What is a Check Wave test bench ?
Check Wave test benches are the test benches intended for RF and microwave tests.
It is generally accepted that the field of microwaves covers a certain part of the spectrum of electromagnetic waves (EM) and corresponds to the bands of frequencies from 100 MHz to 1,000 GHz, or from 3 m to 0,3 mm.
However, another dividing line with the other fields of electronics can be established by considering that circuit design and modeling belong to the field of microwaves when the phenomena of propagation and radiation are explicitly taken into account, which is generally not the case in other fields of electronics.
The family of Check Wave benches covers this frequency spectrum without exceeding 50 GHz.
These benches generally incorporate RF testing instruments but also adjustment and calibration instruments.
As of 1995, supported by the expertise of the technical direction at TRONICO, Tame-Test provides RF test benches via its Check Wave line of products.
Tame-Test is constantly enhancing its expertise in:
- Tx/Rx
- Power measurements
- Frequency measurements
- RF switching rack
- Self-calibration and loss compensation (cables, connectors, etc.)
- Conducted or radiated measurements
- Signal processing
- Modulation/Demodulation (FSK, GMSK, QAM64, etc.)
- PLL (Phase Locked Loop)
- Adjustment and calibration (with writing of adjustment parameters in the product)
- Sub-assemblies or assemblies
In particular in the Defense, Aerospace and Medical sectors.
Check Wave testers can be mobile or portable for the field calibration needs of some microwave devices (transmitter and receiver tuning, antenna orientation, radar adjustment, etc.).
Technical specifications
Mode of Propagation
The electronics dedicated to the processing of RF signals is a very specific field and requires extensive know-how and experience.
A particularity of RF waves is that they propagate both in conductive media (cables, components, etc.) but also in the surrounding space.
Tame-Test offers different modes of interaction with the products under testing:
- Conducted testing by direct contact with the product
- Radiated testing, via one or more antennas
- Testing via one or more waveguides
The DUT (Device Under Test) and equipment treated by our Check Wave benches are either uni-directional, in the case of space telemetry data reception for example, or bi-directional, in the case of telecom communications or transmissions.
Frequency Ranges and Bands
Depending on the frequency range, the type of Check Wave test bench used can be very different, as much in terms of connectors (BNC, SMA, SMB, etc.) and switching (RF relay, optical or mechanical switch, etc.) as in terms of devices (generator/synthesizer, power meter, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, etc.).
Tame-Test, through its Check Wave product line, offers manual or automatic test benches up to 10 GHz.
Beyond that, Tame-Test works with partners who are experienced in the technologies used in those frequency bands.
Applications
In order to gain a better understanding, here are some use cases illustrating this equipment:
Use case n°1 : Active Implantable Medical Device
Yoann, industrial director of a medical startup, is in charge of the industrialization of an active implantable medical device. This product embeds a communication system between the inside and the outside of the body via a MICS link. He is approaching the production phase of his medical device and wants the communication part of his product to be calibrated and tested.
To do so, Tame-Test works with Yoann on the development of embedded software dedicated to testing and programming the calibration parameters. Tame-Test then develops an RF test bench to test and characterize the link. The bench can configure the product under test so that it permanently emits a defined frame and thus can easily synchronize itself to define the measurements and acquisitions of key parameters. After configuring the device under test, the embedded software dedicated to the test functions is overwritten by the customer's application software.
Use case n°2 : Telemetry Demodulator
Jessica is an NPI manager in a group specialized in data transmission. She wants to set up an automated functional test for all the electronic cards of a tuner/demodulator dedicated to the reception of airborne telemetry data. The objective is to test and adjust filters on the demodulation board. Tame-Test proposes to Jessica to design an automatic test bench to put the electronic card in situation, to calibrate the filters taking into account the different attenuations of the bench, to perform self-tests, to program the coefficients in the product and to perform a verification test for proper operation. As with all Tame-Test automatic benches, all data is recorded and saved. They can then be processed by the Tame-Data software suite.
