SADARS

An introduction to
RF Spectrum Analysers

With acknowledgements to Wikipedia

What is a RF Spectrum Analyser?
The name says it all it is an instrument that enables
the analysis of a spectrum.

In our case this is the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum.

In its simplest form, a Spectrum Analyser is simply a

radio receiver with a calibrated S meter.
Spectrum analysers are widely used to measure the frequency
response, noise and distortion characteristics of all kinds of RF
circuits by comparing the input and output spectra.

In telecommunications applications, spectrum analysers can be

used to determine the occupied bandwidth and track interference
sources. In EMC testing applications, a spectrum analyser can be
used for basic pre-compliance testing (detecting radiated and
conducted emissions) .

With suitable additions, such as a Tracking Generator and a VSWR

Bridge, RF filters and band limited functions can be easily checked
and transmission line losses/impedance mismatches plus antenna
matching measurements at multiple frequencies is simply
achieved.
A spectrum analyser may be used to determine if a wireless
transmitter is working according to licence defined standards
for purity of emissions.

Output signals at frequencies other than the intended

communications frequency (harmonics) will be apparent on
the display.

The analyser may also be used to determine, by direct

observation, the bandwidth of a digital or analogue signal.
A spectrum analyser interface is a device that connects to a
wireless receiver or a personal computer to allow visual
detection and analysis of electromagnetic signals over a
defined band of frequencies.

This is called panoramic reception and it is used to determine

the frequencies of sources of interference to wireless
networking equipment, such as Wi-Fi and wireless routers.

Spectrum analysers can also be used to assess RF shielding.

This is particularly important for high RF power devices such as
transmitters, where poor shielding can lead to unwanted cross
coupling between units, or even danger to nearby personnel.
Difference between a Spectrum Analyser and an Oscilloscope

Both items enable measurement of the level of a signal, BUT,

An RF Spectrum Analyser measures a signal with respect to

frequency, i.e. in the FREQUENCY DOMAIN

An Oscilloscope measures a signal with respect to time, i.e. in

the TIME DOMAIN

An RF Spectrum Analyser usually presents a terminated input to

the signal to be measured at a defined impedance usually 50

An Oscilloscope usually presents a high impedance input to the

signal being measured (usually 1M) but can be set to 50 as
well for some instruments.
Signal Analysis, frequency and time domains
Oscilloscope Display, amplitude modulated signal
Spectrum Analyser Display, amplitude modulated signal
Spectrum Analyser Display, Harmonic Distortion
Spectrum Analyser Display, data signal
 Spectrum Analyser types
Spectrum analyser types are defined by the
methods used to obtain the spectrum of a signal.

Fundamentally, there are swept-tuned and FFT

(Fast Fourier Transform) based spectrum analysers
Older instruments tend to be swept-tuned, whilst
modern day instruments are usually FFT based,
which take advantage of modern signal processing
techniques.
 Swept Tuned Spectrum Analyser
A swept-tuned spectrum analyser uses a superhetrodyne
receiver to down convert all, or a portion of the input signal
spectrum, using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and a mixer
to the centre frequency of a band pass filter.

With this superheterodyne architecture, the VCO is swept

through a range of frequencies, as selected by the instruments
SPAN control.

The bandwidth of the band pass filter dictates the resolution

bandwidth, which is related to the minimum bandwidth
detectable by the instrument.
 FFT Spectrum Analyser

A FFT spectrum analyser computes the Discrete

Fourier Transform (DFT), a mathematical process that
transforms the input signal waveform into the
components of its frequency spectrum.

Some spectrum analysers, such as real-time spectrum

analysers, use a hybrid technique where the incoming
signal is first down converted to a lower frequency
using superheterodyne techniques and then analised
using Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) techniques.
Spectrum Analyser, typical Block Diagram
 Terminology, Centre Frequency & Span
In a typical spectrum analyser there are options to set the start,
stop, and centre frequency.

The frequency halfway between the stop and start frequencies

on a spectrum analyser display is known as the centre
frequency. This is the frequency that is in the middle of the
displays frequency axis.

The Span specifies the range between the start and stop
frequencies.

These two parameters allow for adjustment of the display

within the frequency range of the instrument to enhance the
visibility of the spectrum being measured.
 Terminology, resolution bandwidth

The bandwidth of the band pass filter dictates the resolution

bandwidth, which is related to the minimum bandwidth detectable
by the instrument.

However, there is a trade-off between how quickly the display can

update the full frequency span being examined and the frequency
resolution presented, which is relevant for distinguishing frequency
components that are close together.

Here, selecting a slower rate (longer time) to traverse the selected

frequency span enhances the achieved resolution.
 Terminology, resolution bandwidth
The Resolution Band-Width filter or RBW filter is the bandpass
filter in the IF path. It is the bandwidth of the RF route before the
detector (power measurement device). This filter determines the RF
noise floor and how close two signals can be and still be resolved by
the analyser into two separate peaks. Adjusting the bandwidth of
this filter allows for the discrimination of signals with closely spaced
frequency components, while also changing the measured noise
floor. Decreasing the bandwidth of an RBW filter decreases the
measured noise floor and vice versa.

This is due to wider RBW filters passing more frequency

components through to the envelope detector than narrower
bandwidth RBW filters, therefore a wider RBW causes a higher
measured noise floor.
 Terminology, resolution bandwidth, 1
The Video Band-Width filter or VBW filter is the low pass filter
directly after the envelope detector. This is the bandwidth of the
signal chain after the detector.

Averaging or peak detection then refers to how the digital storage

portion of the device records samples - it takes several samples per
time step and stores only one sample, either the average of the
samples or the peak value.

The video bandwidth determines the capability to discriminate

between two different power levels.
 Terminology, resolution bandwidth, 2

A narrower Video Band-Width Filter (VBW) will remove noise in

the detector output.

The filter is used to smooth the display by removing noise

from the envelope.

Similar to the Resolution Band-Width filter (RBW) , the Video

Band-Width Filter affects the sweep time of the display if the
VBW is less than the RBW.
 Terminology, Detector, 1

With the advent of digitally based displays, some modern

spectrum analysers use analogue to digital converters to
sample spectrum amplitude after the VBW filter.

Since displays have a discrete number of points, the frequency

span measured is also digitised.

Detectors are used in an attempt to adequately map the

correct signal power to the appropriate frequency point on
the display. There are in general three types of detectors:
sample, peak, and average
 Terminology, Detector, 2
Sample detection sample detection simply uses the midpoint
of a given interval as the display point value. While this
method does represent random noise well, it does not always
capture all sinusoidal signals.
Peak detection peak detection uses the maximum measured
point within a given interval as the display point value. This
ensures that the maximum sinusoid is measured within the
interval; however, smaller sinusoids within the interval may not
be measured. Also, peak detection does not give a good
representation of random noise.
Average detection average detection uses all of the data
points within the interval to consider the display point value.
This is done by power (rms) averaging, voltage averaging, or
log-power averaging
Terminology, Displayed Average Noise Level

The Displayed Average Noise Level (DANL) is just what it

says it is - the average noise level displayed on the
analyser.

This can either be with a specific resolution bandwidth

(usually in dBm), or normalized to 1 Hz (usually in
dBm/Hz)