4 SNR and EVM Tests

The SNR parameter refers to the Signal-to-Noise Ratio, defined as the ratio of measured received signal level to noise level of the last received PPDU.

The EVM parameter refers to the Error Vector Magnitude, defined as the quality of the measured received signal of the last received PPDU.

: The SNR and EVM tests provides an idea of the design performance compared to Microchip reference designs.

This test enables the user to verify the reception and transmission levels of any PLC prototype. This prototype is also named as Device Under Test (DUT).

The SNR and EVM tests consist of transmitting and receiving predefined PLC messages between the DUT and reference device. Both devices are connected to the side-by-side setup as described before. The shipping message process between the devices is repeated in both ways, increasing the attenuation level step-by-step. At the end of the test, measurement results for the DUT can be compared with the performance of the reference design provided by Microchip.

In the following sections, procedure and measurement analysis are commented.