Source Generates Test Signals to 7.125 GHz

Aug. 24, 2020

This test signal source combines analog and digital hardware with software control for signal-generating flexibility to 7.125 GHz.

Jack Browne

For test signals to 7.125 GHz, this software-defined source provides the programmability needed to generate a wide range of waveforms. The model R&S SMCV100B vector signal generator (VSG) from Rohde & Schwarz is available in three versions with various options and frequency ranges of 4 kHz to 3, 6, or 7.125 GHz. Suitable for navigation measurements as well as automotive and broadcast testing, it shows operating details on a 5-in. diagonal touchscreen, generating signals with modulation bandwidths as wide as 240 MHz and output levels as high as +25 dBm to 7.125 GHz. For signals to 200 MHz, it has settling time of 5 ms or less to within 20 Hz of the final frequency and settling time of 1 × 10^-7s to within 20 Hz of signal frequencies above 200 MHz. Harmonics are better than -30 dBc while spurious levels are better than -55 dBc. Single-sideband (SSB) phase noise is -100 dBc/Hz offset 20 kHz from 2.5 GHz and -95 dBc/Hz offset 20 kHz from 7.125 GHz.

Rohde & Schwarz, www.rohde-schwarz.com

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.