EMI test receiver features FFT-based time domain scan

Rohde & Schwarz has introduced the R&S ESU, a new family of CISPR16-1-1-compliant EMI test receivers, said to be the first to offer FFT-based time domain scan capabilities. The three instruments in the family meet all commercial, automotive and military standards for EMI.

The integrated FFT time-domain scan is a method for high speed overview measurements. It allows the ESU series instruments to measure EMI spectrum faster than other receivers or spectrum analyzers with similar settings, the company said. FFT-based test methods are said to decrease measurement time by 10 to 100 times. This high rate preview measurement yields higher throughput and lower costs per measurement, according to Rohde & Schwarz. The time-domain scan is available as an option to the ESU.

The ESU series also integrates full spectrum analysis and EMI receiver functionality. The three models—the R&S ESU8, R&S ESU26 and R&S ESU40—cover frequency ranges of 20Hz to 8GHz, 26.5GHz and 40GHz, respectively. Each model is equipped with a secondary pulse-resistant RF input for conducted emissions measurements from 20Hz to 1GHz. All models contain preselection, which is essential for standard-compliant EMI measurements, and an internal preamplifier up to 3.6GHz.

The ESU series also offers a complete set of parallel detectors. All detectors (peak, AV, quasi-peak, CISPR-Ave, RMS, and CISPR-RMS) are implemented digitally to improve stability. The instrument includes an on-board report generator with editable templates and a preview function for checking results. The user can print the report directly or save it in different formats (PDF, RTF or HTML) to the internal hard disk or to an external memory via USB.

For manual measurements, the R&S ESU series features a large, TFT LCD that provides all information at a glance. The traditional bar graph display for up to 4 parallel detectors shows real-time amplitudes as well as the max hold value for each detector. The lower part of the screen shows either the complete RF interference spectrum with limit lines or the real-time IF spectrum for analysis. IF analysis helps identify modulation characteristics and shows a representation of the interference spectrum, such as ambient interference, near the signal of interest.