Hardware Development in WLAN Modules

Abstract

The need for higher data rates and techniques to improve performance of WLANs is becoming crucial to support different types of applications. To get that extra performance when designing a WLAN, the elements to be taken into considera- tion are throughput, Radio frequency bands ,Transmit power settings, Transmission channel settings ,Data rate settings, Antennas, Amplifiers, Obstacles, Radio signal interference ,Channel width settings, Power Consumption, etc. Radiated Leakage, Inter-modulation products, and base-band frequency distortion tests are very essen- tial in determining the performance , data rates as well as other required criteria . Making different new setups ,automatic robotic platforms and preparing scripts is an important task in the Lab Analysis. Arranging raw result data in a proper format and plotting it, is an important task to make result analysis easy. Python automa- ton scripts are also written for these tests. Moreover, existing code is modified to add new functionalities like screenshot capture , making of excel datasheets etc . At Broadcom, Radiated Leakage Setup compatible with the FCC standards has been designed and different scripts for automation have been prepared. Also a self nav- igating intelligent Robot has been designed and developed that can carry different DUTs and perform range related tests overnight.This facilitates the automated tests without human presence. Scripting Languages like Python, TCL etc and Broadcom proprietary tools have been used for the same.