RF SIGNAL ANALYSIS WITH

ROHDE & SCHWARZ SPECTRUM

ANALYZERS AND OSCILLOSCOPES
Choosing the right instrument for your application

Application Brochure
Version 01.00
CONTENTS
Nowadays, real-time oscilloscopes feature bandwidths that allow them to acquire microwave and even
millimeterwave (mmWave) signals directly. While providing many new possibilities for RF engineers, the
overlapping capabilities offered by spectrum and signal analyzers might cause confusion when choosing
the right instrument for a specific application. Our focus here will therefore be the differences between
both instruments and the use cases for which these instrument are ideally suited to meet the typical
requirements of the measurements concerned.

Spectrum and signal analyzers 3 Oscilloscopes 6

Spectrum over a wide span 3 Oscilloscope based approach for RF signal analysis 6
Important for conformity 3 Phase-coherent multichannel acquisition 7
Frequency selectivity 4 Multi-domain a­ nalysis for system-level debugging 9
Signal analysis 4
Further measurements 5 Summary 10
When to choose a spectrum and signal analyzer or an oscilloscope? 10

2
SPECTRUM AND SIGNAL ANALYZERS
One of the most frequent measurement tasks in radio
engineering is the examination of signals in the frequency IMPORTANT FOR CONFORMITY
domain. Spectrum analyzers required for this purpose are Many standards and regulations require spectrum mea-
therefore among the most versatile and widely used RF surements for conformity. In mobile radio, these are the
measuring instruments. Covering frequency ranges up to adjacent channel power ratio (ACLR), spectrum emission
85 GHz and beyond, they are used in practically all appli- masks (SEM), spurious emissions over a large frequency
cations involving wireless, cellular or satellite communica- range, etc. These measurements require very small ­levels
tions, radars or IoT devices for development, production, to be measured in the immediate vicinity of a strong sig-
installation and maintenance activities. For these applica- nal. Spectrum analyzers are the measuring device of
tions, parameters such as displayed average noise level choice because the frequency selectivity achieves the nec-
(DANL), dynamic range and frequency range, and other essary dynamics that these standards require.
exacting requirements regarding functionality and mea-
surement speed come to the fore. Moreover, spectrum The spectrum emission mask measurement measures
analyzers are also used for measurements in the time spurious signal levels in close vicinity of the modulated
domain, such as measuring the transmitter output power carrier signal. At different offsets, a different resolution
of time multiplex systems as a function of time. bandwidth (RBW) is applied. Only when no spur hits the
corresponding limit line, the measurement provides a pass

SPECTRUM OVER A WIDE result.

SPAN
The spectrum analyzer shows the level versus frequency
at a selected resolution bandwidth. It can be used to mea-
sure basic signal parameters such as signal level or band-
width. The signal shape visible on the screen allows an Fig. 1: Measurements of the spectrum emission mask (SEM) with a spectrum
estimation of further parameters such as the filter settings analyzer.
or a frequency response.
The ACLR measurement is similar to the SEM. Unlike the
Other measurements in the spectrum include the detec- SEM, however, it is not individual spurs that are of interest,
tion of spurious emissions, the measurement of the signal- but rather the integrated power over frequency of the neigh-
to-noise ratio (SNR) or the detection of unwanted spurious boring channels of a communications signal. Such power
emissions. leakage into neighboring channels is a common challenge
in the design of highly efficient power amplifiers. Spectrum
Spectrum analyzers are frequency-selective, i.e. only part analyzers provide the dynamic range required to perform
of the spectrum is considered at a time. This frequency such measurements according to the respective standards.
selectivity enables the spectrum analyzers to achieve a
high dynamic range. Even very small signals can be dis-
played in the vicinity of a strong carrier signal.

With modern signal and spectrum analyzers such as the

R&S®FSW, the entire spectrum from 2 Hz to 85 GHz can
be measured and displayed in a single measurement. And
with external mixers, the displayable frequency range can
be expanded by hundreds of gigahertz.

Fig. 2: Measurements of the adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) require a high
dynamic range and are performed using a spectrum analyzer.

Rohde & Schwarz RF signal analysis with Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes 3
Conformance is also required with respect to electromag-
netic interference (EMI). The respective EMI standards SIGNAL ANALYSIS
require a minimum number of spurs to be measured with In addition to spectrum analysis, today’s analyzers also
the appropriate EMI detectors (quasi-peak, CISPR-Average support signal analysis. The signal is mixed to a low inter-
and RMS-Average (CISPR-RMS)). Spectrum analyzers are mediate frequency via one or two mixer stages and sam-
typically used to carry out corresponding precompliance pled over a wide bandwidth with an A/D converter. Then it
measurements. is digitally downconverted to the baseband and equalized.
Signal analysis bandwidths up to 1 GHz are now com-
monplace. Modern spectrum analyzers, like the R&S®FSW,
even support up to 8.3 GHz analysis bandwidth. The digital
I/Q values obtained in this way contain all signal informa-
tion within the bandwidth and dynamic range to allow the
signal to be further processed.

Fig. 4: Digital signal analysis with a signal and spectrum

analyzer
Local oscillator
with fixed frequency

Optional amplifier
or attenuator
RF input
1st IF 2nd IF
R I R I ADC
L L
Fig. 3: EMI precompliance measurement with a spectrum analyzer.
Local oscillator with
variable frequency
FREQUENCY SELECTIVITY DSP
Monitor

A fundamental aspect of spectrum analyzers is their fre-

quency selectivity. This differentiates spectrum analyzers
from other RF measurement instruments such as power With the appropriate application-specific measurements,
sensors or oscilloscopes. A spectrum analyzer in swept the signal can now be analyzed in detail. Important param-
spectrum mode only considers a small part of the spec- eters of communications signals are, for example, modu-
trum at a time. lation quality, typically error vector magnitude (EVM), I/Q
offset or imbalance as well as the level ratio of pilot-to-
At the lower frequency end, DC components in the data channels. With pulsed signals for radar applications,
­signal are removed. At frequencies from typically 7 GHz it is phase, frequency, modulation and level over the entire
to 8 GHz, a tunable bandpass filter called a preselector pulse duration.
removes signal components from its passband. The bene-
fit of frequency selectivity is an increase in dynamic range The corresponding measurement applications are either
so that small signals can be detected even in the presence available on the device or via PC software such as the
of a higher power signal. R&S®VSE.

Fig. 5: Signal analysis of a 5G NR signal. The measurement application displays key

parameters such as the EVM, the power spectrum and the constellation diagram.

4
FURTHER MEASUREMENTS High-end signal and spectrum analyzers support further
measurements, e.g. uninterrupted real-time spectrum
From predevelopment to series production of high-­ analysis and uninterrupted streaming of digital I/Q data.
frequency devices, many measurements take place
at component, module and, finally, device level.
Measurement of the noise figure and gain is essen-
tial in the case of amplifiers, and measurement of the
phase noise in the case of oscillators. Today, these mea-
surements are usually carried out with signal and spec-
trum analyzers and the corresponding measurement
applications.

Fig. 6: Noise figure and gain measurement of a low-noise amplifier with a ­spectrum
analyzer and a dedicated measurement application. Using the Y-factor method
enables very precise measurements almost down to the thermal noise floor because
the inherent noise of the analyzer is cancelled out.

Fig. 7: Phase noise measurement with a spectrum analyzer. While phase noise mea-
surements are often conducted in spectrum mode, more sophisticated measurements
are possible in I/Q mode, which enables separation of AM and PM noise or frequency
tracking of drifting sources.

Rohde & Schwarz RF signal analysis with Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes 5
OSCILLOSCOPES
OSCILLOSCOPE BASED Digital downconversion
As just explained, applying an appropriate digital filter
APPROACH FOR RF SIGNAL improves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, the
question arises whether the achievable capture time can
ANALYSIS still be improved for such a narrowband signal. Even if we
reduce the sample rate to be just as high as stated by the
Wide analysis bandwidth Nyquist theorem, the maximal capture time is namely less
Modern high-end oscilloscope architectures contain high- than 1 s when proceeding as described above.
speed A/D converters allowing them to cover frequency
ranges which, until recently, were ranges that could only Rohde & Schwarz was the first on the market to introduce
be measured using a spectrum analyzer. In combination a digital downconversion solution for its high-end oscil-
with high bandwidth analog frontends, these oscilloscope loscopes. This powerful option takes all appropriate steps
architectures make it possible to perform direct sampling to downconvert the signal and stores the converted I/Q
of high-frequency signals without any need for analog data for further analysis, either with the R&S®VSE vector
downconversion. signal explorer software or with a third-party tool such as
MATLAB®. In our Bluetooth® Low Energy scenario, apply-
This approach allows unprecedented analysis bandwidth ing the digital downconversion leads to a capture time of
ranges. For instance, using the R&S®RTP high-­performance approx. 500 s.
oscilloscope with 16 GHz bandwidth and assuming a cen-
ter frequency of 8 GHz, it is possible to acquire RF signals Advanced trigger system
with up to 16 GHz bandwidth. This analysis bandwidth Oscilloscopes are typically equipped with a much more
cannot be reached by conventional spectrum and signal advanced trigger system than spectrum and signal analyz-
analyzers. ers. This allows very accurate detection of short, intermit-
tent, burst or pulsed signals – a major advantage espe-
Such a large analysis bandwidth is playing a more and cially for radar applications where precise detection of a
more important role, especially for radar research applica- pulse/chirp start is essential.
tions, since the radar range resolution is directly propor-
tional to the available bandwidth. Moreover, even if the A special feature of Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscopes is that
bandwidth of the signal of interest is lower, a high analysis their trigger system is fully digital, i.e. it operates directly
bandwidth allows out-of-band signals to be covered, e.g. on the samples of the A/D converter. The measurement
harmonics, neighboring channels and interference signals. signal is not split up into two paths as is the case for con-
ventional analog triggers. This solves the problems associ-
User-defined digital filters ated with an analog trigger system and results in a lower
While having multiple advantages as stated above, a high trigger jitter and a flexible trigger sensitivity that can be
analysis bandwidth may also have a number of caveats if optimized depending on the actual needs.
narrowband signals have to be acquired. Let us ­consider,
for example, a 2 MHz wide Bluetooth® Low Energy ­signal Furthermore, the digital trigger system provides
at a center frequency of 2.4 GHz. The signal can, of Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscopes with the unique property
course, be acquired easily using an R&S®RTP (as explained that all trigger types support the full bandwidth of the
above), but if no filters are applied, all possible interferers oscilloscope.
from DC to the maximal frequency within the oscillo-
scope bandwidth will be acquired in addition to the signal Fig. 8 shows the difference between the oscilloscope
of interest, which unnecessarily increases the noise level architecture with a conventional analog trigger and with
when focusing on the Bluetooth® Low Energy signal. To the Rohde & Schwarz digital trigger system. To better
avoid this, Rohde & Schwarz high-end oscilloscopes allow understand the digital trigger concept, read the applica-
users to design digital filters using their preferred filter tion note “Benefits of the Oscilloscope’s Digital Trigger”
design tools and import the filter coefficients to the instru- (1ER04).
ment. By doing so, they can limit the analysis window to
the signal of interest.

6
Fig. 8: Simplified oscilloscope architecture with
a) a conventional analog trigger PHASE-COHERENT MULTI-
b) the Rohde & Schwarz digital trigger system CHANNEL ACQUISITION
a) Display
In many wireless applications, multi-antenna designs are
Memory Stored samples gaining more and more importance for multiple reasons.
For radar applications, for example, a common require-
ment on radar systems is determining the direction from
ADC Samples
which the surrounding objects are coming. For this pur-
Sample time pose, multi-antenna systems became the state-of-the-art
Measured Time- technology to estimate the angle of arrival (AoA) of an
signal base
Time object based on the phase difference between multiple
Stop acquisition receive paths.
Trigger
system
Position of waveform on display
To characterize these types of systems, test equipment
must exhibit multichannel capabilities and ensure that all
b) Display channels are constantly phase-coherent. Oscilloscopes are
Time- Sample time
Memory Stored samples very well suited in this case because they typically provide
base
multiple channels which are by design tightly aligned and
do not need any additional enhancements such as timebase
Measured ADC Samples and LO sharing to perform phase-coherent measurements,
Stop acquisition

signal
Samples

as is the case for spectrum analyzers. Therefore, oscillo-

scopes represent a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution
Trigger when it comes to multi-antenna system design tests.
system
Position of waveform on display
The R&S®RTP, for example, has an analysis bandwidth
that goes up to 16 GHz and thus covers the entire X band
and a large part of the Ku band. Multichannel acquisition
is possible in these frequency ranges without any need
for external downconverters. This is particularly useful for
radar and electronic warfare (EW) applications. One of the
most prominent examples is the digital radio frequency
memory (DRFM) jamming technique. There the jammer
is capable of receiving the original radar signal and creat-
ing a fake radar echo representing a false target that the
transmitting radar cannot distinguish from other legitimate

Fig. 9: Analysis of retransmitted echo in relation to the original pulse with the
R&S®RTP onboard-tools. Changes over time can be tracked in both time and
­frequency domain.

Rohde & Schwarz RF signal analysis with Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes 7
 signals. For this purpose, the retransmitted false targets Fig. 10: Phase-coherent multichannel signal analysis setup for
have to maintain coherence with the original signal. This automotive radar applications
can only be validated when both the original and retrans-
mitted pulses are analyzed in relation to each other. The
R&S®RTP allows phase-coherent analysis of both signals
in the time and frequency domains. It even allows for fre-
quency agile radar and RF hopper analysis over a relatively
wide bandwidth in order to verify whether the DRFM is
following that agility.
77 GHz
Down-
Even for standards using frequency ranges beyond the conversion
radar
DUT
oscilloscope bandwidth capabilities, it is still possible to 4 phase-coherent inputs
acquire the corresponding signals by combining the oscil-
loscope with external mixers such as the R&S®FS-Zxx. This
makes the multichannel acquisition and analysis of well- Modern wireless standards such as 5G NR rely on a simi-
established as well as novel radar signals possible, such as lar approach of using multiple antennas to transmit the
automotive radar in the 77 GHz to 81 GHz range and the signal in a desired direction, so-called beamforming.
new radar technology for gesture sensing at 60 GHz. The Beamforming is achieved by generating a well-defined
real-time deembedding capabilities of Rohde & Schwarz phase shift of each adjacent input signal stream. The intro-
oscilloscopes allows the compensation of losses induced by duced phase shift is kept constant so that the generated
the additional components across the entire signal path. beam consistently points in the desired direction.

The acquired signals can be analyzed using either the Fig. 13 shows an example of 5G NR MIMO signal analy-
oscilloscope’s built-in measurement tools for basis analysis sis with the R&S®RTP and the 5G analysis options of the
or the pulse and transient analysis options of the R&S®VSE R&S®VSE. The multichannel capability of the R&S®RTP
software, which provides a more comprehensive function- allows phase-coherent measurement of up to four input
ality. Fig. 11 shows examples of both approaches for an streams. By doing so, it expands all measurements sup-
automotive radar signal. ported for a single 5G NR channel to up to four input
channels. In addition to this, it adds MIMO-specific mea-
a) surements such as the phase difference between the input
signals, which is an important metric to characterize the
beams when performing transmitter tests on 5G NR base
stations or small cells.

Fig. 12: Typical setup for 5G NR MIMO TX measurements on

base stations/small cells

¸VSE 5G analysis software

Options: ¸VSE-K144 and -K146

b)
LAN
TX1
TX2
5G
base station/ TX3
small cell
TX4

Fig. 11: Screenshots of automotive radar signal analysis using a) the oscilloscope on-
board tools and b) the R&S®VSE.

8
 Powerful FFT functionality
Powerful FFT capabilities are particularly helpful in the ini-
tial design and prototyping phases where correlation to
time domain is important. If we consider, for example,
the UWB 802.15.4z standard, which is attracting increas-
ing interest in automotive applications, the oscilloscopes
multidomain capability makes it possible to examine the
UWB signal in both the time and frequency domain at the
same time. So the measurement settings can be adjusted
if need be. As shown in Fig. 15, it is possible to use the
gated FFT feature provided by Rohde & Schwarz oscillo-
scopes to define a signal portion in the time domain and
Fig. 13: 5G NR MIMO measurements with the R&S®VSE vector signal explorer plot the spectrum of this specific portion. In addition to
software. that, Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscopes provide a variety of
fast and easy-to-setup spectral measurements such as the

MULTI-DOMAIN ­ANALYSIS channel power and the occupied bandwidth. This can be
very useful when focusing on the spectral properties of a
FOR SYSTEM-LEVEL specific pulse or when debugging unexpected behavior of
a device under test.
DEBUGGING
The same approach can be applied when debugging the
Unlike spectrum and signal analyzers, which are dedi- electromagnetic interference (EMI) behavior of electronic
cated instruments for RF signal analysis, oscilloscopes are designs. For this purpose, Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscopes
by definition general-purpose instruments that allow mul- provide dedicated near-field probes that can be used in
tiple measurements besides the acquisition of RF signals. conjunction with the FFT and trigger capabilities.
They namely provide a variety of bus trigger and decode,
power, time and frequency domain measurement options.
Therefore, it is possible to correlate the acquired RF sig-
nals with other signals, such as the supply voltage or digi-
tal bus signals, since the time-alignment between all these
measurements is constantly ensured.

For example, simultaneously acquiring CAN bus or auto-

motive Ethernet signals together with radar signals is par-
ticularly helpful during the development and debugging of
automotive radar modules. The analysis time of the radar
sensor can be determined from the delay between the
radar signal and the bus protocol signal. If the measured
delay exceeds a specified time, deployment in autono-
mous vehicles is not acceptable. Fig. 15: Time and frequency domain measurements of UWB signal.

Fig. 14: Multi-domain capabilities of Rohde & Schwarz

oscilloscopes

RF time
Power
domain
Bus interface
RF interface

RF frequency Bus trigger

DUT
domain and decode

Power interface

CAN/CAN FD
MIL-STD-1553
ARINC 429
SpaceWire…

Rohde & Schwarz RF signal analysis with Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes 9
Zone trigger
Another example of a useful cross-domain feature is the
zone trigger. Using Rohde & Schwarz high-end oscillo-
scopes, up to eight zones can be graphically defined in the
time and frequency domain and combined through logical
operators to define a condition as well as the device reac-
tion when this condition is met. This can be particularly
useful for EMI debugging purposes by giving the user the
flexibility to define forbidden areas in both domains and be
warned if these areas are violated, even by a short or inter-
mittent interferer. As shown in Fig. 16, zones from both
domains can be combined for defining the condition to
detect any fading effects on a WLAN signal.
Fig. 16: Using zone triggers in time and frequency domain to detect fading effects on
a WLAN signal.

SUMMARY
WHEN TO CHOOSE A SPECTRUM AND SIGNAL ANALYZER OR
AN OSCILLOSCOPE?
Advantages of a signal and spectrum analyzer Advantages of an oscilloscope
The main differences result from the frequency selectivity The main advantages of an oscilloscope result from full
of the signal and spectrum analyzer: signal capture including DC components and the availabil-
► High dynamic range through frequency selectivity: ity of several, typically two or four phase-coherent inputs:
low-level signals can also be analyzed in the vicinity ► Measurement of signals with DC components is
of a strong signal: standard-compliant ACLR and possible
SEM measurements are usually only possible with a ► Unrivalled analysis bandwidth, usually up to the
spectrum analyzer maximum frequency of the oscilloscope
► With signal demodulation, the great dynamic range ► Wideband measurement of signals in the analog
is reflected in the quality of the measurement results: baseband, four-port instruments even allow differential
particularly with signals with a large bandwidth and a I and Q capture
high crest factor, significantly better results, i.e. better ► Phase-coherent measurements of several sources are
EVM values, can be achieved possible
► High maximum frequency and continuous sweep from ► Time-correlated multi-domain measurements
minimum to maximum frequency
► Depending on the bandwidth, very long, seamless
recording times are possible
► Measuring applications for phase noise and
noise figure/gain
► Measurement applications for real-time spectrum
analysis with uninterrupted analysis

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by ­Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Rohde & Schwarz is under license.

10
Summary
The table represents a short summary of the topics discussed above. It focuses on the strengths of the high-end
Rohde & Schwarz spectrum and signal analyzers and Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscopes for RF measurements.

ROHDE & SCHWARZ ROHDE & SCHWARZ

­SPECTRUM AND SIGNAL OSCILLOSCOPES
ANALYZERS
Wide analysis bandwidth Wide analysis bandwidth
(up to 8.3 GHz) (up to 16 GHz)

High dynamic range Advanced triggering

Optimized architecture for excellent Phase-coherent multichannel

RF performance up to 85 GHz capability

Comprehensive RF measurement Time-correlated multi-domain

functionality measurements

Which device for which application?

The table below shows whether a Rohde & Schwarz spectrum and signal analyzer or a Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscope is
most suitable for the required measurements, depending on typical requirements in multiple RF applications.

Rohde & Schwarz spectrum and

Requirements Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscope
­signal analyzer
Standard-conformant spectral measurements of ACLR, SEM or spurs
●●● ●
of cellular or wireless standards like LTE, 5G NR or WLAN
Seamless, long-time recordings ●●● ●
Signal demodulation and EVM analysis of cellular or wireless
on device or R&S®VSE only with R&S®VSE
­standards like LTE, 5G NR or WLAN
Phase difference measurements between 5G NR base station/small
– ●●●
cell outputs for beam characterization
Accurate detection of DRFM jammer retransmitted echo and phase-
– ●●●
coherent analysis in relation to the original pulse
EMC precompliance measurement with CISPR detectors and only EMI debugging with advanced
●●●
6 dB filters FFT capabilities
Trigger on a very sporadic spur with 100 % probability of detection ●●● ●
Analysis of bus and high-speed interface signals – ●●●
Multi-domain measurements to determine causes of unexpected
– ●●●
behavior
one-box solution or with external
Analysis of wideband automotive radar signals in the E band possible with external mixer and LO
mixer
Versatile test equipment that can handle both RF and digital
– ●●●
­measurements when debugging radar sensors
Measurement of phase noise ●●● –
Measurement of noise figure and gain of an amplifier ●●● –

● The higher the number of points, the higher the performance.

Rohde & Schwarz RF signal analysis with Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes 11
 Rohde & Schwarz
Service that adds value The Rohde & Schwarz technology group is among the trail-
► Worldwide blazers when it comes to paving the way for a safer and
► Local and personalized connected world with its leading solutions in test & measure-
► Customized and flexible
ment, technology systems, and n ­ etworks & cybersecurity.
► Uncompromising quality
► Long-term dependability Founded more than 85 years ago, the group is a reliable
partner for industry and government customers around
the globe. The independent company is headquartered in
Munich, Germany and has an extensive sales and service
network with locations in more than 70 countries.

www.rohde-schwarz.com

Sustainable product design

► Environmental compatibility and eco-footprint
► Energy efficiency and low emissions
► Longevity and optimized total cost of ownership

Certified Quality Management Certified Environmental Management

ISO 9001 ISO 14001

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R&S® is a registered trademark of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG

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registered are trademarks of the
of Rohde owners GmbH & Co. KG
& Schwarz
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Trade names are trademarks | Version 01.00 | September 2021 (sk)
of the owners
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| September spectrum
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