Pasternack Blog

Virtually every country around the world has some type of electromagnetic compliance (EMC) policy in place to prevent hazardous emissions, susceptible electronics in the marketplace, and to avoid an overabundance of interference. Given the complex nature of EMC, most compliance codes are very strict and the cost of failure is that a product cannot be ..

Load Pull measurements is a class of non-50 Ohm measurements that is used during the design, model extraction, and performance testing of a variety of RF/Microwave devices. A main topic of discussion with load-pull testing is the evaluation of amplifier designs in a large signal sense. Load-pull testing essential consists of taking signal measurements from ..

Passive intermodulation distortion (PIM), is a prevalent issue with cellular networks and other wireless systems with relatively high broadcast power and dense channel plans. The results of PIM can be the desensitization of the receiver, dropped calls, and harmonic interference that can affect receivers for other frequency bands and services well outside of the carrier ..

An Oscilloscope is an essential piece of electrical test equipment, but has a somewhat limited use with RF circuits and systems compared to digital and analog circuits. In many cases an RF engineer will default to using a spectrum analyzer for frequency domain measurements and a network analyzer to measure component behavior. An oscilloscope is ..

RF anechoic chambers are used throughout the industry for prototyping testing and conformance testing. The purpose of an anechoic chamber is to provide both electromagnetic isolation from external sources as well as from internal RF radiation generators. Other types of testing that require complete RF isolation also depend on anechoic chambers, including radar cross section ..

RF calibration kits are a key tool in ensuring that Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and other RF instruments provide accurate measurements to the testing plane of the device. Due to the intrinsic addition of phase and impedance variation over RF test equipment interconnect, measurements from a VNA made without calibration will include the S-parameter and ..

RF designers and engineers spend a significant amount of design and effort dealing with noise in RF systems. So, it surprises some that there is a whole branch of RF test equipment that’s sole purpose is to generate noise. Noise sources are a key piece of test equipment, as well as being integral parts of ..

Matrix Switches, or Switch Matrices, are devices that enable the routing of RF signals through selectable paths. These devices can be as simple as single-input with two selectable outputs or as complex as having tens of inputs and outputs that can all be interested as needed. Switch Matrices are often used in test equipment setups ..

An RF Signal Generator is another keystone piece of RF test and measurement equipment, alongside spectrum analyzers and network analyzers. The purpose of signal generators is to create RF signals at varying power levels, frequencies, and in the case of vector signal generators, with various phase and waveform characteristics. RF signal generators are used in ..

Network Analyzers, and Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs), are one of the cornerstone RF test instruments, and virtually every test center or lab usually employs some type of VNA. These test instruments are able to send electromagnetic energy into a component, device, antenna, assembly, etc. and accurately measure the power transmitted and reflected through the device-under-test ..