How To Optimize An LTE Amplifier Performance Using AWR's Visual System Simulator

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is rapidly being deployed by major US carriers and will serve most, if not all, top-tier markets sometime during 2012. LTE is often called a fourth-generation (4G) standard, and provides significantly increased peak data rates, with the potential for 100 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps upstream, reduced latency, scalable bandwidth capacity, and backwards compatibility with existing Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) technology.

For LTE to work with existing UMTS networks, the enhancements must employ complex modulation schemes, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), and other features that make it a challenge for subsystem and system designers. Fortunately, software tools such as AWR’s Visual System Simulator (VSS) make evaluating the performance of these components significantly easier and more accurate.