BFx-02 Frequency Extension Base
Featured Product from Copper Mountain Technologies
Operational and financial constraints have historically made the barrier to entry for inline RF testing of mmWave devices incredibly high. Device cost, integration complexity, and rigid compatibility has made ownership of VNAs for mmWave production testing at scale unreachable for many manufacturers. This was what motivated the engineers at Copper Mountain Technologies to rethink frequency extension, landing on a streamlined, cost effective solution: the BFx-02 Frequency Extension Base (Patent Pending) for S-Parameters Measurement in mmWave testing.
The BFx-02 Frequency Extension Base is purpose-built for manufacturing at scale, with a simplified architecture that:
- Provides all RF signals needed to drive mmWave extenders
- Reduces the cost of production line mmWave test systems
- Simplifies setup and integration
- Has fewer points of failure
- Has high RF and LO output power to drive lengthy cables so extenders can be widely separated
- Features connectors located on the side panels for ease of connectivity and reduced cable strain
- Operates with extenders of your choice
- Doesn’t sacrifice performance
The result is a device that makes high volume RF testing in the mmWave spectrum achievable on the production line: not just in the lab.
The BFx-02 Frequency Extension Base is a groundbreaking system which operates as a coherent RF and LO source combined with an IF processing engine, working in tandem with mmWave frequency extenders that contain the reflectometer and frequency conversion stages. The extenders perform RF sampling and downconversion, returning Test and Reference IF signals to the BFx-02 Frequency Extension Base, where they are ratioed to compute S-parameters. By eliminating internal directional bridges and microwave receivers, the BFx-02 Frequency Extension Base shifts the measurement front end to the extender, enabling lower-cost, more scalable mmWave test systems.
