RF Power Measurement Basics

Why bandwidth and speed matters

by Wolfgang Damm, WTG

Agenda

Significance of power measurements

RF signal theory
Vital system characteristics
Sampling techniques
Product specification examples
Questions - Answers

Understanding Important Parameters

Technologies effected by Power Measurements

Telecommunication

Mobile Devices, LNA, High Power Amplifier,

Antennas, Receiver, Filter, EMV

Life sciences

MRI, Telemetry, Skin / Deep Muscle Treatment

Aerospace / Defense

Radar, Communication, Telemetry, EMV

Automotive

EMV, Radar (Collision Avoidance Systems,

Parking Aids, Speed Control), EMV,
Communication, Telemetry

Consumer Electronics

Communication, CATV, WLAN, Microwave

Measuring Power: Essential for Circuit Design

This webinar discusses vital factors supporting
better product design and maintenance.
Component and system output signals are critical in the design
and performance of almost all RF and microwave equipment.
Signal measurement levels are critical at every system level
from the single component to the overall system.
In a system, each component must receive a proper signal level
from the previous component.

Why Measure RF Signal Levels

A component output signal
level is often the critical factor
in the design of RF and MW
equipment.

Signal content gets lost in noise, causing high BER

Signal too low

information gets lost in
noise

Signal information gets lost, due to clipping

Signal too high

Signal is clipped
Component can be
destroyed
Too much power destroys circuitry

RF Signal Theory

Why Not Just Measure Voltage?

DC and low-frequency
measurements can be
calculated by the formula:
P=U2/R.

RL

V
I

Depending in the match

between RF or MW source
impedance and load
impedance, parts of the signal
energy is reflected.
A waveguide setup makes it
very difficult to measure
voltage.

Low frequency allow easy power measurements

Forward
Power

RI

Effective
Power

RL

Reflected
Power

Specifics of RF Power?

Amplitude

RF and MW systems show different

behavior: Voltage and current vary
depending on the position measured.
Power stays the same at every point.

In RF Domain power refers

usually to average power [Pavr]
Pavr

V*I

cos() = phase angle between

V and I

Amplitude

PRF = Pavr = V * I * cos()

t
V
Note:
Frequency of power is double the AC frequency

Power Units (W, dBm)

Power is energy transferred per
unit of time.
Basic power unit is Watt (W):

AC component of Power

DC Component of Power

A logarithmic (decibel) scale is

often used to compare power
levels:
Relative Power
P(dB) = 10 log (P/Pref)
Absolute Power
P(dBm) = 10 log (P/1mW)

Amplitude

1W = 1 joule / sec

Power Meters Measure Power Envelope

All RF power measurements relate to the power envelope.

RF Power Sensors

Types of Sensors
Thermocouple:

True RMS measurement

Relatively insensitive to temporary overpowering.
Moderate dynamic range (typically 40dB)
Slow

Diode (CW):

True RMS measurement in the square root area.

Very sensitive to temporary overpowering.
Very high dynamic range (typically 90dB)
Faster

Diode (Peak):

True RMS measurement in the square root area.

Very sensitive to temporary overpowering.
Moderate to high dynamic range (typically 40 80dB)
Very Fast

Sensors
Diodes are the most commonly used sensors.
The matching resistor is the termination for the RF signal. RF
voltage is turned into DC voltage at the diode. The capacitor C
smoothes the rippled output signal and serves as a low pass
filter.
Ccpl

Rsource
RL
Vsource

50 Ohms

Vout

Dual-Diode Sensors
Boonton uses dual-diode sensors. Why?
Static effects: Double the output voltage (Villard Principle)
Dynamic effects: Better suppression of harmonic content
Ccpl

Rsource
RL
Vsource

~
Vout

Fast Diode Sensors

Ccpl

Ri

Rsource
RL
Vsource

RC

~
Vout

RC

Ri

Influence of Ri, C and Rc on pulse

measurements:

traise = Ri * C
tfall = Rc * C

Vital System Characteristics

Choosing Power Meters / Sensors

VSWR

Maximum power level

Dynamic power range
Rise / fall time
Frequency
Bandwidth

Sample rate / Effective sample rate

Fourier Transformation (FFT)

Every non-sinusoid signal consists
of sinusoids of equal and higher
frequencies.
Amplitude of the base frequency
and its multiples depends on the
form of the original signal.
If any components of the test
setup elements have insufficient
capability to handle these
frequencies, the measurement will
be inaccurate and the signal trace
will be shown degraded.

FFT (2)

Nyquist
The NyquistShannon Sampling Theorem states: the minimum
sampling frequency of a limited bandwidth, time-continuous
analog signal may be no less than twice the maximum signal
frequency in order to fully reconstruct an signal from the
acquired discrete data.

Nyquist
Nyquists Theorem applies also to nonbaseband signal frequencies with limited
bandwidth.
The required sample frequency depends
on the signals bandwidth. The sampling
rate must then be higher than twice the
occupied bandwidth.
Harry Nyquist 1889-1976

Example: a 1900 MHz signal with a bandwidth of 5 MHz would require a sampling frequency of
just above 10 MHz to provide a sufficient number of data points to fully reconstruct the signal.

Sampling Techniques

Sampling

Sampling gathers slices of a signal envelope

at specific time intervals.
Minimum requirements: samples fulfill
Nyquist requirements. Measurements (dots)
are mathematically and graphically
connected to rebuild the original signal.

Sample points are interpolated

with a sin(x)/x function. The
sampling rate in this example is
about 1.5 times the Nyquist
frequency.
Due to the rectangular form of the
original signal the representation
comes with a high harmonic
content.

Repetitive Random Sampling

Power meters take continuous samples independent of trigger

event. Although taken sequentially in time, they are
always completely random. Additional data points are added with every
sweep.
As a result, the waveform is completely reconstructed.

Repetitive Random Sampling

Detailed Pulses Analysis

1)
2)

3)

Product Specification Examples

Boonton Power Meters

(excerpt)

Maximum Power Level: 47 dBm*

Dynamic Power Range: 90dB *
Frequency: 40 GHz*

Bandwidth (peak): up to 50MHz

Rise / Fall Time: down to 3ns
Time Resolution: down to 100ps
Effective Sample Rate: up to 10GSa/s
* Sensor dependent

For more information visit: http://boonton.com/Products/Power Meters.aspx

Boonton Systems Sensors

(excerpt)

Maximum Power Level: up to

47dBm
Dynamic Power Range: up to
90dB
Frequency: up to 40 GHz
Bandwidth (peak): up to 65 MHz
Rise / Fall Time: from < 7ns

For more information visit:

http://boonton.com/Products/Sensors.aspx

Conclusion

Significance of power measurement

RF signal theory
Vital system characteristics
Sampling techniques

Product specification examples

Questions Answers

THANK YOU !

Join us for our next Webinars:

In Building DAS Systems by Rand Skopas, WTG

Date: 10/20/2010