Rohde & Schwarz launched a number of new products and also showcased the production plant in Memmingen, Germany where they are manufactured using high end technology and tested to the highest standards. Alongside the R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyzer (the subject of a separate in-depth Microwave Journal Industry News story) the company extended the R&S SMB100A signal generator, R&S ZNB network analyzer and R&S RTO100 oscilloscope ranges.
The R&S SMB100A mid-range signal generator is now, microsize, microconsumption and microwave with the addition of new frequency options. The R&S SMB-B120/B120L and R&S SMB-B140/B140L options (L versions without step attenuator) enable the generator to cover the frequency range from 100 kHz to 20 GHz and 40 GHz, respectively.
In the new frequency ranges, the R&S SMB100A still offers a very wide dynamic range of -120 dBm to +14 dBm as standard. New high power options – the R&S SMB-B31 (for the 20 GHz model) and the R&S SMB-B32 (for the 40 GHz model) – make it possible to achieve an output power of max. +25 dBm. The new options allow users to skip the practice of looping in an external amplifier to achieve higher output power. This technique is now needed only when compensation is required to deal with attenuation in the test setup.
The R&S ZNB network analyzer range now includes four-port models that cover frequency ranges from 9 kHz to 4.5 GHz or 8.5 GHz, designed for demanding applications in the production and development of RF components with multiple ports. Two internal signal sources and a frequency-converting mode enable comprehensive measurements on mixers or amplifiers. Using mixed-mode S-parameter measurements, the R&S ZNB fully characterizes even balanced DUTs such as SAW filters used in mobile phones.
The four-port network analyzer can also be used to measure high-blocking duplex filters, couplers, splitters or isolators, which only need be connected to the instrument once. In addition to mixer conversion loss and impedance matching, users can determine virtually any secondary measured quantities, including crosstalk between ports. Thanks to the R&S ZNB's second internal source, intermodulation measurements on amplifiers can be configured with a single, compact instrument – and considerably faster than would be possible using an external generator.
Last but not least the R&S RTO oscilloscope family has new options. The addition of a trigger and decoding option for the FlexRay serial communications interface is aimed at automotive applications. A hardware option turns the R&S RTO into a mixed signal oscilloscope (MSO). In addition to the usual two or four analog channels, the oscilloscope now features 16 digital logic channels with 400 MHz input frequency. Equipped with the MSO option, the oscilloscope allows time correlation between the instrument's analog and digital sections.
Finally, new differential probes for the R&S RTO oscilloscope offer exceptionally low noise (typ. 3 mV) and an extremely wide dynamic range. Their high DC input impedance of 1 MΩ and the low input capacitance (0.6 pF) ensure that the load on the DUT's operating point remains low. The wide dynamic range (+/– 5 V) even at high frequencies allows measurements on fast ground-referenced signals and prevents distortion. Offset and gain errors are very low throughout the entire temperature range, which means that users do not have to interrupt their measurements for compensation or recalibration when temperatures vary.
