Manufacturers of electronic equipment for wireless applications such as IEEE 802.11n, WiMAX, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) communications systems need test equipment with performance matched to these standards. The R&S FSV signal analyzer from Rohde & Schwarz fills the bill for wireless production testing, with manual speed of 500 sweeps/s and automated speed of 1000 sweeps/s.
The R&S FSV (see figure) is available in versions covering 9 kHz to 3.6 GHz or 9 kHz to 7.0 GHz, with an option for low-frequency extension to 20 Hz. Frequency can be tuned with 1-Hz resolution. The signal analyzer features a third-order intercept of +18 dBm, phase noise of 110 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset from a 1-GHz carrier, and noise floor of 155 dBm or better.
The analyzer is available with measurement packages for all major wireless standards, and has a touch-sensitive front-panel user interface that includes a "virtual" mouse and keyboard. It includes a removable hard drive and can disable its Universal Serial Bus (USB) port to prevent movement of data in secure facilities (see table).
At low frequencies, the R&S FSV employs direct digital conversion of RF signals, eliminating degradation typical of many analyzers caused by local oscillator (LO) feedthrough and phase noise. The instrument's 16-b, 128-MHz analog-to-digital converter (ADC) digitizes the last intermediate- frequency (IF) stage in the RF signal-processing chain. It is backed by enough memory to support recording signal information at sample rates to 200 MSamples/s. The analyzer's resolution bandwidth can be set from 1 Hz to 10 MHz as well as at 20 and 28 MHz; in addition, an option is available for 40-MHz capability in zero-span mode. The low-level measurement uncertainty is 0.3 dB to 3 GHz and 0.4 dB to 7 GHz, matching a stand-alone power meter.
The instrument's "Auto-Set" function can determine signal frequency and level with the press of a button. The R&S FSV includes many automated measurements, including adjacent-channel power (ACP), complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF), spurious emissions, and harmonic measurements. Rohde & Schwarz, 8661A Robert Fulton Dr., Columbia, MD 21046-2265; (410) 910-7800, Internet: www.rohde-schwarz.com.