Microwave Phase Noise Measurements Using the E5052B SSA and E5053A

Microwave Phase Noise Measurements Using the E5052B SSA and E5053A

Application Notes

Today’s evolution in high-speed semiconductor technologies such as RF-CMOS, GaN, and SiGe are continuing to push the application frequency limit up higher and higher in microwave and millimeter-wave ranges. As the requirements of new commercial market applications such as automotive radars, UWB communication links and wireless LAN/PAN, as well as traditional aerospace and defense applications become more rigid, characterizing phase noise of a signal source is getting more important than ever. In addition, a simple and cost-effective method to evaluate phase noise when testing as many parameters as possible in microwave signal sources, is expected.

The Keysight Technologies, Inc. E5052B Signal Source Analyzer (SSA), along with the E5053A Microwave Downconverter, has an extended frequency range up to 26.5 GHz. Shown in Figure 1, all six fundamental functions available in the E5052B (10 MHz to 7 GHz) are now usable up to 26.5 GHz with the E5053A. The phase noise measurement capability can be extended to 110 GHz with external harmonic mixers supplied by Keysight or third parties.