Pasternack Blog

Automated Test Equipment (ATE) are automated systems designed to perform electrical, thermal, and physical testing without the direct interference of a person. Usually ATE systems are employed to speed up testing, perform repetitive tasks, or to enhance the repeatability and consistency of a testing system. Often, an ATE system is designed to do all of ..

RF Frequency filters, or just filters, are components/devices that modify a signal’s amplitude and phase angle based on frequency. Filters are either passive or use active tuning electronics. Filters are designed with a predetermined frequency dependent transmission response and are predominately used to attenuate portions of the spectrum where undesirable signal components, interference, or noise ..

RF passive components are used in virtually every RF assembly and system for communications, sensing, and test and measurement applications. Hence, testing RF passives is critical to all applications. RF passives testing may be for characterization, quality control/verification, or maintenance/troubleshooting depending on the use case of the RF passive and if it is under development, ..

Coaxial cable assemblies are at the heart of many conductive interconnect solutions from the module level to complete systems. Coaxial cable assemblies are used in a wide array of applications from low-cost connection of consumer equipment to extreme precision and reliability needed in aerospace and satellite communications. From R&D to defense, coaxial cable assemblies are ..

Virtually every country around the world has some type of electromagnetic compliance (EMC) policy in place to prevent hazardous emissions, susceptible electronics in the marketplace, and to avoid an overabundance of interference. Given the complex nature of EMC, most compliance codes are very strict and the cost of failure is that a product cannot be ..

An RF Signal Chain is generally composed of a series of RF devices and components, each with their own unique behavior. In every case, however, each component and device within the signal chain presents an impedance at their input ports and output ports. Moreover, the interconnect between devices and components within a signal chain also ..

Load Pull measurements is a class of non-50 Ohm measurements that is used during the design, model extraction, and performance testing of a variety of RF/Microwave devices. A main topic of discussion with load-pull testing is the evaluation of amplifier designs in a large signal sense. Load-pull testing essential consists of taking signal measurements from ..

Passive intermodulation distortion (PIM), is a prevalent issue with cellular networks and other wireless systems with relatively high broadcast power and dense channel plans. The results of PIM can be the desensitization of the receiver, dropped calls, and harmonic interference that can affect receivers for other frequency bands and services well outside of the carrier ..

An Oscilloscope is an essential piece of electrical test equipment, but has a somewhat limited use with RF circuits and systems compared to digital and analog circuits. In many cases an RF engineer will default to using a spectrum analyzer for frequency domain measurements and a network analyzer to measure component behavior. An oscilloscope is ..

RF anechoic chambers are used throughout the industry for prototyping testing and conformance testing. The purpose of an anechoic chamber is to provide both electromagnetic isolation from external sources as well as from internal RF radiation generators. Other types of testing that require complete RF isolation also depend on anechoic chambers, including radar cross section ..