Date: 26/01/2010

NI's expanded RF and Microwave test portfolio with PXI programmable amplifier and attenuator

NI has expanded its RF and Microwave test portfolio with the introduction of two new RF signal-conditioning modules NI PXI-5695 and NI PXI-5691, which enhance the measurement accuracy and flexibility of PXI-based RF and microwave test systems.

The NI PXI-5695 is a 50 MHz to 8 GHz RF two-channel programmable attenuator with one fixed attenuation path and one programmable attenuation path. The combined paths can provide up to 60 dB of total attenuation at 2.5 GHz when cascaded.

The key features of the NI PXI-5695 attenuator are,

Up to 60 dB total attenuation
0.5 dB attenuation resolution
1.2:1 typical voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR)
Both fixed and programmable attenuator channels

The NI PXI-5691 is a 50 MHz to 8 GHz two-channel programmable amplifier with one fixed gain path and one programmable gain path. The combined paths can provide up to 55 dB of total signal gain at 2.5 GHz when the two channels are cascaded.

The key features of the NI PXI-5691 amplifier are,

Up to +24 dBm maximum output power
Up to 30 dB gain
0.5 dB gain resolution
Typical noise figure <5 dB

In applications such as RF signal path degradation modeling, field strength metering and receiver testing, engineers can combine the new NI PXI-5695 8 GHz programmable RF attenuator with a vector signal generator (VSG) to improve RF signal quality at low power levels. Engineers can integrate the NI PXI-5691 8 GHz programmable RF preamplifier, which also functions as a power amplifier, with VSGs to increase maximum power and with vector signal analyzers (VSAs) to measure low-level signals.

"Accurate control of RF power levels is a critical requirement for us when testing receiver sensitivity," said Jeff May, test engineer at Itron, a leading provider of intelligent metering and a pioneer of smart grid technology. "The new programmable attenuator from NI gives us the high level of precision we need to accurately control stimulus power levels in our PXI production testers, and this is an important benefit that helps us maintain both efficiency and quality in our test process."

For more details visit www.ni.com/rf