News and New Products

DSO-based software analyzes 20-GHz-bandwidth RF signals

By Dan Strassberg, Contributing Technical Editor -- EDN, 10/27/2008

Tektronix has announced SignalVu vector-signal-analysis software, which enables engineers to use the company’s DPO7000 and DPO/DSA70000 digital oscilloscopes to easily characterize and validate wideband and microwave spectral events. The product follows a key trend in today's communications and radar systems: the need for increased information bandwidth and accurate phase and magnitude characterization of wideband signals. SignalVu combines the signal-analysis engine of the manufacturer’s RSA6100A real-time spectrum analyzer with the scopes’ powerful triggering, enabling designers to evaluate complex signals having bandwidth as great as 20 GHz without the need for an external downconverter.

 The single integrated scope-based package performs the functions of a vector-signal analyzer and a spectrum analyzer and provides access to the scope’s Pinpoint trigger capabilities. The result is an RF-test unit whose price is lower than that of alternatives for work on wideband-RF components, system design and integration, performance verification, and spectrum management.

 “The software rapidly displays RF characteristics in the frequency, time, phase, and power domains without the need for manual setups,” says Lynne Camp, Tektronix’s vice president for Performance Plus Instruments. “The software integrates with the oscilloscope’s user interface to provide the best of both worlds: the scope’s market-leading real-time bandwidth and triggering and a simple user interface for RF measurements. The combination provides engineers with faster time to insight for validating digital-RF circuits and systems.” Unlike alternative approaches, which require operation in either oscilloscope or vector-signal-analyzer modes, mixing modes does not cause system errors.

 SignalVu controls all scope acquisition parameters, such as record length, vertical scaling, and sample rate. The only limit on acquisitions is the scope’s memory depth. The scopes’ Pinpoint trigger system allows selection of virtually all trigger types for both A and B trigger events whether they are transition, state, time, or logic-qualified triggers. Once it triggers the events, SignalVu processes the acquisition for analysis in multiple domains, allowing multiple measurements without the need to recapture the data. The scope’s deep memory records all signals within the acquisition bandwidth. SignalVu lets you simultaneously capture four channels for analysis.

 The software provides the same analysis capabilities as the RSA6100A. In addition to spectrum analyses, the spectrograms display both frequency and amplitude changes over time. You can make time-correlated measurements across the frequency, phase, amplitude, and modulation domains. This capability is ideal for signal analysis that includes frequency hopping, pulse characteristics, modulation switching, settling time, bandwidth changes, and intermittent signals.

 You can order SignalVu on all DPO7000 and DPO/DSA70000 series scopes. The basic package is SignalVu Essentials, which provides 11 core measurement and analysis capabilities. US suggested pricing starts at $3490 for scope models in the DPO7000 Series and $4990 for those in the DPO/DSA70000 Series. Options include pulse measurement and modulation analysis.