Product Overview

The R&S®FSWP phase noise analyzer and VCO tester is very sensitive thanks to extremely low-noise internal sources and cross-correlation. It can measure phase noise and amplitude noise in mere seconds on highly stable sources such as those in radar applications. Additional options such as pulsed signal measurements, residual phase noise (including pulsed) characterization and integrated high‑end signal and spectrum analysis make the R&S®FSWP a unique test instrument.

Key Features

• Frequency range from 1 MHz to 8/26.5/50 GHz, up to 325 GHz with external harmonic mixers
• High sensitivity for phase noise measurements thanks to cross‑correlation and extremely low‑noise internal reference sources
  --  Typ. –174 dBc (1 Hz) at 1 GHz carrier frequency and 10 kHz offset
  --  Typ. –158 dBc (1 Hz) at 10 GHz carrier frequency and 10 kHz offset
• Simultaneous measurement of amplitude noise and phase noise
• Measurement of phase noise on pulsed sources at the push of a button
• Internal source for measuring residual phase noise, including on pulsed signals
• High measurement speed due to its digital architecture
• Low‑noise internal DC sources for VCO characterization
• Automatic VCO characterization
• Analysis of up to 8 GHz wide frequency hops (transients) and automatic settling time measurement
• Measurement of Allan variance
• SCPI recorder simplifies code generation
• Signal and spectrum analyzer and phase noise analyzer in a single box
  --  High‑end signal and spectrum analyzer, 10 Hz to 8/26.5/50 GHz
  --  Wide dynamic range thanks to low displayed average noise level (DANL) of –156 dBm (1 Hz) (without noise cancellation) and high TOI of typ. 25 dBm
  --  320 MHz signal analysis bandwidth
  --  Total measurement uncertainty: < 0.3 dB up to 3.6 GHz, < 0.4 dB up to 8 GHz

Fastest measurement speed Save time and multiply measurement throughput The internal R&S®FSWP sources enable measurement of highly sensitive oscillators such as DROs and OCXOs with a minimum number of cross correlations, saving considerable time. Adding hardware accelerated signal processing to the R&S®FSWP phase noise analyzer enables real-time phase noise measurements. Short measurement time is key since it speeds up the development to manufacturing process while increasing production throughput.

Unrivaled sensitivity Highest sensitivity for phase and amplitude noise measurement The R&S®FSWP internal local oscillator surpasses phase-noise performance of almost any signal generator available on the market. Thanks to the internal low‑noise analyzer sources, just a few correlations are needed to measure a high-quality oscillator. This allows for the fastest possible measurement times.

Highest flexibility High-end phase noise analyzer and signal and spectrum analyzer in a single box Users can examine the spectrum and demodulate the signal to measure EVM or pulse characteristics in different measurement channels. Designers of automatic test systems save space and money since they do not have to purchase an additional spectrum analyzer or vector signal analyzer. The R&S®FSWP is a future-proof investment. It is based on the high-end R&S®FSW with its unique RF performance and high sensitivity.

The R&S®FSWP phase noise analyzer and VCO tester is the optimal test solution for radar applications and when developing and manufacturing synthesizers, OCXOs, DROs and VCOs. It can be easily configured to meet different application requirements. Thanks to its low‑noise internal local oscillator, it is capable of measuring most commercially available synthesizers and oscillators without any additional options. 

For high‑end applications, the R&S®FSWP is equipped with a second receive path, which enables cross‑correlation and increases sensitivity by up to 25 dB, depending on the number of correlations used. The  analyzer's excellent internal sources and largely digital  architecture make it faster than test systems that digitize the signal after the phase detector.

The R&S®FSWP measures the phase noise of pulsed sources and the residual phase noise of individual (also pulsed) components at the push of a button. For residual phase noise measurements, the internal source or an external source can be used if, for example, users have their own high‑quality oscillator. In the past, costly and complex systems using external sources, splitters and phase shifters were necessary for this measurement.

Phase noise of pulsed signals Easy analysis of pulsed signal sources Measuring the phase noise of pulsed sources used in radar applications has never been easier. The R&S®FSWP captures the signal and calculates all pulse parameters instantaneously. It offers cross‑correlation for phase noise tests and automatically determines the trigger/gating parameters required for pulsed source measurements. Gating enables the R&S®FSWP to achieve a larger dynamic range for pulsed phase noise measurements compared to other methods.

Residual/additive phase noise measurements Residual PN measurements on pulsed and CW signals For high‑end radar applications, knowing the additional phase noise added by individual components (e.g. amplifiers) to the signal path is crucial, since these influence pulse-to-pulse phase stability. The components have to be tested using pulsed signals under real-world conditions. The R&S®FSWP has an internal signal source for measuring residual phase noise or pulse-to-pulse phase stability and it also provides additional inputs for other external sources.

VCO characterization made easy Measure VCO parameters automatically The R&S®FSWP features extremely low‑noise internal DC sources to supply and control voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO). The R&S®FSWP measures not only the fundamental voltage but also the power of the higher VCO harmonics relative to the tuning voltage. It also displays phase noise at various offset frequencies relative to the tuning voltage.

Transient analysis Frequency and phase measurements in the time domain The R&S®FSWP offers up to 8 GHz bandwidth for analyzing frequency or phase characteristics versus time. The R&S®FSWP also offers narrowband analysis down to 40 MHz to examine the transient response of PLLs in detail.

Amplitude and phase noise in parallel Simultaneous measurement of amplitude noise and phase noise The R&S®FSWP allows concurrent measurement of amplitude and phase noise up to a frequency offset of 30 MHz. It displays both results simultaneously in a single window or in separate windows.

Allan variance Allan variance calculation from close-in phase noise To characterize oscillator frequency stability, the R&S®FSWP calculates the Allan variance from the phase noise and displays it for up to 1 million seconds (minimum offset: 1 μHz). Unlike the time domain methods, this makes it easy to suppress undesired side effects that appear as spurious emissions in the phase noise spectrum. Even short-term disturbances due to the phase noise from internal sources can be easily suppressed with cross-correlation.