Signal generator features fast frequency changes
By Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 11/1/2007
Anritsu’s MG37020A microwave signal generator uses a voltage-controlled oscillator to cut switching speed over the company’s earlier models. Capable of generating carrier signals from 10 MHz to 20 GHz, the MG37020A changes output frequency at speeds from 50 μs to 100 μs. That’s faster then the millisecond switching time of Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) oscillators used in the company’s other signal generators.
In ATE applications, frequency switching from the time the instrument receives a command to the time it executes a command is critical, so the MG37020A uses a dedicated processor to control its hardware while it uses a Windows-based processor to handle its user interface. Because the MG37020A is Windows-based, it also adds USB and LAN ports to the traditional IEEE 488 and RS-232 ports.
Applications for the MG37020A include data-intensive testing such as for antennas where you typically perform a frequency sweep over many antenna positions. You can also use it to test RFICs and other components such as microwave amplifiers, splitters, and couplers as well as radar systems. The instrument has a phase-tracking option that lets you connect up to four MG37020As together and change their output frequencies while maintaining their phase relationships. That’s useful for testing I/Q modulators where you need to test them over a specified frequency range.
Base price: $24,250. Anritsu, www.us.anritsu.com.
