Expanding The Dynamic Range; Lowering The Receiver Noise Floor - Agilent Technologies ENA Series User Manual

Optimizing Measurements

Expanding the Dynamic Range

Expanding the Dynamic Range
The dynamic range is the finite difference between the maximum input power level and the
minimum measurement power level (noise floor) of the analyzer. In evaluating a
characteristic accompanied by a large change in the amplitude (the pass band and stop band
of a filter, for example), it is important to increase the dynamic range.

Lowering the receiver noise floor

Lowering the noise floor of the receiver enables you to expand the dynamic range. The
following methods can be used to lower the receiver noise floor.
•
•
Narrowing the IF bandwidth
Narrowing the receiver IF bandwidth enables you to reduce the effect of random noise on
measurements. Narrowing the IF bandwidth to 1/10 the original bandwidth causes the
receiver noise floor to decrease by 10 dB.
Figure 12-1 Effects of narrowing the IF bandwidth
To specify the IF bandwidth, follow the steps described below.
Step 1. Press
bandwidth.
Step 2. Press
Step 3. Press
Step 4. Change the IF bandwidth in the data entry area.
394
"Narrowing the IF bandwidth" on page 394
"Turning on Sweep Averaging" on page 395
or
.
.
IF Bandwidth
to select a channel on which to specify the IF
Chapter 12