Polar modulation is a method where digital modulation is realized as a combination of phase and amplitude modulation, rather than using an I/Q modulator. This technique becomes increasingly important in mobile communication. This application note shows how to generate polar modulation with an R&S®SMU200A Vector Signal Generator.

26-Nov-2004 | AN-No. 1GP58

Rohde & Schwarz signal generators and spectrum analyzers can be used to test IEEE 802.11ax stations in terms of uplink accuracy requirements. Measurements such as residual carrier frequency error and timing accuracy of HE TB PPDU transmissions are supported.

09-Nov-2017

Today’s electronic devices often draw non-sinusoidal, irregular current where harmonic current is fed back into the universal supply system. Monitoring this current is both crucial and mandatory for CE compliant devices. The R&S®NPA701 compliance tester seamlessly and efficiently monitors this current.

28-Mar-2024

The application note guides developers and manufactures of Sigfox Devices to perform the required and recommended measurements with test solutions from Rohde & Schwarz. The note will help bring ultranarrowband IoT devices and applications using Sigfox technology to the market as fast as possible and help ensure the desired quality and performance.For R&D, Pre-certification and QA, all currently defined Uplink- and Downlink- measurements are shown using the compact R&S®FPL1000 Spectrum Analyzer and R&S®SMBV100A Vector Signal Generator.For Production, use of the R&S®CMW100A Communications Manufacturing Test Set is shown for the most essential Uplink RF tests on Sigfox Devices.Python scripts for giving example SCPI commands demonstrate how measurements shown in manual use can easily be automated.

15-Nov-2017 | AN-No. 1MA294

Receiver diversity improves reception quality by using multiple antennas with a preferably low correlation factor between each receive path. The result is a much more robust reception, since a deep fade will not affect all received signals at the same time.However, the complex geometry and positioning constraints for antennas of the receiving devices can introduce an unwanted correlation between channels. The popular diversity test setup consisting of several independent transmitters does not serve the needs of a realistic simulation, because radio channel correlation is not simulated.This application note explains a compact and versatile MIMO test solution for any common broadcast standard with real time fading including the simulation of channel correlation for a 1x4 MIMO system.The test setup allows very precisely specified individual multipath profiles.

11-Oct-2017 | AN-No. 1GP114

Using the internal R&S®ESMD-IGT GPS module and external GPS antenna in the R&S®ESMD wideband monitoring receiver

30-Apr-2013

IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee) uses Offset QPSK with a half-sine pulse-shaping filter as modulation. This application note describes how to set up the Rohde & Schwarz signal analyzers together with the corresponding vector signal analysis (VSA) personality for modulation quality measurements, especially EVM, for ZigBee.

12-Dec-2014 | AN-No. 1EF55

Smart factories rely heavily on wireless communications technology to automate production processes and increase productivity. Any source of RF interference can disrupt the production process or delay the output.

23-Jul-2024

Noise figure is an important parameter that describes the noise contribution of an electronic device. A classical approach to measure the noise figure is to use a noise source which delivers two different input noise powers by switching between a “hot” and a “cold” state and a noise receiver (e.g. a spectrum analyzer).In contrast to this approach, using a vector network analyzer with the “Cold Source” approach eliminates the need for a noise source. A cold source noise power measurement followed by an available gain measurement of the device under test is sufficient to determine the noise figure of the device. This application note describes the “Cold Source” technique for measuring noise figure on the R&S®ZNA family of vector network analyzers.Background equations are provided for an analysis of noise factor, noise figure and noise temperature on a device under test and a cascade of devices.Based on a measurement example the user will be guided through the process of setting up a noise figure channel and performing a noise figure measurement. In addition, various measurement options are reviewed, providing guidance as to when and how each option should be utilized to improve the noise figure results.

23-Dec-2021 | AN-No. 1SL378

EMI debugging, FPC, FPC1000, FPC1500, EMC compliance test, EUT The combination of high power and current being sharply switched on and off has a lot of potential for EMI. EMI debugging a switched-mode power supply with R&S®FPC1000/ R&S®FPC1500 EMI debugging, FPC, FPC1000, FPC1500, EMC compliance test, EUT The combination of high power and current being sharply switched on and off has a lot of potential

30-Jun-2019

Nearly all analog NTSC broadcasting has ended in the US, Canada and South Korea. The digital switchover to ATSC in Mexico is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. ATSC receivers must fulfill the recommendations described in “ATSC Recommended Practice: Receiver Performance Guidelines” (document A/74:2010) before they can be sold freely in the markets that have adopted the standard. In addition, Recommendation ITU-R BT.2036-1 (07/2016), titled “Characteristics of a reference receiving system for frequency planning of digital terrestrial television systems”, includes the planning factors for an ATSC reception system, with a reference to ATSC Recommended Practice A/74:2010, because operation is in a more dynamic environment.

29-Sep-2016 | AN-No. 1GP111

FSxRecordPlay is a program for recording the trace data in frequency and time domain from Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers and measurement receivers via IEEE bus, LAN/Internet or internal remote control connection. The stream waveform data can be played back and analyzed directly in this software with variable speed.

20-May-2010 | AN-No. RAC-0605-0004

Compliance testing is essential to ensuring that dynamic random access memory (DRAM) signals meet the JEDEC specifications for parameters such as timing, slew rates and voltage levels. For system verification and debugging, eye diagram measurements are the most important tools for efficiently analyzing the signal integrity in any digital design. The specific nature of DDR requires a dedicated solution with a powerful read/write separation to get meaningful eye diagrams on the DDR data bus.

19-Feb-2019

Most of the tests specified in the standard TIA-98 that a CDMA2000 mobile station has to fulfill can be performed by the Universal Radio Communication Tester R&S®CMU200 without further assistance. Other tests, however, require additional instruments, for instance for generating interfering signals. Some tests of the standard TIA-98 need features that a tester optimized for production cannot offer, for example high dynamic spectrum analysis up to 12.75 GHz. This Application Note shows how to perform these tests easily with the remote-control software CMUgo, using the R&S®CMU200 in combination with R&S®SMU, R&S®SMJ, R&S®SMIQ, or R&S®SML signal generators, and R&S®FSQ, R&S®FSU, R&S®FSP, or R&S®FSL spectrum analyzers. New test items and sequences will therefore be included in the CMUgo software v1.9.8 to remote-control the R&S®CMU200, as well as the signal generators and spectrum analyzers. They are presented in this Application Note.

05-Jan-2012 | AN-No. 1MA86

Comprehensive test and validation of network slicing in 5G devices with dynamic resource allocation thanks to the CMX500 radio communication tester.

08-May-2025

The aim of this application note is to provide information regarding Rohde & Schwarz (R&S®) instrument drivers for R&S®CMU200. This document describes how to use the R&S®CMU200 VXIPlug&Play drivers in Microsoft Visual Basic.NET or C# using Visual Studio.

30-Jun-2009 | AN-No. 1MA157

This application notes describes remote operation or monitoring of the spectrum analyzers R&S® FSL3, R&S® FSL6, R&S® FSL18 through a standard web browser. The common cross-platform technology Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is used as a server on the instrument.

07-Jan-2009 | AN-No. 1EF66

This Application Note briefly explains the theoretical background regarding phase noise before describing the phase noise option for the R&S SFU. You will see how the phase noise profile creator application software can be used to generate specific phase noise curves and how to output them with the aid of the R&S SFU.

22-Aug-2007 | AN-No. 7BM63

This document describes the adaptive frequency hopping mechanism for improved signaling performance in Bluetooth Basic Rate and Enhanced Data Rate devices.The R&S CMW provides this feature for remote operation in TX, Loopback and Connection test mode. Thereby the R&S CMW acts as a master, while the Equipment under Test (EUT) represents the slave(s) of the piconet.

14-Dec-2016 | AN-No. 1C108

The R&S®FSWP phase noise analyzer and VCO tester is a high-end instrument that accurately analyzes noise in key radar and communications system components. Phase noise measurements are used to derive the large-signal noise figure for a device under real-world operating conditions.

16-May-2025

This application note provides a brief introduction into the capabilities of the Rohde & Schwarz Vector Signal Generators (VSG) to create user defined digitally modulated signals called Custom Digital Modulation (CDM). Additionally an in depth description of the functions and the operation of the CDM-Toolbox is provided. The CDM-Toolbox is application software which allows an easy remote configuration of CDM signals on Rohde & Schwarz VSGs but also the creation of data list and control list files which are most useful to further extend the application area of CDM signals.

24-Jul-2017 | AN-No. 1GP96

Deembedding, often a necessary and complex task, is made easier with an integrated hardware and software solution.

25-Sep-2018

Measuring the spurious emissions of transmitters used in GSM, DCS 1800 and PCS 1900 networks requires highly complex test setups since con-ventional spectrum analyzers do not have the necessary dynamic range. To obtain this range, notch filters are used to suppress the useful sig-nal. The spectrum analyzers of the FSE family make it possible for the first time to verify com-pliance with stipulated limit values for spurious emissions within the transmission band and out-side the reception band without the use of notch filters. The measurement problem and its solution by means of FSE are described in the following by way of the example of a GSM base station.

16-Jan-2002 | AN-No. 1EF17

A special requirement for testing GSM components is to measure the electrical characteristics, such as the gain of a power amplifier, of the DUT under pulsed conditions. The test should be similar to real operating conditions for a mobile telephone.

28-Jul-1998 | AN-No. 1EZ42

As phase noise becomes an increasingly important system-level specification for electronic test equipment, communications systems, and radar systems. It is not only important to quantify the noise produced by oscillators, but also the noise added by each component in the signal processing chain. This application note reviews the fundamentals of residual or additive noise and addresses measurement techniques for determining the amplitude (AM) and phase noise added by two-port devices such as: amplifiers, mixers, block frequency converters, multipliers, dividers, and frequency synthesizers.Additionally, the Rohde & Schwarz FSWP phase noise analyzer will be introduced and a discussion of residual noise measurement techniques for the above-mentioned devices will be provided.

09-Oct-2017 | AN-No. 1EF100

Rohde & Schwarz presents a customizable solution for testing GNSS receivers to ensure a certain resilience against (legal) interference from neighboring bands.

18-Jul-2017

As the data rates in high-speed digital designs increase, the limits for overall system jitter become tighter. This especially applies to the various components of the clock tree, where the jitter limits for reference clocks, clock buffers and jitter attenuators are even tighter. Due to their high phase noise sensitivity, phase noise analyzers are the instruments of choice for these tests.

08-May-2018

With continuously increasing data rates, signal inte grity aspects of high-speed digital designs and the components used become more and more challenging. Particularly at higher data rates, vector network analyzers (VNA) are increasingly replacing traditional time domain reflectometry (TDR) setups for testing passive components such as connectors, cables and PCBs. Users benefit from the higher accuracy, speed and ESD robustness of the VNA, making the VNA the instrument of choice in this field.

20-Sep-2016

In order to allow users to quickly generate different reports, ELEKTRA provides several ways or supporting the user. This application note describes the various methods and their benefits. It is not a how-to step-by-step guide, but shows the principles of operation.

27-Jul-2022 | AN-No. 1SL384

Testing RF devices, like power amplifiers, requires a certain input power at the device under test (DUT). Sometimes, more power than a signal generator can deliver is needed. This may be the case when devices require higher input power, or when they need to be connected using long cables, which introduce large insertion losses at high frequencies. In these cases, an external amplifier can be used to deliver the required power to a DUT.This application note gives a guideline how to increase the power delivered to a DUT by an R&S®SMW200A vector signal generator using an external amplifier.It covers shifting the power reference plane from the generator output to the DUT input using an R&S®NRP power sensor and mitigating linear and nonlinear distortions using an R&S®FSW signal and spectrum analyzer.

12-Mar-2025 | AN-No. 1GP143