Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 8

SIGNAL GENERATORS

SPECIAL REPORT

SIGNAL GENERATORS
TACKLE IF, RF, AND
MMWAVE APPLICATIONS
By Rick Nelson, Contributing Technical Editor
	 Signal generators are key instruments
serving at the heart of RF/microwave
and mmWave measurement applications.
They can serve as IF/RF signal injection
and LO substitution or can act as a highspeed clock source, with end applications
including cellular mobile radio, wireless
connectivity, broadcasting, mmWave
radar, and satellite communications as
well as semiconductor, military/aerospace, avionics, automotive, medical,
video, navigation, and radar test. They
come in a variety of configurations, including benchtop, PXI, and USB.

From RF to mmWave
Rohde & Schwarz in July introduced the
R&S SMCV100B vector signal generator,
which Lawrence Wilson, product manager, described as the first multistandard
platform for automotive, broadcast, navigation, and wireless applications. "The
R&S SMCV100B is unique for use in many
applications, from the lab to production
and wherever different technologies
meet," he said. "Operating from 4 kHz to
7.125 GHz, with modulation bandwidths
up to 240 MHz, the R&S SMCV100B has

8

EVALUATION ENGINEERING OCTOBER 2020

the flexibility to be a single-box solution
for today's leading RF applications."
Rohde & Schwarz also offers R&S Pulse
Sequencer Software, which Wilson described as a radar signal simulation
software designed to offer engineers who
are responsible for testing radar receivers
with a compelling radar signal generation solution. "It's a great tool because
it provides a solution for implementing
more test sessions in the lab as opposed
to expensive tests in the field," he said.
"The R&S Pulse Sequencer Software can
be paired with our vector signal generators, including the R&S SMW200A, the
R&S SMBV100B, and the R&S SGT100A."
Wilson added that the R&S SMA100B
remains popular. "This product family
was recently expanded and now operates up to 67 GHz," he said, adding that
the instrument provides pure output
signals while maintaining high output
power levels. For the R&S SMA100B, the
company offers the R&S LegacyPro program, which allows users to manage the
maintenance and obsolescence of aging
equipment without having to replace existing test system software, according

to Wilson. "The R&S LegacyPro is available for a handful of signal generators,
in addition to spectrum analyzers and
network analyzers, to help our customers
successfully replace legacy instrumentation," he said.
Keysight Technologies M9384B VXG microwave
signal generator. Copyright Keysight Technologies.
Reproduced with permission



Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020

Instrumentation vs. Telemetry
By the Numbers
Automotive Test
Industry Report
Automated Test
Tech Focus
Testing Quandary
Signal Generators
Autonomous Vehicles
Automotive Test
Instrumentation vs. Telemetry
Instrumentation vs. Telemetry
Automated Test
By the Numbers
By the Numbers
High-Speed Digital
Industry Report
Industry Report
Testing Quandary
Tech Focus
Featured Tech
Autonomous Vehicles
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 1
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 2
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 3
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - By the Numbers
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 5
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Industry Report
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Tech Focus
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Signal Generators
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 9
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 10
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 11
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 12
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 13
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 14
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 15
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Automotive Test
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 17
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 18
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 19
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 20
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 21
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 22
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 23
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Automated Test
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 25
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 26
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 27
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - High-Speed Digital
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 29
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Testing Quandary
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 31
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Featured Tech
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 33
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - Autonomous Vehicles
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 35
Evaluation_Engineering_October_2020 - 36
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