IMS2012: Focus on Test

Another successful IMS2012 played out June 19-21, in Montréal, Canada. The venue was unique, and the food was delicious. Although I did not get to see much of the Montreal area, I did get to walk around “Old Montreal” which was very quaint and enjoyable.

In the test realm, I was impressed by the amount of people talking about testing radar, as well as the increased use of FPGAs in test equipment. In addition, there was a lot of talk about injecting real test measurements into the EDA process, moving test earlier in the design cycle to the actual earliest design stages.

Here’s a quick look at IMS2012 by the numbers:
 

• Number of exhibitors: 569
• Number of new exhibitors: 55
• Exhibitors Geographically: USA – 424; Europe – 54; Asia – 56; Canada – 31; Middle East - 3  
• Technical Workshops: 40
• Technical Papers: 612 (out of 1225 submitted)
• Technical Sessions: 83
• Total attendance: 7600+
• Symposium Registrants: 4118 

Here’s a roundup of some of the products that were introduced at the show and/or on display there. Just click on the headline to learn more.

Agilent debuts PA module design for next release of Advanced Design System
Agilent Technologies Inc. announced new capabilities for RF power amplifier design in the next major release of Agilent's Advanced Design System.

Agilent claims world's fastest USB power sensors
Agilent Technologies Inc. released the Agilent U2020 X-series, which it claims incorporates the world's fastest USB power sensors.

Agilent introduces high-performance mid-range vector network analyzers
Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced five PNA-L vector network analyzer models, claiming the highest performance (up to 50 GHz) in a mid-range VNA, along with lower cost and future-proof capabilities.










Analyze 802.11ac WLAN signals with bandwidths to 160 MHz
Meeting the needs of developers designing chipsets and modules in line with IEEE 802.11ac, the Rohde & Schwarz FSW-K91ac signal and spectrum analyzer offers T&M equipment required to generate standard compliant WLAN signals in the lab.


Rohde & Schwarz adds frequency converter measurements to ZNB vector network analyzers
The R&S ZNB-K4 software option for the Rohde & Schwarz R&S ZNB series of vector network analyzers (VNAs) extends the instruments capability by mixer and frequency converter measurements.

Aeroflex adds 802.11ac capability to S-Series line
WLAN research, design, and manufacturing engineers can now use the S-Series of RF signal generators and analyzers from Aeroflex to meet their IEEE 802.11ac test requirements.

E-band emission test solution achieves best-in-class dynamic range
The Anritsu MS2830A signal analyzer features an external mixer design that achieves a best in-class-dynamic range.

VectorStar system extends system frequency coverage to 750 GHz
Anritsu Company’s ME7838A VectorStar 4-port configuration extends the Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) measurement system to 750 GHz and higher.

Handheld cable and antenna analyzer delivers 8-hour battery use
The S33IL Cable and Antenna Analyzer by Anritsu Company provides high-performance cable and antenna analysis.

Option enables VNA to measure noise figure from 70kHz to 125 GHz
Noise figure measurement capability is available for Anritsu Company’s VectorStar MS4640 and ME7838A analyzers.

110 GHz VNA system delivers 4-port measurement
Anritsu Company’s VectorStar ME7838A broadband Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) platform features 4-port measurement.

Phase noise analyzers offer lowest residual phase noise performance
The NXA series of phase noise analyzers from Noise Extended Technologies (NoiseXT) simplifies phase noise testing by incorporating a one-box system design.

Averna Wideband RF recorder captures real-world RF signals
The RP-5300 RF Recorder is a field-ready multi-channel RF Recorder for applications covering 330 MHz to 2.5 GHz.

Teseq magnetic field coil generates fields Up To 1200 A/m
At IMS2012, Teseq Inc. announced a magnetic field coil that generates fields up to 1200 A/m during magnetic field testing.

Peregrine 8 GHz SP4T switch targets test-and-measurement/ATE applications
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Peregrine) has released the SP4T PE42540 RF switch.