Keysight Technologies Launches New Solution to Accelerate Digital Pre-distortion Testing of Power Amplifiers

Keysight Technologies Launches New Solution to Accelerate Digital Pre-distortion Testing of Power Amplifiers

• New iterative learning control algorithm reduces power amplifier digital pre-distortion testing time from hours to minutes

• Test methods help power amplifier manufacturers shorten development cycles and accelerate time to market

• Hexawave, a subsidiary of Ennostar Group, pioneered a new test method to characterize high-efficiency broadband GaAs power amplifiers

Keysight Technologies, Inc., a leader in advanced design and verification solutions designed to accelerate innovation and create a secure and connected world, recently announced the launch of a new iterative learning control (ILC) test method that significantly reduces the time required to test digital pre-distortion (DPD) for power amplifiers.

Power amplifiers (PAs) are core components in wireless communication devices. Characterization of these components is a critical and time-consuming task that can take hours or even days during the R&D phase. If the time required for the design and verification process can be significantly reduced, power amplifier manufacturers can accelerate their time to market.

Keysight Technologies meets this need with its innovative ILC DPD test method. This method reduces DPD test time to just a few minutes and accelerates the R&D process from test verification to product design and optimization. As part of Keysight's comprehensive and rich high-frequency measurement solution portfolio, the ILC test method is integrated into the N9055EM0E power amplifier measurement application software, which works in conjunction with the VXG vector signal generator and PXA signal analyzer to provide industry-leading test performance for signal generation and analysis.

ILC DPD test solution has the following advantages:

• Faster testing speed - Optimized N9055EM0E software reduces power amplifier characterization time to just minutes.

• Integrated User Interface – Displays pre-DPD and post-DPD ​​measurement results on one screen for easier operation and integration when characterizing power amplifiers using multiple test instruments.

• Superior measurement accuracy and performance – Reflects the true performance of power amplifier designs when characterizing power amplifiers by significantly eliminating the systematic errors of signal analyzers and signal generators.

Semiconductor manufacturer Hexawave has pioneered the use of ILC testing methods to characterize its new HWA1330 5G gallium arsenide (GaAs) power amplifier , which operates in the 3.3 to 3.8 GHz frequency range and has a maximum power of up to 4 W. The ILC test method was critical to verifying that the HWA1330 met design goals, which included over 30% power added efficiency (PAE) at 100 MHz bandwidth and 8.5 dB peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), 35.5 dB power gain, and adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) below -50 dBc.

Keysight Technologies Launches New Solution to Accelerate Digital Pre-distortion Testing of Power Amplifiers

Dr. Mengyi Lin, General Manager of Hanwei Optoelectronics, said: "Power amplifiers are critical in communication systems. Our HWA1330 power amplifier is industry-leading, but Keysight's innovative test methods enable us to quickly and reliably validate our 5G NR power amplifier designs to maintain industry leadership."

"Keysight is pleased to further strengthen our technology leadership in power amplifier characterization with the introduction of the new ILC DPD test method," said Cao Peng, vice president and general manager of Keysight's wireless test group . "This is a great example of how our experts are constantly looking for innovative solutions to our customers' test challenges."