Keysight N9038B MXE EMI User Manual

Keysight X-Series MXE EMI Receiver
This manual provides documentation for the following:
N9038B MXE EMI Receiver
Specifications Guide (Comprehensive Reference Data)
© Keysight Technologies, Inc. 2020
No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including electronic storage and retrieval or translation into a foreign language) without prior agreement and written consent from Keysight Technologies, Inc. as governed by United States and international copyright laws.
Trademark Acknowledgments
Manual Part Number
N9038-90048
Edition
Edition 1, November 2020
Supersedes: none
Published by: Keysight Technologies
1400 Fountaingrove Parkway Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Warranty
THE MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS,” AND IS SUBJECT TO BEING CHANGED, WITHOUT NOTICE, IN FUTURE EDITIONS. FURTHER, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, KEYSIGHT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WITH REGARD TO THIS MANUAL AND ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. KEYSIGHT SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ERRORS OR FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE FURNISHING, USE, OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS DOCUMENT OR ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. SHOULD KEYSIGHT AND THE USER HAVE A SEPARATE WRITTEN AGREEMENT WITH WARRANTY TERMS COVERING THE MATERIAL IN THIS
DOCUMENT THAT CONFLICT WITH THESE TERMS, THE WARRANTY TERMS IN THE SEPARATE AGREEMENT WILL CONTROL.
Technology Licenses
The hardware and/or software described in this document are furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license.
U.S. Government Rights
The Software is “commercial computer software,” as defined by Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 2.101. Pursuant to FAR
12.212 and 27.405-3 and Department of Defense FAR Supplement (“DFARS”) 227.7202, the U.S. government acquires commercial computer software under the same terms by which the software is customarily provided to the public. Accordingly, Keysight provides the Software to U.S. government customers under its standard commercial license, which is embodied in its End User License Agreement (EULA), a copy of which can be found at
http://www.keysight.com/find/sweula
The license set forth in the EULA represents the exclusive authority by which the U.S. government may use, modify, distribute, or disclose the Software. The EULA and the license set forth therein, does not require or permit, among other things, that Keysight: (1) Furnish technical information related to commercial computer software or commercial computer software documentation that is not customarily provided to the public; or (2) Relinquish to, or otherwise provide, the government rights in excess of these rights customarily provided to the public to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose commercial computer software or commercial computer software documentation. No additional
government requirements beyond those set forth in the EULA shall apply, except to the extent that those terms, rights, or licenses are explicitly required from all providers of commercial computer software pursuant to the FAR and the DFARS and are set forth specifically in writing elsewhere in the EULA. Keysight shall be under no obligation to update, revise or otherwise modify the Software. With respect to any technical data as defined by FAR 2.101, pursuant to FAR 12.211 and 27.404.2 and DFARS 227.7102, the U.S. government acquires no greater than Limited Rights as defined in FAR 27.401 or DFAR 227.7103-5 (c), as applicable in any technical data.
Safety Notices
A CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to the product or loss of important data. Do not proceed beyond a CAUTION notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.
A WARNING notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in personal injury or death. Do not proceed beyond a WARNING notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

Where to Find the Latest Information

Documentation is updated periodically. For the latest information about these products, including instrument software upgrades, application information, and product information, browse to one of the following URLs, according to the name of your product:
http://www.keysight.com/find/mxe
To receive the latest updates by email, subscribe to Keysight Email Updates at the following URL:
http://www.keysight.com/find/MyKeysight
Information on preventing instrument damage can be found at:
www.keysight.com/find/PreventingInstrumentRepair
Is your product software up-to-date?
Periodically, Keysight releases software updates to fix known defects and incorporate product enhancements. To search for software updates for your product, go to the Keysight Technical Support website at:
http://www.keysight.com/find/techsupport
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Contents

1. Keysight MXE EMI Receiver
Definitions and Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Conditions Required to Meet Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Frequency and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Frequency Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Band. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Band Overlaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Standard Frequency Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Precision Frequency Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Frequency Readout Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Frequency Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Frequency Span. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Sweep Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Gated Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Number of Frequency Sweep/Step Points (buckets) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Resolution Bandwidth (RBW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
RF Preselector Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Microwave
Preselector Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Analysis Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Video Bandwidth (VBW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Amplitude Accuracy and Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Measurement Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Maximum Safe Input Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Display Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Marker Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Frequency Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
IF Frequency Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
IF Phase Linearity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Absolute Amplitude Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Input Attenuation Switching Uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
RF Input VSWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Resolution Bandwidth Switching Uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Reference Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Total Measurement Uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Display Scale Fidelity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Display Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Available Detectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Amplitude Probability Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Dynamic Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Gain Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
IF Prefilter Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Displayed Average Noise Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Indicated Noise (Receiver). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
DANL and Indicated Noise Improvement with Noise Floor Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Spurious Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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Second Harmonic Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Third Order Intermodulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Phase Noise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Power Suite Measurements (RF Preselector off only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Channel Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Occupied Bandwidth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Adjacent Channel Power (ACP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Multi-Carrier Adjacent Channel Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Power Statistics CCDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Burst Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
TOI (Third Order Intermodulation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Harmonic Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Spurious Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Spectrum Emission Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Inputs/Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Regulatory Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
2. I/Q Analyzer
Specifications Affected by I/Q Analyzer: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Clipping-to-Noise Dynamic Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Time Record Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
ADC Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
3. Option TDS - Time Domain Scan
Specifications Affected by Time Domain Scan: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
General Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Resolution Bandwidth (RBW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
RF Preselector Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
TDS Measurement Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
4. Option B25 - 25 MHz Analysis Bandwidth
Specifications Affected by Analysis Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Other Analysis Bandwidth Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
IF Spurious Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
IF Frequency Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
IF Phase Linearity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Time Record Length (IQ pairs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
ADC Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
5. Option B85/B1X - 85/160 MHz Analysis Bandwidth
Specifications Affected by Analysis Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
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Other Analysis Bandwidth Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
SFDR (Spurious-Free Dynamic Range). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
SFDR (Spurious-Free Dynamic Range). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
IF Residual Responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
IF Frequency Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
IF Phase Linearity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Time Record Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
ADC Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Capture Time [Plot] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6. Option CR3 - Connector Rear, 2nd IF Output
Specifications Affected by Connector Rear, 2nd IF Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Other Connector Rear, 2nd IF Output Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Aux IF Out Port. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Second IF Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7. Option EXM - External Mixing
Specifications Affected by External mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Other External Mixing Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Connection Port EXT MIXER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Mixer Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
IF Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
LO Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
8. Options P03, P08, P26, P44 - Preamplifiers
Specifications Affected by Preamp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Other Preamp Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Preamp Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
1 dB Gain Compression Point (Two-tone). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Absolute Amplitude Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
RF Input VSWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Total Measurement Uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Displayed Average Noise Level (DANL). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Indicated Noise (Receiver). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
DANL and Indicated Noise Improvement with Noise Floor Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Second Harmonic Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Third Order Intermodulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9. Option ESC - External Source Control
General Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Frequency Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Span Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Dynamic Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Power Sweep Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Measurement Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Supported External Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
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Contents
10. Option RT1 - Real-time Spectrum Analyzer (RTSA)
Specifications Affected by Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
Real-time Spectrum Analyzer Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
General Frequency Domain Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Density View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Spectrogram View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Power vs. Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Frequency Mask Trigger (FMT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
11. Option YAS - Y-Axis Screen Video Output
Specifications Affected by Y-Axis Screen Video Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Other Y-Axis Screen Video Output Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
General Port Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Continuity and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
12. Analog Demodulation Measurement Application
Pre-Demodulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Carrier Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Demodulation Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Capture Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Post-Demodulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Maximum Audio Frequency Span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Frequency Modulation - Level and Carrier Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
FM Deviation Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
FM Rate Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Carrier Frequency Error. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Carrier Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Frequency Modulation - Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Residual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Absolute Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
AM Rejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Residual FM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Measurement Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Amplitude Modulation - Level and Carrier Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
AM Depth Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
AM Rate Accuracy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Carrier Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Amplitude Modulation - Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Residual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Absolute Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
FM Rejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Residual AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Measurement Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Phase Modulation - Level and Carrier Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
PM Deviation Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
PM Rate Accuracy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
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Contents
Carrier Frequency Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Carrier Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Phase Modulation - Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Residual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Absolute Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
AM Rejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Measurement Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
13. Noise Figure Measurement Application
General Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Noise Figure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Noise Figure Uncertainty Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
14. Phase Noise Measurement Application
General Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Maximum Carrier Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Measurement Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Measurement Accuracy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Offset Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Amplitude Repeatability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Nominal Phase Noise at Different Center Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
9
Contents
10
Keysight X-Series MXE EMI Receiver N9038B
Specification Guide

1 Keysight MXE EMI Receiver

This chapter contains the specifications for the EMI receiver. The specifications and characteristics for the measurement applications and options are covered in the chapters that follow.
11
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Definitions and Requirements

Definitions and Requirements

This book contains EMC receiver specifications and supplemental information. The distinction among specifications, typical performance, and nominal values are described as follows.

Definitions

Specifications describe the performance of parameters covered by the product warranty (temperature = 5° to 50°C, unless otherwise noted).
95th percentile values indicate the breadth of the population (≈2σ) of performance tolerances expected to be met in 95% of the cases with a 95% confidence, for any ambient temperature in the range of 20 to 30°C. In addition to the statistical observations of a sample of instruments, these values include the effects of the uncertainties of external calibration references. These values are not warranted. These values are updated occasionally if a significant change in the statistically observed behavior of production instruments is observed.
Typical describes additional product performance information that is not covered by the product warranty. It is performance beyond specification that 80% of the units exhibit with a 95% confidence level over the temperature range 20 to 30°C. Typical performance does not include measurement uncertainty.
Nominal values indicate expected performance, or describe product performance that is useful in the application of the product, but is not covered by the product warranty.

Conditions Required to Meet Specifications

The following conditions must be met for the receiver to meet its specifications.
The receiver is within its calibration cycle. See the General section of this chapter.
Under auto couple control, except that Auto Sweep Time Rules = Accy.
For signal frequencies <10 MHz, DC coupling applied.
Any receiver that has been stored at a temperature range inside the allowed storage range but outside the allowed operating range must be stored at an ambient temperature within the allowed operating range for at least two hours before being turned on.
The receiver has been turned on at least 30 minutes with Auto Align set to Normal, or if Auto Align is set to Off or Partial, alignments must have been run recently enough to prevent an Alert message. If the Alert condition is changed from “Time and Temperature” to one of the disabled duration choices, the receiver may fail to meet specifications without informing the user. If Auto Align is set to Light, performance is not warranted, and nominal performance will degrade to become a factor of 1.4 wider for any specification subject to alignment, such as amplitude tolerances.
12 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Definitions and Requirements

Certification

Keysight Technologies certifies that this product met its published specifications at the time of shipment from the factory. Keysight Technologies further certifies that its calibration measurements are traceable to the International System of Units (SI) via national metrology institutes (www.keysight.com/find/NMI) that are signatories to the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement.
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 13
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time

Frequency and Time

Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Frequency Range

Maximum Frequency
RF Input 1
Option 503 3.6 GHz
Option 508 8.4 GHz
Option 526 26.5 GHz
Option 544 44 GHz
RF Input 2 1.0 GHz
Minimum Frequency
RF Preselector Off
AC Coupled
a
DC Coupled
Preamp Off 10 MHz 20 Hz
Preamp On 10 MHz 100 kHz
RF Preselector On
AC Coupled
a
DC Coupled
Preamp Off 10 MHz 20 Hz
Preamp On 10 MHz 1 kHz

Band Harmonic Mixing

LO Multiple (N
b
)

Band Overlaps

c
Mode
0 (20 Hz to 3.6 GHz) 1 1 Options 503, 508, 526, 544
1 (3.5 GHz to 8.4 GHz) 1 1 Options 508, 526, 544
2 (8.3 GHz to 13.6 GHz) 1 2 Options 526, 544
3 (13.5 to 17.1 GHz) 2 2 Option 526, 544
4 (17.0 to 26.5 GHz) 2 4 Option 526, 544
5 (26.4 to 34.5 GHz) 2 4 Option 544
6 (34.4 to 44 GHz) 4 8 Option 544
a. AC Coupled only applicable to Freq Options 503, 508 and 526. b. N is the LO multiplication factor. For negative mixing modes (as indicated by the “” in the “Harmonic Mixing
Mode” column), the desired 1st LO harmonic is higher than the tuned frequency by the 1st IF (5.1225 GHz for band 0, 322.5 MHz for all other bands).
14 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
c. In the band overlap regions, for example, 3.5 to 3.6 GHz, the receiver may use either band for measurements, in
this example Band 0 or Band 1. The receiver gives preference to the band with the better overall specifications (which is the lower numbered band for all frequencies below 26 GHz), but will choose the other band if doing so is necessary to achieve a sweep having minimum band crossings. For example, with CF = 3.58 GHz, with a span of 40 MHz or less, the receiver uses Band 0, because the stop frequency is 3.6 GHz or less, allowing a span without band crossings in the preferred band. If the span is between 40 and 160 MHz, the receiver uses Band 1, because the start frequency is above 3.5 GHz, allowing the sweep to be done without a band crossing in Band 1, though the stop frequency is above 3.6 GHz, preventing a Band 0 sweep without band crossing. With a span greater than 160 MHz, a band crossing will be required: the receiver scans up to 3.6 GHz in Band 0; then exe­cutes a band crossing and continues the sweep in Band 1. Specifications are given separately for each band in the band overlap regions. One of these specifications is for the preferred band, and one for the alternate band. Continuing with the example from the previous paragraph (3.58 GHz), the preferred band is band 0 (indicated as frequencies under 3.6 GHz) and the alternate band is band 1 (3.5 to 8.4 GHz). The specifications for the preferred band are warranted. The specifications for the alternate band are not warranted in the band overlap region, but performance is nominally the same as those warranted specifications in the rest of the band. Again, in this example, consider a signal at 3.58 GHz. If the sweep has been configured so that the signal at 3.58 GHz is measured in Band 1, the analysis behavior is nom­inally as stated in the Band 1 specification line (3.5 to 8.4 GHz) but is not warranted. If warranted performance is necessary for this signal, the sweep should be reconfigured so that analysis occurs in Band 0. Another way to express this situation in this example Band 0/Band 1 crossing is this: The specifications given in the “Specifica­tions” column which are described as “3.5 to 8.4 GHz” represent nominal performance from 3.5 to 3.6 GHz, and warranted performance from 3.6 to 8.4 GHz.
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 15
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Standard Frequency Reference

Accuracy ±[(time since last adjustment ×
aging rate) + temperature stability +
b
calibration accuracy
]
Temperature Stability
6
20 to 30°C
Full temperature range
Aging Rate
±2 × 10
±2 × 10
±1 × 10
6
6
/year
a
Achievable Initial Calibration Accuracy
Settability
±1.4 × 10
±2 × 10
6
8
Residual FM
(Center Frequency = 1 GHz 10 Hz RBW, 10 Hz VBW)
Precision Frequency Reference
Accuracy ±[(time since last adjustment ×
aging rate) + temperature stability + calibration accuracy
Temperature Stability
20 to 30°C
Full temperature range
±1.5 × 10
±5 × 10
8
8
Aging Rate
Total Aging
1 Year
±1 × 10
7
b]c
10 Hz × N (nominal)
10
±5 × 10
f
p-p in 20 ms
/day (nominal)
9
8
7
Nominal
±1 × 10
±1 × 10
7
of final frequency
8
of final frequency
2 Years
Settability
Warm-up and Retrace
d
300 s after turn on
900 s after turn on
Achievable Initial Calibration Accuracy
±1.5 × 10
±2 × 10
e
±4 × 10
16 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information
Standby power to reference oscillator Not supplied
Residual FM
(Center Frequency = 1 GHz
0.25 Hz × N (nominal)
f
p-p in 20 ms
10 Hz RBW, 10 Hz VBW)
a. For periods of one year or more. b. Calibration accuracy depends on how accurately the frequency standard was adjusted to 10 MHz. If the adjust-
ment procedure is followed, the calibration accuracy is given by the specification “Achievable Initial Calibration
Accuracy.” c. The specification applies after the receiver has been powered on for four hours. d. Standby mode does not apply power to the oscillator. Therefore warm-up applies every time the power is
turned on. The warm-up reference is one hour after turning the power on. Retracing also occurs every time
warm-up occurs. The effect of retracing is included within the “Achievable Initial Calibration Accuracy” term of
the Accuracy equation. e. The achievable calibration accuracy at the beginning of the calibration cycle includes these effects:
1) Temperature difference between the calibration environment and the use environment
2) Orientation relative to the gravitation field changing between the calibration environment and the use envi-
ronment
3) Retrace effects in both the calibration environment and the use environment due to turning the instrument
power off.
4) Settability
f. N is the LO multiplication factor.
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 17
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Frequency Readout Accuracy ±(marker freq × freq ref accy. + 0.25% ×

a
+ 2 Hz + 0.5 × horizontal
)
Example for EMC
span + 5% × RBW resolution
d
b
Single detector only
±0.0032% (nominal)
a. The warranted performance is only the sum of all errors under autocoupled conditions. Under non-autocoupled
conditions, the frequency readout accuracy will nominally meet the specification equation, except for conditions in which the RBW term dominates, as explained in examples below. The nominal RBW contribution to frequency readout accuracy is 2% of RBW for RBWs from 1 Hz to 390 kHz, 4% of RBW from 430 kHz through 3 MHz (the widest autocoupled RBW), and 30% of RBW for the (manually selected) 4, 5, 6 and 8 MHz RBWs. First example: a 120 MHz span, with autocoupled RBW. The autocoupled ratio of span to RBW is 106:1, so the RBW selected is 1.1 MHz. The 5% × RBW term contributes only 55 kHz to the total frequency readout accu- racy, compared to 300 kHz for the 0.0.25% × span term, for a total of 355 kHz. In this example, if an instrument had an unusually high RBW centering error of 7% of RBW (77 kHz) and a span error of 0.20% of span (240 kHz), the total actual error (317 kHz) would still meet the computed specification (355 kHz). Second example: a 20 MHz span, with a 4 MHz RBW. The specification equation does not apply because the Span: RBW ratio is not autocoupled. If the equation did apply, it would allow 50 kHz of error (0.25%) due to the span and 200 kHz error (5%) due to the RBW. For this non-autocoupled RBW, the RBW error is nominally 30%, or 1200 kHz.
b. Horizontal resolution is due to the marker reading out one of the sweep points. The points are spaced by
span/(Npts –1), where Npts is the number of sweep points. For example, with the factory preset value of 1001 sweep points, the horizontal resolution is span/1000. However, there is an exception: When both the detector mode is “normal” and the span > 0.25 × (Npts –1) × RBW, peaks can occur only in even-numbered points, so the effective horizontal resolution becomes doubled, or span/500 for the factory preset case. When the RBW is autocoupled and there are 1001 sweep points, that exception occurs only for spans > 750 MHz.
c. Specifications apply to traces in most cases, but there are exceptions. Specifications always apply to the peak
detector. Specifications apply when only one detector is in use and all active traces are set to Clear Write. Spec­ifications also apply when only one detector is in use in all active traces and the "Restart" key has been pressed since any change from the use of multiple detectors to a single detector. In other cases, such as when multiple simultaneous detectors are in use, additional errors of 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 sweep points will occur in some detectors, depending on the combination of detectors in use.
d. In most cases, the frequency readout accuracy of the receiver can be exceptionally good. As an example, Key-
sight has characterized the accuracy of a span commonly used for Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing using a source frequency locked to the receiver. Ideally, this sweep would include EMC bands C and D and thus sweep from 30 to 1000 MHz. Ideally, the analysis bandwidth would be 120 kHz at 6 dB, and the spacing of the points would be half of this (60 kHz). With a start frequency of 30 MHz and a stop frequency of 1000.2 MHz and a total of 16168 points, the spacing of point
s is ideal. The detector used was the Peak detector. The accuracy of
frequency readout of all the points tested in this span was with ±0.0032% of the span. A perfect receiver with this many points would have an accuracy of ±0.0031% of span. Thus, even with this large number of display points, the errors in excess of the bucket quantization limitation were negligible.
c
18 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Frequency Counter

a
See note
b
Count Accuracy ±(marker freq × freq ref accy. + 0.100 Hz)
Delta Count Accuracy ±(delta freq. × freq ref accy. + 0.141 Hz)
Resolution 0.001 Hz
a. Instrument conditions: RBW = 1 kHz, gate time = auto (100 ms), S/N 50 dB, frequency = 1 GHz b. If the signal being measured is locked to the same frequency reference as the receiver, the specified count
accuracy is ±0.100 Hz under the test conditions of footnote a. This error is a noisiness of the result. It will increase with noisy sources, wider RBWs, lower S/N ratios, and source frequencies > 1 GHz.
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Frequency Span

Range
Swept and FFT
Option 503 0 Hz, 10 Hz to 3.6 GHz
Option 508 0 Hz, 10 Hz to 8.4 GHz
Option 526 0 Hz, 10 Hz to 26.5 GHz
Option 544 0 Hz, 10 Hz to 44 GHz
Resolution 2 Hz
Span Accuracy
Stepped
Swept
FFT
±(0.25% × span + horizontal resolution
±(0.25% × span + horizontal resolution
±(0.1% × span + horizontal resolution
a
)
a
)
a
)
a. Horizontal resolution is due to the marker reading out one of the sweep points. The points are spaced by
span/(Npts 1), where Npts is the number of sweep points. For example, with the factory preset value of 1001
sweep points, the horizontal resolution is span/1000. However, there is an exception: When both the detector
mode is “normal” and the span > 0.25 × (Npts − 1) × RBW, peaks can occur only in even-numbered points, so
the effective horizontal resolution becomes doubled, or span/500 for the factory preset case. When the RBW is
auto coupled and there are 1001 sweep points, that exception occurs only for spans >750 MHz.
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 19
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information
Sweep Time
Range Span = 0 Hz Span ≥ 10 Hz
1 μs to 6000 s 1 ms to 4000 s
Accuracy Span ≥ 10 Hz, swept Span ≥ 10 Hz, FFT Span = 0 Hz
Sweep Trigger Free Run, Line, Video, External 1,
External 2, RF Burst, Periodic Timer
Delayed Trigger
a
Range
Span 10 Hz, swept 0 to 500 ms
Span = 0 Hz or FFT −150 ms to +500 ms
Resolution 0.1 μs
a. Delayed trigger is available with line, video, RF burst and external triggers.
±0.01% (nominal) ±40% (nominal) ±0.01% (nominal)
20 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information
Triggers Additional information on some of the triggers and gate
sources
Video Independent of Display Scaling and Reference Level
Minimum settable level 170 dBm Useful range limited by noise
Maximum usable level
Highest allowed mixer level
a
+ 2 dB (nominal)
Detector and Sweep Type relationships
Sweep Type = Swept
Detector = Normal, Peak, Sample or Negative Peak
Triggers on the signal before detection, which is similar to the displayed signal
Detector = Average Triggers on the signal before detection, but with a
single-pole filter added to give similar smoothing to that of the average detector
Sweep Type = FFT Triggers on the signal envelope in a bandwidth wider
than the FFT width
RF Burst
Level Range
b
to 10 dBm plus attenuation (nominal)
50
Level Accuracy ±2 dB + Absolute Amplitude Accuracy (nominal)
Bandwidth (10 dB)
Most cases 16 MHz (nominal)
Sweep Type = FFT;
30 MHz (nominal) FFT Width = 25 MHz; Span 8 MHz
Frequency Limitations If the start or center frequency is too close to zero, LO
feedthrough can degrade or prevent triggering. How
close is too close depends on the bandwidth listed
above.
External Triggers See “Trigger Inputs (Trigger 1 In, Trigger 2 In)”
on page 74
a. The highest allowed mixer level depends on the IF Gain. It is nominally –10 dBm for Preamp Off and IF Gain =
Low.
b. Noise will limit trigger level range at high frequencies, such as above 15 GHz.
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 21
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information
Gated Sweep
Gate Methods Gated LO
Gated Video Gated FFT
Span Range Any span
Gate Delay Range 0 to 100.0 s
Gate Delay Settability 4 digits, 100 ns
Gate Delay Jitter 33.3 ns p-p (nominal)
Gate Length Range
(Except Method = FFT)
Gated Frequency and Amplitude Errors
Gate Sources External 1
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Number of Frequency Sweep/Step Points (buckets)

Factory preset 1001
Range 1 to 100,001 Zero and non-zero spans
100 ns to 5.0 s Gate length for the FFT method is fixed at
1.83/RBW, with nominally 2% tolerance.
Nominally no additional error for gated measurements when the Gate Delay is greater than the MIN FAST setting
Pos or neg edge triggered External 2 Line RF Burst Periodic
22 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Resolution Bandwidth (RBW)

Range (−3.01 dB bandwidth) 1 Hz to 8 MHz
Bandwidths above 3 MHz are 4, 5, 6, and 8 MHz. Bandwidths 1 Hz to 3 MHz are spaced at 10% spacing using the E24 series 24 per decade: 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8,
2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.6, 3.9, 4.3,
4.7, 5.1, 5.6, 6.2, 6.8, 7.5, 8.2, 9.1 in each decade.
CISPR Standard Bandwidths 200 Hz, 9 kHz, 120 kHz, 1 MHz –6 dB, subject to CISPR
mask
MIL Standard Bandwidths 10 Hz, 100 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz, 100 kHz, 1
–6 dB
MHz
Other Bandwidths 30 Hz, 300 Hz, 3 kHz, 30 kHz, 300 kHz,
–6 dB
3 MHz, 10 MHz
Power bandwidth accuracy
a
RBW Range CF Range
1 Hz to 750 kHz All ±1.0% (0.044 dB)
820 kHz to 1.2 MHz < 3.6 GHz ±2.0% (0.088 dB)
1.3 to 2.0 MHz < 3.6 GHz ±0.07 dB (nominal)
2.2 to 3 MHz < 3.6 GHz ±0.15 dB (nominal)
4 to 8 MHz < 3.6 GHz ±0.25 dB (nominal)
Accuracy (−3.01 dB bandwidth)
b
1 Hz to 1.3 MHz RBW ±2% (nominal)
1.5 MHz to 3 MHz RBW CF ≤ 3.6 GHz CF > 3.6 GHz
±7% (nominal) ±8% (nominal)
4 MHz to 8 MHz RBW
CF 3.6 GHz CF > 3.6 GHz
±15% (nominal) ±20% (nominal)
Selectivity (60 dB/3 dB) 4.1:1 (nominal)
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 23
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
a. The noise marker, band power marker, channel power and ACP all compute their results using the power band-
width of the RBW used for the measurement. Power bandwidth accuracy is the power uncertainty in the results of these measurements due only to bandwidth-related errors. (The receiver knows this power bandwidth for each RBW with greater accuracy than the RBW width itself, and can therefore achieve lower errors.) The war­ranted specifications shown apply to the Gaussian RBW filters used in swept and zero span analysis. There are four different kinds of filters used in the receiver: Swept Gaussian, Swept Flattop, FFT Gaussian and FFT Flattop. While the warranted performance only applies to the swept Gaussian filters, because only they are kept under statistical process control, the other filters nominally have the same performance.
b. Resolution Bandwidth Accuracy can be observed at slower sweep times than auto-coupled conditions. Normal
sweep rates cause the shape of the RBW filter displayed on the receiver screen to widen by nominally 6%. This widening declines to 0.6% nominal when the Swp Time Rules key is set to Accuracy instead of Normal. The true bandwidth, which determines the response to impulsive signals and noise-like signals, is not affected by the sweep rate.
24 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

RF Preselector Filters

Filter Band Filter Type 6 dB Bandwidth (Nominal)
20 Hz to 150 kHz Fixed lowpass 310 kHz
150 kHz to 1 MHz Fixed bandpass 1.7 MHz
1 to 2 MHz Fixed bandpass 2.4 MHz
2 to 5 MHz Fixed bandpass 7.5 MHz
5 to 8 MHz Fixed bandpass 10 MHz
8 to 11 MHz Fixed bandpass 9.5 MHz
11 to 14 MHz Fixed bandpass 9.5 MHz
14 to 17 MHz Fixed bandpass 10 MHz
17 to 20 MHz Fixed bandpass 9.5 MHz
20 to 24 MHz Fixed bandpass 9.5 MHz
24 to 30 MHz Fixed bandpass 9.0 MHz
30 to 70 MHz Tracking bandpass 10 MHz
70 to 150 MHz Tracking bandpass 24 MHz
150 to 300 MHz Tracking bandpass 28 MHz
300 to 600 MHz Tracking bandpass 50 MHz
600 MHz to 1 GHz Tracking bandpass 60 MHz
1 to 2 GHz Tracking bandpass 180 MHz
2 to 3.6 GHz Fixed highpass 1.89 GHz (–3 dB corner frequency)
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 25
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Frequency and Time
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Microwave Preselector Bandwidth

Mean Bandwidth at CF
a
Relevant to many options, such as B25 Wide IF Bandwidth, in Bands 1 and higher. Nominal.
Freq option ≤ 526 Freq option >526
5 GHz 58 MHz 46 MHz
10 GHz 57 MHz 52 MHz
15 GHz 59 MHz 53 MHz
20 GHz 64 MHz 55 MHz
25 GHz 74 MHz 56 MHz
35 GHz 62 MHz
44 GHz 70 MHz
Standard Deviation 9% 7%
3 dB Bandwidth 7.5% relative to 4 dB bandwidth, nominal
a. The microwave preselector can have a passband ripple up to 3 dB. To avoid ambiguous results, the –4 dB band-
width is characterized.
Description Specification Supplemental information

Analysis Bandwidth

a
Standard 10 MHz
With Option B25 25 MHz
With Option B85 85 MHz
With Option B1X 160 MHz
a. Analysis bandwidth is the instantaneous bandwidth available about a center frequency over which the input sig-
nal can be digitized for further analysis or processing in the time, frequency, or modulation domain.
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Video Bandwidth (VBW)

Range Same as Resolution Bandwidth range
plus wide-open VBW (labeled 50 MHz)
Accuracy ±6% (nominal)
in swept mode and zero span
a. For FFT processing, the selected VBW is used to determine a number of averages for FFT results. That number is
chosen to give roughly equivalent display smoothing to VBW filtering in a swept measurement. For example, if VBW = 0.1 × RBW, four FFTs are averaged to generate one result.
a
26 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Amplitude Accuracy and Range

Amplitude Accuracy and Range

Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Measurement Range

Preamp Off Displayed Average Noise Level to +30 dBm
Preamp On Displayed Average Noise Level to +30 dBm
Input Attenuation Range 0 to 70 dB, in 2 dB steps
Description Specifications Supplemental Information
Maximum Safe Input Level RF Input 1 RF Input 2 Applies with or without preamp
RF Input
Average Total Power +30 dBm (1 W) +30 dBm (1 W)
Peak Pulse Power +45 dBm (31.6 W) +50 dBm (100 W) (≤10 μs pulse width,
1% duty cycle, input attenuation 30 dB)
Surge Power 2 kW (10 μs pulse
width)
DC voltage
DC Coupled ±0.2 Vdc ±0.2 Vdc
AC Coupled ±100 Vdc ±100 Vdc
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Display Range

Log Scale Ten divisions displayed;
0.1 to 1.0 dB/division in 0.1 dB steps, and 1 to 20 dB/division in 1 dB steps
Linear Scale Ten divisions
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 27
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Amplitude Accuracy and Range
Description Specifications Supplemental Information

Marker Readout

Resolution
Log (decibel) units
Trace Averaging Off, on-screen 0.01 dB
Trace Averaging On or remote 0.001 dB
Linear units resolution 1% of signal level (nominal)
28 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Amplitude Accuracy and Range

Frequency Response

Description Specifications Supplemental Information
Frequency Response RF Input 1: to 44 GHz
RF Input 2: to 1 GHz
(Maximum error relative to reference condition (50 MHz) Mechanical attenuator only
b
Non-FFT operation only Preamp off: 10 dB atten Preamp on: 0 dB atten)
Option 544 (mmW)
Option 503, 508 or 526 (RF/μW)
RF Preselector off Preamp off 20 to 30°C 5 to 50°C
3 Hz to 20 Hz x
20 Hz to 10 MHz x
20 Hz to 10 MHz
c
10 MHz
to 3.6 GHz
x ±0.25 dB (nominal)
±0.60 dB ±0.75 dB ±0.22 dB
x ±0.60 dB ±0.75 dB ±0.25 dB
x ±0.65 dB ±0.85 dB ±0.22 dB
Refer to the footnote for
Band Overlaps on page 14.
Modes above 18 GHz
a
95th Percentile (≈2σ)
10 to 50 MHz
50 MHz to 3.6 GHz
3.5 to 8.4 GHz
3.5 to 5.2 GHz
5.2 to 8.4 GHz
8.3 to 13.6 GHz
8.3 to 13.6 GHz
de
de
de
de
de
13.5 to 17.1 GHz
13.5 to 17.1 GHz
17.0 to 18.0 GHz
18.0 to 22.0 GHz
17.0 to 22 GHz
de
22.0 to 26.5 GHz
22.0 to 26.5 GHz
de
de
de
de
de
de
x ±0.65 dB ±0.85 dB ±0.21 dB
x ±0.65 dB ±0.85 dB ±0.15 dB
x
x
x
x
x
x
±1.5 dB ±2.0 dB ±0.47 dB
x
±1.6 dB ±3.1 dB ±0.6 dB
x
±1.5 dB ±2.0 dB ±0.57 dB
±1.5 dB ±2.0 dB ±0.46 dB
x
±1.5 dB ±2.0 dB ±0.54 dB
±1.5 dB ±2.1 dB ±0.53 dB
x
±1.5 dB ±2.1 dB ±0.64 dB
±1.5 dB ±2.1 dB ±0.57 dB
±1.7 dB ±2.6 dB ±0.64 dB
x
±1.7 dB ±2.6 dB ±0.72 dB
±1.7 dB ±2.6 dB ±0.61 dB
x
±1.7 dB ±2.6 dB ±0.71 dB
Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide 29
Keysight MXE EMI Receiver Amplitude Accuracy and Range
Description Specifications Supplemental Information
26.4 to 34.5 GHz
34.4 to 44 GHz
de
de
x
±2.5 dB ±3.5 dB ±0.93 dB
x
±3.2 dB ±4.9 dB ±1.24 dB
a. Signal frequencies above 18 GHz are prone to response errors due to modes in the Type-N connector used. With
the use of Type-N to APC 3.5 mm adapter part number 1250-1744, there are nominally six such modes. The effect of these modes with this connector are included within these specifications.
b. For FFT based measurements, Frequency Response errors are more complicated. One case is where the input
signal is at the center frequency of the FFT measurement. In this case, the Frequency Response errors are given by this table. The total absolute amplitude accuracy is given by the combination of the absolute amplitude accu­racy at 50 MHz with the Frequency Response from this table. The other case is when the input signal is not at the center frequency of the FFT measurement. In this case, the total frequency response error is computed by adding the RF flatness errors of this table to the IF Frequency Response. The total absolute amplitude accuracy is given by the combination of the absolute amplitude accuracy at 50 MHz with this total frequency response error. An additional error source, the relative error in switching between swept and FFT-based measurements, is nominally ±0.01 dB. The effect of this relative error on absolute measurements is included with the "Absolute Amplitude Accuracy" specifications.
c. Specifications apply with DC coupling at all frequencies. With AC coupling, specifications apply at frequencies of
50 MHz and higher. Statistical observations at 10 MHz show that most instruments meet the specifications, but a few percent of instruments can be expected to have errors exceeding 0.5 dB at 10 MHz at the temperature
extreme. The effect at 20 to 50 MHz is negligible, but not warranted. d. Specifications for frequencies >3.5 GHz apply for sweep rates 100 MHz/ms. e. Microwave preselector centering applied.
30 Keysight N9038B MXE Specification Guide
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