5-4 Service Guide E8361-90001
Theory of Operation PNA Series Microwave Network Analyzers
Network Analyzer System Operation E8361A
Synthesized Source Group
The built-in synthesized source generates a swept, stepped, or continuous wave (CW)
signal in the frequency ranges as listed in Table 5-1. The source output power is leveled by
an internal automatic leveling control (ALC) circuit. In the standard analyzer, a portion of
the source signal is routed to one of the reference receivers (R1 or R2), and fed back to the
source for phase lock. In the Option 080 (frequency offset mode) analyzer, a portion of the
source signal is routed to a frequency offset receiver to provide the phase lock signal. The
maximum output power level of the network analyzer at the test ports is shown in
Table 5-1.
The operation of the source functional group is described in “Source Group Operation” on
page 5-6.
Signal Separation Group
The source signal is separated into a reference path and a test path. The reference signal is
transmitted to the receiver group. The test signal is transmitted through—and reflected
from—the DUT and then is transmitted to the receiver group.
The signal separation group also provides:
• RF path switching to allow forward and reverse measurements
• external connections for the DUT (Option 014)
Refer to “Signal Separation Group Operation” on page 5-16.
Receiver Group
The receiver converts the test signal to a 41 kHz intermediate frequency (IF) for signal
processing, retaining both magnitude and phase characteristics. The IF signal is converted
to a digital signal by the digital processing group.
Refer to “Receiver Group Operation” on page 5-20.
Frequency Offset Group
This group provides the phase lock needed for frequency offset mode (Option 080), where
the source and receivers are tuned to different frequencies.
Refer to “Frequency Offset Group Operation (Option 080)” on page 5-23.
Table 5-1 Frequency Range and Maximum Output Power Level
Parameter
Frequency Range
10 MHz
to
45 MHz
a
a. Values for 10 MHz to 45 MHz and 67 GHz to 70 GHz are typical.
45 MHz
to
0.5 GHz
0.5 GHz
to
10 GHz
10 GHz
to
30 GHz
30 GHz
to
40 GHz
40 GHz
to
45 GHz
45 GHz
to
50 GHz
50 GHz
to
60 GHz
60 GHz
to
70 GHz
a
Max. Pwr. Out
(Standard)
(Option 014)
−7 dBm
−7 dBm
−3 dBm
−3 dBm
0 dBm
0 dBm
+1 dBm
0 dBm
−1 dBm
−2 dBm
−5 dBm
−6 dBm
−1 dBm
−2 dBm
−3 dBm
−4 dBm
−5 dBm
−7 dBm