: IQultra-300 for triple band capture and IQultra-100 for single-band capture. Both support from 3.1 to 10.6GHz, and support MB-OFDM PHY layer specification version 1.2. For more details, see http://www.litepoint.com/content/view/108/143/
IQnav - for manufacturing test of GPS-equipped devices
The GPS market is on a huge, sustained roll. In-vehicle navigation has become ubiquitous in Japan and is being followed closely by North America and European countries, according to RNCOS, a market research firm in Delhi, India. RNCOS writes that personal navigation devices, in 2007, accounted for 90 percent of the GPS market, but by 2012, the firm believes that GPS-enabled handsets will grab a 78-percent market share. The firm also expects the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 to "trigger an explosion" in China's commercial telematics market. LitePoint's new IQnav system is designed to improve test coverage of GPS devices while simultaneously lowering those test costs.
The multichannel IQnav enables both C/No measurements and location-fix test to be performed in a single connection to the device under test (DUT). This saves time (up to 50 percent) compared to sequential test approaches. Additionally, the IQnav offers synthetic power sweep (SPS) capabilities where up to six C/No measurements are made simultaneously, saving additional time. Finally, the price of a six-channel IQnav compares with that of competitive single-channel testers, thus adding capabilities without affecting acquisition costs. IQnav is available in 1- and 6-channel models, both supporting L1 GPS frequencies (1575.42MHz) over a power range of -60 to -145dBm. The IQnav features specialized trigger capabilities that support testing of assisted GPS (A-GPS), commonly used in CDMA one and CDMA 2000 handsets. For more details, see http://www.litepoint.com/content/view/237/212 LitePoint's new products will be available worldwide in August 2008.
