Wide-Bandwidth Spectrum Analysis of Transient Signals Using a Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer

An electronic measurement device, comprising:

• a tunable receiver configured to receive a signal;
• an analog to digital converter (ADC) operatively coupled with the tunable receiver;
• a digital signal processor (DSP) configured to perform pre-capture real-time processing of time domain digital signals received from the ADC, such real-time processing being performed across a frequency band selected via operation of the tunable receiver;
• a controller and memory operatively coupled with the tunable receiver and DSP, the controller and memory being configured to:
• cause the tunable receiver to be successively tuned to each of a plurality of different bands in a frequency spectrum of interest, each of the bands having a narrower bandwidth than the frequency spectrum of interest;
• cause the DSP to generate, for each of the plurality of different bands, a time-domain sample in the respective band of a received digital signal, to be stored in the memory;
• and
• obtain, for each of the plurality of different bands, a power level for the respective time-domain sample,
• where the controller is configured to construct, from the power levels obtained for each of the plurality of different bands, a frequency trace of the received digital signal for the frequency spectrum of interest.

A method of performing spectral analysis on an RF signal, comprising:

• tuning a real-time spectrum analyzer (RTSA) to a first range of frequencies, the first range of frequencies being within an expected spectral distribution of the RF signal and narrower in bandwidth than such spectral distribution;
• maintaining the RTSA tuned to the first range of frequencies during an interval, where the duration of the interval is controlled based on a characteristic of the RF signal;
• during the interval, operating the RTSA so as to obtain power data for the RF signal in the first range of frequencies;
• and
• upon ending of the interval, re-tuning the RTSA to a second range of frequencies, the second range of frequencies being within and narrower in bandwidth than the expected spectral distribution, where such re-tuning is performed to obtain power data for the RF signal in the second range of frequencies.

A method of conducting spectral analysis on an RF signal for a frequency spectrum of interest, comprising:

• performing a plurality of zero-span power level measurements at different frequency locations in the frequency spectrum of interest using a real-time spectrum analyzer (RTSA), each of the zero-span power level measurements being performed in succession as follows:
• (a) tuning the RTSA to the frequency location and employing an RTSA capture bandwidth which is narrower than the frequency spectrum of interest;
• (b) maintaining the tuning of the RTSA at the tuned frequency location for a time interval;
• and
• (c) measuring a power level for the frequency location during the time interval and storing said power level;
• and
• constructing, from the power levels measured for the different frequency locations in the frequency spectrum of interest, a frequency-domain trace for the frequency spectrum of interest.