5G FR1 Downlink MIMO Phase Coherent Signal Analysis

5G New Radio (NR) FR1 MIMO or beamforming downlink signal analysis especially the phase measurement of each MIMO layer and the determination of the phase difference between the MIMO layers are essential for the 5G base station product design.

In this application note, it describes two test solutions from R&S® to cope with the 5G FR1 downlink MIMO signal analysis challenges either using R&S®RTP/RTO oscilloscope or R&S®NRQ6 frequency selective power sensor as RF frontend to capture the signal and together with R&S®VSE as post-processing tool for the IQ analysis.

The aim of this application note is to walk the user through the necessary steps on both test solutions to enable the 5G FR1 downlink MIMO signal analysis.

It is assumed that the reader has certain pre-knowledge of 5G NR physical layer. In case a refreshment is needed, please refer to the 5G NR eBook for further reading.