Microwave Engineering Europe - April 2009 - (Page 29)

TEST 29 Repeatability and reduced test time are the other two advantages. Table 1 shows three groups of measurements made with different settings. In all cases, the NPR results were stable, exhibiting very low standard deviation. Measurement times varied, but the main determining factor was the number averages. This suggests that the key tradeoff in an NPR measurement will be the desired stability of the readings versus the expected throughput rate of the test system. Looking to the future As digital modulation and signal processing technologies continue to advance, commercial and military broadband systems will transmit at increasingly greater data rates. Future systems based on LTE and WiMAX™ will continue to push the need for increased bandwidth and improved performance, making NPR testing increasingly important and useful. References • Improved Methods for Measuring Distortion in Wideband Devices, Agilent application note, publication number 5989-9880EN • Characterizing Digitally Modulated Signals with CCDF Curves, Agilent application note, publication number 5968-6875EN • Agilent Signal Studio for Noise Power Ratio, Agilent technical overview, publication number 5988-9161EN • Noise Power Ratio: Theory And Applications, Stan Soonachan, Senior Staff Systems Engineer; Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Sunnyvale, CA; 20th AIAA International Communication Satellite Systems Conference and Exhibit, 12-15 May 2002, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Author Biographies Steve Pettis is a market development engineer for Agilent Technologies. He has worked in and around the aerospace/defense industry for more than thirty years. Steve’s experience includes manufacturing and testing of missiles and airborne radar systems as well as RF/microwave measurements across all aero/ defense applications for HewlettPackard and Agilent. Today, he supports the development of measurement solutions for aero/defense applications. He has BSEE from University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Pete Thysell is an R&D engineer for Agilent Technologies. He joined the company in 1984 as a marketing engineer and, after launching the 8770A arbitrary waveform synthesizer, moved to R&D. Pete has developed software or software applications for instruments such as the 8791A frequency agile signal synthesizer, the E2507/08 multiformat communications signal simulators, the E8267D vector microwave synthesizer, and several other RF and microwave signal generators. He has a BSEE from California State University, Sacramento WiMAX is a trademark of the WiMAX Forum Testing microwave systems, sub-systems or components? With the 6820A Series Microwave Scalar Analyzers with integrated source or the 6840A Series Microwave System analyzers including integrated spectrum analyzer Aeroflex has your test needs covered. Whether you are testing individual microwave components, complete radar systems, ground stations or satellite links, the series provides a comprehensive suite of easy to use configured measurements. Available in various frequency ranges up to 46 GHz the 6800 Series has the ideal tools for measuring antennas, cables, filters, LNAs, etc. All the basic standard measurements you would expect are available VSWR, Insertion Loss, Fault Location, Group Delay, LNA gain, 1 dB compression, 3 dB bandwidth - and all in automatically configured form. If you are looking for a simple and effective means of testing frequency translation devices, mixer/convertor gain and group delay are all covered. For radar installation stimulus there are pulse generator and modulator facilities available for use with the integrated source. Unique applications are also available to measure end-to-end group delay and amplitude variation across a Satellite or Microwave network. Channel Equalizers can be evaluated by taking synchronised intercontinental measurements across the complete satellite system. To order a FREE Microwave info pack including the 6820A/ 6840A data sheets, a microwave datamate and brochure visit: www.aeroflex.com/me0309 MICROWAVE ENGINEERING EUROPE Free subscription at: www.mwee.com/subscribe Microwave Engineering Europe ● April 2009 ● www.mwee.com http://www.aeroflex.com/me0309 http://www.aeroflex.com/me0309 http://www.mwee.com/subscribe http://www.mwee.com

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Microwave Engineering Europe - April 2009 News Contents Comment MMICs/RFICs: MMICs for Broadband Receiver Applications Antennas: Mutual Coupling Reduction in Compact Arrays for Wireless Sensors via a Pre-fractal Defected Ground Structure Repeatable Characterization of Distortion Caused by Nonlinearities in Wideband Communication Systems Products Calendar

Microwave Engineering Europe - April 2009

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