TEST & MEASUREMENT APPLICATION NOTES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Directivity And VSWR Measurements: Understanding Return Loss Measurements

    The characterization of microwave networks requires discriminating between forward and backward traveling waves. Unfortunately no directional device is perfect, leading to potentially dramatic measurement errors. In this note we show that return loss and VSWR measurements are greatly complicated by the finite performance of the directional device used to measure the reflected power.

  • Reduce Risk With A Better Measurement Process

    Measurement risk is the probability of making an incorrect decision. Many quality standards require calibration to reduce measurement risk. This white paper explores calibration, how it mitigates risk, as well as different calibration deliverables that can reduce testing costs.

  • Solving Tomorrow's Obsolescence Challenges Today

    This white paper discusses best practices in operations implementation, hardware acquisition, and software design to reduce the sustainment burden of handling obsolescence in test systems long before the equipment goes end of life.

  • 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. 

  • Combining On-Wafer VNA And Spectrum Analyzer Measurements

    This app note describes how S-parameters and spectrum analysis can be monitored simultaneously from 70 kHz to 110 GHz using the VectorStar ME7838A, the Spectrum Master MS2760A, and the Anritsu MN25110A W1 coaxial precision directional coupler.

TEST & MEASUREMENT SOLUTIONS

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 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.

D-TA Systems offers the MFEL 1000 portable ELINT data collection solution designed to provide automatic spectrum scanning for signal activity (pulse or CW), PDW extraction and de-interleaving to tracks where signal characterization is performed automatically. The system includes a built-in 6 TB (expandable to 18 TB) SSD data storage for I/Q data collection in both on-site and off-site analysis.

The dB-3908 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-3908 offers higher saturated output power and improved harmonic performance when compared to a single TWT approach.

Electrostatic discharge testing is utilized worldwide by electronics manufacturers to determine the ESD susceptibility of their devices. It is extremely difficult to estimate the exact cost of ESD loss annually, but it can safely be stated that ESD requires the development and testing of many hardware prototypes and contributes to a high number of warranty claims and loss of consumer confidence if failure occurs in the hands of the customer. Given the high cost in time and materials associated with ESD hardware testing, the ability to simulate the ESD testing process in XFdtd is extremely valuable, allowing engineers to pinpoint locations susceptible to ESD damage and optimize ESD mitigation during the concept and design stage of product development.

The dB-9001 from dB Control is a custom-mounted Instantaneous Frequency Measurement (IFM) 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.

The Si4133G Dual-Band RF synthesizer is a fast settling integer-N synthesizer

Pentek offers the Talon® RTX 2684 as a 26 GHz sentinel intelligent signal scanner recording system. The system provides SIGINT engineers the ability to scan the RF spectrum from 1 GHz to 26 GHz for signals of interest and monitor or record bandwidths up to 500 MHz wide.