Design, Verification, and Troubleshooting of radar and communication systems often involves examining their up and downconverters. For example, if the overall system is exhibiting bit errors, or radar target returns are being masked by noise, what is the root cause?

This application brief compares three methods for assessing amplifier linearity: third-order intercept, noise power ratio, and crest factor (with complementary cumulative distribution function - CCDF).  The crest factor (CF) approach is shown to provide a clearer indication of signal compression (non-linearity), to be lower cost, to be simpler and less prone to errors, and to provide higher accuracy results.

Design, Verification, Troubleshooting and Maintenance of secondary surveillance radar (e.g. IFF-based radar) has never been more demanding. Proper design and operation of SSR systems can literally mean the difference between life and death. To reduce the possibility of a catastrophic event, federal aviation safety standards, such as those defined by the US Federal Aviation Administration, require transponders to undergo periodic maintenance and calibration. As a result, engineers and technicians have a need for the best analysis tools available whenever and wherever required. In addition, they want to be certain of the measurements they make. All this needs to be done in less time with less money.

With over 60 years of experience in the field of test and measurement, Boonton Electronics and Noisecom have become respected names within both the civil and military radar industries, providing market leading products capable of meeting the demands of even the most sophisticated technology. Boonton’s peak power meters are designed to accurately measure the fastest rise times and lowest duty cycle pulses, while Noisecom’s microprocessor controlled noise sources are able to simulate interference in order to interrogate a radar system in a precisely controlled manner.

A leader in the RF Power Measurement market for over 60 years, Boonton extends its leadership position with the 55 Series USB Peak Power Sensors. Designed for measuring and characterizing complex highly dynamic signals including pulsed OFDM modulated signals, the 55 Series is ideal for R&D, compliance, manufacturing and field testing of WiFi 802.11ac as well as legacy 802.11 a/b/g/n and LTE signals.

Boonton 4500B - What a Single-Ended Detector Doesn't Tell You!
Boonton 4542 - The Value of a Boonton Two-Channel Peak Power Alternative.