Atec Agilent-N432A User Manual
Agilent N432A
Key features
• Frequency range: 100 kHz to
18GHz (sensor dependent)
• Power range: –30 dBm (1 μW)
to +10 dBm (10 mW)
• High accuracy ± (0.1% of
reading + 0.5 μW), excellent
for 1 mW transfer calibration
(with 478A-H75)
Thermistor Power Meter
Data Sheet
• Built in 6.5 digit ADC
eliminates the need of
external DMM
• Selectable bridge resistance
(100/200/300/400 Ω)
• Remote interface flexibility
• DC substitution measurement,
traceable to the U.S. National
Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST)
Agilent’s only power meter that supports
thermistor mount with useful enhancements for
metrology and calibration lab environments.
Why Agilent’s Power Meters and Sensors?
Reliable, high-performing solutions
Every power meter and sensor from Agilent consistently delivers great results.
A sure investment for many years to come
Code-compatibility between power meters reduces the need for re-coding. Not
only that, all Agilent power meters are backward-compatible with most legacy
power sensors.
One specific application: One right solution
Agilent offers a wide selection of power meters and sensors for practically
all application needs—wireless communications, radar pulse measurements,
component test, and more.
Global network support
No matter where you are, Agilent is committed to giving you the 24-hour
support you need regarding our products, applications, or services.
Agilent’s power meters have long been
recognized as the industry standard for
RF and microwave power measurements.
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We Listened to the Industry, Then Delivered a Better and Easier
Replacement Solution for the Legacy 432A Analog Power Meter
LXI Class-C compliant N432A
As today’s power measurements
become more complex, it is increasingly difficult to make reliable, accurate power measurements. For more
than 40 years, you’ve depended on
Agilent’s 432A analog power meter,
used with temperature compensated
thermistor sensors to provide high
accuracy over a wide temperature
range.
Today, the Agilent N432A digital
thermistor power meter, loaded with
enhancements, including a color
digital display, and intuitive front
panel interface will continue support
your measurement needs with greater
capability and expanded functionality.
Best of all, you can get these extras
at just a fraction of the price of the
legacy 432A.
The N432A is a single-channel, average RF power measurement meter
that supports thermistor sensors. The
N432A has the capability to measure
and display average power, RF bridge
voltages (V
bridge voltages (V
and V
RF0
), compensation
RF1
and V
COMP0
COMP1
),
V0, and V1. It is also provided with a
set of features such as zeroing and a
built-in self-test.
Developed using LXI technology,
the N432A is an LXI Class-C compliant instrument.1 The N432A basic
configuration consists of two key
sections: bridge and meter logic.
When a compatible thermistor sensor
is connected to the N432A, the RF
and compensation bridge circuits
are formed in the bridge section. VRF,
which is the voltage at the top of the
RF bridge, is responsive to both input
RF power and ambient temperature
changes. On the other hand, V
COMP
,
which is the voltage at the top of the
compensation bridge, is responsive
only to ambient temperature changes.
The VRF and V
values are used in
COMP
calculating the RF power. Meanwhile,
the meter logic section processes VRF
and V
to produce a meter current
COMP
proportional to RF power.
In general, the N432A is an
easy-to-use instrument, especially
with the availability of an integrated
Web browser that provides a convenient way to view and modify the
instrument network configuration.
Besides the LAN interface, the N432A
also supports industry standard GPIB
and USB interfaces for measurement
automation.
1. LXI, an acronym for LAN eXtension for Instrumentation, is an instrument standard for devices that use the Ethernet (LAN) as their primary
communication interface.
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High accuracy—no
thermoelectric error
The high accuracy ± (0.1% of reading
+ 0.5 μW) over a wide temperature
range featured in the legacy 432A
power meter is also included in the
N432A, making it excellent for 1 mW
transfer calibration (with 478A-H75/
H76*). Accuracy can be maintained
on even the most sensitive range as
the error due to thermoelectric effect
is reduced to a negligible level.
* 478-H75/H76 has a maximum SWR of
1.05 at 50 MHz
Sensor compatibility
The N432A is compatible with the Agilent 478A and 8478B thermistor sensors.
The following table lists the frequency range and operating resistance for these
two sensors:
Thermistor sensor model Frequency range (GHz) Operating resistance (Ω)
478A 0.01 to 10 200
478A Option H63 0.000001 to 1 200
478A Option H75 0.001 to 1 200
478A Option H76 0.001 to 1 200
8478B 0.01 to 18 200
For further information on the thermistor sensors, refer to the respective manuals.
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