Evaulation_Engineering_August_2020 - 8

SIGNAL AND SPECTRUM ANALYZERS

Sponsored by

SPECIAL REPORT

ANALYZERS SERVE MARKETS
FROM WIRELESS IOT TO RADAR
By Rick Nelson, Contributing Technical Editor
	

Signal and spectrum analyzers are key
instruments for measuring the performance of products operating through the
RF and millimeter-wave frequency ranges.
They are available in a variety of form factors, including modular, USB, portable, and
benchtop.

Trends
"The increasing research and development
in IoT and smart sensor technologies has
driven the need for test equipment that
provides solid performance and ease-ofuse
without the high costs associated with
traditional RF test equipment," said Jason
Chonko, applications marketing manager
at SIGLENT Technologies North America.
"Engineers are looking for the best performance without paying a premium."
Chonko has also seen interest in flexible instrumentation that can provide
traditional spectrum analysis, data

demodulation, and device characterization in one box. He said, "The convenience
of having an instrument capable of adequately performing a variety of measurements really increases the usefulness of
a tool-and if it is portable, even better!"
Marty Leeke, market development
manager, software and modular solutions
division (retired), and Giovanni D'Amore,
product marketing operating manager,
high-frequency measurement products,
both at Keysight Technologies, said, "The
RF/microwave test field is witnessing a
profound change related to the diffusion of
technologies using RF signals to communicate, transfer, and exchange information.
It's even estimated that by 2023, over 70%
of the global population will have mobile
connectivity.1 To accommodate these users, mmWave frequency bands provide a
large amount of contiguous spectrum for
high data-rate applications."

SIGLENT SSA3075X-R Series real-time spectrum analyzer.

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EVALUATION ENGINEERING AUGUST 2020

Leeke and D'A more continued, "Aside
from the growing communications industry, signal and spectrum analyzers play a
pivotal role in radar and defense development. Aerospace and defense market
advancements pave the way for more
industries. Monitoring the spectrum will
become even more important in the next
few years when thousands of new lowearth-orbit (LEO) satellites are expected
to launch."
Darren Tipton, director of product management, signal and spectrum analysis
at Rohde & Schwarz, talked about the increased need for higher frequencies and
more bandwidth. "The ever-increasing consumer demand for faster and more convenient data usage drives technologies such
as 5G and new wideband digital payloads
in the satellite industry. Test methodology
in these areas are much more focused on
modulated testing compared to CW- or
VNA-based approaches from just a few
years ago."
Matt Maxwell, product manager for
Rohde & Schwarz, divides benchtop instruments into two major classes: midrange and high-performance. "Mid-range
spectrum analyzers are leapfrogging the
performance from previous generations,"
he said. "What was once high-end is now
considered midrange, and high performance is already pushing the leading edge
with respect to RF performance. Now we
also see high performance adding ultrawide bandwidth up to 8.3 GHz internally
to handle the latest radar, satellite, and
next-gen 5G work, in addition to 6G."
Maureen Lipps, product manager,
Test & Tools, Newark, said, "As the current spectrum is getting more crowded,
these increases in data usage are driving
the market towards spectrum and signal
Evaulation_Engineering_August_2020

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