Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/14996-new-method-rohde-schwarz-considerably-simplifies-pulse-profile-measurements

New method: Rohde & Schwarz considerably simplifies pulse profile measurements

January 17, 2011
Whether in mobile radio or radar systems, amplifiers and antenna systems often have to cope with pulsed signals in real operation. On-wafer measurements require pulsed signals in order to avoid overheating. With the R&S ZVA-K7 option, Rohde & Schwarz has integrated pulsed measurements into the R&S ZVA high-end network analyzer family, thus providing a compact and cost-efficient solution. No additional hardware components are required for analyzing pulsed signals. The pulsed RF signal is generated by an external signal source such as the R&S SMR or it is generated by modulating the R&S ZVA generator with an external pulse modulator. The Rohde & Schwarz concept is based on directly recording the signal with a sampling rate of 80 MHz. Dynamic range and system error correction are thus independent of the duty cycle. Pre- and post-trigger settings enable the user to position the measurement window relative to the pulse signal and to selectively measure pulse intervals such as the increase of the signal edges. The delays between measurement and reference signal can be easily compensated: precise ratio measurements can still be performed even if the delays are larger than the pulse width. The new option allows measurements on pulses with a minimum width of 50 ns. The measurement bandwidth can be set to a maximum of 30 MHz and allows measurements of pulse rise times of 33 ns. The resolution for pulse profile measurements is 12.5 ns. Because of the high memory depth, the user can continuously record pulse profiles of up to 3 ms. The R&S ZVA-K7 option is now available from Rohde & Schwarz. Depending on the test setup, the R&S ZVA-B16 hardware option is recommended in order to ensure direct generator and receiver access.