Data Analysis Features
All about Trace Math
Keysight N9927-90001 User’s Guide                                                            619
— Data / Mem [D/M] Current measurement data is divided by the data in memory.
— Math Off
 [Data] Displays trace data with NO math applied.
About Math Operations
Data / Memory and Data - Memory math operations are performed on complex linear data before it 
is formatted. Because data is often viewed in log format, it is not always clear which of the two 
math operations should be used. Remember: dividing linear data is the same as subtracting 
logarithmic data. The following illustrates, in general, when to use each operation.
Use Data / Memory for normalization purposes, such as when comparing traces “before” and 
“after” a change is made or when measuring trace noise. In the following table, the Data/Mem 
values intuitively show the differences between traces. It is not obvious what Data-Mem is 
displaying.
Use Data - Memory to show the relative differences between two signals. Use for comparison of 
very small signals, such as the S11 match of two connectors. 
In the following table, Data/Mem shows both pairs of connectors to have the same 2 dB difference. 
However, the second pair of connectors have much better S11 performance (–50 and –52). The 
relative significance is shown in Data-Mem. 
Values to compare Data/Mem Data-Mem
0.5 dB and 0.6 dB
0.1 dB –39 dB
0.5 dB and 0.7 dB
0.2 dB –33 dB
Values to compare Data/Mem Data-Mem
–10 dB and –12 dB
2 dB –24 dB
 –50 dB and –52 dB
2 dB –64 dB