
What Is RF?
Also known as Radio Frequency, is a radio wave with long-distance transmission capability. It is part of our life in today’s connected world. Whether it is your TV, mobile devices, smart headphones, wearables and other devices, all use Radio Frequency (RF) waves to communicate. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee ,4G (including LTE-M and LTE -NB) and 5G communication technologies, as well as LoRa that are frequently used in IoT products, etc. are areas of RF applications.
Why do we need RF Testing and validation?
Mandatory Regulatory Compliance
Electrical and Health Safety
The regulatory compliance testing ensures that radio and telecommunication equipment is using the radio spectrum effectively by not interfering with other users. Additionally, the products need to be tested for the electrical safety and RF exposure.
MNO type Approval
For cellular technologies such LTE-M, LTE-NB or LTA CAT 1, US based MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) have very stringent requirements for the deployment of the wireless devices to use their network. This requires careful selection of RF modules, antenna design and Testing.
Real World Performance
RF or Wireless Performance Tests are performed to ensure your product comply with the design specifications and performs well in real world scenarios.
What products need RF validation test?
Wireless product (antenna, board, Complete System), IoT devices, Smart home connected devices, Wearable devices

RF Performance Tests can be categorised into three areas
RF SoC/Modulation Evaluation
- Power Accuracy
- Receiver Sensitivity
- EVM (Error Vector Magnitude)
- Frequency Error
- Spectrum
Antenna Performance
- Return Loss, VSWR
- 3D radiation pattern
- Radiated Efficiency
- Isolation between two antennas
OTA(Over the Air) Performance
- TRP( Total Radiated Power)
- TIS ( Total Isotropic Sensitvity)
RF SoC/Modulation Evaluation | Antenna Performance | OTA(Over the Air) Performance |
|---|---|---|
Power Accuracy | Return Loss, VSWR | TRP(Total Radiated Power) |
Receiver Sensitivity | 3D radiation pattern | TIS (Total Isotropic Sensitvity) |
EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) | Radiated Efficiency | |
Frequency Error | Isolation between two antennas | |
Spectrum |
Other RF issues that can be debugged and resolved during product testing includes but not limited
- Noise coupling from other electronic components in the system or PCB board(self-quieting).
- De-sense due to an external jammer (unwanted signal).
- Co-channel or adjacent channel interference that can affect the RF performance to drop.

