Pulsed RF Measurement Library Specifications

Definitions

Warranted specifications describe the performance of a model under stated operating conditions and are covered by the model warranty. Warranted specifications account for measurement uncertainties, temperature drift, and aging. Warranted specifications are ensured by design or verified during production and calibration.

Characteristics describe values that are relevant to the use of the model under stated operating conditions but are not covered by the model warranty.

  • Typical specifications describe the performance met by a majority of models.
  • Nominal specifications describe an attribute that is based on design, conformance testing, or supplemental testing.
  • Measured specifications describe the measured performance of a representative model.

Specifications are Measured unless otherwise noted.

Loopback setup describes using a cable to connect the Signal Generator to the Signal Analyzer on a device.

Conditions

Refer to ni.com/docs for detailed specifications on the specific instruments used within the S-parameter measurement system.

Specifications are valid for the system and all included instruments under the following conditions unless otherwise noted:

  • System environmental characteristics are met
  • Instrument-level conditions are met
  • System undergoes 30-minute warm-up period
  • Self-calibration is performed after the specified warm-up period is complete
  • Self-calibration is performed before system calibration
  • System calibration is performed as specified in S-Parameter Measurement Test System Calibration
  • S-parameter calibration is performed as specified in S-Parameter Measurement Test System Calibration
  • Calibration cycles are maintained
  • Hardware temperature is within ±5 °C of the last self-calibration temperature
  • The chassis fan mode is set to Auto when used in a chassis with ≥58 W slot-cooling capability or the fan mode is set to High when used in any other chassis
  • Empty chassis slots contain slot blockers and EMC filler panels to minimize temperature drift and reduce emissions
  • Instruments are connected with appropriate cables as described in Connecting the Hardware for S-Parameter Measurements

Pulse Measurements

Pulse Profile for PXIe-5842

Table 20. Pulse Width
Measurement Bandwidth Minimum Pulse Width Standard Deviation
2 GHz 6.43 ns 0.00017 ns
Conditions: measured with PXIe-5842 at the highest supported bandwidth of 2 GHz; measurements at 10 GHz and power level of 0 dBm in a loopback setup with 100 pulses per burst. A pulse width of 6.4 ns and PRI of 1 µs was configured. RF Signal Generator exports a digital trigger that is used by RF Signal Analyzer to acquire pulses. Each measurement was taken multiple times across multiple instruments. The resultant measurements were used as statistical samples to calculate the standard deviation.
Table 21. Rise Time
Measurement Bandwidth Rise Time Detected Standard Deviation
2 GHz 585 ps 70.9 ps
Conditions: measured with PXIe-5842 at the highest supported bandwidth of 2 GHz; measurements at 10 GHz and power level of 0 dBm in a loopback setup with 100 pulses per burst. A pulse width of 10 µs and PRI of 10 ms was configured. RF Signal Generator exports a digital trigger that is used by RF Signal Analyzer to acquire pulses. Each measurement was taken multiple times across multiple instruments. The resultant measurements were used as statistical samples to calculate the standard deviation.

Pulse Profile for PXIe-5831 and PXIe-5841

Conditions: measured with PXIe-5831 and PXIe-5841 at the highest supported bandwidth of 1 GHz; measurements at power level of 0 dBm in a loopback setup with 100 pulses per burst. RF Signal Generator exports a digital trigger that is used by RF Signal Analyzer to acquire pulses. Each measurement was taken multiple times across hardware at a given frequency and pulse width selection. The resultant measurements were used as statistical samples to calculate the standard deviations. The typical measurement bandwidth chosen = 2 M or 10/(pulse width), whichever was higher.

Table 22. Pulse Width
Measurement Bandwidth Minimum Pulse Width Standard Deviation
1 GHz 8 ns 0.00085 ns
Table 23. Rise Time
Measurement Bandwidth Rise Time Detected Standard Deviation
1 GHz 1.2 ns 0.0035 ns

Pulse Stability for PXIe-5842

Conditions: measurements at power level of 0 dBm in a loopback setup with 100 pulses per burst. RF Signal Generator exports a digital trigger that is used by RF Signal Analyzer to acquire pulses. 500 ms of settling after frequency lock was applied except when changing from the previous frequency to the new frequency crosses 1.75 GHz, 7.2 GHz, or 14.4 GHz, in which case 1.5 s of settling was applied. Each measurement was taken multiple times with multiple instruments at a given frequency and pulse width selection. The resultant measurements were used as a statistical sample to calculate the mean and standard deviation. Typical bandwidth chosen = 2 M or 10/(pulse width), whichever was higher.

Table 24. Center Frequency = 2 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -77 0.6 -77 0.5
5 μs 10 ms -86 0.7 -81 0.5 -80 0.4
10 μs 10 ms -86 0.5 -81 0.4 -80 0.3
20 μs 10 ms -86 0.5 -81 0.7 -80 0.6
50 μs 10 ms -86 0.4 -81 0.4 -80 0.3
Table 25. Center Frequency = 4 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -84 0.6 -78 0.4 -77 0.2
5 μs 10 ms -86 0.3 -82 0.3 -80 0.3
10 μs 10 ms -85 0.5 -82 0.5 -80 0.3
20 μs 10 ms -86 0.5 -82 0.4 -80 0.3
50 μs 10 ms -86 0.4 -82 0.3 -80 0.3
Table 26. Center Frequency = 6 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -84 0.5 -77 0.6 -77 0.5
5 μs 10 ms -86 0.4 -81 0.2 -80 0.2
10 μs 10 ms -86 0.3 -81 0.3 -80 0.2
20 μs 10 ms -86 0.6 -81 0.3 -80 0.3
50 μs 10 ms -85 0.5 -81 0.4 -80 0.4
Table 27. Center Frequency = 10 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -76 0.6 -76 0.6
5 μs 10 ms -85 0.5 -79 0.4 -78 0.3
10 μs 10 ms -86 0.6 -79 0.4 -78 0.4
20 μs 10 ms -86 0.5 -79 0.5 -78 0.4
50 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -79 0.4 -78 0.4
Table 28. Center Frequency = 14 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -75 2.1 -75 1.9
5 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -78 0.2 -78 0.2
10 μs 10 ms -86 0.4 -79 0.5 -78 0.5
20 μs 10 ms -86 0.5 -78 0.4 -78 0.4
50 μs 10 ms -86 0.4 -78 0.3 -78 0.2
Table 29. Center Frequency = 18 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -69 1.1 -68 1.1
5 μs 10 ms -85 0.6 -71 0.6 -71 0.6
10 μs 10 ms -85 0.5 -71 0.7 -71 0.6
20 μs 10 ms -85 0.5 -71 0.5 -71 0.5
50 μs 10 ms -85 0.3 -71 0.8 -71 0.8
Table 30. Center Frequency = 22 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -83 0.7 -70 0.8 -70 0.7
5 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -72 0.3 -72 0.3
10 μs 10 ms -85 0.8 -72 0.3 -72 0.3
20 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -72 0.3 -72 0.3
50 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -72 0.7 -72 0.6

Pulse Stability for PXIe-5841 with PXIe-5655

Conditions: measurements at power level of 0 dBm in a loopback setup with 100 pulses per burst. RF Signal Generator exports a digital trigger that is used by RF Signal Analyzer to acquire pulses. Each measurement was taken multiple times with multiple instruments at a given frequency and pulse width selection. The resultant measurements were used as statistical samples to calculate the 95% high limits and standard deviations. Typical bandwidth chosen = 2 M or 10/(pulse width), whichever was higher.

Table 31. Center Frequency = 2 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -83 0.3 -75 1.8 -74 1.6
5 μs 10 ms -85 0.6 -80 0.7 -79 0.6
10 μs 10 ms -85 0.3 -80 0.4 -79 0.3
20 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -80 0.6 -79 0.6
50 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -80 0.5 -79 0.4
Table 32. Center Frequency = 4 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -83 0.3 -75 0.9 -74 0.8
5 μs 10 ms -84 0.6 -78 1.0 -77 0.8
10 μs 10 ms -84 0.6 -78 1.0 -77 0.8
20 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -77 1.6 -76 1.3
50 μs 10 ms -85 0.4 -78 1.1 -77 0.9
Table 33. Center Frequency = 5.5 GHz
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -82 0.4 -69 3.3 -69 3.2
5 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -76 0.6 -76 0.4
10 μs 10 ms -84 0.3 -76 0.3 -76 0.2
20 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -76 0.4 -76 0.3
50 μs 10 ms -84 0.1 -76 0.2 -76 0.2

Pulse Stability for PXIe-5831

Conditions: measurements at power level of 0 dBm in a loopback setup with 100 pulses per burst. RF Signal Generator exports a digital trigger that is used by RF Signal Analyzer to acquire pulses. Each measurement was taken multiple times with multiple instruments at a given frequency and pulse width selection. The resultant measurements were used as statistical samples to calculate the 95% high limits and standard deviations. Typical bandwidth chosen = 2 M or 10/(pulse width), whichever was higher.

Table 34. PXIe-5831 (Center Frequency = 6 GHz)
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -82 0.7 -76 0.3 -75 0.4
5 μs 10 ms -83 0.7 -79 0.4 -78 0.3
10 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -79 0.3 -78 0.3
20 μs 10 ms -83 0.8 -79 0.5 -78 0.4
50 μs 10 ms -84 0.6 -79 0.5 -78 0.4
Table 35. PXIe-5831 (Center Frequency = 10 GHz)
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -82 0.7 -74 0.5 -73 0.5
5 μs 10 ms -83 0.9 -76 0.6 -75 0.5
10 μs 10 ms -84 0.5 -76 0.5 -76 0.4
20 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -76 0.8 -75 0.7
50 μs 10 ms -84 0.4 -76 0.5 -76 0.4
Table 36. PXIe-5831 (Center Frequency = 14 GHz)
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -82 0.5 -72 0.4 -72 0.4
5 μs 10 ms -83 0.8 -75 0.6 -74 0.5
10 μs 10 ms -84 0.5 -75 0.6 -74 0.5
20 μs 10 ms -84 0.3 -75 0.4 -75 0.4
50 μs 10 ms -83 0.7 -75 0.5 -74 0.5
Table 37. PXIe-5831 (Center Frequency = 18 GHz)
Pulse Width PRI Amplitude Pulse Stability (dB) Amplitude Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Phase Pulse Stability (dB) Phase Stability Standard Deviation (dB) Total Pulse Stability (dB) Total Stability Standard Deviation (dB)
2 μs 10 ms -81 0.8 -70 0.5 -70 0.5
5 μs 10 ms -83 0.6 -72 0.6 -72 0.6
10 μs 10 ms -83 0.8 -73 0.4 -72 0.3
20 μs 10 ms -83 0.8 -72 0.7 -72 0.7
50 μs 10 ms -83 0.4 -72 0.8 -72 0.7

S-Parameter Measurements

Key Parameter Range Supported

IFBW

100 Hz, 300 Hz, 1 kHz, 3 kHz, 10 kHz

Pulse width

10 us to 1 ms

Averaging per point

1 to 10

Averaging per sweep

1 to 10

Trace Noise and Noise Floor

PXIe-5831 with Two Couplers per Port and using PXIe-2597 Switches

Conditions: measurements taken with PXIe-5831 at 0 dBm power level with two couplers per port. IFBW set at 1 kHz as a typical use case. No averaging.

Figure 18. Noise Floor


Figure 19. Trace Noise (Amplitude dB-rms)


Figure 20. Trace Noise (Phase)


PXIe-5841 with Two Couplers per Port

Conditions: measurements taken with PXIe-5841 at 0 dBm power level with two couplers per port. IFBW set at 1 kHz as a typical use case. No averaging.

Figure 21. Noise Floor


Figure 22. Trace Noise (Amplitude dB-rms)


Figure 23. Trace Noise (Phase)


Measurement Errors

PXIe-5831 with Two Couplers per Port and using PXIe-2597 Switches

Conditions: 100 measurements taken with PXIe-5831 at 0 dBm power level and 1 kHz IFBW with no averaging and two couplers per port to calculate 95% confidence level range for the reflection and transmission of each respective bandpass filter. This range is compared with reference VNA measurement using the same calibration kit to generate the maximum possible error. The measurement uncertainty of the reference VNA is added to the maximum error to generate the measurement error graphs.

Figure 24. Reflection Magnitude Error


Figure 25. Reflection Phase Error


Figure 26. Transmission Magnitude Error


Figure 27. Transmission Phase Error


PXIe-5841 with Two Couplers per Port

Conditions: 100 measurements taken with PXIe-5841 at 0 dBm power level and 1 kHz IFBW with no averaging and two couplers per port to calculate 95% confidence level range for the reflection and transmission of each respective bandpass filter. This range is compared with reference VNA measurement using the same calibration kit to generate the maximum possible error. The measurement uncertainty of the reference VNA is added to the maximum error to generate the measurement error graphs.

Figure 28. Reflection Magnitude Error


Figure 29. Reflection Phase Error


Figure 30. Transmission Magnitude Error


Figure 31. Transmission Phase Error


S-Parameter Drift

PXIe-5831 with Two Couplers per Port and using PXIe-2597 Switches

Conditions: measurements taken with PXIe-5831 every 15 minutes for 24 hours at 0 dBm power level with two couplers per port. IFBW set at 1 kHz as a typical use case. No averaging.

Figure 32. S21 Amplitude Overlap


Figure 33. S21 Phase Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


Figure 34. S21 Amplitude Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


Figure 35. S11 Amplitude Overlap


Figure 36. S11 Phase Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


Figure 37. S11 Amplitude Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


PXIe-5841 with Two Couplers per Port

Conditions: measurements taken with PXIe-5841 every 15 minutes for 24 hours at 0 dBm power level with two couplers per port. IFBW set at 1 kHz as a typical use case. No averaging.

Figure 38. S21 Amplitude Overlap


Figure 39. S21 Phase Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


Figure 40. S21 Amplitude Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


Figure 41. S11 Amplitude Overlap


Figure 42. S11 Phase Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude


Figure 43. S11 Amplitude Standard Deviation vs. Amplitude