Precision Millimeter-Wave Modulated Wideband Source for Over-The-Air Reference at 92.4 GHz

Published

April 22, 2020

Author(s)

Paritosh Manurkar, Robert D. Horansky, Benjamin F. Jamroz, Jeffrey A. Jargon, Dylan F. Williams, Catherine A. Remley

Abstract

As the next generation communications technology continues to evolve to utilize millimeter-wave frequencies, calibration methods are needed for the nonidealities related to these frequencies in communications electronics. In this work, we demonstrate a 1-GHz bandwidth, 64-quadrature- amplitude-modulated signal source at 92.4 GHz carrier frequency with relative phase and magnitude that may be made traceable to primary standards. By using predistortion techniques, we are able to repeatably obtain a nominal error vector magnitude (EVM) of 1.4%. Additionally, we track correlated and uncorrelated uncertainties using a Monte Carlo method to show the distribution of uncertainty of the EVM measurement in the range of 1.5%--3.1%. We examine the dependence of the EVM in the traceable source on digital-to-analog converters' imbalance and system drift over time. Finally, we use the stable, low-EVM signal to ascertain EVM degradation on- and off-axis in an over-the-air setup.

Citation

IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques

Volume

68

Issue

7

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2020.2983144

Local Download

Keywords

Digitally modulated signal, millimeter-wave wireless communications, over-the-air measurements, traceability, predistortion, uncertainty analysis.

Citation

Manurkar, P. , Horansky, R. , Jamroz, B. , Jargon, J. , Williams, D. and Remley, C. (2020), Precision Millimeter-Wave Modulated Wideband Source for Over-The-Air Reference at 92.4 GHz, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2020.2983144 (Accessed October 20, 2025)