R&S ZVB - Data Flow

R&S
®
ZVA / R&S
®
ZVB / R&S
®
ZVT System Overview
Basic Concepts
Operating Manual 1145.1084.12 – 30 21
Trace Settings
The trace settings specify the mathematical operations used in order to obtain traces from the measured
or stored data. They can be divided into several main groups:
 Selection of the measured quantity (S-parameters, wave quantities, ratios, impedances,...)
 Conversion into the appropriate display format and selection of the diagram type
 Scaling of the diagram and selection of the traces associated to the same channel
 Readout and search of particular values on the trace by means of markers
 Limit check
The Trace menu provides all trace settings. They complement the definitions of the Channel menu. Each
trace is assigned to a channel. The channel settings apply to all traces assigned to the channel.
If a trace is selected in order to apply the trace settings, it becomes the active trace. In manual control
there is always exactly one active trace, irrespective of the number of channels and traces defined. The
active channel contains the active trace. In remote control, each channel contains an active trace; see
section Active Traces in Remote Control in the help system.
Channel Settings
A channel contains hardware-related settings to specify how the network analyzer collects data. The
channel settings can be divided into three main groups:
 Control of the measurement process (Sweep, Trigger, Average)
 Description of the test setup (Power of the internal source, IF filter Bandwidth and Step
Attenuators, Port Configuration)
 Correction data (Calibration, Offset)
The Channel menu provides all channel settings.
After changing the channel settings or selecting another measured quantity, the analyzer needs some
time to initialize the new sweep. This preparation period increases with the number of points and the
number of partial measurements involved. It is visualized by a Preparing Sweep symbol in the status bar:
All analyzer settings can still be changed during sweep initialization. If necessary, the analyzer terminates
the current initialization and starts a new preparation period.
During the first sweep after a change of the channel settings, an additional red asterisk symbol appears in
the status bar:
Data Flow
The analyzer processes the raw measurement data in a sequence of stages in order to obtain the
displayed trace. The following diagram gives an overview.
The diagram consists of an upper and a lower part, corresponding to the data processing stages for the
entire channel and for the individual traces. All stages in the diagram are configurable. Note that the
channel data flow for S-parameters (and quantities derived from S-parameters such as impedances,
admittances, stability factors etc.) differs from the channel data flow for wave quantities (and derived
quantities such as ratios, PAE etc.).