Agilent Technologies has introduced measurement capabilities for its ESA-E Series mid-performance spectrum analysers that it says allow all the required calculations for noise figure and gain from 10 MHz to 26,5 GHz at the touch of a button.
The new noise figure measurement personality and hardware option (Option 219) can be used with any of the company's five ESA-E Series spectrum analyser models: E4401B, E4402B, E4404B, E4405B and E4407B. The addition of noise figure capability brings the number of application-focused solutions for the ESA-E series to 10, making this an extremely flexible tool for the design bench and an economical tool for production facilities, where reducing the variety of test equipment without compromising the range of tests performed, is essential.
Agilent says the ESA portable spectrum analyser is the only commercially-available spectrum analyser that works with its SNS Series noise sources. These noise sources provide the advantage of electronic storage and automatic download of excess noise ratio (ENR) data to the ESA, speeding up overall set-up time. The SNS noise sources also have automatic ambient temperature sensing that allows the ESA to apply compensation during the measurement cycle, leading to reliable and accurate measurements.
To ensure low measurement uncertainty (high accuracy) and improve sensitivity when making noise figure measurements, spectrum analysers generally require a low-noise preamplifier. The ESA-E Series instruments incorporate a preamplifier with very low noise, wide dynamic range, and flat frequency response from 10 MHz to 3 GHz. This preamplifier and the instruments' inherent performance characteristics combine to produce instrument noise figure uncertainty at frequencies up to 3 GHz as low as ±0,24 dB.
With a user interface identical to the noise figure solution on the Agilent PSA Series high-performance spectrum analysers, the ESA-E Series also has an integrated calculator that automatically calculates total measurement uncertainty. The instrument calculates errors introduced by all elements of the test set-up, including the instrument, noise source and cables.
Option 219 provides a rich set of measurement data with seven different parameters, including noise figure, noise factor, gain, Y-Factor, effective temperature, hot power density (Phot) and cold power density (Pcold). The user can also analyse captured data from many different perspectives by switching between multiple views - graphical, tabular or meter - all available with pass/fail limit testing.
The measurement personality simplifies noise figure measurements, automating the various steps in the process and guiding the operator via set-up diagrams or with comprehensive context-sensitive help. Calculations are performed automatically. The operator simply connects the noise source, presses 'calibrate', then inserts the device to be measured.
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