Agilent/Keysight M9451A

The Keysight M9451A PXIe Measurement Accelerator is an FPGA processing card that delivers hardware-accelerated Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) and Envelope Tracking (ET) measurements for RF power amplifier and front-end module characterization. Built around an Altera Stratix V “A7” FPGA with 4 GB of DDR3 memory, the M9451A achieves up to 20x speed improvement over host-based solutions, enabling closed and open-loop DPD and ET measurements in tens of milliseconds with total test times under 70 ms.

– Technical Specifications

• FPGA: Altera Stratix V “A7”
• Memory: 4 GB DDR3 (two independent banks at 1200 MT/s, 600 MHz each)
• Bus Interface: PXI Express peripheral module supporting x1, x4, and x8 PCIe v2.1
• Measurement Speed: DPD and ET measurements achievable in tens of milliseconds; overall test times under 70 ms
• Performance Gain: Up to 20x improvement in DPD/ET speed versus host-based processing

– Key Features

• Peer-to-peer connectivity with Keysight PXIe modules (M9381A VSG, M9391A/M9393A VSA) for direct, high-speed data transfer without CPU involvement
• Support for Look-up Table (LUT) and Memory Order Polynomial DPD models
• Hardware-accelerated ET waveform generation
• IVI-COM driver available for API configuration and initialization
• API compatible with N7614B Signal Studio for Power Amplifier Test software
• Option DPD Gateware available for accelerated DPD and ET capabilities

– Typical Applications

• Power amplifier (PA) characterization and testing
• Front-end module (FEM) testing and validation
• Open and closed-loop DPD measurement and verification
• Envelope tracking waveform generation and analysis

– Compatibility & Integration

The M9451A integrates within Keysight’s RF PA/FEM Characterization and Test Reference Solution. It requires instrument drivers for compatible Keysight PXIe Vector Signal Generators and Analyzers. The module’s peer-to-peer connectivity architecture enables rapid data exchange between measurement modules, reducing overall test throughput times.