ETS-Lindgren's AMS-8500 Antenna Measurement System is a turnkey solution for making compliant Over-The-Air (OTA) performance measurements. This system is ideally suited for automated measurement of antenna performance of wireless devices, and devices with embedded wireless functions as well as traditional antenna pattern measurements for passive antennas. The AMS-8500 system is fully configured to perform both R&D and type approval measurements for transmit power and receiver performance of wireless devices in accordance to the CTIA Over-The-Air (OTA) test plan. The system can also be used to perform traditional passive antenna measurements to obtain more generic antenna properties. Our system packages offer you a choice of components to fit your custom testing needs.
The system is designed as a general platform to support testing various wireless devices at far-field test distances. It supports far-field measurements at a separation distance of approximately 4.9 m (16 ft). The measurement antenna allows testing from 690 MHz to 10 GHz. Extension to higher frequencies is also achievable via optional antennas.
Rectangular Chamber
The AMS-8500 is a rectangular chamber. The absorber configuration is combination of different sizes and shapes to obtain optimal performance requirement to perform CTIA OTA testing. The chamber is designed to operate down to 400 MHz. The upper frequency limit of the chamber is limited only by the dual-polarized measurement horn antenna. Standard measurement antenna used in AMS-8500 has an upper frequency range of 6 GHz. This series of anechoic chambers is designed to have better than –25 dB in Quiet Zone (QZ) reflectivity.
Multi-Axis Positioner System (MAPS)
ETS-Lindgren Multi-Axis Positioner System (MAPS) is designed with adjustment rails to position the Antenna Under Test (AUT) to the center of rotation axes (both in Theta and Phi axes) for accurate antenna measurements. The MAPS rotates the device under test (DUT) around two orthogonal axes for full spherical coverage. To minimize measurement errors, the vertical support structures are constructed from low-density dielectric material to provide RF transparency during the measurement. MAPS are available in three different models including Light Duty, Medium Duty and Heavy Duty depending on user specific requirements. Each one of the models has user defined angular resolution with the minimum resolution of 0.1 degrees.
Instrumentation
AMS-8500 system packages can be incorporated with a variety of RF instrumentation for user specific measurement requirements. The system can be configured to perform generic antenna measurement by using a multi-channel vector network analyzer (VNA). A spectrum analyzer or power meter can be used as the receiver instrument for active antenna measurements. For transceiver measurements, a digital package Communication Analyzer can be added to provide transceiver communication link measurements for sensitivity and bit error rate tests.