Search Application Notes & Cards
Learn how to configure Rohde & Schwarz products to fit your application. Search our database by product, technology, or application to find relevant technical documents.
Search Application Notes & Cards
Learn how to configure Rohde & Schwarz products to fit your application. Search our database by product, technology, or application to find relevant technical documents.
752 Results
Radar equipment is always designed to work at the technologically feasible limits. Therefore the true performance of radar equipment can only be measured with the most accurate and reliable pulsed test signals. The R&S®SMA100B analog RF and microwave signal generator with its high-quality pulse modulator provides narrow pulse modulation. Thanks to a powerful closed-loop level control concept also for narrow pulses, outstanding level accuracy and repeatability is now available for pulse widths starting at 100 ns.
30-May-2017
A new phase noise test instrument covers the frequency range from 1 MHz to 50 GHz with direct down-conversion analog I/Q mixers and baseband signal sampling. The traditional PLL has been replaced by a digital FM demodulator for phase detection and frequency tracking. An additional AM demodulator enables concurrent measurement of phase and amplitude noise. The instrument can measure phase noise as low as -183 dBc/Hz with a 100 MHz carrier frequency and 10 kHz offset within two minutes.
09-May-2016
The development and proliferation of Bluetooth® is a unique success story. The number of Bluetooth® wireless technology enabled devices is currently growing by 3.6 billion per year. As Internet of Things (IoT) technology advances, this number will grow significantly over the next years. Bluetooth SIG anticipates that there will be nearly 5.6 billion new Bluetooth® enabled devices in 2022. To ensure connectivity and trouble-free operation, each Bluetooth® enabled device has to be tested for conformance with Bluetooth SIG standards and regulatory requirements.
23-Nov-2017
Welcome to our short video tutorials on how to test radars using Rohde & Schwarz test equipment. Access to most information about radar is pretty restricted, as many radar applications are military or secretive industrial research. To show you some basic Radar tests we have created RADAR demo tools, which functions at a frequency of 2.45 GHz, which is in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical band. So we can even perform our tests in unshielded rooms. The frequencies are also used by radar operating in the ITU "S"-band from 2.3 to 2.5 GHz for air traffic control, weather and marine radar. The videos are suitable for 'from-the-scratch' introduction of R&S RADAR test equipment. They can also be used for plain introduction to the RADAR principle.
03-Feb-2014 | AN-No. 1MA209
Modern automotive radar systems occupy very wide bandwidth in order to have a good location resolution. In most cases the bandwidth is a result of frequency modulation or fast frequency hopping techniques, in some cases also pulse modulation is used. Besides the measurement of the frequency variation over time like deviation and linearity, the verification of emissions according to EN or FCC standards is mandatory. ETSI regulations for measuring peak transmission power from radar operating at 77-81 GHz require 50 MHz resolution bandwidth for the measurements. Publications are available that describe the measurements on pulsed UWB or MB-OFDM signals in detail, for frequency-modulated signals the information is limited.This application note provides information how to perform spectral emission measurements on frequency modulated CW signals with spectrum analyzers using RBW filters with very wide bandwidth, and explains the capabilities and the limiting factors of the Rohde & Schwarz FSW signal and spectrum analyzer to perform this measurement.
28-Jun-2019 | AN-No. 1EF107
For several years, automobile makers and government agencies have sought ways to improve safety on roadways and effectively manage traffic flow. As wireless communication systems are advancing, the vision of automobiles talking to each other and to roadside units is becoming a reality. These planned automotive wireless communication systems are known as ITS (Intelligent Transportation System). This paper will provide an overview of the current status of the ITS worldwide with a focus on the IEEE 802.11p PHY. Additionally, the paper provides information on test and measurement solutions for devices and components used in ITS.
23-Jan-2014 | AN-No. 1MA152
Broadband amplifiers are necessary for generating the field strengths required for most EMC radiated immunity tests. This Educational Note provides a brief overview of the role of amplifiers in EMC testing as well as a discussion of the parameters and characteristics which have the greatest influence on amplifier performance.Register now to download the Educational Note.
01-Aug-2022
In contrast to standardized digital interfaces which are customary for communication between audio devices, diverse data formats are used between the internal modules of a particular device. The I²S interface developed by Philips has now been widely adopted for the latter. The data structure of this digital audio interface and the adaptation of Audio Analyzer UPD in the different operating modes of the I²S bus are described in this Application Note.
03-Apr-1998 | AN-No. 1GA25
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
This application note belongs to a series of application notes which explains how to test EW receivers at RF in the lab with commercial, off-the-shelf signal generators and software. The series will cover all relevant use cases. This application note will discuss threat simulation and verification. Further application notes will address calibration and verification of multi-channel setups for simulation of angle of arrival, generation of radar signals in a hardware in the loop (HIL) environment with PDW Streaming, and automated threat creation and sequencing.
23-Mar-2021 | AN-No. 1GP123
This application note describes how to verify and validate a LTE (FDD) RF chipset using R&S® SMU200A vector signal generator, R&S® FSQ signal analyzer and R&S® EX-IQ Box. The related signal generation as well as signal analysis is described
19-Dec-2008 | AN-No. 1MA138
Software tool for fast and repeatable optimization of signal analyzer RF front-end settings
The signal conditioning in the RF front-end of signal analyzers is crucial to achieve the best performance with respect to image-suppression, noise-floor, dynamic range and other RF-key parameters.Precise signal levelling is especially important for complex measurements like Error-Vector-Magnitude (EVM). To minimize the measurement uncertainty from test system contributions over a wide range of different levels, the RF front-end needs to be adapted continuously according to the signal characteristics, signal power and frequency - ideally using an automatic levelling algorithm.This document describes the approach of a waveform specific, on-site characterization of the signal analyzer: For each waveform and frequency of interest, the instrument is evaluated in a first step. With this additional data, a fast and repeatable auto-levelling can be performed during the actual measurement.
24-Jan-2022 | AN-No. 1EF111
This white paper introduces a novel attribute based architecture for VXIplug&play instrument drivers. The presented architecture uses the attribute based concept of IVI-C instrument drivers to introduce a two-layer design for VXIplug&play instrument drivers. Moreover the use of attributes is shown for the Rohde & Schwarz Spectrum Analyzer (rsspecan) instrument driver.
01-Dec-2012 | AN-No. 1MA170
The R&S®SMW200A vector signal generator can take on the role of a powerful and flexible signal generation source for the most realistic and agile radar scenarios in highly integrated radar scenario simulators. Equipped with the R&S®SMW-K503/-K504 options, the R&S®SMW200A can generate any stateof-the-art and future I/Q modulated radar signals from streamed pulse descriptor words (PDW). It supports a PDW execution rate of up to 12 megapulse descriptor words per second (MPDW/s).
20-Nov-2020
After a communications satellite is on its target orbit, several routines need to be performed in order to ensure proper performance from the transponders in the payload. The on-orbit measurements are a vital part of the maintenance of a live satellite as well. Operating a satellite channel for an on-orbit measurement rather than the intended application comes with significant opportunity cost and hence test duration needs to be minimized as much as possible. Rohde & Schwarz test and measurement equipment recommended in this paper is market leading not only in terms of measurement accuracy but also offers unparalleled speed of measurement. This application note focuses on satellite post-launch or on-orbit measurement and monitoring strategies used for satellite functionality checks when running maintenance routines. A complementary paper treats pre-launch payload measurements.
25-Nov-2016 | AN-No. 1MA263
Radar test systems are essential in research, development, production and maintenance of radar systems. Most radar tests are expensive to carry out in the field and have a complicated setup and operation. One of the main advantages of the Radar Echo Generator presented in this application note is its ability to generate arbitrary virtual radar echo signals in real time in the laboratory using only commercial measuring equipment. The Radar Echo Generator not only allows to reproduce the results and automate the tests, but also it significantly reduces the measurement effort and costs while providing greater utility for the existing common test equipment. This application note presents a solution for testing the complete radar system by generating any kind of radar echo signals with arbitrary range, Doppler frequency and Radar Cross Section. The Radar Echo Generator makes it possible to perform real time tests on many applications including aerospace & defense and commercial radar systems.
01-Aug-2016 | AN-No. 1MA283
Due to its outstanding performance the R&S®SMW200A vector signal generator is ideal for testing MIMO receivers in a vast variety of applications offering maximum usability at minimum form factor. It can generate up to eight antenna signals simultaneously in its digital baseband – all standard-compliant and with antenna-specific coding. In addition, it can simulate the complete MIMO transmission channel with up to 32 fading channels, sufficient to emulate higher-order MIMO configurations such as 3x3, 4x4, and 8x4.This application note explains how to use the SMW for testing higher order MIMO systems by presenting different key applications.
24-Feb-2016 | AN-No. 1GP97
5G New Radio (NR) FR1 MIMO or beamforming downlink signal analysis especially the phase measurement of each MIMO layer and the determination of the phase difference between the MIMO layers are essential for the 5G base station product design.In this application note, it describes two test solutions from R&S® to cope with the 5G FR1 downlink MIMO signal analysis challenges either using R&S®RTP/RTO oscilloscope or R&S®NRQ6 frequency selective power sensor as RF frontend to capture the signal and together with R&S®VSE as post-processing tool for the IQ analysis.The aim of this application note is to walk the user through the necessary steps on both test solutions to enable the 5G FR1 downlink MIMO signal analysis.It is assumed that the reader has certain pre-knowledge of 5G NR physical layer. In case a refreshment is needed, please refer to the for further reading.
26-Jun-2020 | AN-No. GFM343
R&S®Server-Based Testing helps reduce test times for workloads that can be parallelized. 5G New Radio (5G NR) multicarrier signals are an ideal workload because each component carrier can be analyzed independently and in parallel. In an example EVM measurement, scenario test times are reduced significantly even when receiving I/Q data from just a single instrument.
13-Sep-2021
This application note describes measurements compliant with the cdma2000® standard described in TIA/EIA-97-C and TIA/EIA-98-C. The primary focus is on solutions for generating and analyzing cdma2000® signals with equipment from Rohde & Schwarz. The special characteristics that make the signal generators and signal analyzers eminently suitable for this purpose are detailed.
27-Mar-2001 | AN-No. 1MA34
The R&S®Pulse Sequencer software offers an easy way to simulate moving radar emitters and a moving receiver for EW receiver tests. The software together with the R&S®SMW200A vector signal generator is a powerful radar simulator. It enables engineers to generate highly dynamic 3D scenarios in the lab.
18-Sep-2018
This application note shows all necessary settings for performing Dual Receiver Measurement using the R&S®EMC32-K27 option via R&S® EMC32 Measurement Software.
28-Sep-2017 | AN-No. 1SP20
This application note explains step by step all necessary settings for transmitting parameters of the disturbance signal from an EMS test to a dAV Camera System via serial port or LAN interface. The dAV Camera System overlays these parameters onto the camera signal.
10-Dec-2019
The measurement of bit error rate (BER) is an important test procedure for determining the performance of a receiving terminal. This is especially important for set top box and chipset manufacturers who need to know if their product is able to meet the specification under a predefined noise condition. This Application Note describes the technique using an Rohde & Schwarz SFU to measure the BER of digital set top boxes.
19-Dec-2006 | AN-No. 7BM51
Impedance measurements with vector network analyzers require maximum precision. The R&S®ZNL is able to characterize a broad range of impedances with the lowest uncertainty among its competitors in the same class.
02-Oct-2019
Comprehensive test solutions guide for production and R&D
Small cell is a compact base station with smaller form factor and lower transmission power in comparison to the conventional macro base station. It covers relatively small area and serves less users. Usually, small cell can be integrated into the existing mobile network. By the evolution of radio access technology, the role of small cell has been changing through the evolution path. In the 2G/3G time, its role was to provide coverage in corner cases. Later during LTE, networks are not just providing coverage but capacity too. Small cells were then used to provide the addition capacity where required without adding additional spectrum. Now in 5G era, network operators use densification as an important strategy to provide seamless 5G services which demand coverage, capacity and performance too. With use cases requiring the 5G millimeter wave (mmW) rollouts, it makes sense to use small cells for densification due to the propagation characteristics of mmW.In this application note, we will shed light on the testing aspects of a small cell throughout the product life cycle with particular focus on the production test solution for the small cell device under test (DUT) in FR2 (frequency range 2, mmW frequency band) in Over the Air (OTA) environment for option 6 split based on radio communication tester R&S®CMP200 and OTA chamber R&S®CMQ200. The document is complemented with more insights into test solutions used in typical R&D test applications towards the second half of the application note.
19-Jun-2023 | AN-No. 1SL395
RF interference is one of the largest contributors to poor network performance. It shows up in dropped calls and low data throughput rates. Traditionally, interference hunting means you get a list of sites with bad performance from an OSS. This defines the areas for interference hunting quite well.If, however, the problem remains after attempts at mitigation, it could be because other sources often mask symptoms of RF interference. Usually the strongest masking is due to the overlap between the interference signal and your network's signals. Analysis could involve complete cities or even countries, an error-prone task when using traditional spectrum analyzers and/or portable receivers and one that consumes a significant amount of time and budget.A more automated solution for larger areas can make the effort involved more manageable. The Rohde & Schwarz network scanner family (R&S®TSME, R&S®TSMA and R&S®TSMW) plus the network problem analyzer (NPA) feature of the R&S®ROMES4 measurement software is such a solution. It allows you to perform a fast drive test with a fleet of cars and collect spectrum data for your targeted or even complete network area in next to no time. Back at your office, the NPA tells you where to send dedicated interference hunting teams with an analyzer or receiver to track down the source of interference. This paper introduces the approach in detail.
02-Oct-2017 | AN-No. 1MA293
Capturing small ECG signals in medical applications The R&S®RTE is the best choice for analyzing small signals such as ECG signals with high signal fidelity. Capturing small ECG signals in medical applications Capturing small ECG signals in medical applications The R&S®RTE is the best choice for analyzing small signals such as ECG signals with high signal fidelity.
17-Nov-2015
This application note describes how to configure the signal source analyzer R&S FSUP for highest dynamic range phase noise measurement in the microwave frequency range up to 50 GHz. It compares performance in terms of phase noise sensitivity using an additional internal down converter versus an external down converter or a frequency divider. Both methods are described and differences are shown.
18-Feb-2009 | AN-No. 1EF68
Integrated beamformer ICs shrink the size of antenna feed electronics. Multiport network analyzers shrink the necessary test setup down to one instrument.
08-Jan-2019