Signal processing for digital network analyzer

Abstract

A method is provided for processing a radio frequency (RF) signal output by a device under test (DUT), the RF signal having first comb lines in a predetermined first order. The method includes mixing and filtering the RF signal with a multi-tone local oscillator (LO) signal to provide an intermediate frequency (IF) signal having second comb lines corresponding to the first comb lines, where the mixing operation scrambles in frequency the first comb lines of the RF signal such that the second comb lines of the IF signal are in a second order different from the predetermined first order; digitizing the IF signal at a predetermined sampling rate; and descrambling the digitized IF signal with time domain signal processing such that the second comb lines of the digitized IF signal are arranged in the predetermined first order.

Description

Background technique [0001] A digital network analyzer (DNA) generally describes a network analyzer architecture that generates digital stimulus patterns for system identification and a corresponding receiver architecture that recovers system responses. The DNA architecture also mixes the response in a digital mixing mode chosen such that the mixing product of interest lies within a narrow intermediate frequency (IF). This enables, for example, receiver architectures to use commercial analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) to measure broadband energy (derived from broadband excitation) without sweeping the local oscillator (LO). DNA can be orders of magnitude faster than traditional (swept LO) network analyzers because the broadband excitation is acquired simultaneously rather than sequentially with the swept LO. Furthermore, DNA can largely trade signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for measurement time and avoid LO settling time, band crossing, etc. [0002] The DNA receiver architect...

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Problems solved by technology

As expected, the time used for IF signal data acquisi...

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