TEST & MEASUREMENT APPLICATION NOTES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Circuit Models For Plastic Packaged Microwave Diodes

    This paper reports on the measurement and establishment of circuit models for SOT-23 and SOD-323 packaged diodes. Results indicate that the 1.5 nH estimate for the SOT-23 is a useful result, as is 1.2 nH for SOD-323 single packaged diodes. It was also determined that the effective inductance of the SOT-23 may be reduced to approximately 0.4 nH by adding a second bond wire and modifying the microstrip line. Other lead configurations, including parallel bond wires and common cathode configurations, were also studied.

  • Perform High Impedance Measurements With Spectrum Analyzers

    Modern RF circuit designs can use oscilloscope probes to directly probe circuit components, eliminating the need for traditional RF connectors and ensuring accurate measurements with high-impedance probes and spectrum analyzers.

  • Four Practical Applications Using An Electronic Load

    This article presents four tips on how to test with electronic loads and illustrate the flexibility and usefulness of a DC electronic load. 

  • Transmit And Receive Testing Of Digital Waveforms Using R&S®CMA180

    The compact R&S®CMA180 Radio Test Set allows straightforward tests on devices that use analog or digital modulation and demodulation formats. This application note focuses on the use of the digital radio capabilities for measurements on radio transceiving devices in terms of their functionality and parameter characterization. Also shown is how to use the instrument with the various software tools available from Rohde & Schwarz for creating and evaluating digitally modulated signals.

  • Accurate Test Fixture Characterization And De-Embedding

    This application note provides practical hints to accurately characterize and de-embed these lead-in and lead-out structures with R&S Vector Network Analyzers ZNA, ZNB, ZNBT and ZND.

TEST & MEASUREMENT SOLUTIONS

The 50S-2133 SMA from JFW is a solid-state, self-terminating 1P8T RF switch designed for economical automated RF testing applications in the 20 – 5,000 MHz frequency range.

The series of GORE® VNA microwave/RF test assemblies from W.L. Gore are designed to provide the most precise VNA measurements in laboratory conditions, setting the standard for vector network analyzers (VNAs) through 70 GHz. These test assemblies deliver the highest accuracy and greatest time intervals between recalibrations for many applications, including those with vector network analyzers, critical measurements, and laboratory testing.

Pentek offers the Quartz® Model 6003 high-performance Quartz eXpress Module (QuartzXM) based on the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC FPGA. The RFSoC FPGA integrates eight RF-class A/D and D/A converters into the Zynq’s multiprocessor architecture, creating a multichannel data conversion and processing solution on a single chip.

The dB-3906 TWT Amplifier (TWTA) is designed to use two wideband, periodic permanent magnet (PPM)-focused TWTs to amplify CW, AM, FM or pulse-modulated signals. The dB-3906 offers higher saturated output power and improved harmonic performance when compared to a single TWT approach.

The Model 6350S is a small form factor 8-channel A/D & D/A subsystem designed for a variety of applications including high-bandwidth data streaming, waveform signal generators, multimode data acquisition, and other electronic warfare systems. Designed to be integrated into larger systems with minimal design effort, the 6350S delivers the performance and high-channel density of RFSoC in a small, convenient footprint.

The dB-9002 from dB Control is a custom-mounted Dual Instantaneous Frequency Measurement (DIFM) unit designed to operate in the C, X, and Ku-band frequency range and provide highly accurate measurements at 100 ns to CW pulse width measurements.

dB Control’s family of traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) features a combined frequency range of 2 to 18 GHz up to 15kW output power. dB Control utilizes our proprietary transformer fabrication, encapsulation and high-voltage potting techniques developed for demanding military applications which results in superior reliability, low cost and ease of maintenance.  Products in this series are ideal for several applications, including: test and measurement, electronic warfare (EW) simulation, RFI/EMI/EMC Testing, electronic countermeasures (ECM), and antenna pattern and radar-cross section measurements.

The dB-9003 and dB-9005 from dB Control are custom-mounted Integrated Stabilized RF Sources (ISRFS) designed to operate in the I and Ka-band frequency range. Both products feature high accuracy and a wide temperature operating range. They can be controlled and set up with a digital port. The units are packaged in a custom configuration with conduction cooling.