Advanced Test Equipment Rentals · provides all of the channel propagation models required to test modern receivers. Channel propagation models such as Rayleigh and Rician multipath

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Spirent Communications541 Industrial Way West

Eatontown, New Jersey07724, U.S.A.

Tel: +1 732-544-8700Fax: +1 732-544-8347

[email protected]

Sales Contacts:North America

+1 800-927-2660Europe, Middle East, Africa

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www.spirentcom.com

Universal Interference Emulator

TAS5600Dramatically simplifies the testsetup required for compre-hensive receiver performanceanalysis.

Wireless equipment’s mitigation of theeffects of co-channel and adjacentchannel interference directly affects keyperformance metrics such as capacity,quality, and coverage. A receiver’sperformance must be characterized overa variety of channel conditions thatreflect real world operating conditions.This characterization must be doneprecisely, as small differences in receiverperformance can have a dramaticimpact on performance metrics.Uncertainty in test conditions leads toan even greater uncertainty in testresults.

Creating a test setup for today’swireless receivers can be a challengingtask given all of the elements required.Covering all types of real-worldinterference requires combining signalgenerators, noise generators, cables,and RF combiners. The challengesinherent in constructing a test rack forreceiver characterization include:

■ Interferer Phase Noise■ Modulated Interferer ACLR

■ Test set VSWR interactionscontributing to amplitudeuncertainty

■ Signal-to-noise ratio accuracy■ Receiver sensitivity testing

accuracy■ Test set self-intermodulation■ Test set repeatability and

reproducibility■ Minimization of technical resource

involvement necessary to performthe test

Spirent’s TAS5600 UniversalInterference Emulator addresses theseissues by combining all of the necessaryhardware to facilitate receiver testing. The TAS5600 addresses critical receivertest setup issues such as signal-to-

noise ratio accuracy, output poweraccuracy, phase noise, ACLR, test setVSWR interaction, and repeatabilityover time and across multiple testsetups.

Specifically, the TAS5600 combinesthe functionality of two high-performance, low phase noise signalgenerators, two arbitrary waveformgenerators, two real-time signalgenerators, a precision instrumentgrade power meter, and high accuracyRF attenuators, across multiple RFchannels to support diversity testing.This powerful combination of hardwareis housed within a single rack-mountable chassis.

Benefits:■ Increases confidence in test results■ Reduces test time■ Assures repeatable results over time

and across multiple test setups■ Integrates of all receiver testing

components eliminating unweildytest setups

TAS5600 is apowerful,integratedsolution forevaluating receiverperformance.

Major Features:■ Precise, repeatable C/N and C/I

emulation in one integrated instrument

■ Application-specific UMTS and CDMA2000 interferers

■ Integrates functionality of multiplesignal generators, attenuators andmeasurement devices

■ Signal generation engine with longdata sequences for maximum confidence in test results

■ GSM modulated inteferer, with optional fading, is ideal for dual mode test applications

■ Combines with Spirent’s SR5500 toprovide fading conditions necessaryfor complete receiver testing

■ Two independent RF channels for receiver diversity testing

■ Maintains signal path duringcalibration cycle to speed up testexecution

■ TASKIT® software provides easysetup and control

Advanced Test Equipment Rentalswww.atecorp.com 800-404-ATEC (2832)

®

Established 1981

2TAS5600 Universal Interference Emulator

TAS5600 combines precision interference generators, a power meter, attenuators,signal combiners and a duplexer in one compact, easy-to-control instrument.* The TAS5600’s digitally-modulated interferers include AWGN, WCDMA, GSM and CDMA2000.

Receiver performance test setupsrequire multiple signal generators, RFattenuators and signal combiners. Toincrease level accuracies ameasurement device is typicallyincluded into the test setup. Acalibration methodology, controlsoftware, and maintenance arerequired.

The TAS5600 addresses thesecomplex requirements inherent toreceiver testing. The TAS5600 is a twochannel instrument that combinesmultiple signal generators with therequired RF components and aninstrument grade power meter to satisfyreceiver testing requirements. Theinternal signal generators can beconfigured to provide low phase noiseCW, popular modulated interferer types,

or AWGN. The two signal generatorscan be combined and sent to one orboth channels, or used individually ona per channel basis. The instrumentgrade power meter within the TAS5600automatically samples RF power levelsat multiple locations within theinstrument to assure accurate levelsettings.

The TAS5600 has been optimized tobe repeatable over time to giveconsistent results across multiple testsetups.

Operation of the TAS5600 is viaTASKIT/5600 control software.Alternately, user-generated control codecan be employed via the TAS5600’scomprehensive remote command setover GPIB, Ethernet, or RS 232.

TAS5600 Architecture

RF In 1 LevelControl RF Out 1

RF Out2 1

Generator 1

PowerMeter

Generator 2

CW

Digital*

External

Σ

InterferenceMUX

RF In 2 RF Out 2Σ

ArbitraryWaveform

ArbitraryWaveform

CW

Digital*

External

LevelControl

Duplexer


TAS5600 and SR5500combine to form aphysical layer test systemfor base stations.

Base Station Test Configuration Example

BS UnderTest

Tx

Rx

MobileSimulator

TAS5600 and SR5500combine to form aphysical layer test systemfor handsets.

Mobile Test Configuration Example

SystemSimulator

Tx

Rx

TAS5600 UniversalInterference Emulator

SR5500 WirelessChannel Emulator

TAS5600 Application Examples

C2K-LAB and UMTS-LAB TestSystems

The TAS5600 combines with Spirent’sSR5500 RF Channel Emulator to providecomplete transmission mediaemulation for testing handset and basestation receiver performance. Thecombination of the TAS5600 andSR5500 meets or exceeds all the criticaladditive interference and multipathfading requirements in both the UMTSand CDMA2000 specifications.

The SR5500 channel simulatorprovides all of the channel propagationmodels required to test modernreceivers. Channel propagation modelssuch as Rayleigh and Rician multipathfading, multipath delay spread, movingpropagation, and birth-deathpropagation conditions are allsimulated in the SR5500. Combiningthe SR5500 with the TAS5600 createsa compact test setup for completephysical layer receiver testing. With the

TAS5600 internal duplexer, externalhardware, such as combiners, splitters,and circulators, is eliminated.

The TAS5600 combines with theSR5500 to reduce test deployment andexecution time. It is no longernecessary to interpret cryptic testspecifications and then calibrate anunwieldy test setup. For UMTS testing,Spirent offers UMTS-LAB – acombination of the SR5500 along withthe TAS5600, including interferersspecific to testing UMTS UEs and NodeBs. Spirent offers C2K-LAB for testingto CDMA2000 standards. Thiscombination includes an SR5500 anda TAS5600 including interferers specificto CDMA2000 testing. For thesesystems, Spirent provides UMTS andCDMA2000 test configuration files withour instruments and on our website foruse with the TAS5600 and SR5500.

SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator TAS5600 UNIVERSAL INTERFERENCE EMULATOR

SR5500 WirelessChannel Emulator

SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator TAS5600 UNIVERSAL INTERFERENCE EMULATOR

TAS5600 UniversalInterference Emulator

Mobile UnderTest


In order to have confidence in receiverperformance test results, the level ofuncertainty of the test system must be

TAS5600's high C/N (and C/I) ratio setting accuracy make itideal for receiver performance breakpoint characterization.

Unprecendented Performance

minimized. Further, parasitic signalsnot associated with the test should notbe present.

Receiver Performance Characterization

Impact on BLER/FERMeasurement Accuracy

C/N Setting Accuracy

10-1

10-2

10-3

Ior/Ioc

BLE

R/FE

R

Accuracy When constructing a test setup forreceiver testing one of the mostimportant performance criteria is theaccuracy of signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios.Unlike analog modulation schemes,modern receivers use spread spectrumin conjunction with convolutional orturbo coding and have error rateperformance that degrades rapidly ascertain breakpoints are crossed. Forthis reason, signal-to-noise ratioaccuracy is extremely important. Smallerrors in SNR will show up as large

differences in error rate. In order tohave confidence in the error rate results,there must be a high degree ofconfidence in the SNR setting.

By combining an instrument gradepower meter along with factorycalibrated signal paths, the 5600provides:

■ Accurate ratio generation andlevel setting

■ Excellent repeatability■ Increased confidence in test

results

Measurement PerformanceChallenge


TRACE A: Ch1 Spectrum-50

dBm

LogMag

10dB

/div

-150dBm

Center: 2 GHz Span: 60 MHz

User’sSignal

CWInterferer

ModulatedInterferer

PurityWhen testing the interference performanceof a receiver, undesired spurious signals canreduce the confidence in test results. Ininterference tests, a signal with an amplitudemuch higher than the desired signal is placedadjacent to the receiver’s channel. Thepurpose of the test is to determine whetherthe receiver’s adjacent channel selectivity issufficient. The value of this test can bedegraded if the phase noise of the CW signalor the ACLR of the modulated signal is toohigh. The TAS5600 has been specificallydesigned to offer:

■ Ultra-Low Phase Noise

■ Excellent ACLR Performance

The TAS5600 exceeds the phase noiseand ACLR requirements of popular receivertest standards. Using the TAS5600 for receivertesting assures that the adjacent channelperformance of the receiver is being testedwith equipment that will deliver ultra clean,accurate channel conditions thus givingconfidence in the test results.

RealismBoth narrow and wideband interference arepresent in the radio environment and mustbe simulated as interference during receivertesting.

The TAS5600 delivers signals for co-channel and adjacent channel testing that arerealistic. Simultaneous generation of differentinterferer types reflects real-world scenarios.Further, the data that is used to generate theuser channels that are modulated onto theinterfering carrier has a long repetition interval. This combination of long data repetitioninterval along with ultra-low phase noise andlow ACLR combine to make the TAS5600 thehighest performing, most realistic test set forreceiver co-channel and adjacent channeltesting.

TAS5600 with the Low Phase Noise Option demonstratesextremely low phase noise, eliminating co-channel noiseduring adjacent channel testing scenarios.


In order to verify that UMTS UserEquipment and Node-Bs conform to3GPP standards, various co-channeland adjacent channel interference testsare required. These conformance testsverify a minimum level of receiver ortransmitter performance in the presenceof co-channel and adjacent channel

Accurate Interferer Generation

interfering signals. The types of signalsrequired can include uplink anddownlink WCDMA signals, GSM signalswith propagation effects, single anddual tones, or AWGN. The levelaccuracy required for these interferingsignals is demanding.

The Answer to 3GPP Testing

The TAS5600 exceeds the 3GPPaccuracy requirements by combiningprecision signal generation techniqueswith extremely accurate hardwarecalibration to provide unprecedentedinterference performance. The lowphase noise CW generators combinedwith the precision baseband signalgenerators within the instrument createmodulated RF signals with extremelylow Adjacent Channel Leakage Ratio(ACLR). These low phase noise CW andlow ACLR modulated interferers assurethat during adjacent channel selectivity,blocking, or spurious response tests,the receiver under test will not have itsreceive channel falsely polluted withphase noise, spectral re-growth, orspectrum “spill-over” which wouldgreatly devalue the test results.

An important characteristic of theWCDMA or GSM modulated interferersis their data sequence repetition rate. To produce accurate BLER/BER testcase results, the data contained in theDedicated Physical Channels should

not repeat for the duration of the test.However, sequences from digital signalgeneration engines in signal generatorsused for WCDMA and GSM performancetesting can repeat as frequently as everyframe. Uniquely, the TAS5600 uses areal-time approach to achieve a datasequence length of greater than onehour, while generating a 3GPP-specifiedDownlink Modulated Interferers thatcontains common channels and 16Dedicated Physical Channels. Similarly,the TAS5600 generates UplinkModulated Interferers that contain onecontrol channel and one data channelwith a data sequence length of overone hour.

The TAS5600 includes the followingUMTS interferer types:

■ WCDMA Uplink

■ WCDMA Downlink

■ Faded GSM

■ Single and Dual CW

■ AWGN

The interferers in theTAS5600 are designedto exceed the ACLRrequirements of alladjacent interferencetests currentlyspecified by 3GPP forWCDMA receiverperformance.

Modulated Interferer

InterfererChannelACLR

InterfererChannel

ACLR

UMTS Receiver Testing

Low Adjacent Channel Leakage Ratio (ACLR)

3GPP ACLR Specification


TAS5600 provides allthe applicableWCDMA Uplink andDownlink channels.This is a Code Domainplot for a WCDMADownlink Channel.

To effectively address the testingrequirement of UMTS UEs and Node-Bs, the TAS5600 provides extremelyaccurate and realistic interferencegeneration. All required interferer types,such as uplink and downlink WCDMA,GSM, AWGN, and CW are included. Theformat of the WCDMA modulatedinterferer is defined in the appropriate3GPP downlink (TS 34.121 and TS

34.122) and uplink (TS 25.141 and TS25.142) specifications. Each WCDMAinterference signal within the TAS5600is comprised of multiple downlink oruplink channels. These channels arethen modulated on to an RF carrier atthe desired interference frequencyusing a scrambling code provided bythe user.

Wide Range of UMTS Interferers

The 5600 provides GSMInterferers with OptionalFading as specified in 3GPPTS 51.010-1 Section 3.6.1.

The GSM modulated interferer allowsverification of adjacent channel receiverperformance in the presence of asecond GSM channel. This is an idealtool for manufacturers who want to testdual-mode UMTS UEs. The GSM

modulated interferer provides a GMSKmodulated carrier with optional fading.The interferer meets UMTS testingstandards as defined in 3GPP TS51.010-1 Section 3.6.1 and Annex A5.2for uplink and downlink testing.

GSM Modulated Interferers


In order to verify that CDMA2000handsets and base stations conform tothe requirements of IS-97 or IS-98standards, various co-channel andadjacent channel interference tests areperformed. These tests verify aminimum level of receiver or transmitterperformance in the presence of co-

Accuracy and Purity

channel and adjacent channelinterfering signals. The types ofinterfering signals required can includeforward and reverse link CDMA2000signals, single and dual tones, orAWGN. The level accuracy and purityrequired for these interfering signals isdemanding.

Addressing IS-97 and IS-98 TestRequirements

In order to accurately assess the FrameError Rate (FER) performance of aCDMA2000 receiver it is critical to setthe Ior/Ioc ratio accurately. Highlyaccurate level settings can be difficultto achieve in custom built setups giventhe implications of VSWR interaction,power level requirements, and fadingconditions. A custom built setup willalso require calibration with each useand consistency across different teststations will be difficult to achieve.Inaccurate ratio settings can invalidatedays of testing and causeinconsistencies in performanceevaluations. Because of the nature ofCDMA, small errors in Ior/Ioc cause

large changes in FER. The TAS5600 hasbeen designed specifically to addressthis ratio accuracy challenge. Using aninternal instrument grade power meter,factory calibration, and proprietarytechniques, the TAS5600 demonstratesa level of performance that ensuresaccurate and consistent results overtime and across different test setups.

The TAS5600 exceeds IS-97 and IS-98 test specifications with:

■ Accurate Ratio and Level Settings

■ Ultra-Low Phase Noise

■ Excellent ACLR Performance

CDMA2000 Receiver Testing

TAS5600 providesaccurate, repeatableinterference ratios.

Accurate, Repeatable Level Setting

TAS5600’s Performance

Competition’s Performance


The TAS5600 contains the necessarymodulated interferers for both forwardand reverse link receiver adjacentchannel interference testing. LowAdjacent Channel Leakage Ratio (ACLR)performance and long data sequencelength ensure the highest level ofconfidence for Adjacent ChannelSelectivity tests.

For handset testing, the TAS5600generates an interfering forward linkbase station signal that includes thepilot, paging, sync, and six trafficchannels. The reverse link modulatedinterferer, used for base station testing,contains a reverse link pilot only, asrequired by CDMA2000 standards. Animportant characteristic of theCDMA2000 modulated interferer is itsdata sequence repetition rate. Toproduce accurate FER test case results,the data contained in the paging, sync,

and traffic channels should not repeatfor the duration of the test. Unlike manycommercial signal generators that havedata sequences which repeat as oftenas every frame, the TAS5600 uses real-time signal generation techniques togenerate data sequences with very lowrepetition rates. To maximizeconfidence in FER test case results, thedata on each of the channels in theforward link interferer is random andhas a minimum sequence length of onehour. This significantly exceedsindustry test requirements.

The TAS5600 includes the followingCDMA2000 interference types:

■ Forward Link CDMA2000

■ Reverse Link CDMA2000

■ Single and Dual CW

■ AWGN

CDMA2000 Interference Types

TAS5600 provides all theapplicable CDMA2000Uplink and Downlinkchannels. This CodeDomain plot shows aCDMA2000 channel.

Unlike most CDMA signalgenerators, the sequencelength of the generatorsin the TAS5600 results ina test duration longenough to give a highdegree of confidence inthe test results.

Generated Signal Sequence Length

MostCDMA SignalGenerators

TAS5600

SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1 SEQ1

SEQ1

Typical Test Duration

Sequence Length of Generated Interferer Signal


TAS5600 Specifications ■ The following specifications describe warranteed performance over thetemperature range 0-40° C and include a 30-minute warm-up time fromambient conditions.

■ All specifications are measured at 880 and 1940 MHz unless stated otherwise.

■ Supplemental italicized parameters are also provided for information and indicate typical, non-warranted performance.

■ The achievable output level, C/N and C/I power ratios are a function of thecarrier input signal, the desired output power level of the carrier signal, andthe maximum available noise and interference power.

■ Technical specifications are subject to change without notice.

Carrier PathNumber of IndependentRF Carrier Channels 2

Integrated High PowerChannel Duplexers 1

RF Carrier Frequency 400 - 2700 MHz

Carrier Input Range -50 to 0 dBm

Amplitude Resolution 0.1 dB

Output Level Range -121 to -10 dBm

Accuracy of CarrierOutput Level +/- 1.0 dB

Channel Amplitude VariationRelative to Nominal Insertion Loss

3.84 MHz Bandwidth +/- 0.05 dB

40 MHz Bandwidth +/- 0.25 dB

Channel-to-ChannelIsolation in C/N Mode >70 dB

Input & Output VSWR <1.5:1

Maximum Duplex PortInput Power +30 dBm

Input & OutputConnector 50 ohm N-type

InterferenceIndependent InterferenceGenerators 2

Interference GeneratorModes CW, Bandlimited

AWGN, WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, External User Supplied

C/N Accuracy +/- 0.2 dB

C/I Accuracy +/- 0.5 dB

Interference FrequencyRange 400 - 2700 MHz

Frequency Resolution 10 kHz

CW InterferenceC/I Ratio Range +20 to -100 dB

C/I Ratio Resolution 0.1 dB

Maximum InterferenceOutput Power -10 dBm

Typical Phase Noise (SSB Phase Noise in units of dBc/Hz):

Offsets

CW Frequency 285 kHz 635 kHz 10 MHz

400 to 675 MHz -142 -149 -156

675 to 1350 MHz -136 -143 -156

1350 to 2200 MHz -130 -137 -156

2200 to 2700 MHz -128 -135 -156

Typical Phase Noise with Option TAS5600-F02 (SSB Phase Noise in units of dBc/Hz):

Offsets

CW Frequency 285 kHz 635 kHz 10 MHz

400 to 550 MHz -151 -153 -156

700 to 1000 MHz -149 -151 -156

1700 to 2200 MHz -143 -149 -156

IS-98 Requirement: -144 dBc/Hz @ 285 kHz offset for Fc=1 GHz; -144 dBc/Hz @ 635 kHz offset for Fc=2 GHz

IS-97 Requirement: -144 dBc/Hz @ 285 kHz offset for Fc=1 GHz; -149 dBc/Hz @ 655 kHz offset for Fc=2 GHz


TAS5600 Specifications cont. Bandlimited AWGNAWGN Bandwidth

<0.5 dB Ripple >5.76 MHz

6 dB Rolloff 7.4 MHz

C/N Ratio Range +30 to -30 dB

C/N Ratio Resolution 0.1 dB

Maximum Interference -25 dBm @ 5.76 MHzOutput Power BW

B/W Pseudo-RandomSequence Duration 3 Hours Minimum

WCDMA InterfererModulation Types WCDMA Downlink,

WCDMA Uplink

Channel ConfigurationWCDMA Downlink P-SCH, S-SCH,

P-CPICH, P-CCPCH, PICH, DPCH x 16

WCDMA Uplink DPCCH, DPDCH

C/I Ratio Range +20 to -80 dB

C/I Ratio Resolution 0.1 dB

Maximum InterferenceOutput Power -25 dBm

ACLR (5 MHz offset) 68 dB

Data ChannelSequence Duration 1 Hour Minimum

GSM InterfererData Source GMSK modulated

carrier

Data Source Rate 270.833 kbits/sec

Filter Shape Gaussian BT = 0.3Fading Types Classic DopplerFading Doppler 0.1 Hz to 1.5 kHzFading Profiles TU Type1, TU Type2,

RA Type1, RA Type2,HT Type1, HT Type2,EQ, TI

C/I Ratio Range +20 to -80 dBC/I Ratio Resolution 0.1 dBMaximum InterferenceOutput Power -25 dBmData Sequence Length 1 Hour Minimum

CDMA2000 InterfererModulation Types CDMA2000 Forward

LinkCDMA2000 ReverseLink

Channel ConfigurationCDMA2000 Forward Link F_PILOT, F_SYNC,

F_PAGING, F_FCHx6

CDMA2000 Reverse Link R_PILOT

C/I Ratio Range +20 to -80 dBC/I Ratio Resolution 0.1 dBMaximum InterferenceOutput Power -25 dBmACLR (2.5 MHz offset) 74 dBData ChannelSequence Duration 1 Hour Minimum

Power MeasurementMeasurement Type RMS powerFrequency Range 400 - 2700 MHzAveraging Range 1 to 128Measurement spanper average 400 msecRelative MeasurementAccuracy 0.1 dB

Safety and EnvironmentalPower Requirements

Voltage 88-265 VAC(auto-sensing)

Frequency 47-63 HzDimensions and Weight

Height 8.75 in, 222 mmWidth 16.88 in, 429 mmDepth 21 in, 533 mmWeight 65 lbs, 28.9 kg

Remote Interfaces RS-232(DCE), GPIB (IEEE488.2), 10BaseT

Program Storage PC Card

TAS5600 Universal Interference Emulator

Copyright © 2003 Spirent Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Spirent and the Spirent logo are trademarks of Spirent plc.All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.Specifications subject to change without notice. 12/03 v.22

TAS5600 Ordering InformationTAS5600 Universal Interference Emulator - Base

■ Includes two RF channels, one built-in duplexer and two interference generators,including CW and AWGN

TAS5600W Universal Interference Emulator - WCDMA

■ WCDMA-configured instrument, including options F06 and F07

TAS5600C2K Universal Interference Emulator - CDMA2000

■ CDMA2000-configured instrument, including options F02 and F05

TAS5600U Universal Interference Emulator

■ Universal instrument, including options F02, F03, FO4, and F05

TAS5600-F02 Low Phase Noise Option

■ Improved phase noise performance of internal CW generators

TAS5600-F05 CDMA2000 Interferer Option

■ CDMA2000 Forward and Reverse link modulated interferers with long repetitioninterval

TAS5600-F06 WCDMA Interferer Option

■ WCDMA Uplink and Downlink modulated interferers with long repetition interval

TAS5600-F07 GSM Interferer Option

■ GMSK modulated interferer with multipath fading and long repetition interval

UMTS-LAB Test System for WCDMA Wireless Applications

■ Complete emulation of fading plus co-channel and adjacent channel interference conditions required by 3GPP WCDMA test specifications.

■ Includes SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator, TAS5600W Universal Interference Emulator and TASKIT software for Windows PC control.

C2K-LAB Test System for CDMA2000 Wireless Applications

■ Complete emulation of fading plus co-channel and adjacent channel interference conditions required by CDMA2000 test specifications.

■ Includes SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator, TAS5600C2K Universal InterferenceEmulator and TASKIT software for Windows PC control.

A complete Annual Service Agreement is available for the instrument.

Please contact your sales representative for pricing information.

Documents

Advanced Test Equipment Rentals · provides all of the channel propagation models required to test modern receivers. Channel propagation models such as Rayleigh and Rician multipath