Rohde & Schwarz to Host Online RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026 Focused on Aerospace, Defense and Satellite Communications

As satellite communications and defense systems continue to expand, RF testing is becoming increasingly important and complex. Rohde & Schwarz will host the second RF Testing Innovations Forum online on May 20, 2026, where engineers and specialists will present practical solutions for today’s advanced applications. The RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026 will feature experts from Rohde & Schwarz, Dassault Systèmes, FormFactor and Focus Microwaves discussing current challenges in RF testing. The program will cover a wide range of topics, including residual measurements for active device characterization and verification of absolute phase across different frequencies. Markus Loerner, market segment manager for RF and microwave components at Rohde & Schwarz, will deliver a keynote titled “Commercialization of dedicated components for aerospace and defense.” He will explain how the growth of satellite communications and defense applications is increasing demand for RF systems, and in turn driving the need for high-performance RF components. The session will also compare relevant RF subsystems and derive test requirements with the goal of shortening time to market and improving efficiency. Another session will focus on the importance of absolute phase measurement and calibration. Many design engineers tend to overlook the importance of absolute phase measurements over wide frequency ranges. The session will introduce phase calibration methods, focus on comb generators and their traceability, and cover application examples including time-domain transformation, frequency converter verification and vector network analyzer (VNA) considerations. For sub-THz on-wafer measurement, as multi-gigabit communication systems move into higher frequency bands, engineers need to extend the limits of on-wafer S-parameter measurements for accurate device modeling and characterization. A live demonstration from FormFactor’s lab in Dresden, Germany, will present best practices for ensuring accuracy, stability and repeatability in D-band on-wafer measurements using the R&S ZNA and frequency extension modules up to 170 GHz. Key decision points in the measurement environment will also be explained. The final session will address noise verification for RF circuits up to 67 GHz. As performance requirements for low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) increase, accurate and reliable noise measurements are essential. This need is being accelerated by emerging applications such as LEO satellite communications, remote sensing and quantum computing. Because LNAs are typically placed at the first stage of a receiver, their noise characteristics strongly affect the overall system noise figure and sensitivity. The presentation will explain the fundamentals of noise measurement and noise parameter extraction using the cold-source method. Measurements will be performed with the latest R&S ZNA equipped with noise figure measurement capability. The conference is free to attend, but advance registration is required. Detailed agenda, speaker information and registration are available on the Rohde & Schwarz website.