Advantest's New Wave Scale™ RF8 Card Enables V93000 System to Test Wi-Fi 6E and Other Connectivity ICs up to 8 GHz

TOKYO, Japan - May 18, 2020 - Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) has introduced the newest generation of its Wave Scale RF channel cards for the V93000 platform to address the growing market demand for Wi-Fi 6E, 5G-NR transceivers, LTE-Advanced Pro and IoT communication devices operating at frequencies up to 8 GHz. The new V93000 Wave Scale RF8 card, capable of both highly parallel multi-site and in-site parallel testing, reduces the cost of test and time to market for leading-edge radio-frequency (RF) semiconductors while also creating a path for testing future 5G-NR devices.

The instrument's high-multi-site capability is enabled by its wide range of operating frequencies up to 8 GHz with a modulation bandwidth of 200 MHz. The V93000 platform can be configured with up to six Wave Scale RF8 cards, each having 32 bi-directional RF ports, with the ability to scale up to 192 RF ports.

With an architecture optimized for high throughput, the new card features four complete RF subsystems. Each subsystem has an independent modulated source, a mixer/digitizer, scattering parameters, an optional low-phase-noise local oscillator and a test processor capable of making multiple RF measurements in the shortest time possible. The Wave Scale RF8 card achieves ultra-fast settling, with a frequency/power switching time of less than 600 microseconds and a power switching time under 80 microseconds. In addition, Wave Scale RF8 cards support both Wave Scale RF18 and Wave Scale Millimeter test systems.

"With multiple independent subsystems in a single card, our Wave Scale RF8 is designed for cost-efficient production of the latest generation Wi-Fi 6E devices while also providing a path to testing tomorrow's 5G and Wi-Fi communication ICs," said Jurgen Serrer, executive officer and executive vice president, V93000 Business Unit at Advantest Corporation.