Testing SP6T RF switch using E5080A ENA and E5092A multiport test set

This example shows a procedure for testing a SP6T RF switch with the E5080A based AMX system. The DUT mode (switch state) is controlled with the parallel control voltages from the E5092A’s control line-1 port. To edit the multimode DUT test plan efficiently, Microsoft Excel is used in combination with the AMX Test Plan Builder.

Test conditions

 

Instruments:

E5080A ENA, E5092A multiport test set (22-port configuration), E3633A DC power supply, 34410A digital multimeter (DMM)

Test parameters

Insertion loss & isolation between RF input and RF output ports in 6 DUT modes.

Calibration:

Two sets of full 4-port cal to cover 7 test ports.

Test specs:

  • 100 MHz to 6 GHz, NOP=201, Power=0 dBm, IFBW=100 kHz (1 segment)

  • Insertion loss maximum limit = from 5 dB (at 100 MHz) to 10 dB (at 6 GHz)

  • Isolation minimum limit = from 35 dB (at 100 MHz) to 20 dB (at 6 GHz)

DUT mode control:

3-bit parallel control voltages, logic level 3.3 V (same as Vdd level)

DUT mode

AMX label

Parallel control

Mode 1 (=RFoutput1)

"Out1"

001

Mode 2 (=RFoutput2)

"Out2"

010

Mode 3 (=RFoutput3)

"Out3"

011

Mode 4 (=RFoutput4)

"Out4"

100

Mode 5 (=RFoutput5)

"Out5"

101

Mode 6 (=RFoutput6)

"Out6"

110

Vdd and parallel control voltages are turned on and off before starting and after completing the DUT test sequence.

E5092A Configuration

Connection

E5092A

DUT

Port 5A

RF Input 1

Port 8A

RF Output 1

Port 3A

RF Output 2

Port 4A

RF Output 3

Port 2D

RF Output 4

Port 3D

RF Output 5

Port 4D

RF Output 6

 

E5092A Control line 1 Configuration

This example uses the E5092A Control line 1 (D-SUB 15 Pin Connector)

Pin No.

Description

Parallel control

1

Line 1

V1

2

Line 2

V2

3

Line 3

V3

4

Line 4

N/A

5

Line 5

N/A

6

Line 6

N/A

7

Line 7

N/A

8

Line 8

N/A

9

N/A

 

10

N/A

 

11

N/A

 

12

DC Source

This E5092A’s internal DC source is not used in this example.

13

Positive input

5 V from the external DC power supply is connected.

14

Negative input

Connected to GND

15

GND

 

 

Test Procedure for this Example

Using Excel template function allows you to create your test plan more easily and quickly when your configuration has many test steps and many parameters for modes and connections. In this example, the setups for Test Step and Mode in test plan is configured on the Excel application using an Excel template.

Generating Excel template from Test Plan Builder

  1. Launch the AMX Test Plan Builder and File > New

  2. Enter the basic information on the DUT and Instruments, which are required for generating the Excel template in the next step.

    DUT Tab

    • Number of DUT logical ports: 7

    • Labels of DUT logical ports : “RFinput”, “RFoutput1” to “RFoutput6”

    • Number of DUT modes: 6

    • Labels of DUT modes: “Out1” to “Out6”

    • Mode Coupled: Checked

    VNA Tab

    • Number of ports: 4
  3. For the topology tab, Click [Set Switch Matrix…] and import the test set definition file C:\..\Documents\AMX\TestSet\E5092_22P.tsetx. Assign DUT Ports as shown below.


  4. For the Connections tab, enter the connection patterns of the 4-port calibrated test ports “DUT_P1-2-3-4” and “DUT_P1-5-6-7”, which are to be used in the DUT test sequence.  


  5. In the Test Steps tab, click [Generate Template…] to generate the Excel template file (.xlsx) where you are going to create the DUT test plan from now.

Modifying Excel Template on Excel application to complete the Test Plan

  1. Open the generated Excel template file by the Excel application.

  2. The Excel template file includes the test step, the parameters for each modem and the parameters for each connection. The other configuration should be setup in AMX test plan builder.

Spec Sheet Tab Configuration

  1. In the “Spec Sheet” tab, click "B2" cell under "mode_label", then select "Mode1 (Out1) from pull-down menu.

  2. Setup the second row ("B") according to the DUT test conditions, by selecting the items from the pulldown menu or typing the value.

  3. Right-click on any cells in the second row ("B") and select “Insert” > "Table Row Below" from the Excel popup menu. The same pull down menus are available in the inserted row.

  4. Complete the DUT test conditions and specs as shown below

Mode Tab Configuration

In the “Mode” tab, enter the control sequence of the parallel control voltages of the E5092A and GPIB commands of the DC power supply and DMM. See the for the control parameters. See Controlling E5092A Configurable Multiport Test Set for the control parameters.

Export the updated test plan (xml) from Excel

  1. When you complete editing the DUT test plan including the control sequence of the E5092A and GPIB, save it as an Excel .xlsx file with your desired filename.

  2. Export the XML file by adding “.ss” to the filename, for example, “DUTtestplan.ss.xml”.

Building the TAP test sequence file

  1. Go back to the Test Steps tab of the AMX Test Plan Builder where you generated the Excel template.

  2. Click [Import Spec Sheet…] and import the ss.xml file you generated. The DUT test plan and the DUT mode control sequence created in the Excel file will be imported to the AMX Test Plan Builder.

  3. Confirm that the information in the Excel file is correctly imported by opening each mode in the Test Steps and DUT tabs.

  4. In the menu bar, select “File” -> “Save As…” and save the test plan file (.tpbproj).

  5. In the Output tab, click [Output Test Plan…] to build and output the TAP test sequence file (.TapPlan) to be executed on the TAP.

Preparation for executing the DUT test sequence

  1. Make sure that the E5092A DC power supply, and digital multimeters are turned on and being connected to the E5080A.

  2. Confirm if the back end application (TAP) setup for E5092A is done. See Controlling E5092A Configurable Multiport Test Set.

  3. Confirm if the back end application (TAP) setup for DMM and DC power supply are done. See External Instruments Controller).
    Set Number of Instruments (“2” in this example) and VISA addresses of the DC power supply and DMM (GPIB0::5::INSTR and GPIB0::22::INSTR in this example).

  4. Copy the generated TapPlan file to the E5080A.

  5. Launch the TAP on the E5080A.

Setup sweep

  1. Load the .TapPlan file.

  2. Run the TapPlan to execute the initial setup sweep for setting up the VNA.

Calibration

  1. Confirm that the 4-port ECal module is connected to the PXIe controller.

  2. In the menu bar, select “Settings” -> “AMX/AMX” to launch the Cal Wizard. Execute the calibration by following the guidance.

Executing the TAP test sequence

  1. Connect the TAP resource by clicking .

  2. Run the TapPlan. The DUT test sequence is executed and test results are displayed as shown below. As the test is executed by turning Reuse Channel on, the measurements of all DUT modes are performed by repeating the sweeps in the VNA channel-1 (for the connection “DUT_P1-2-3-4”) and channel-2 (for the connection “DUT_P1-5-6-7”).

  3. Highlight the step of Mode 1 to see the DC current measurement result.

  4. The measurement traces on the VNA display are overwritten by the repeated measurements of different DUT modes, and only the traces of the last mode remain in the display.

    So it is recommended to see the test results logged in the CSV file. The CSV logging can be activated by selecting Settings -> Results to open the result settings dialog and adding AMX CSV Output (“AmxCsv”).

    Or you can quickly check the test result in the TAP GUI, by highlighting the VNA SParam/Path step (S-parameter measurement) or the Mode step (DC current measurement with DMM)