As we all know, the technologies used to introduce 5G and WiFi 6E wireless networks are revolutionary in terms of spectrum usage, components, etc. In order to meet the 5G key performance indicators, iterative improvements of the technology must be realized on the previous cellular infrastructure.

Many of the technical improvements in 5G and WiFi 6 revolve around the use of various forms of multiple-input multiple-output, and as these technologies become more widely adopted, there is a need to understand exactly how these signals behave in a variety of environments. From small rack-mounted switch matrices with step attenuators, amplifiers, combiners, and splitters, to large-scale testing, these test systems are essential for network architects to fully understand the capabilities of 5G NR signals in complex transmission environments important.

The inherent path loss of a signal propagating in free space increases significantly with frequency, which has been a problem for small-cell facilities serving dense urban areas. Millimeter-wave signals not only attenuate rapidly in free space with higher atmospheric absorption, but are hardly diffracted around objects like other signals with longer wavelengths below 6 GHz, and the dispersion of millimeter-wave signals varies little or even

This requires the use of appropriate channel space for line-of-sight communications and beamforming for precise beam alignment. Signal connectivity also requires the use of microwave backhaul infrastructure, deep fiber installations, and non-terrestrial 5G base stations (satellites) to extend connectivity to remote rural areas.

By 2025, the total number of IoT devices is expected to reach 27 billion, while the number of mobile devices is expected to reach 18.22 billion. The interference caused by increasing device congestion is an ongoing concern for device manufacturers. Self-interference cancellation, dynamic spectrum Technologies such as Sharing (DSS) and Remote Interference Management (RIM) aim to address these issues to the greatest extent possible. Even multi-user and large-scale devices can be affected by co-channel interference, which requires near-perfect channel state information (CSI), or evaluation of signal degradation from transmitter to receiver, including scattering, fading, and power attenuation.

Environmental obstacles are a non-negligible factor in channel modeling. Trees, buildings, and rain can all cause signal weakening. MiMo enhancements are almost included in 5G 3GPP equipment with a large number of antenna elements and radio architectures at sub 6GHz and mmWave frequencies. WiFi 5 or 802.11ac was the first WiFi standard to introduce multi-user MiMo, and access points (APs) are now able to form multiple beams to each client while sending information to each client on the downlink. WiFi 6 operates on the same MU-MiMo or spatial multiplexing principle, while combining Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access Modulation (OFDMA), Higher Order Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (1024-QAM), and uplink and downlink MU- MiMo to improve network performance. WiFi 6E expands the WiFi spectrum to the 6GHz band (5.925-7.125GHz), opening up more frequency bands to support 5G license-free NR (NR-U) deployments.

How do we simulate and test these systems? Switching matrices are one of the primary devices that simulate the effects of an environment on RF transmission, and engineers use a series of power dividers and combiners along with individually controlled programmable attenuators on each path through the matrix.。

In this way, each input signal can be attenuated at a different level, for example, to simulate free space path loss, fading, or signal attenuation as the device moves away from the source. Using fast switching attenuators, the RF switch matrix can be programmed to simulate fast and slow fading, multipath, interference, and a range of other propagation phenomena by adjusting the attenuation value over an assigned time frame.

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