Introduction

UWB Technology and RF Test Items

White Paper
Products:
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ı R&S® ı R&S®
ı R&S® ı R&S®

Note:
07.2020 – 001
Brian Kim
White Paper
 Introduction

Table of Contents
1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 4
1.1 Why UWB? ................................................................................................................................. 4
1.2 What is covered? ...................................................................................................................... 4

2 UWB Standards and Regulations ...................................................... 5

2.1 IEEE 802.15.4 PHY Overview .................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 Where IEEE 802.15.4 stands ...................................................................................................... 5
2.1.2 UWB PHY and frequency ranges ................................................................................................ 5
2.1.3 UWB PHY signal flow .................................................................................................................. 6
2.1.4 UWB PHY packet (frame) structure ............................................................................................ 6
2.1.5 UWB PHY modulation ................................................................................................................. 7
2.2 IEEE 802.15.4z ........................................................................................................................... 8
2.2.1 Enhancements in 802.15.4z ........................................................................................................ 8
2.2.2 UWB packet configurations ......................................................................................................... 8
2.3 FiRa Specification ................................................................................................................... 13
2.3.1 RF-PHY-TX: Packet Format ...................................................................................................... 13
2.3.2 RF-PHY-TX: Occupied Bandwidth ............................................................................................ 14
2.3.3 RF-PHY-TX: Carrier Frequency Tolerance & Pulse Timing ...................................................... 14
2.3.4 RF-PHY-TX: Baseband Impulse Response .............................................................................. 14
2.3.5 RF-PHY-TX: Transmit Signal Quality ........................................................................................ 14
2.3.6 RF-PHY-RX: SP0 & SP1 Packet Reception Sensitivity ............................................................. 15
2.3.7 RF-PHY-RX: SP3 Packet Reception Sensitivity ........................................................................ 15
2.3.8 RF-PHY-RX: SP3 Packet First Path Dynamic Range ............................................................... 15
2.4 FCC Regulation ....................................................................................................................... 15

3 UWB Technology .............................................................................. 17

3.1 HRP UWB PHY ......................................................................................................................... 17
3.1.1 Baseband impulse response ..................................................................................................... 17
3.1.2 IR UWB signals ......................................................................................................................... 18
3.2 Ranging (Time of Flight) ......................................................................................................... 18
3.2.1 Single-Sided Time of Flight measurement ................................................................................ 18
3.2.2 Double-Sided Time of Flight measurement ............................................................................... 19
3.2.3 CMP200 ToF measurement concepts ....................................................................................... 20
3.3 Angle of Arrival ....................................................................................................................... 22
3.3.1 CMP200 AoA measurement concept ........................................................................................ 22

4 UWB Test Items ................................................................................ 23

4.1 IEEE 802.15.4 RF Test Items................................................................................................... 23
4.1.1 Baseband impulse response (Normalized Cross Correlation) ................................................... 23
4.1.2 Transmit Power Spectral Density (PSD) mask .......................................................................... 24
4.1.3 Chip Rate Clock and Chip Rate Carrier Alignment .................................................................... 25
4.1.4 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance ...................................................................................... 26
 Introduction

4.2 Typical production test items ................................................................................................ 27

4.2.1 Crystal Trim ............................................................................................................................... 27
4.2.2 Antenna Delay Calibration......................................................................................................... 27
4.2.3 Transmit Spectrum .................................................................................................................... 29
4.2.4 Receiver Sensitivity ................................................................................................................... 29
4.2.5 Current Consumption Test ........................................................................................................ 29

5 Rohde & Schwarz UWB Test Solutions .......................................... 30

5.1 CMP200 .................................................................................................................................... 30
5.2 Multi-DUT testing through Smart Channel ............................................................................ 31

6 References ........................................................................................ 32
 Introduction

1 Introduction
1.1 Why UWB?
The beauty of the UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) technology is that it can measure the distance
between devices and determine their relative positions with a high level of accuracy and security.
In addition, the wide bandwidth of the UWB signal secures robust resistance to interference in
multi-path fading environments both indoor and outdoor while consuming very low energy.
There are already multiple technologies out there to determine the positions of mobile devices
including GPS, cellular, Bluetooth, and Lidar, but the fact that UWB uses direct peer-to-peer
radio communication with accuracy to within only a few centimeters and its ultra-wide bandwidth
nature suggests that it is an outstandingly optimal positioning technology especially in obstacle-
prone indoor environments. In addition, UWB's very-low emitted power level ensures its
comfortable coexistence with other existing radio communication systems.

1.2 What is covered?

A good starting point to quickly figure out the UWB technology and its test items would be the
IEEE 802.15.4 specification which features the details of PHY, frequencies, modulation
schemes, packet field compositions, and the employed communication technology.
So this document will start from the overview of UWB standards and regulations, and move on to
explain the concepts of key UWB features, and then most importantly, the document will explore
what RF test items are currently specified by the IEEE specification and what kind of tests need
to be typically performed in production. In the final chapter, Rohde & Schwarz's UWB test
solutions using CMP200 will be introduced.
 UWB Standards and Regulations

2 UWB Standards and Regulations

2.1 IEEE 802.15.4 PHY Overview

2.1.1 Where IEEE 802.15.4 stands

IEEE 802.15 is a working group of the IEEE 802 standards committee that specifies the WPAN
(Wireless Personal Area Network) standards. Among them, the UWB standard we’re interested
in is 15.4, which is Low Rate WPAN as shown in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1: Structure of IEEE 802.15.4

These 15.4a, 15.4f, and 15.4z are all task groups that were created to add amendments to the
base standard 15.4, and the latest base standard 15.4 incorporates all the published
amendments. The IEEE 802.15.4a standard was completed in 2007 introducing high rate pulse
repetition (HRP) UWB PHY and 802.15.4f was published in 2012 to support RFID with low
repetition pulse (LRP) UWB PHY. At time of this writing, the latest version of the standard is
802.15.4-2015 which incorporates up to 15.4f.

2.1.2 UWB PHY and frequency ranges

IEEE 802.15.4a [1] is the first standardization of UWB, and it specifies PHY details including the
frequency ranges, data rates and modulation schemes. According to this specification, a device
can support one or more of the three band groups: sub-gigahertz, low and high band groups. As
shown in Table 2-2, each band group has a mandatory channel that should be supported if that
band group is supported, and the support of the remaining channels are optional.

Two UWB physical layers are defined in IEEE 802.15.4: HRP (high rate pulse) UWB and LRP
(low rate pulse) UWB. The LRP UWB uses a low average pulse repetition frequency (PRF)—the
number of pulses occurring per second—ranging from 1 MHz to 2 MHz with the data rate from
31.25 kbps to 1 Mbps. Since HRP UWB is more widely used, this document will focus on the
discussions about the HRP UWB.

According to IEEE 802.15.4z [3], an HRP enhanced ranging device (HRP-ERDEV) should
support the following mandatory functionality:
⎯ Operation at the nominal 64 MHz PRF is referred to as the base pulse repetition frequency
(BPRF) mode. NOTE—by omitting the STS (Scrambled Timestamp Sequence), the BPRF mode
packet format reduces to a legacy packet format, which enables interworking.
⎯ Operation at a higher PRF than the BPRF mode, referred to as the higher pulse repetition
frequency (HPRF) mode.
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Table 2-2. UWB operating frequency bands

Band group Channel number Center frequency (MHz) Bandwidth(MHz) UWB band mandatory
0 0 499.2 499.2 Sub-gagahertz
1 1 3494.4 499.2 Low band
2 3993.6 499.2 Low band
3 4492.8 499.2 Low band mandatory
4 3993.6 1331.2 Low band
2 5 6489.6 499.2 High band
6 6988.8 499.2 High band
7 6489.6 1081.6 High band
8 7488 499.2 High band
9 7987.2 499.2 High band mandatory
10 8486.4 499.2 High band
11 7987.2 1331.2 High band
12 8985.6 499.2 High band
13 9484.8 499.2 High band
14 9984 499.2 High band
15 9484.8 1354.97 High band
*Currently, the main focus of the market is on the high band group, specifically on channel 5 and channel
9 at the 500 MHz bandwidth.

2.1.3 UWB PHY signal flow

The UWB PHY waveform is based on an impulse radio signaling scheme using band-limited
data pulses. Figure 2-1 shows the sequence of processing steps used to create and modulate a
UWB PHY packet. The sequence of steps indicated here for the transmitter is used as a basis
for explaining the creation of the UWB PHY waveform specified in the PHY of this standard [1].

Figure 2-1. PHY signal flow

PHR Bit SECDED Transmitter
Encoder

Reed Systematic
Payload Data Convolutional Symbol Preamble Pulse
Solomon RF
Bit Bit Encoder Mapper Insertion Shaper
Encoder

PHR Bit SECDED Receiver

Decoder

Reed Systematic
Payload Data Convolutional Data Pulse
Solomon Synchronization RF
Bit Bit Decoder Detection Shaper
Decoder

2.1.4 UWB PHY packet (frame) structure

UWB devices communicate using the packet format illustrated in Figure 2-2 [2]. Each packet, or
PHY protocol data unit (PPDU) consists of a synchronization header (SHR), a PHY header
(PHR) and a PHY service data unit (PSDU). The SHR preamble contains a ranging preamble
and a start-of-frame delimiter (SFD). The SFD signals the end of the preamble and the beginning
 UWB Standards and Regulations

of the PHR. As a result, SFD is used to establish frame timing which is important for accurate
ranging counting. The UWB PHY supports a mandatory short SFD (8 symbols) for default and
medium data rates, and an optional long SFD (64 symbols) for the nominal low data rate of 110
kb/s. The short SFD shall be [0 +1 0 –1 +1 0 0 –1] spread by the preamble symbol Si, where the
leftmost bit shall be transmitted first in time. The long SFD shall be obtained by spreading the
sequence [0 +1 0 –1 +1 0 0 –1 0 +1 0 –1 +1 0 0 –1 –1 0 0 +1 0 –1 0 +1 0 +1 0 0 0 –1 0 –1 0 –1 0
0 +1 0 –1 –1 0 –1 +1 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 0 0 –1 –1 –1 +1 –1 +1 +1 0 0 0 0 +1 +1] by the preamble
symbol.

Figure 2-2. PHY packet structure [2]

The preamble in the synchronization header (SHR) is a pulse sequence with known codes,
which is transmitted or received first and is used for signal detection, synchronization, and the
estimation of the channel impulse response (CIR) that is needed to obtain the time-of-arrival.
There can be 16, 64, 1024, or 4096 symbols in the preamble, yielding different time durations for
the SHR of the UWB frame. The longer lengths, 1024 and 4096, are preferred for non-coherent
receivers to help them improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) via processing gain. Each
underlying symbol of the preamble uses a length 31 preamble code, or optionally 127. Each
preamble code is a sequence of code symbols drawn from a ternary alphabet {–1, 0, 1} and are
selected for use in the HRP UWB PHY because of their perfect periodic autocorrelation
properties. A compliant PHY does have to support two preamble codes, but needs to use only
one mandatory preamble symbol length.

The PHR conveys information necessary for successful decoding of the packet to the receiver:
the data rate used to transmit the PSDU (PHY Service Data Unit), the duration of the current
frame’s preamble, and the length of the frame payload (0–1209 symbols). Finally, the PSDU is
sent at the information data rate indicated in the PHR. Due to the variability in the preamble code
length (31 or 127) and the possible mean pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs), {15.6 MHz, 3.90
MHz, and 62.4 MHz}, there are several admissible data rates the UWB PHY can support {0.11,
0.85, 6.81, or 27.24 Mb/s}. A compliant device shall implement support for the mandatory data
rate of 0.85 Mb/s.

2.1.5 UWB PHY modulation

A combination of burst position modulation (BPM) and binary phase shift keying (BPSK) is used
to support both coherent and non-coherent receivers using a common signaling scheme. The
combined BPM-BPSK is used to modulate the symbols, with each symbol composed of an
active burst of UWB pulses. The various data rates are supported through the use of variable-
length bursts. In the BPM-BPSK modulation scheme, a UWB PHY symbol is capable of carrying
two bits of information: one bit is used to determine the position of a burst of pulses, while an
additional bit is used to modulate the phase (polarity) of this same burst [2].
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Figure 2-3. HRP UWB PHY symbol structure [6]

First half of TBPM First half of TBPM

A single burst event per symbol period (Tdsym).

A burst can be within either of the two possible burst positions (Nhop).

The structure and timing of a UWB PHY symbol is illustrated in Figure 2-3. Each symbol shall
consist of an integer number of possible chip positions, Nc, each with duration Tc. The overall
symbol duration denoted by Tdsym is given by Tdsym = NcTc. Furthermore, each symbol is divided
into two BPM intervals each with duration TBPM =Tdsym /2, which enables binary position
modulation.
A burst is formed by grouping Ncpb consecutive chips and has duration Tburst = NcpbTc. The
location of the burst in either the first half or second half of the symbol indicates one bit of
information. Additionally, the phase of the burst (either –1 or +1) is used to indicate a second bit
of information.
In each UWB PHY symbol interval (Tdsym), a single burst event shall be transmitted. The fact that
burst duration is typically much shorter than the BPM duration, i.e., Tburst << TBPM, provides for
some multi-user access interference rejection in the form of time hopping. The total number of
burst durations per symbol, Nburst, is given by Nburst = Tdsym /Tburst. In order to limit the amount of
inter-symbol interference caused by multipath, only the first half of each TBPM period shall contain
a burst. Therefore, only the first Nhop= Nburst/4 possible burst positions are candidate hopping
burst positions within each BPM interval [1].

2.2 IEEE 802.15.4z

2.2.1 Enhancements in 802.15.4z

The IEEE 802.15.4z Enhanced Impulse Radio (EiR) Task Group is defining a series of PHY
enhancements to improve the capabilities of UWB devices using the LRP and HRP PHY
clauses. This amendment enhances the HRP (High Rate PHY) and LRP (Low Rate PHY) UWB
and associated ranging techniques. Areas of enhancement include additional coding and
preamble options, improvements to existing modulations to increase the integrity and accuracy
of the ranging measurements, and additional information element definitions to facilitate ranging
information exchange. The amendment defines MAC changes to support these PHY
enhancements. Typical range of the radio is up to 100 meters.

Current users and product manufacturers have identified the need for improved efficiency,
integrity and accuracy of the existing ranging measurement methods in order to expand the
usefulness of the standard for applications such as RFID and Automotive, in particular,
automotive remote control, and similar personal devices. These PHY enhancements better
address the needs of current applications and as well as meeting the needs of a wider set of
applications where the integrity and accuracy of distance measurement is
important, opening up new areas of application. The group expects to have a complete and
published amendment by December, 2022.

2.2.2 UWB packet configurations

The 15.4z amendment [3] includes means to enhance the ranging device (RDEV) by defining
additional modes associated with the HRP enhanced ranging device (HRP-ERDEV). The main
PHY enhancements are the inclusion of the Scrambled Timestamp Sequence (STS) field in the
 UWB Standards and Regulations

basic HRP PPDU format, and increased pulse repetition frequency (PRF) during preamble and
data field.

Figure 2-4. HRP-ERDEV UWB PPDU format [3]

STS packet configuration 0 SYNC SFD PHR PHY Payload

STS packet configuration 1 SYNC SFD STS PHR PHY Payload

STS packet configuration 2 SYNC SFD PHR PHY Payload STS

The arrow represents the

STS packet configuration 3 SYNC SFD STS RMARKER (ranging Marker) in
each case.

The frame structure of HRP-ERDEV is shown in Figure 2-4 [3] with the STS in different
positions. STS packet configuration 0 specifies no STS field in the PPDU, which is the same as
in IEEE 802.15.4a. In configuration 1, the STS field is placed immediately after the SFD field and
before the PHR field, and in configuration 2, the STS field is placed after the PHY Payload field.
In configuration 3, the STS field takes the place of PHR and PHY payload, and there are no PHR
and Data fields. The support for configurations 0, 1 and 3 are mandatory and configuration 2 is
optional. The arrow shows the RMARKER (ranging marker) reference position for each
configuration, which is the peak pulse location associated with the first chip following SFD.

SYNC
Each PAN (Personal Area Network) operating on one of the HRP UWB PHY channels is also
identified by a preamble code which is comprised of a sequence of pulses. Each preamble code
is a sequence of code symbols drawn from a ternary alphabet {–1, 0, 1} and selected for use in
the HRP UWB PHY because of their periodic autocorrelation properties [6]. The preamble code
is spread to construct a preamble symbol, and this preamble symbol is then repeated to
constitute the SYNC field as shown in the example in Figure 2-5. The number of preamble
symbol repetitions (PSR) can vary from 16 to 4096 depending on BPRF and HPRF mode.
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Figure 2-5. Preamble code & preamble symbol example

31 chips
Preamble code

Code Length = 31

The preamble code is modulated (spread) to be extended by delta length

A preamble symbol is defined as the waveform
consisting of one whole repetition of the
modulated preamble code.

31 x 16 = 496 chips per preamble symbol

The number of preamble symbol repetitions

Preamble
symbol
Preamble
symbol
Preamble
symbol . Preamble
symbol
(PSR) can vary from 16 to 4096 depending
on BPRF and HPRF mode.

496 x PSR chips in SYNC

SYNC SFD PHR PHY Payload

The HRP UWB PHY supports two lengths of preamble code in IEEE 802.15.4-2015 which are a
length 31 code and an optional length 127 code, and IEEE 802.15.4z-D8 added a length 91
code. For example, the length 31 code sequences are shown in Table 2-3 where the + and -
signs denote the phase of the pulse, and 0 means no pulse. Different code sequences which are
indexed by code index can be assigned depending on the channel number.

Table 2-3. Length 31 ternary codes [6]

SFD (Start of Frame Delimiter)

SFD marks the end of the preamble and the precise start of the switch into the BPM/BPSK
modulation of the PHR since it is not possible with the SYNC field to determine exactly when the
frame starts. As Figure 2-6 explains, to create a break in the preamble symbol pattern, the SFD
code is spread by the preamble symbol, which is also used in the SYNC-Field. The used SFD
code depends on the used data rate in the PSDU as in Table 2-4. The end of the SFD is also
used as point in time for starting and stopping the stopwatches for distance measurements [11].
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Table 2-4. SFD Codes

Data Rate SFD Code

110 Kb/s 0 +1 0 –1 +1 0 0 –1 0 +1 0 –1 +1 0 0 –1 –1 0 0 +1 0 –1 0 +1 0 +1 0 0 0 –1 0 –1 0 –1 0 0
+1 0 –1 –1 0 –1 +1 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 0 0 –1 –1 –1 +1 –1 +1 +1 0 0 0 0 +1 +1
All other 0 +1 0 -1+1 0 0 -1

Figure 2-6. SFD created from SFD code x preamble symbol [11]

Preamble symbol

SFD code

SFD is spready by the preamble symbol

SFD

PHR (PHY header)

 UWB Standards and Regulations

PHR is a 19-bit section of the IEEE802.15.4 frame that comes directly after the SFD and before
the message payload and defines various characteristics of that payload required by the receiver
for successful reception. As seen in Figure 2-7, PHR holds the frame length and data rate of the
PSDU and the SECDED (single error correct, double error detect) block of the PHR.

Figure 2-7. PHR field [11]

The PHR field conveys the information necessary to decode the packet to the receiver including
the following:
ı Data rate used to transmit the PHY payload
ı Length of PHY payload field
ı Preamble duration
The PHR is modulated using BPM-BPSK at either 850 kb/s or 110 kb/s. For the BPRF mode, the
PHR is modulated using BPM-BPSK at 850 kb/s (or optionally at 6.8 Mb/s).

PHY Payload
The PHY payload field is sent at the data rate indicated in the PHR. Due to the variable code
sequence lengths and the different corresponding pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) in the
preamble, there are several admissible data rates the UWB PHY can support. The supported
data rates are defined in IEEE 802.15.4-2015 Chapter 16.2.6 "PHR field" and P802.15.4z/D08
Chapter 16.2.6.2 "PHR field for HRP-ERDEV in BPRF mode."

The PHY Payload field carries the PSDU with the following format:

The MAC frames are passed to the PHY as the PSDU, which becomes the PHY payload as
shown below [6]:

The PHY Payload field shall be coded with a convolutional encoder of coding rate R = 1/2 or 3/4,
corresponding to the desired data rate. Figure 2-8 shows an example of a rate 1/2 convolutional
encoder [6].
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Figure 2-8. Rate 1/2 convolutional encoder [6]

STS (Scrambled Timestamp Sequence)

In addition to the problem of preamble search in HRP, the new IEEE 802.15.4z has also
introduced a sequence of randomly generated pulses referred to as Scrambled Timestamp
Sequence (STS) for enhanced ranging in HRP mode.
Since the number of possible preamble codes is limited (max. 24) and they are repeated several
times in the SYNC field, this opens the doors for attackers. Attackers can cause a shorter fake
first path by sending out preamble symbols randomly. Attacks which are using this method are
for example preamble injection and the cicada attack.
To enable a tamper-proof distance measurement, the Secure Time Stamp (STS) is inserted into
the UWB frame. The STS works like the SYNC, with the difference that the STS does not repeat
itself. The bit sequence transmitted in the STS is formed using an AES128 encryption. Since
both transmitter and receiver have the same initial values for STS generation, the bit sequence
transmitted by the transmitter can be correlated at the receiver. However, the STS cannot
replace the SYNC field, since the STS correlation only works if it is started at the same time. Due
to this, the exact start of the STS field must be known to the receiver. This was achieved by
SYNC and SFD [11].

2.3 FiRa Specification

The FiRa Consortium states their mission as follows [10]:
ı Develop use cases based on IEEE 802.15.4 enhanced ranging technologies.
ı Develop specifications and a certification program to ensure interoperability among
chipsets, devices and solutions.
ı Promote UWB ecosystems and enable new business opportunities delivering better user
experiences.
ı Establish the FiRa Consortium as the reliable and trusted UWB technology brand that is
adopted by the market.

As introduced in the following subsections, FiRa recommends these RF and Physical layer test
specifications for the UWB ranging.

2.3.1 RF-PHY-TX: Packet Format

Purpose:
Checks the correctness of HRP-SRDEV PHY PPDU format (pulse polarity, location, CI code,
repetitions, timing of SYNC, SDF, STS, PHR, and Payload).
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Expected Outcomes:
All packets transmitted by the DUT are correctly formatted.

2.3.2 RF-PHY-TX: Occupied Bandwidth

This test item follows the IEEE requirement.

Purpose:
For all transmitted packets supported by the DUT to meet the transmit PSD mask requirement in
IEEE 802.15.4 [6] section 16.4.6.

Expected Outcomes:
Each packet transmitted by the DUT meets the transmit PSD mask.

2.3.3 RF-PHY-TX: Carrier Frequency Tolerance & Pulse Timing

Purpose:
1. Carrier frequency of the transmitted packet is within limits of normal operating conditions.
2. Pulse timing of the transmitted packet is within limits of the normal operating conditions.
3. The carrier and pulse time base are derived from the same clock source.

Expected Outcomes:
1. Carrier frequency within ±15 ppm of nominal channel frequency.
2. Pulse timing within ±15 ppm of nominal 499.2 Mp/s.
3. Carrier frequency error (ppm) and pulse timing error (ppm) are within 1 ppm of each other.

2.3.4 RF-PHY-TX: Baseband Impulse Response

Purpose:
The baseband equivalent impulse response of the pulses used by the DUT to transmit the
preamble meets the impulse response template defined.

Expected Outcomes:
1. Equivalent baseband impulse response derived from the preamble fit the impulse response
mask.
2. The impulse response is monotonically increasing from the min rise point to the peak of the
pulse.

2.3.5 RF-PHY-TX: Transmit Signal Quality

Purpose:
The DUT transmits all supported packets with transmit quality within the NRMSE limit.

Expected Outcomes:
1. For all transmitted packets, each section of the packet (SHR, STS and PHY payload) have an
NMSE of 2% or less.
 UWB Standards and Regulations

2. The ratio of the values used for each of the sections of the packet are within ±2 dB.

2.3.6 RF-PHY-RX: SP0 & SP1 Packet Reception Sensitivity

Purpose:
1. Receive packet sensitivity for SP0 packets for both BPRF and HPRF are within the specified
limits.
2. Receive packet sensitivity for SP1 packets for both BPRF and HPRF are within the specified
limits.

Expected Outcome:
For each mandatory and supported payload modes: PER lower than 10 -2 for a minimum of 2000
packets transmitted by the tester at the specified input signal level.

2.3.7 RF-PHY-RX: SP3 Packet Reception Sensitivity

Purpose:
Receive packet sensitivity for SP3 packets for both BPRF and HPRF are within the specified
limits.

Expected Outcome:
1. For each mandatory and optionally supported SP3 packet format: at the sensitivity level, the
DUT responses with a Tround value for 99% of the trials.
2. The value of Tround when compensated for frequency error measured by the tester is within
±7.5 ns of the expected value for 95% of the trials.

2.3.8 RF-PHY-RX: SP3 Packet First Path Dynamic Range

Purpose:
First path dynamic range of the DUT for both BPRF and HPRF meets the specified ratio.

Expected Outcome:
1. For each mandatory and optionally supported SP3 packet format: at 30 dB above first path
sensitivity level, the DUT responses with a Tround value for 99% of the trials.
2. The value of Tround when compensated for frequency error measured by the tester is within
±7.5ns of the expected value for 95% of the trials.

2.4 FCC Regulation

UWB has a large bandwidth, and this can act as interference to other narrow band systems.
UWB transmission is strictly limited by the FCC regulation which sets different limits on the
maximum allowed TX power depending on the frequency ranges.
For example, as shown in Table 2-5 [4], -41.3 dBm over 1 MHz of bandwidth averaged over a
time interval of 1 ms is applied as the upper limit in the high band group region.
 UWB Standards and Regulations

Table 2-5. FCC regulation on UWB max power [4]

Frequency in MHz EIRP in dBm per MHz averaged over 1 msec

960-1610 -75.3

1610-1990 -53.3

1990-3100 -51.3

3100-10600 -41.3

Above 10600 -51.3

This means the total power over the 500 MHz bandwidth is about 27 dB higher than -41.3 dBm,
which is -14.3 dBm averaged over a time interval of 1ms. Since the UWB signal is a short pulse
with a much wider gaps between pulses, the pure pulse power over the pulse period of 2ns
(1/2ns = 500 MHz) can be much higher than -14.3 dBm.
 UWB Technology

3 UWB Technology
3.1 HRP UWB PHY
HRP (High Rate Pulse Repetition) UWB PHY was first introduced in 802.15.a, and 802.15.z has
some enhancement designed to focus on low-data-rate wireless connectivity and precision
ranging.

3.1.1 Baseband impulse response

The reference UWB pulse r(t) is a root raised cosine pulse with a roll-off factor of β = 0.5.
Mathematically this is as follows:

where Tp is the inverse of the chip frequency.

Table 3-1 shows the required pulse duration for each channel, and Figure 3-1 is a compliant
reference pulse example [6].

Table 3-1. Required reference pulse durations in each channel

[6]

Figure 3-1. Compliant UWB reference pulse example [6]

 UWB Technology

3.1.2 IR UWB signals

Due to their large bandwidth, UWB systems are characterized by very short duration waveforms,
usually on the order of a nanosecond. Commonly, a UWB system transmits ultra-short pulses
with a low duty cycle. A type of UWB communications system that transmits UWB pulses with a
low duty cycle is called impulse radio (IR). In an IR UWB system, a number of pulses are
transmitted per information symbol and information is usually conveyed by the positions or the
polarities of the pulses [5].

Figure 3-2. IR UWB signals [5]

One IR signal
Time-hopping codes
{ 2 1 }{ 2 3} { 1 0 }

+
Polarity

-
1 0 1
One symbol
 one bit
Position

Each symbol corresponds to one or more signals. In the example shown in Figure 3-2, two
consecutive IR signals represent one symbol. The IR signal can occupy one of the chip-intervals
(Tc) within a frame (Tf ). A time-hopping (TH) code is used for determining the accurate position
of a signal in a dedicated time frame to decrease the chance of interference between UWB
systems. In this example, the TH codes for the symbols are {2, 1}, {2, 3} and {1, 0} respectively,
so the first and second signals are shifted by two and one chip-intervals respectively and so on.
The information corresponds to the polarity of signals, so the IR stream represents the binary
data ”101”. This technique is commonly called Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) [4].

3.2 Ranging (Time of Flight)

To measure the distance between two devices, or Time of Flight (ToF), two-way ranging
methods are used for UWB where the distance is obtained by multiplying the ToF with the speed
of light. The benefit of the two-way-ranging method is that it can measure the wave propagation
time, and thus can calculate the distance while not requiring accurate time alignment between
the two devices. The IEEE 802.15.4z supports single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) and
double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) which do not require time synchronization between
devices.

3.2.1 Single-Sided Time of Flight measurement

SS-TWR involves a measurement of the round-trip delay of a single message from one device to
another and a response sent back to the original device. The operation of SS-TWR is as shown
in Figure 3-3, where device A initiates the exchange and device B responds to complete the
exchange and Tprop is the propagation time of the RMARKER between the devices [3].
The times TAround and Treply are measured independently by device A and B using their local
clocks. This means that as long as each device’s clocking cycle is precise (i.e., as long as each
device can measure the time delta accurately) the distance can be calculated accurately
because you are not measuring the absolute time, but comparing only the time lapses between
the departure and arrival of the signal on each device.
 UWB Technology

Figure 3-3. Single-Sided Time of Flight measurement

SS-TWR: single-sided two-way ranging

eA eB
RFRAME Tprop
Tx
Rx
RMARKER
TAround TBreply
Tx
Rx

Tprop

(1+eA) x TAround – (1+eB) x TBreply

Tprop =
2
error = 0.5 (eB x TBreply – eA x T Around)
eB; eA – clock offset error

Distance = cAIR x Tprop

cAIR = 29.97 cm / ns

In case both devices have some clock frequency offset error eA and eB, respectively, from their
nominal frequency, the resulting TOF estimate would have a considerable error that increases
as the reply times get larger. However, if eA and eB can be obtained, this may be used to adjust
the Tprop to improve the accuracy of SS-TWO as shown in Figure 3-3.

3.2.2 Double-Sided Time of Flight measurement

DS-TWR is an extension of the SS-TWR in which two round-trip time measurements are used
and combined to give the TOF result with a reduced error in the presence of uncorrected clock
frequency offset even for quite long response delays. This means it doesn’t even require that the
DUTs’ clock frequencies should be precise as in SS-TWR. The operation of DS-TWR is shown
in Figure 3-4, where device A initiates the first round-trip time measurement to which device B
responds, after which device B initiates the second round-trip time measurement to which device
A responds completing the full DS-TWR exchange and Tprop is the propagation time of the
RMARKER between the devices [3].
 UWB Technology

Figure 3-4. Double-Sided Time of Flight measurement [3]

Distance = cAIR x Tprop

cAIR = 29.97 cm / ns

NOTE—this formula does not require symmetric reply times. The typical clock induced error is in
the low picosecond range even with 20 ppm crystals and asymmetric response times [3].

3.2.3 CMP200 ToF measurement concepts

3.2.3.1 SS-TWR measurement

Figure 3-5 illustrates the concept of the single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) performed with
CMP200 and a DUT where CMP200 plays the role of one device.
The procedure is as follows:
1. CMP200 transmits a message at Tstart
2. After the DUT receives the message, it responds with the information about Treply.
3. CMP200 receives the response message from the DUT and calculates ToF from T loop it
measures and Treply measured by the DUT.

Figure 3-5. Single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) concept

CMP200 DUT
Tstart

Tloop Treply

Tend
 UWB Technology

The expected ToF can be calculated by using a known length of RF cable with a known velocity
factor. Since a combiner is used, the time delay between CMP200 and the combiner can be
eliminated as in the equations to calculate ToF = (Tloop - Treply)/2 which can be compared to the
expected ToF for verification.

3.2.3.2 DS-TWR measurement

As shown in Figure 3-6, double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) can also be performed with
CMP200 in a similar way except that now it is the DUT that first transmits the message and both
the tester (CMP200) and the DUT reply to each other once. The test setup is the same as in SS-
TWR.

Figure 3-6. Double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) concept

3.2.3.3 Accuracy considerations

The packet time can be estimated very accurately thanks to synchronization on all preamble
symbols until SFD and high accuracy of the tester's clock. With CMP200, we see the symbol
jitter staying under 10 psec. With the OCXO's accuracy of ±5 x 10-9, a 1 msec capture drifts by
only ±5 psec. A 1 m RF cable with the velocity factor of 0.7 has 4.7 nsec of ToF. So a 5 psec
error leads to only about 1 mm of error in the ToF measurement.
 UWB Technology

3.3 Angle of Arrival

Another important capability that a UWB device could provide is the measurement of Angle of
Arrival (AOA) or direction. The main concept is that the transmitter sends out a signal, and
copies of the same signal are received by multiple antennas of another device.
Figure 3-7 depicts how AOA works. In this two-receive-antenna example, because of the
different distances between the two antennas of the receiver, A0 and A1, to the transmitter
antenna, the arriving copies of the signal will have traveled different distances over different
propagation times, and so they will end up in different phases at the moment they arrive at the
antennas.
This phase difference can be analyzed from the IQ data captured by the receiver, and thus the
angle of arrival can be estimated through the equation shown in bottom-right corner of Figure 3-
7.

Figure 3-7. Angle of Arrival measurement

ANGLE OF ARRIVAL (AoA) different propagation time

Phase difference  arriving in

different phases dA0 ≠ dA1
Q
A0
A1
 TX
dA0
I
A0
 dA1
Angle of Arrival 
RX d
 = arccos(()/2d
A1 : Wavelength
d: Antenna distance ( /2)
: Phase difference

3.3.1 CMP200 AoA measurement concept

Angle of arrival measurement can be performed with CMP200 for a DUT equipped with two RF
receiving ports and the capability to read the phase difference. The upper diagram of Figure 3-8
shows the concept of AoA measurement where CMP200 transmits a UWB signal through two
different paths via a splitter. The signal paths can be either in conducted mode or in OTA mode
depending on the DUT's measurement condition.

Figure 3-8. Angle of Arrival measurement concept with CMP200

As the lower diagram of Figure 3-8 shows, it is also possible to conduct both ToF and AoA
measurements at once by combining the setups for ToF and AoA. The path losses from the
CMP200 and the splitter are pre-calibrated, so the end user only needs to compensate for the
path loss from the DUT up to the splitter.
 UWB Test Items

4 UWB Test Items

4.1 IEEE 802.15.4 RF Test Items
UWB RF test items are explained in IEEE 802.15.4-2015 Chapter 16.4 RF requirements.

4.1.1 Baseband impulse response (Normalized Cross Correlation)

The transmitted pulse shape p(t) shall be constrained by the shape of its cross-correlation
function with a standard reference pulse, r(t). The normalized cross-correlation between two
waveforms is defined as follows:

where Er and Ep are the energies of r(t) and p(t), respectively. The reference r(t) pulse used in
the calculation of is a root raised cosine pulse with a roll-off factor of β = 0.5 [6].

Figure 4-1 shows the shapes of the UWB pulse, UWB reference pulse and their correlation. The
integrity of the UWB pulse can be evaluated by measuring the shape of the correlation of the
UWB pulse and the UWB reference pulse.

Figure 4-1. Compliant pulse example

According to Chapter 16.4.5 Baseband impulse response of IEEE 802.15.4-2015, in order for an
HRP UWB PHY transmitter to be compliant with this standard, the transmitted pulse shall have a
magnitude of the cross-correlation function whose main lobe is greater than or equal to 0.8 for a
duration of at least Tw, as defined in Table 3-1, and any sidelobe shall be no greater than 0.3 [6].

An example of normalized cross correlation measured on CMP200 is shown in Figure 4-2.

 UWB Test Items

Figure 4-2. Measurement of Normalized Cross Correlation on CMP200

4.1.2 Transmit Power Spectral Density (PSD) mask

According to Chapter 16.4.6 Transmit PSD mask of IEEE 802.15.4-2015, the transmitted
spectrum shall be less than –10 dB relative to the maximum spectral density of the signal for
0.65/Tp < |f – fc| < 0.8/Tp and –18 dB for |f – fc| > 0.8/Tp. For example, the transmit spectrum
mask for channel 4 is shown in Figure 4-3. The measurements shall be made using a 1 MHz
resolution bandwidth and a 1 kHz video bandwidth [6].

Figure 4-3. Transmit spectrum mask for band 4 (1.33 MHz bandwidth)

Note that the channel bandwidth for channel 4 is 1/0.75 ns = 1.3333 GHz.

Likewise, for the 500 MHz channel bandwidth as is the case for channel 5, the transmitted
spectrum shall be less than -10 dBr between ±400 MHz (±0.8/Tp) and ±320 (±0.65/Tp) MHz from
the center frequency, and -18 dBr in the regions farther than ±400 MHz from the center
frequency as shown in Figure 4-4 with the PSD mask measurement by CMP200.
 UWB Test Items

Figure 4-4. Transmit spectrum mask for band 5 (500 MHz bandwidth)

4.1.3 Chip Rate Clock and Chip Rate Carrier Alignment

According to Chapter 16.4.7 Chip rate clock and chip carrier alignment of IEEE 802.15.4-2015,
an HRP UWB transmitter shall be capable of chipping at the peak PRF given in Table 4-1 with
an accuracy of ±20 × 10-6. In addition, for each HRP UWB PHY channel, the center of
transmitted energy shall be within the center frequency values listed in Table 4-1 also with an
accuracy of ±20 × 10-6. The measurements shall be made using a 1 MHz resolution bandwidth
and a 1 kHz video bandwidth.
 UWB Test Items

Table 4-1. A snapshot of HRP UWB PHY rate-dependent and timing-related

parameters/ HRP UWB PHY center frequencies

4.1.4 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance

Chapter 16.4.10 Transmit center frequency tolerance of IEEE 802.15.4-2015 specifies that the
HRP UWB PHY transmit center frequency tolerance shall be ±20 × 10-6, but it states that the
tolerance on the chipping clock given in Chapter 16.4.7 takes precedence over this requirement.

Figure 4-5 shows the measurements of both the chip clock error and center frequency offset on
CMP200. Those values were calculated as follows:
Center frequency offset (ppm)
= frequency drift (offset) / center frequency
= 7959.53 Hz / 6489.6 MHz
= 1.23 ppm.

Chip clock (chip rate) error (ppm)

= chip rate drift / PRF
= 609 Hz / 499.2 MHz
= 1.22 ppm.
 UWB Test Items

Figure 4-5. Chip clock error & center frequency offset measurements

4.2 Typical production test items

4.2.1 Crystal Trim

Crystal trimming is a frequency calibration item. It is recommended that this test be carried out
on a per-DUT basis to maximize range performance over the lifetime of each unit. This test is not
applicable if your product uses a TCXO, OCXO or is intended to be driven by an external
reference (e.g. an anchor node in an RTLS using wired clock distribution) [8].
The calibration procedure is to have the DUT transmit a CW signal at a selected channel's
center frequency while measuring the frequency with the test instrument's spectrum analyzer.
The DUT's register controlling the frequency needs to be adjusted until the measured frequency
is as close to the center frequency as possible.

4.2.2 Antenna Delay Calibration

In UWB data communication, messages are time-stamped as they leave from and arrive at the
DUT’s transceiver. The delays between these time stamps include not only the pure Time of
Flight between the antennas of the communicating devices but also the time delay through the
devices as shown in Figure 4-6. This delay is internal to the chip and must be excluded from ToF
calculation. Therefore the antenna delay calibration is to find this aggregate TX and RX delay for
each device for better accuracy in distance calculation [9].
The details of the calibration items are explained in Decawave calibration documents.
 UWB Test Items

Figure 4-6. Antenna delay [9]

To carry out antenna delay calibration on a production line, a known reference device is
required. Before the production calibration can be carried out it is necessary to have a reference
device [9].

Before production
Generate reference devices by finding the TX+RX aggregate antenna delay of three DUTs using
three DUTs to use as reference devices in production testing as shown in Figure 4-7 where you
can measure tmeasured for each of three devices through two-way-ranging (TWR), and using this
following equation,
tADTX + tADRX = tmeasured - ToF
where ToF is known from using the known lengths of the cables in Figure 4-7.
you can calculate the aggregate transmitter and receiver antenna delay (tADTX + tADRX) for each of
the three devices.

Figure 4-7. TWR reference device generation setup [9]

In production
For TWR systems, if the antenna delay of the reference device and the delay of the test setup
are known then the antenna delay of the device under test (DUT) can be calculated.
The following procedure may be used to carry out antenna delay calibration [9]:
 UWB Test Items

1. Set the antenna delay in the DUT to some initial value, e.g. 515 ns, and set the antenna delay
in the reference device to its known value.
2. Carry out say 1000 TWR measurements of the range between the reference device and the
DUT across the known channel.
3. Average the measurements taken.
4. Find the difference between the known range and the measured range and adjust the antenna
delay of the DUT to give the correct range.

Alternatively, if you have an instrument that can perform TWR such as CMP200, the instrument
can replace the role of the reference device as described above in the production same setup.

4.2.3 Transmit Spectrum

This is a verification test item which was already described in Chapter 4.1.2 Transmit Power
Spectral Density (PSD) mask.

4.2.4 Receiver Sensitivity

Sensitivity search
Receiver sensitivity may be measured by searching the lowest power level of UWB signal
received from the generator instrument that meets a certain criterion for the frame error rate
(FER) calculated from values of related parameters reported by the device.
The following is an example of FER calculation:
FER (%)
= (100 - (100 x rx_good_crc / (rx_adress_filter_errors + rx_bad_crc + rx_frame_timeout +
rx_half_period_warnings + rx_preamble_timeouts + rx_receiver_overflow + rx_good_crc)))

One-point sensitivity check

A simpler alternative may be to measure FER only at a certain RX power level and check
wheher the FER is lower than the criterion and to return a Pass or Fail verdict.

4.2.5 Current Consumption Test

As a usual test item in production, current consumption testing is to measure how much current
is consumed while the device operates at maximum transmitted power. This can be performed
by measuring the total average current level with an external power supply connected to the
device while the maximum TX power is measured by the UWB test instrument.
 Rohde & Schwarz UWB Test Solutions

5 Rohde & Schwarz UWB Test Solutions

5.1 CMP200
CMP200 Radio Communication Tester (Figure 5-1) is Rohde & Schwarz's non-signaling UWB
and 5G mmWave testing solution designed for both R&D and production purposes. It supports
HRP UWB PHY measurements as per IEEE 802.15.4 and FiRa specifications, with its three RF
In/Out ports supporting a frequency range of 6 GHz to 20 GHz to cover high-band UWB
channels.

Figure 5-1. CMP200

CMP200 General features

ı 1xVSA + 1xARB
ı Analyzer Frequency Range 4 to 20GHz
ı Generator Frequency Range 6 to 20GHz
ı 1GHz Bandwidth, 3x Ports

General purpose (GPRF) Generator

ı ARB generator function; replay of predefined waveforms / Chipset specific
ı CW signals

General purpose (GPRF) TX measurements

ı IQ vs Slot
ı FFT Spectrum Analyzer
ı IQ Recorder
ı Power measurements

As shown in Figure 5-2, CMP200 is embedded with a user interface called CMSquares
displaying both graphical and textual data. CMSquares can be viewed through any Web browser
via the IP address of CMP200.
 Rohde & Schwarz UWB Test Solutions

Figure 5-2. CMSquares on CMP200

5.2 Multi-DUT testing through Smart Channel

CMP200 features three RF In/Out ports each of which can be connected to three UWB DUTs.
As illustrated in Figure 5-3, CMP200 supports testing of multiple DUTs virtually simultaneously
through R&S's Smart Channel solution. In the Smart Channel concept, multiple DUTs can be
lined up for use of the instrument's HW (analyzer or generator) through multi-thread channels
processing all the pre-test configurations on both the DUT and instrument sides. Since the
majority of DUT testing time on the production line is usually consumed by DUT configuration
and instrument preparation procedures, and the actual amount of time spent on using the
analyzer or the generator is rather much smaller, the production testing time could be shorted by
a significant amount through the Smart Channel multi-DUT testing solution.

Figure 5-3. Multi-DUT testing with Smart Channel

6 References
References
[1] IEEE 802.15.4a-2007, approved March 22, 2007

[2] Eirini Karapistoli and Fotini-Niovi Pavlidou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Ioannis
Gragopoulos and Ioannis Tsetsinas, CERTH, “An Overview of the IEEE 802.15.4a Standard,”
IEEE Communications Magazine, January 2010
[3] IEEE 802.15.4z-D8, March 24, 2020

[4] Ultra Wideband Wireless Positioning Systems by Mohammadreza Yavari and Bradford G.
Nickerson Technical Report TR14-230 March 27, 2014
[5] I. G. Zafer Sahinoglu, Sinan Gezici. Ultra-wideband Positioning Systems: Theoretical Limits,
Ranging Algorithms, and Protocols. Cambridge University Press, October 6, 2008.
[6] IEEE Std 802.15.4-2015. IEEE Standard for Low-Rate Wireless Networks

[7] Petr Sedlacek1, Martin Slanina, and Pavel Masek, An Overview of the IEEE 802.15.4z Standard
and its Comparison to the Existing UWB Standards,
[8] APS012_DW1000_Production_Tests, PRODUCTION TESTS FOR DW1000-BASED
PRODUCTS, Version 1.6, Decawave
[9] APS014 APPLICATION NOTE, ANTENNA DELAY CALIBRATION OF DW1000-BASED
PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS, Version 1.2, Decawave
[10] Introduction to the FiRa Consortium, February 4, 2020, FiRa Consortium, Inc.

[11] an579611 - AN-SCA-12636 UWB Introduction (1.1), November 2019, NXP

[12] FiRa UWB Test Specification, RF & PHY Testing, Version 0.0.2
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