The Mission
Aerospace and defense programs span an enormous frequency range and a wide spread of form factors. One day the work is broadband microwave test in a lab, the next it is a signal source that has to be embedded inside a subsystem and survive a real platform. The common requirement is wide, reliable coverage paired with the flexibility to move from benchtop instrument to integrated module without changing vendors or signal pedigree.
The Challenge
Programs need coverage that reaches the upper microwave and millimeter-wave bands where modern radar and EW operate, and they need it from sources that are stable and repeatable across temperature and time. They also need an embedded path: a board-level or shielded module that drops into a subsystem with the same signal quality as the bench instrument used to qualify it. Buying lab-grade performance and integration-ready hardware from one family keeps the program consistent.
Recommended Berkeley Nucleonics Solutions
For the widest coverage, the Model 871 reaches 51 GHz phase-coherent and the Model 870A spans 100 kHz to 54 GHz with single or multi-channel configurations, covering radar and EW bands in one instrument. When the source has to live inside a subsystem, the Model 845-OEM is a shielded board-level generator (100 kHz to 26.5 GHz, verify upper limit against current datasheet) with high output power and SMA/MCX connectors for embedded integration.
For compact, portable microwave sourcing, the Model 805-SG packs 100 kHz to 20 GHz into a 2.2 lb, battery-capable enclosure with an SPI interface, and serves as a drop-in replacement for obsolete QuickSyn and discontinued competitor sources.
Why It Works
The family covers the full span aerospace and defense programs care about, from VLF and IF up to 54 GHz, so a single supplier handles radar, EW, and avionics test. Just as important, the bench instruments and the board-level OEM modules share the same signal heritage, which means a subsystem can be qualified on a lab generator and then ship with an embedded module of matching pedigree. Compact, rugged, low-power modules suit deployed and space-constrained installations.
Getting Started
Berkeley Nucleonics applications engineers help match the right source, channel count, and options to your test plan. Tell us your frequency span, switching budget, and channel needs, and we will recommend a configuration and arrange a demo.
Contact info@berkeleynucleonics.com or call 800-234-7858. Browse the full family on the RF & Microwave Signal Generators documentation page.