This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for RFIC Test Software 21.0.
You can find more release information on ni.com.
RFIC Test Software Release Notes: Known issues, bugs fixed since the last release, and other notes about this release
Overview
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems
Application Software Support
Driver and Add-On Requirements
Installation Instructions
Product Security and Critical Updates
New Features
Supported Hardware
Accessing the APIs
Finding Examples
Accessing the Help
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Unsupported Windows Operating Systems
Legal Information
Overview
RFIC Test Software enables you to explore testing advanced RF integrated circuit (RFIC) devices featuring envelope tracking (ET), digital predistortion (DPD), and hardware-accelerated power servoing. Available measurements include adjacent channel power (ACP), spectral emission mask (SEM), error vector magnitude (EVM), AM-to-AM, and AM-to-PM. To set up measurements for your device, use the installed examples or the RFIC Test Soft Front Panel (SFP).
The getting started guide for your device provides information about how to install, configure, test, and begin using your hardware.
System Requirements
RFIC Test Software 21.0 has the following minimum requirements:
Processor—Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent
1 GB RAM*
A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768 with 256 colors
NI recommends the following requirements:
Processor—Intel i5 or equivalent
4 GB RAM*
A screen resolution of 1,600 x 1,200
* Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed a larger amount of memory may be required.
Note Guest accounts are not supported under any OS.
Supported Operating Systems
RFIC Test Software 21.0 supports Windows 10 (64-bit).
Note Refer to Unsupported Windows Operating Systems for more information about support for Microsoft Windows OSes.
Application Software Support
RFIC Test Software 21.0 supports the following application software versions, including service packs. If you are not using NI application software, refer to Microsoft Visual Studio Support.
Note Install application software, such as LabVIEW or Microsoft Visual Studio, before installing RFIC Test Software. To add support for application software installed after installing RFIC Test Software, modify your RFIC Test Software installation or launch the RFIC Test Software installer again.
Note RFIC Test Software will not operate correctly without the service packs previously mentioned.
Microsoft Visual Studio Support
If you are using the RFIC Test Software .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.5 (minimum) is required.
To use the .NET API, you must install the .NET class libraries or the .NET wrapper in addition to the NI device driver. For information about versions of the .NET Framework and the drivers each supports, as well as the download location of the installer files, refer to .NET Resources for NI Hardware and Software.
Driver and Add-On Requirements
RFIC Test Software requires the following driver and add-on versions:
NI-RFSG 20.7
NI-RFSA 20.7
NI-FGEN 20.0
NI-DCPower 20.7
NI-SCOPE 20.7
NI-RFmx SpecAn 20.7
NI-RFmx Demod 20.7
NI-RFmx LTE 20.71
NI-RFmx NR 20.71
NI-RFmx WLAN 20.71
NI-RFSG Playback Library 20.7
(Optional) NI-SWITCH 19.02
(Optional) NI-Digital Pattern Driver 19.0.1 or 20.63
(Optional) Semiconductor Module Add-On for InstrumentStudio 20203
(Optional) Single-Band RF Power Amplifier Linearizer 1.6 or later⁴
(Optional) Dual-Band RF Power Amplifier Linearizer 2.0 or later⁴
1 Installation and licensing are only required for standard-specific measurements.
2 Required to use the PXI-2599 PXI RF Relay Module to connect the PXIe-5841/5840 and the PXIe-5831/5830 VSTs.
3 Required to control DUTs that use the MIPI RF front-end (RFFE) or SPI hardware protocol.
⁴ Requires a valid license.
Note The run-time versions of these products are sufficient to run the RFIC Test SFP.
Refer to the readme of each driver and add-on for more information about system requirements, installation instructions, and activation.
Installation Instructions
Download the RFIC Test Software installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.
Activation Notice
The following table lists the measurements and features included in the RFIC Test Software Base and Professional versions. You must have a valid license to activate RFIC Test Software Professional. Use the serial number that is included with your software to activate RFIC Test Software Professional. For more information about activation, refer to NI Software Activation.
Measurement and Feature
RFIC Test Software Base
RFIC Test Software Professional
General measurements
✓
✓
Software-based power servo
Excludes power meter-based servo
✓
Hardware-accelerated power servo
—
✓
Transmission power (TXP)
✓
✓
Adjacent channel power (ACP)
✓
✓
Modulation accuracy (ModAcc - including EVM)
✓
✓
Spectral emission mask (SEM)
✓
✓
AM-to-AM (AMAM) and AM-to-PM (AMPM)
✓
✓
Digital predistortion (DPD)
✓
✓
Load pull
Single point only, excludes sweeping
✓
Power added efficiency (PAE)
—
✓
Dynamic EVM (DEVM)
—
✓
Envelope tracking (ET)
—
✓
Crest factor reduction (pre-DPD and post-DPD)
✓
✓
Swept measurements (power, frequency, and load pull)
Power sweeping only
✓
Complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF)
✓
✓
Routing triggers
—
✓
Product Security and Critical Updates
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. For information about critical updates from NI, refer to Available Critical and Security Updates for NI Software.
New Features
RFIC Test Software 21.0 includes the following new features:
Support for testing WLAN measurements across multiple frequency bands
Support for controlling DUTs that use MIPI RFFE and SPI hardware protocols. Supports both EVM and dynamic EVM measurements.
Support for enabling external trigger functionality for power meters.
Support for exporting triggers from the PXIe-1095 chassis backplane with Timing and Synchronization upgrade
Support for the PXIe-5820 as a vector signal analyzer and vector signal generator.
Cross-Correlation EVM Optimization Toolkit1
Enhancements to load pull tuner measurements
1 The Cross-Correlation EVM Optimization Toolkit activates with either the Cross-Correlation EVM Optimization Toolkit license or RFIC Test Software Professional.
Supported Hardware
The following table details the hardware models supported in RFIC Test Software 21.0.
Hardware Product
Hardware Model
Application
Vector Signal Transceiver
PXIe-5830
Hardware-accelerated power servoing
PXIe-5831
PXIe-5840
PXIe-5841
PXIe-5820
Envelope waveform generation when testing ET DUTs
Waveform Generator
PXIe-5451
Envelope waveform generation when testing ET DUTs
Note For DEVM measurements, use the PXIe-5820.
Oscilloscope
PXIe-5162
PAE measurements
(Optional) Recommended for envelope waveform/delay analysis when testing ET DUTs
PXIe-5185
PXIe-5186
Source Measure Unit
PXIe-4139
Vcc sourcing and system PAE measurements
PXIe-414x
Power Meter
USB-5681
DUT output power monitoring
Software power servoing
Note Instrument drivers for R&S®NRP-Z are used for R&S® power sensors. R&S®NRP50S is verified.
USB-5683
USB-5684
R&S®NRP50S
Relay Module
PXI-2599
For switching between VSTs on frequency ranges for WLAN measurements.
Digital Pattern Instrument
PXIe-6571
For controlling DUTs using the MIPI RFFE or SPI hardware protocol.
Accessing the APIsLabVIEW
ETSync VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»Addons»ET palette.
Power Servo VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»User Libraries»NI Power Servoing IP palette.
NanoSemi Linearizer VIs and NanoSemi Dual Band VIs are available in LabVIEW from the Functions»User Libraries»NanoSemi Linearizer and NanoSemi Dual Band palettes, respectively.
.NET Framework
You can use the ETSync .NET Class library by adding a reference to niETSync.cs, niETUtil.cs, and niFGEN.cs from C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\NI-ETSync\DotNET Wrappers\CS\ and any dependent class libraries from within the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.
You can use the Power Servo .NET Class library by adding a reference to niVSTPowerServo.cs, niRFSA.cs, and niInteropCommon.cs from C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\FPGA Power Servo\DotNET Wrappers\CS\ and any dependent class libraries from within the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.
C
You can use the ETSync C dynamically linked library by adding a reference to: Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\niETSync_64.dll.
You can use the Power Servo C dynamically linked library by adding a reference to: Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\Bin\niVSTPowerServo_64.dll.
RFIC Test SFP
To launch the RFIC Test SFP, navigate to Start»National Instruments»RFIC Test Soft Front Panel.
Finding Examples
LabVIEW, .NET, and TestStand examples are available via the RFIC Test Automation Wizard, accessible from Start»National Instruments»RFIC Test Automation Wizard.
Accessing the Help
Refer to the RFIC Test Software User Manual (rfichelp.chm) located at Start»National Instruments»RFIC Documentation. The manual includes the following information:
RFIC Test Soft Front Panel information and examples
How to get started with the Test Automation Wizard
How to configure hardware for use with the ETSync API and reference for the ETSync VIs
Theory of operation information on power servoing and reference for the Power Servo VIs
For information about your device, such as getting started, technical specifications, and calibration instructions, refer to the documentation for your device. For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.
Automating the Installation of NI Products
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.6.2, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager manual.
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, refer to NI Product Compatibility for Microsoft Windows 10.
Unsupported Windows Operating Systems
RFIC Test Software no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.x, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit https://www.ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
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NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.
End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices
You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:
Notices are located in the \_Legal Information and directories.
EULAs are located in the \Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
Review \_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.
U.S. Government Restricted Rights
If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.
IVI Foundation Copyright Notice
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Patents
For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help» Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.