Specifications

The sensitivity and usefulness of many wireless

RF and microwave systems is limited by the phase

noise characteristics of their system. In pulsed

radar systems, for example, the phase noise of the

receiver local oscillator sets the minimum signal

level that must be returned from a target for it to

be detected. In this case, phase noise affects the

selectivity of the radar receiver, which in turn deter-

mines the effective range of the overall system.

Since the overall dynamic range of the radar sys-

tem is influenced by the noise of the transmitted

signal, it is important to know not only the absolute

noise of individual oscillators but also the residual

or additive noise of the signal processing devices,

such as power amplifiers and pulse modulators.

In addition, because the final signal in most radar

systems is pulsed, making absolute phase noise

measurements on the pulsed carrier is essential to

determining the overall performance of the system.

This product note discusses the use and limita-

tions of the Agilent Technologies E5500 series

phase noise measurement solutions for making

pulsed carrier phase noise measurements. It

is assumed that the reader is familiar with the

concepts of phase noise and CW phase noise

measurement techniques and with the general

application considerations for measuring pulsed

carrier signals. For a more detailed discussion

of these topics, refer to Agilent Application Note

1309, Pulsed Carrier Phase Noise Measurements

(literature number 5968-2081E).

Chapter 2 presents the recommended hardware

configurations and step-by-step measurement

procedure for making residual (two-port) measure-

ments on pulsed RF carriers. Chapter 3 covers

the recommended hardware configurations and

step-by-step measurement procedures for mak-

ing absolute measurements on pulsed carriers.

Chapter 4 is a brief discussion of AM noise meas-

urements with the Agilent E5500 series.

1. Introduction