Agilent Spectrum Analysis Basics - Agilent Technologies

These represent intermodulation distortion, the interaction of the two
input signals with each other. The lower distortion product, 2ω 1 – ω 2 , falls
below ω 1 by a frequency equal to the difference between the two fundamental
tones, ω 2 – ω 1 . The higher distortion product, 2ω 2 – ω 1 , falls above ω 2 by the
same frequency. See Figure 6-1.
Once again, dynamic range is a function of the level at the input mixer. The
internally generated distortion changes as the product of V 1 2 and V 2 in the
first case, of V 1 and V 2 2 in the second. If V 1 and V 2 have the same amplitude,
the usual case when testing for distortion, we can treat their products as
cubed terms (V 1 3 or V 2 3 ). Thus, for every dB that we simultaneously change
the level of the two input signals, there is a 3 dB change in the distortion
components, as shown in Figure 6-1.
This is the same degree of change that we see for third harmonic distortion
in Figure 6-1. And in fact, this too, is third-order distortion. In this case,
we can determine the degree of distortion by summing the coefficients
of ω 1 and ω 2 (e.g., 2ω 1 – 1ω 2 yields 2 + 1 = 3) or the exponents of V 1 and V 2 .
All this says that dynamic range depends upon the signal level at the
mixer. How do we know what level we need at the mixer for a particular
measurement? Most analyzer data sheets include graphs to tell us how
dynamic range varies. However, if no graph is provided, we can draw
our own 2 .
We do need a starting point, and this we must get from the data sheet. We
shall look at second-order distortion first. Let’s assume the data sheet says
that second-harmonic distortion is 75 dB down for a signal –40 dBm at the
mixer. Because distortion is a relative measurement, and, at least for the
moment, we are calling our dynamic range the difference in dB between
fundamental tone or tones and the internally generated distortion, we have
our starting point. Internally generated second-order distortion is 75 dB
down, so we can measure distortion down 75 dB. We plot that point on a
graph whose axes are labeled distortion (dBc) versus level at the mixer
(level at the input connector minus the input-attenuator setting). See
Figure 6-2. What happens if the level at the mixer drops to –50 dBm? As
noted in Figure 6-1, for every dB change in the level of the fundamental at
the mixer there is a 2 dB change in the internally generated second harmonic.
But for measurement purposes, we are only interested in the relative change,
that is, in what happened to our measurement range. In this case, for every
dB that the fundamental changes at the mixer, our measurement range also
changes by 1 dB. In our second-harmonic example, then, when the level at
the mixer changes from –40 to –50 dBm, the internal distortion, and thus our
measurement range, changes from –75 to –85 dBc. In fact, these points fall
on a line with a slope of 1 that describes the dynamic range for any input
level at the mixer.
2. For more information on how to construct a
dynamic range chart, see the Agilent PSA
Performance Spectrum Analyzer Series Product
Note, Optimizing Dynamic Range for Distortion
Measurements, literature number 5980-3079EN.
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