Step control slave – HP 8360 User Manual

Page 364

Advertising
background image

Step Control Slave

Function Group

FREQUENCY

Menu Map

Description

This

lets you designate the synthesizer as the slave in

a dual synthesizer measurement system. A dual synthesizer
system (two-tone measurement system) facilitates accurate device
characterizations by providing one

reference for both

sources.

Figure S-l shows the connections required for

a

two-tone system. On

the message line, the status message

EXT REF

appears indicating the

synthesizer has an external

reference. The start and stop

frequencies of the slave can be offset above or below those set on the
master for fixed offset two-tone measurements.

To

synchronize properly for swept offset measurements, the 0 to 10

volt sweep ramp must be actively sweeping on the slave. If a CW
frequency is selected as the fixed LO frequency, the sweep ramp is
deactivated and the proper synchronization does not occur. Select a
center frequency with zero span to keep the slave’s voltage sweep
ramp active and ensure proper synchronization.

For synthesized step sweep measurements, set the number of sweep

points on the slave the same as on the master synthesizer. If the
master synthesizer is connected to a network analyzer, the analyzer
automatically sets the master synthesizer’s step size to match
the number of points displayed on the analyzer. Since the slave
synthesizer is not connected to the analyzer, set the slave to match
the master synthesizer. Allow the master to trigger the slave’s steps,
set

Step Swp Pt Tsig Ext

on the slave synthesizer.

For ramp sweep measurements, on the slave set the sweep time

equivalent to the master synthesizer. If the

master is connected to a

network analyzer, the slave’s sweep time is slightly longer than the
master’s because the analyzer does not stop the sweep precisely on
the last point. Use the following formula to determine the slave’s
sweep time for a system controlled by an analyzer.

x 1.03 =

For fixed-offset ramp sweep measurements the same sweep time must
be set on both the master and the slave. Since the master’s sweep
time is typically determined by the measurement configuration, set
the slave to match the master.

For more accurate ramp sweeps, select

Span Cal Always on

both the master and slave synthesizers. When this feature is active it
calibrates the frequency at the end of every frequency band.

Operating and Programming Reference

HP 8360

User’s Handbook

Advertising