Tektronix brings live RF to mid-range analyzers

RF Designline (02/04/2008 2:55 AM ET)

In 2006, Tektronix announced a new capability for its RSA6000A high-end real-time spectrum analyzers (RTSAs). Known as DPX waveform image processor technology, it provided a unique live view of the RF spectrum. As engineers began using DPX, they found it gave them an unprecedented amount of insight into the signal. Now, the company has brought this capability to its mid-range RTSAs in the RSA3000B series.

The DPX capability displays more than 48,000 spectrum measurements/second. The RSA3000B series offers a 36MHz real-time bandwidth and has the ability to trigger on transient signals in both time and, uniquely, the frequency domain with 100% probability of intercept (POI) for signals as fast as 20 us.

The next two figures use the same input signal in an RF troubleshooting application. Figure 1 is the display from a typical spectrum analyzer, and Figure 2 is the same signal using the Tektronix DPX capability on an RSA3408B. "The new view allows designers to see anomalies and signals within signals, analyzing an environment you would have no way of knowing existed before," explains Darren McCarthy, Tektronix's market development manger. "In this example, we can use the RSA3408B to detect illegal signals, find sources of interference, and then identify, classify, and mitigate them."

In addition to live RF, the DPX waveform image processor also provides an intensity-graded persistence display that holds anomalies until the eye can see them to show the history of occurrence for dynamic signals and immediate feedback on signal variations over time.

The new RTSAs support the following standards: ISO 18000-4, 18000-6 Type A/B/C, 18092, 14443-2 Type A/B, EPC Global Generation 1 Class 0, Class 1, ISO18000-7 Wireless standard for Active RFID, ISO 15693 Standard for contactless "vicinity cards."

Details on Specific Models
The RSA3300B series and RSA3408B provide 100% probability for the display of transients as brief as 31 microseconds on the RSA3408B and 41 microseconds on the RSA3300B models.

The RSA3300B series is available with either DC-3 GHz or DC- 8GHz frequency coverage. With 15 MHz capture bandwidth and 70 dB spurious free dynamic range (SFDR), the RSA3300Bs are well suited for use in the design and debug of 3G mobile systems, near-field systems (such as RFID and Bluetooth), and narrow to medium bandwidth communications systems.

Spanning DC to 8 GHz, the RSA3408B features 36-MHz capture bandwidth and 73 dB SFDR. It is targeted for higher bandwidth and dynamic range applications including 3G mobile components and system debug, WLAN and WiMAX system design, spectrum management applications, and general purpose digital RF debug.

I sat down with Tektronix and saw the demo for this new product. In this case, a picture is worth a thousand words, so, if this product interests you, I encourage you to take a look at their demo for yourself.

Prices for the RSA3303B with DPX begin at $32,900, U.S. MSRP. RSA3300B and RSA3408B software options are available for 3G, WiMAX, WLAN, RFID, signal source analysis and general purpose modulation and RF analysis. All models and options are available for order. Additional information can be found at: http://www.tek.com/products/spectrum_analyzers/rsa3000/.

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