System Overview
R&S
®
ZVA
92
Quick Start Guide 1145.1090.62 ─ 10
3.5.2 Arbitrary Generator and Receiver Frequencies (R&S ZVA-K4)
Measurements at arbitrary (not necessarily equal) generator and receiver frequencies
provide a wealth of applications, e.g. intermodulation measurements vs. frequency and
power, hot S-parameter measurements.
For intermodulation distortion measurements, the analyzer provides a measurement and
calibration wizard. Intermodulation products and intercept points of order 3, 5, 7, 9 can
be measured at the input and at the output of the DUT.
The frequency conversion option also includes mixer and harmonics measurements.
3.5.3 Scalar Mixer and Harmonics (R&S ZVA-K4)
RF mixers convert an RF signal at one frequency into a signal at another frequency. The
frequency that is to be shifted is applied at the RF input and the frequency shifting signal
(from a local oscillator, LO) is applied to the RF mixer's LO port, resulting in an output
signal at the mixer's Intermediate Frequency (IF) port.
For a given RF signal, an ideal mixer would produce only two IF outputs: one at the
frequency sum of the RF and LO (IF = RF + LO), and another at the frequency difference
between the RF and LO (IF = |RF – LO|). Filtering can be used to select one of these IF
outputs and reject the unwanted one.
In the scalar mixer mode the analyzer provides the following functionality:
●
Configuration of the RF and LO signals and measurement of the generated IF signal.
●
Power calibration of the signal sources and of the IF receiver.
●
The mixer mode can be used also to test important performance parameters of RF
mixers such as frequency ranges, conversion loss, compression, and isolation.
Harmonics are signals at an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. The funda-
mental is the first harmonic, the nth harmonic is n times the frequency of the fundamental.
The production of harmonic frequencies by an electronic system when a signal is applied
at the input is known as harmonic distortion.
The purpose of the harmonics measurement is to measure the harmonic distortion of a
DUT. To this end the source remains at the fundamental frequency whereas the receiver
is set to n times the fundamental frequency. Two different types of results are provided:
●
In the direct measurement, the n
th
harmonic of the stimulus signal is measured.
●
In the relative measurement, the n
th
harmonic of the stimulus signal is divided by
1
st
harmonic (fundamental) received from the DUT. The result corresponds to the
n
th
harmonic distortion factor.
3.5.4 Mixer Phase Measurement (R&S ZVA-K5)
Measurement of the parameters of an external mixer including phase, e.g. the complex
conversion loss or reflection coefficients. In contrast to scalar mixer measurements (with
option R&S ZVA-K4), mixer phase (or vector mixer) measurements provide magnitude
and phase information, including group delay, about the mixer under test (MUT). To
Optional R&S ZVA Extensions
