Spectrum Analyzer

Our Bandwidth !
 Peeping In !
• Meet the spectrum : A spectrum in the practical sense is a collection of
sine waves , when combined properly produces the required time domain
signal.
• The frequency domain also has its measurement strengths.
• The frequency domain is better for determining the harmonic content of
a signal.

Amplitude
cy
(power)
e quen
fr

tim
e

Time domain
Measurements Frequency Domain
Measurements
Know our friend
• A spectrum analyzer is a device
used to examine the spectral
composition of some electrical,
acoustic, or optical waveform.
• Mostly it finds application in
measurement of power spectrum .
 Mr.Analog & Digital – as usual!

• An analog spectrum analyzer uses

either a variable bandpass filter
whose mid-frequency is automatically
tuned (shifted, swept) through the
range of frequencies of which the
spectrum is to be measured or a
superheterodyne receiver where the
local oscillator is swept through a
range of frequencies.

• A digital spectrum analyzer computes

the Fast Fourier transform (FFT), a
mathematical process that transforms
a waveform into the components of
its frequency spectrum
 Spectrum Analysis
• In various field operations involving signals there is need to ascertain the
nature of the signal at several points.
• Signal characteristics affect the parameters of operation of a system.
• Spectrum analysis mostly involves study of the signal entering a system or
that produced by it .
• Spectrum analyzers usually display raw, unprocessed signal information
such as voltage, power, period, waveshape, sidebands, and frequency.
They can provide you with a clear and precise window into the frequency
spectrum.
 What’s there for me!
• Depending upon the application, a signal could have several different
characteristics. For example, in communications, in order to send
information such as your voice or data, it must be modulated onto a higher
frequency carrier.
• A modulated signal will have specific characteristics depending on the type
of modulation used.
• When testing non-linear devices such as amplifiers or mixers, it is
important to understand how these create distortion products and what
these distortion products look like.
• Understanding the characteristics of noise and how a noise signal looks
compared to other types of signals can also help you in analyzing your
device/system
 When accuracy speaks
• Understanding the important
aspects of a spectrum analyzer for
measuring all of these types of
signals will help you make more
accurate measurements and give
you confidence that you are
interpreting the results correctly.
• There is a trade-off between how
quickly the display can be
updated and the frequency
resolution, which is for example
relevant for distinguishing
frequency components that are
close together.
 The basic types
Parallel filters measured
• FFT Spectrum Analyzer simultaneously

The Fourier analyzer basically

A
takes a time-domain signal,
digitizes it using digital sampling,
and then performs the mathematics
required to convert it to the frequency
domain,and display the resulting spectrum.
• Swept Spectrum Analyzer f1 f2 f
The most common type of spectrum
Filter 'sweeps' over
analyzer is the swept-tuned receiver. range of
It is the most widely accepted, interest
general-purpose tool for frequency-domain
measurements. The technique most widely
used is superheterodyne.
 FFT Spectrum Analyzer
THE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

• The analyzer is looking at the entire frequency range at the same time
using parallel filters measuring simultaneously.
• It is actually capturing the time domain information which contains all the
frequency information in it.
• With its real-time signal analysis capability, the Fourier analyzer is able to
capture periodic as well as random and transient events.
• It also can provide significant speed improvement over the more traditional
swept analyzer and can measure phase as well as magnitude.
 The game of sampling!
• The rate at which points are taken by the sampler is a very important
parameter of the FFT analyzer.
• In order for an analog waveform to be represented correctly with discrete
values, it must be sampled at a sufficiently high rate.
• According to the sampling theorem, a signal must be sampled at a rate of
twice the highest frequency component (the Nyquist rate).
• Any component whose frequency is higher than the Nyquist rate will
appear in the measurement as a lower frequency component. This
phenomenon is called aliasing. To avoid aliasing, an analog low-pass filter
is placed at the input before the sampler.
• The low-pass filter determines the highest frequency of the FFT analyzer.
 Role of LPF

• The rate at which signals can be

represented without error is one half
the maximum sampling rate.
• Signals are often cut off at a lower
frequency to provide sampling rates
greater than twice the maximum
frequency components.
• Typically the cutoff of the low-pass
filter is 2.5 times less than the
maximum sampling rate of the
analyzer.
• This determines the maximum
frequency component.
 Operation
• If the number of samples is kept equal as the frequency range increases,
the spacing between frequency bins increases. Thus the frequency
resolution decreases.
• An alternative is to increase the number of samples acquired. This will
increase the rate of sampling .
• If the time to compute the FFT was faster than the rate at which the data
was sampled, then an FFT could be performed for each point.
• A shortcut is to take a certain number of samples and transfer them to an
intermediate buffer. The FFT takes the data from this buffer to perform its
operation.
• If the FFT is computed before the next time record is placed in the buffer,
then the analyzer is running in real time.
 Observations
• The number of samples in the time record is inversely proportional to the
frequency span. It takes less time to compute the FFT for larger frequency
spans.
• The point at which the frequency span time record equals the time it takes
to compute the FFT is called the real-time bandwidth.
GEARING UP !!
• Operations that once required a lot of custom, power-hungry discrete
hardware can now be performed with commercial off-the-shelf DSP chips,
which get smaller and faster every year .
• Another method used by computer-based instruments is to use a digitizer to
acquire the data, then transfer the data to a memory buffer. The FFT is then
performed on the host PC in software.
 Swept Spectrum Analyzer
• Very basically, these analyzers "sweep" across the frequency range of
interest, displaying all the frequency components present.
• The swept-tuned analyzer works just like the AM radio in your home
except that on your radio, the dial controls the tuning and instead of a
display, your radio has a speaker.
• The swept receiver technique enables frequency domain measurements to
be made over a large dynamic range and a wide frequency range.
• It has significant contributions to frequency-domain signal analysis for
numerous applications, including the manufacture and maintenance of
microwave communications links, radar, telecommunications equipment,
cable TV systems, and broadcast equipment; mobile communication
systems; EMI diagnostic testing; component testing; and signal
surveillance.
 OPERATION
• A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) sweeps through a range of
frequencies that are mixed with the incoming signal.
• The signal from the input and the signal from the VCO are passed through
a mixer.
• A mixer is a nonlinear device that produces the sum and difference of the
original signal and the signal from the VCO, as well as the original signals
and their harmonics.
• An intermediate frequency (IF) filter extracts the desired sum or difference
of the original signals.
• The detector produces a voltage level relative to the amount of power
received from the incoming signal.
• As the VCO sweeps different frequencies, the detector produces a
corresponding voltage level, or power measurement.
 OBSERVATIONS
• An important parameter of the swept analyzer is resolution bandwidth.
• It is determined by the IF filter portion below the minimum insertion-loss
point.
• Often the IF filter section is composed of a number of filters, which
together determine the resolution bandwidth.
• Resolution bandwidth is affected by the speed at which the instrument
sweeps the frequency range.
• The IF filter requires a certain time to respond to signals placed at the
input, so the analyzer cannot sweep through the frequency range too fast.
• Two errors can result from sweeping through the frequency range too
quickly.
• First, the amplitude is at a lower level than if it were swept at a slower
speed. Second, the signal shifts up in frequency.
 Swept FFT
• One of the principal advantages that the swept analyzer has over the
FFT analyzer is its frequency range. Because the FFT analyzer needs
to acquire a digital time domain waveform, the frequency range of the
FFT analyzer is dependent on the sampling rate of the ADC.
• The sampling rate of the analyzer determines the highest frequency
that can be analyzed with the FFT. Current ADC technology has
brought sampling rates into the MHz range. Swept spectrum
analyzers, on the other hand, can measure frequencies in the high
GHz range.
• A key advantage of the FFT analyzer over the swept spectrum
analyzer is its speed. Because the sweep rate is proportional to the
resolution bandwidth squared, the sweep rate is decreased for smaller
resolution bandwidths. This increases the total measurement time.
• The FFT analyzer is only limited in time by how long it takes to
acquire the data and to compute the FFT.
Advice time !!!

•It is important to consider how the properties of each

instrument will affect the measurements when choosing
an instrument for high-frequency spectrum analysis.
• Making high-frequency measurements requires an
instrument that has an appropriate frequency range for
the signal. FFT analyzers have a lower frequency range
than swept spectrum analyzers, making swept
analyzers the better choice for very high-frequency
ranges.
•If the length of measurement time is critical, such as
with transient analysis, then the FFT analyzer is the
better choice because of its speed. Because the swept
spectrum analyzer does not provide phase information,
the FFT analyzer must be selected if this information is
 The ‘BIG’ Vector !
• Vector signal analyzers ( VSAs) also
digitize the time domain signal like
Fourier analyzers, but extend the
capabilities to the RF frequency range The Agilent 89650s
.
• They are especially useful for
characterizing complex signals such
as burst, transient or modulated
signals used in communications,
video, broadcast, sonar, and
ultrasound imaging applications.

Perform complete RF and modulation analysis from 3 Hz to

26.5 GHz with 80MHz of analysis bandwidth and 75 dB
(typical) of dynamic range using the 89650S
vector signal analysis bundle.
 Theory of Operation
Spectrum Analyzer Block Diagram

RF input
attenuato IF gain IF filter
r mixer detecto
r
Input
signal
Pre-Selector
Log
Or Low Pass Amp
Filter vide
o
local filter
oscillator
sweep
generato
Crystal
r
Reference CRT display
 We make him work !
• The major components in a spectrum analyzer are the

• RF input attenuator, mixer,

• IF (Intermediate Frequency) gain,
• IF filter, detector,
• video filter,
• local oscillator,
• sweep generator
• CRT display.
 Theory of Operation
Mixer MIXER
inpu
t

f LO- f sig f LO+ f sig

RF IF
f sig LO f sig f LO

f LO
 MIXER
• A mixer is a device that converts a signal from one frequency to another.
• It is sometimes called a frequency-translation device.
• A mixer is a non-linear device (frequencies are present at the output that
were not present at the input).
• The output of a mixer consists of the two original signals (fsig and fLO) as
well as the sum (fLO+fsig) and difference (fLO-fsig) frequencies of these two
signals.
• In a spectrum analyzer, the difference frequency is actually the frequency
of interest. The mixer has converted our RF input signal to an IF
(Intermediate Frequency) signal that the analyzer can now filter, amplify
and detect for the purpose of displaying the signal on the screen.
Theory of Operation
IF Filter IF FILTER

Input
Spectru
m
IF Bandwidth
(RBW)

Displa
y
 IF FILTER
• The IF filter is a bandpass filter which is used as the "window" for
detecting signals.
• It's bandwidth is also called the resolution bandwidth (RBW) of the
analyzer and can be changed via the front panel of the analyzer.
• By giving a broad range of variable resolution bandwidth settings , the
instrument can be optimized for the sweep and signal conditions, letting
trade-off frequency selectivity (the ability to resolve signals), signal-to-
noise ratio (SNR), and measurement speed.
• As RBW is narrowed, selectivity is improved (we are able to resolve the
two input signals). This will also often improve SNR.
• The sweep speed and trace update rate, however, will degrade with
narrower RBWs. The optimum RBW setting depends heavily on the
characteristics of the signals of interest.
 Theory of Operation
Detector DETECTOR

amplitud
e

"bins Positive detection: largest

" value
in bin displayed
Negative detection: smallest
value
in bin displayed
Sample detection: last value in bin
displayed
 DETECTOR
• The analyzer must convert the IF signal to a baseband or video signal so it
can be viewed on the instrument's display. This is accomplished with an
envelope detector which then deflects the CRT beam on the y-axis, or
amplitude axis.
• Many modern spectrum analyzers have digital displays which first digitize
the video signal with an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). This allows
for several different detector modes that dramatically effect how the signal
is displayed.
• The positive-peak detector mode captures and displays the peak value of
the signal over the duration of one trace element. This mode is good for
analyzing sinusoids, but tends to over-respond to noise when no sinusoids
are present.
• The negative-peak detector mode captures the minimum value of the
signal for each bin.
 Continued...
• In sample detection mode, a random value for each "bin" of data (also
called a trace element) is produced. This detector mode is best for
computing the rms value of noise or noise-like signals, but it may miss the
peaks of burst signals and narrowband signals when the RBW is narrower
than the frequency spacing of the bins.
• For displaying both signals and noise, a detector mode called the normal
detector mode (or sometimes the rosenfell detector) is used.
• In this mode, if the video signal is monotonically increasing or decreasing
during the period representing one trace element, then it is assumed that a
spectral component is being measured, and positive-peak detection is used.
• When a minimum value is displayed, the maximum value is saved and
compared to the maximum value for the next trace element. The higher of
the two values is displayed. This technique provides a better visual display
of random noise than peak-detection yet avoids the missed-signal problem
of sample-detection.
Theory of Operation
Video Filter

VIDEO
FILTER
 VIDEO AMPLIFIER
• The video filter is a low-pass filter that is located after the envelope
detector and before the ADC.
• This filter determines the bandwidth of the video amplifier, and is
used to average or smooth the trace seen on the screen.
• The spectrum analyzer displays signal-plus-noise so that the closer a
signal is to the noise level, the more the noise makes the signal more
difficult to read.
• By changing the video bandwidth (VBW) setting, we can decrease
the peak-to-peak variations of noise.
• This type of display smoothing can be used to help find signals that
otherwise might be obscured in the noise.
 Theory of Operation
Other Components

LO
SWEEP
GEN
frequenc
y
CRT DISPLAY
RF INPUT
ATTENUATOR IF GAIN
 THE AUXILLARIES
• The local oscillator is a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) which in
effect tunes the analyzer.
• The sweep generator actually tunes the LO so that its frequency changes in
proportion to the ramp voltage.
• This also deflects the CRT beam horizontally across the screen from left
to right, creating the frequency domain in the x-axis.
• The RF input attenuator is a step attenuator located between the input
connector and the first mixer. It is also called the RF attenuator.
• This is used to adjust the level of the signal incident upon the first mixer.
• This is important in order to prevent mixer gain compression and distortion
due to high-level and/or broadband signals.
 Continued...
• The IF gain is located after the mixer but before the IF, or RBW, filter.
• This is used to adjust the vertical position of signals on the display without
affecting the signal level at the input mixer.
• When changed, the value of the reference level is changed accordingly.
• Since we do not want the reference level to change (i.e. the vertical
position of displayed signals) when we change the input attenuator, these
two components are tied together.
• The IF gain will automatically be changed to compensate for input
attenuator changes, so signals remain stationary on the CRT display, and
the reference level is not changed.
 Theory of Operation
How it all works together
fs Signal LO
Range Range
f LO- f s f LO
0 1 2 3 (GHz) f LO+f s
fs
IF filter
0 1 5 6
mixer
fs 2 3
3.
4 detecto
r
6.
input 6 5
3.
6
f IF
sweep A
generator

LO

f LO
0 1 2 3 (GHz) f
3 4 5 6 (GHz) CRT display
3. 6.
6 5
 Get set GO!
• First of all, the signal to be analyzed is connected to the input of the
spectrum analyzer. This input signal is then combined with the LO
through the mixer, to convert (or translate) it to an intermediate frequency
(IF).
• These signals are then sent to the IF filter.
• The output of this filter is detected, indicating the presence of a signal
component at the analyzer's tuned frequency. The output voltage of the
detector is used to drive the vertical axis (amplitude) of the analyzer
display.
• The sweep generator provides synchronization between the horizontal axis
of the display (frequency) and tuning of the LO. The resulting display
shows amplitude versus frequency of spectral components of each
incoming signal.
• The horizontal arrows are intended to illustrate the "sweeping" of the
analyzer. Starting with LO at 3.6 GHz, the output of the mixer has four
signals, one of which is at 3.6 GHz (fLO).
• IF filter is also at 3.6 GHz (it's shape has been imposed onto the frequency
graph for clarity). Therefore, we expect to see this signal on the display.
At 0 Hz on the CRT, we do indeed see a signal - this is called "LO
Feedthrough".
• Sweep generator moving to the right, causes the LO to sweep upward in
frequency. As the LO sweeps, so too will three of the mixer output signals
(the input signal is stationary).
• As the LO Feedthrough moves out of the IF filter bandwidth, we see it
taper off on the display. As soon as the difference frequency (fLO-fs) comes
into the skirt of the IF filter, we start to see it.
• When it is at the center (e.g. 3.6 GHz) we see the full amplitude of this
signal on the display.
• And, as it moves further to the right, it leaves the filter skirt, and no signal
is seen on the display.
• The signal is being swept through the fixed IF filter, and properly
displayed on the analyzer screen.

That's how it works!

 Theory of Operation
Front Panel Operation
Primary functions
(Frequency,
Amplitude, Span)
Softkey
s

SPECTRUM ANALYZER 9 kHz - 26.5 GHz

8563A

Control
functions
(RBW, sweep
time, VBW)
RF Input Numeri
c
 Buttons !
• The three primary hardkeys on
any spectrum analyzer are:
frequency, amplitude, and span.
• Frequency and amplitude are
straightforward. Span is simply a
way to tell the analyzer how big
of a "window" in frequency we
want to view.
• Other important control functions
include setting the resolution
bandwidth, sweeptime, input
attenuator and video bandwidth.
 More controls
• Modern analyzers have both hardkeys and softkeys (next to
the CRT display).
• The softkeys allow to access several different
functions/features under one hardkey.
• For example, there will typically be a hardkey labeled "BW",
which when pressed gives the choice of changing either the
RBW or the VBW depending upon which softkey you press.
• Most analyzers allow to enter values by either punching in the
value on the number pad, or by "dialing" up or down to the
desired value using the front panel knob.
 Filters – the technical heroes
• Resolving signals
After the IF gain amplifier, the IF section which consists of the analog
and/ or digital resolution bandwidth ( RBW) filters appears .
• Analog filters
Frequency resolution is the ability of a spectrum analyzer to separate two
input sinusoids into distinct responses.

• A sine wave signal only has energy at one frequency, so we shouldn't have
any resolution problems.
• Two signals, no matter how close in frequency, should appear as two lines
on the display
• The output of a mixer includes the sum and difference products plus the
two original signals (input and LO).
• A bandpass filter determines the intermediate
frequency, and this filter selects the desired mixing product and rejects all
other signals.
 Contd..
• Since the input signal is
fixed and the local oscillator
is swept, the products from
the mixer are also swept.
• If a mixing product
happens to sweep past the
IF, the characteristic shape
of the bandpass filter is
traced on the display.
• The narrowest filter in the
chain
determines the overall
displayed bandwidth
 Digital filters
• Some spectrum analyzers use
digital techniques to realize their
resolution
bandwidth filters. Digital filters
can provide important benefits,
such as dramatically improved
bandwidth selectivity. The
Agilent PSA Series spectrum
analyzers implement all resolution
bandwidths digitally. Other
analyzers, such as the Agilent
ESA-E Series, take a hybrid
approach, using analog filters for
the wider bandwidths and digital
filters for bandwidths of
300 Hz and below.
Spectral leakage