Spectral Analysis Fundamentals
PrintOverview
This tutorial is part of the National Instruments Measurement Fundamentals series. Each tutorial in this series, will teach you a specific topic of common measurement applications, by explaining the theory and giving practical examples. This tutorial covers an introduction to RF, wireless and high-frequency signals and systems.
For the complete list of tutorials, return to the NI Measurement Fundamentals Main page or for more RF tutorials refer to the NI RF Fundamentals main subpage. For more information on National Instruments RF products, visit www.ni.com/rf.
What You Learn
This set of tutorials will discuss several topics relating to spectral analysis. It covers typical spectral measurements such as power in-band, adjacent channel power as well as concepts such as dynamic range, resolution bandwidth, harmonic distortion as well as noise specifications.
Table of Contents
Spectral Measurements (Part 1)
Several common spectral measurements in RF and communications systems include: Power in Band, Occupied Bandwidth, Peak Search, and Adjacent Channel Power. Each of these can be measured with the NI Spectral Measurements Toolkit combined with the National Instruments vector signal analyzer.
View Comprehensive Tutorial >>
Spectral Measurements (Part 2)
This tutorial covers several of the key spectral measurements including FFT and Zoom-FFT as well as the main considerations for performing those types of analysis such as sampling rate,
resolution bandwidth, filtering and more.
View Comprehensive Tutorial >>
Resolution Bandwidth
This tutorial discusses one of the measurements that is fundamental to spectral analysis. In general, the resolution bandwidth determines the frequency precision of a measurement. On the other hand, the dynamic range determines the amplitude precision of a spectral measurement.View Comprehensive Tutorial >>
Harmonic Distortion
In an ideal system, the FFT of a sinusoid would result in a single peak at a specific frequency. However, in real world systems non-linearity and noise result in imperfections such as harmonic distortion.View Comprehensive Tutorial >>
Noise Specifications
In real world RF communications systems, characterizing noise is extremely important because of the high frequencies involved. Thus it is important to accurately represent two noise characteristics: phase noise (spectral purity) and the noise floor (noise density).View Comprehensive Tutorial >>
Looking for more RF Basics?
Engineers who are new to RF or looking for a a refresher course can attend a 3-Day National Instruments RF Fundamentals Training Course to explore traditional measurements, learn about digital and analog modulation, examine modern system-level tests such as BER, MER, and EVM, and more.
Learn More about the 3-Day Course >>
Related Products
NI PXI-5660 2.7 GHz RF Vector Signal Analyzer
The National Instruments PXI-5660 is a modular 2.7 GHz RF vector signal analyzer with 20 MHz of real-time bandwidth optimized for automated test.
NI PXI-5671 2.7 GHz RF Vector Signal Generator
The National Instruments PXI-5671 module is a 3-slot RF vector signal generator that delivers signal generation from 250 kHz to 2.7 GHz, 20 MHz of real-time bandwidth and up to 512 MB of memory.
NI PXI-5652 6.6 GHz RF and Microwave Signal Generator
The National Instruments PXI-5652 6.6 GHz RF and microwave signal generator is continuous-wave with modulation capability. It is excellent for setting up stimulus response applications with RF signal analyzers.
NI RF Switches
The National Instruments RF switch modules are ideal for expanding the channel count or increasing the flexibility of systems with signal bandwidths greater than 10 MHz to bandwidths as high as 26.5 GHz.
NI LabVIEW
National Instruments LabVIEW is an industry-leading graphical software tool for designing test, measurement, and automation systems.
NI Modulation Toolkit
The National Instruments Modulation Toolkit extends the built-in analysis capability of LabVIEW with functions and tools for signal generation, analysis, visualization, and processing of standard and custom digital and analog modulation formats.
Conclusions
For the complete list of tutorials, return to the NI Measurement Fundamentals Main page or for more RF tutorials refer to the NI RF Fundamentals main subpage. For more information on National Instruments RF products, visit www.ni.com/rf.
Looking for more RF Basics?
Engineers who are new to RF or looking for a a refresher course can attend a 3-Day National Instruments RF Fundamentals Training Course to explore traditional measurements, learn about digital and analog modulation, examine modern system-level tests such as BER, MER, and EVM, and more.
Learn More about the 3-Day Course >>
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