Introduction

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1

Introduction

This document provides the user of Texas Instruments' low-power RF products with an overview of the

different characterization tests (conducted, not radiated) that are performed during the device verification

process. This descriptive document enables users to have a better understanding of the systems and

functions, and also presents general information about device testing under various conditions and

parameters. The document covers the basic setup of the test system and gives procedural information

about each test.

Texas Instruments

’ low-power RF products make it easier to build wireless links for remote control,

metering, and sensing applications. In most cases, they are used inside unlicensed, or license-free,

wireless products. Unlicensed means only that the user of these products does not need an individual

license from the telecommunication regulatory authorities. Unlicensed does not mean unregulated; the

wireless product itself must usually meet strict regulations and be certified by the appropriate regulatory

authorities. The different international regulatory authorities such as the FCC, ETSI, and ARIB regulate the

use of radio receivers and transmitters. These bodies maintain specifications that must be met by all

devices for each of the tests mentioned in the application report. Refer to the respective standards

document (see Section 2.1).

1.1

Abbreviations

Table 1 lists many of the terms and abbreviations used in this document.

Table 1. Terms and Abbreviations

Abbreviation/Acronym

Definition/Meaning

ARIB

Association of Radio Industries and Businesses

CEBAL

Chipcon Evaluation Board Access Layer

Power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power

dBm

referenced to 1 mW

DUT

Device under test

EB

Evaluation board

EM

Evaluation module

ETSI

European Telecommunications Standards Institute

EVM

Error vector magnitude

FCC

Federal Communications Commission

FSQ

Full spectrum quantization

GUI

Graphical user interface

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer

INT

Interference source, interference signal

ISM

Industrial, scientific, medical

MSK

Minimum shift keying

PER

Packet error rate

PSD

Power spectral density

RSSI

Received signal strength indicator

RX

Receive, receiver

SMA

Sub Miniature version A connector

SoC

System on chip

SPI

Serial parallel interface

TX

Transmit, transmission, transmitter

4

Basic RF Testing of CCxxxx Devices

SWRA370

– August 2011

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