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Keithley Instruments - Press Release 8-21-2007
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Keithley Announces New Software Platform for RF Wave Generation
First Signal Library Supports Chinese TD-SCDMA Wireless
Communication Standard
Cleveland, Ohio – August
21, 2007 -
Keithley Instruments,
Inc. (NYSE:KEI), a leader in solutions for emerging measurement
needs, announces the release of SignalMeister™ Waveform Creation Software
for Keithley's award-winning line of RF vector signal generators. Keithley's
SignalMeister is a free PC-based software tool that creates arbitrary
waveform (ARB) files that can be downloaded to Keithley's Model 2910
RF Vector Signal Generator. SignalMeister is an expandable software
platform with a common user interface that will allow integration of
multiple signal creation libraries with flexibility to handle multiple
signal standards as they become available. To learn more about Keithley's
SignalMeister software, visit
http://www.keithley.com/products/rfmicrowave/?mn=290101.
The first signal generation library for the SignalMeister software
supports the Chinese TD-SCDMA wireless communications standard, which
is expected to be deployed soon in China. This TD-SCDMA library has
the complete capability to produce virtually any TD-SCDMA signal quickly
and easily. Waveform files generated with SignalMeister integrate seamlessly
with Keithley's Model 2910 RF Vector Signal Generator. The SignalMeister
software now allows users to get all the time and cost saving benefits
provided by the Model 2910 when calibrating and testing wireless equipment
and devices employing the TD-SCDMA technology standard.
The
Model 2910 is Keithley's innovative next-generation RF test instrument,
featuring a flexible software-defined radio (SDR) architecture to provide
extremely fast measurement speed and which allows it to adapt quickly
to the changing test requirements of the wireless communications market
without expensive hardware upgrades. All TD-SCDMA signals can be generated
in addition to, or in combination with, other technology standard signals
already available using a Model 2910 without any hardware modification.
The SignalMeister TD-SCDMA waveforms used with the Model 2910
RF Vector Signal Generator have excellent accuracy and signal modulation
quality performance, are ideal for high-speed test execution, and are
a low cost test solution. These important characteristics ensure high
product quality and production yields, reduce product test times, and
lower capital costs, critical success factors for the hyper-competitive
Chinese market where the TD-SCDMA technology will be used for the most
part.
SignalMeister TD-SCDMA waveform signals generated using
the Model 2910 have a signal modulation quality characteristic EVM of
0.3%. Absolute amplitude accuracy is typically <+0.3dB to ‑110dBm
(CW), relative accuracy (linearity) is <+0.05dB, and repeatability
is <+0.05dB.
TD-SCDMA devices require testing at different
frequencies and amplitudes, which the Model 2910 does in just over one
millisecond with its patent-pending synthesizer design and List Mode.
In addition, TD-SCDMA devices are commonly tested with multiple signal
waveforms which must be switched quickly. The Model 2910 can store multiple
TD-SCDMA waveforms, along with waveforms from other technology standards,
in its 40MHz bandwidth, 100 Mega-sample ARB memory. It can switch between
waveforms instantly, in one sample period, using the ARB Sequence feature
or in less than three milliseconds using a SCPI command via any of the
instrument's GPIB, USB, or LAN interfaces, which includes LXI Class
3 operation.
The SignalMeister TD-SCDMA software generates waveforms
that conform to the ETSI 3GPP-TDD standard and defines 11 physical and
three transport channels for both Uplink and Downlink signals. In addition
to creating a signal that conforms to the standard, the SignalMeister
software can also produce a TD-SCDMA signal that goes outside the standard,
giving test engineers the ability to push parameter values beyond the
standard in order to stress devices and ensure very high product quality.
When certain parameter settings are not allowed, SignalMeister software
warns the user and won't allow the signal waveform file to be created,
preventing errors from occurring.
Keithley's SignalMeister Waveform
Creation Software features an intuitive PC-based graphical user interface
(GUI) that speeds up and simplifies signal creation, allowing users
to quickly and easily generate signal waveforms. For instance, a set-up
wizard lets users set up all of the reference measurement channels (RMC)
defined in the TD-SCDMA standard as well as define the start timeslot
and start code for each RMC. All the Uplink and Downlink RMCs are supported.
In addition, a signal configuration tree helps engineers navigate the
creation of a TD-SCDMA waveform using comprehensive dialog boxes for
each channel with clearly organized signal parameter settings. A parameter
settings summary also displays the current settings and the allowed
value range of each parameter.
Keithley's SignalMeister software
with TD-SCDMA waveform generation capability is ideally suited for the
testing needs of mobile phone manufacturers, RF device manufacturers
and mobile phone chip-set suppliers in both production and R&D environments.
Test engineers in base-station manufacturing, such as pico base stations,
which requires high-speed testing and are especially sensitive to equipment
costs, will also benefit from the SignalMeister software when used with
the Model 2910 RF Vector Signal Generator.
Keithley offers its
customers a range of fast and accurate RF test instrumentation solutions
for the wireless market. With an unrivaled combination of accuracy,
repeatability, speed, flexibility, ease of use, and compact size, these
award-winning instruments employ new approaches to test and measurement
that enable users to reduce test time with less effort and money. In
R&D applications, Keithley's RF test solutions help decrease product
time to market while increasing productivity and lowering capital equipment
costs. For production facilities testing wireless communication equipment
and devices that are faced with intense budget and time-to-market constraints
but cannot compromise on measurement quality, valuable rack or bench-top
space, or ease of use, Keithley Instruments deliver exceptional measurements
for the lowest test equipment investment.
Price and
Availability: SignalMeister Waveform Creation Software is available
now at no charge to Model 2910 users. SignalMeister software is part
of the documentation that comes with Keithley's Model 2910 RF Vector
Signal Generators currently being shipped and can be downloaded from
Keithley's web site at http://www.keithley.com/products/rfmicrowave/?mn=290101.
The 2910-TDSCDMA-PC software license, which has a U.S. catalog price
of $3,500, must be loaded on the Model 2910 RF Vector Signal Generator
in order to run SignalMeister TD-SCDMA waveform files.
For More Information. For more information on SignalMeister
Waveform Creation Software or any of Keithley's RF test solutions, contact
the company at:
Telephone: 800-688-9951 440-248-0400 FAX:
440-248-6168 E-mail: publisher@keithley.com Internet: www.keithley.com
Address: Keithley Instruments, Inc. 28775 Aurora Road Cleveland,
OH 44139-1891
About Keithley Instruments, Inc.
With more than 60 years of measurement expertise, Keithley Instruments
has become a world leader in advanced electrical test instruments and
systems from DC to RF (radio frequency). Our products solve emerging
measurement needs in production testing, process monitoring, product
development, and research. Our customers are scientists and engineers
in the worldwide electronics industry involved with advanced materials
research, semiconductor device development and fabrication, and the
production of end products such as portable wireless devices. The value
we provide them is a combination of precision measurement technology
and a rich understanding of their applications to improve the quality
of their products and reduce their cost of test.
Products and company names listed are
trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
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