Test Spectrum Analyzer ACP Dynamic Range

摘要

Published specifications for adjacent-channel power (ACP) are just one indication of a spectrum analyzer's capabilities when making actual measurements. Spectrum analyzers must deliver wide dynamic range to keep pace with increasingly demanding requirements for evaluating third-generation (3G) wireless systems and their multicarrier power amplifiers (PAs). An analyzer's published adjacent-channel-power-ratio (ACPR) performance, however, can be misleading when the effects of measurement uncertainty are considered. By evaluating the measurement process and the influence of coherent and incoherent distortion, it may be possible to clarify the interpretation of spectrum analyzer ACPR dynamic range.