In October 2021, FiRa launched a certification program aimed at promoting interoperability between UWB devices. For those who have passed FiRa Certified ™ The equipment certified and displaying the FiRa Certified logo must comply with the MAC and PHY conformance test specifications and MAC/PHY interoperability test specifications specified by FiRa. For certification, FiRa members need to submit their equipment to an independent authorized test laboratory (ATL) and operate according to the procedures described on the Alliance website.

PHY Consistency test

UWB RF physical layer (PHY) consistency verification is an important basic step to promote the interoperable device ecosystem. PHY conformance test verifies whether the chipset and equipment comply with FiRa’s UWB PHY technical requirements and PHY conformance test specifications.
The PHY technical requirements of FiRa are based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard and 802.15.4z revision. These requirements are further constructed based on the content that has been established by IEEE for the HRP (high repetition pulse) mode to define the main function set and performance requirements.

FiRa’s PHY conformance test specification defines test items to verify whether UWB equipment meets PHY technical requirements. This includes transmitter and receiver tests of UWB equipment, which are used to verify whether the UWB frame conforms to the format and reception requirements.

Transmitter conformance test:

• Transmitter frame format verification: SYNC, SFD, STS, PHR, DATA and CRC
• Power spectral density mask template verification
• Power spectral density mask template verification
• Power spectral density mask template verification
• Pulse timing verification
• Transmitter signal quality

Receiver conformance test：

• Receiver sensitivity
• Dynamic range of receiver’s first path
• Receiver frame decoding verification: SYNC, SFD, STS, PHR, DATA and CRC
• Receiver abnormal packet test (negative test)

UWB DUT must successfully pass all transmitter and receiver test cases to obtain FiRa certification.

FiRa PHY conformance testing tool(PCTT)

The PHY conformance test platform of LitePoint was developed according to the PHY conformance test specification and has been verified by the FiRa Alliance. The test platform can be selected by ATL to carry out PHY conformance certification test, and can also be used by FiRa members for pre-certification test. This complete solution includes the hardware platform and the test program using the UWB command interface (UCI) to control the tester and the equipment under test (DUT).

The complete PCTT setup consists of the following elements:
IQgig-UWB platform: integrated with UWB signal generation and analysis functions, it can execute all DUT transmitter and receiver test cases.
IQfact+software: provide complete test automation process, including tester control, DUT control and data collection. Provide pass/fail results and detailed test logs for troubleshooting for each test case.
The UWB DUT is controlled using the UWB Command Interface (UCI).
The physical connection between PCTT and DUT is the vCOM interface specified by FiRa

UWB test beyond certification requirements

In addition to meeting the certification requirements, the IQgig-UWB platform can also be deployed in the R&D stage for conducting the characteristic analysis of conducting or wireless (OTA) equipment and mass production, which makes it an ideal platform to realize the cost-effective and seamless transition from laboratory to production.
To learn more about the FiRa certification process, watch the replay of the webinar co-sponsored by Comatch, FiRa and LitePoint:
Precautions for FIRA certification of equipment supporting UWB – LitePoint
Learn about our one-stop PCTT certification solution: