Build A High-Frequency Portable Spectrum Analyzer

Using Two Filter !s

Sep 27, 2013"ohn Ambrose | Electronic Design

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By down-converting in the analog domain and splitting the signals into discrete bands, you can
build a spectrum analyzer while using a much-slower, less power-hungry microcontroller than a
digital-domain design requires. This circuit employs a pair of standard digital-logic ICs plus two
advanced mied-signal ICs to provide !"#
th
-octave spacing outputs. It$s especially useful when you
are loo%ing at the spectrum of a modulated carrier waveform.
Designers sometimes need to analyze the spectrum of a modulated carrier.
Although they can do this by down-converting and then digitizing and signal
processing in the digital domain, the high-speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
and the processor power reuired will reduce battery life. !nstead, by down-
converting in the analog domain and splitting the signals into discrete bands, the
design can use a much slower, less power-hungry microcontroller.
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"he #undamentals $f %pectrum Analysis
&nderstanding %ignal Analyzer Architectures
&se A %ignal Analyzer "o 'easure (ower %upply, )egulator, And )eference *oise
"his can be achieved, for e+ample, by using an !C such as 'i+ed %ignal
!ntegration,s 'i+ed %ignal 'i-er and .ery /igh freuency #ilter ('%'-./#) to
baseband, while the 'i+ed %ignal 0ow powered %pectrum Analyzer ('%0%A)
provides spectrum analyzer outputs at 123th-octave spacing.
"he '%0%A sweeps with octave step increments using the 45/C5636
oscillator2divider and the 45/C171 one-of- eight selector. 8y selecting each output
from the 45/C5636 with the 45/C171, one can uic9ly step through the baseband
up to 166 9/z.
!n the portable spectrum analyzer of #igure 1, the '%'-./# includes a switching
mi+er that functions up to 366 '/z. "he output of the mi+er is limited to 1 '/z by
a second-order, continuous-time low-pass filter. "he '%'-./# also features a
selectable low-pass2band-pass switched-capacitor filter with operation up to 1 '/z
(cloc9 at 1:.7 '/z). "he output of the mi+er is ac-coupled e+ternally to the input of
the filter, while the output of the filter is ac-coupled to the input of the '%0%A. "he
'%0%A has si+ outputs that can be monitored with a scope or the ADC of a
microcontroller.
#$ By adding two standard %&H!''' series selectors to two more highly integrated components( you can
build the core o) a high-)requency spectrum analyzer$
"he 45/C5636 oscillator2cloc9 divider has outputs at ;5 and continuing to ;1:
(s9ipping ;11). "he typical ma+imum-freuency crystal for the 45/C5636 at <.< .
dc is :7 '/z. =hen the 45/C5636 is used with a :7-'/z crystal, the output at ;5
is 1.73: '/z. #igure : shows the output of the oscillator and the outputs ;5, ;7,
and ;3 of the 45/C5636. "hese outputs are tied to the 45/C171, a 1-of-> selector.
*$ +utputs ,&( ,-( and ,. /channels # to 0( respecti1ely2 go to an input-selector ! )or )iltering$
=hen %6, %1, and %: are at a logic low, output D6 is selected. "his output is tied to
the '%0%A cloc9 input. "he '%0%A cloc9-to-corner ratio varies by each output. #or
#ilter $ne output (1.1::53), the cloc9 to corner is >?.6>@1. =ith a 1.73:-'/z filter
cloc9, the center freuency at $utput $ne is 14.7 9/z.
#igure < shows the mi+er input being swept around :7 '/z, with the mi+er cloc9 at
:7 '/z, and the mi+er output with the '%'-./# filter set in low-pass
configuration.
0$ !hannels # to & show the input to mi3er and the output o) mi3er( along with )ilter outputs 0 and . and
how the low-pass )ilter has smoothed them$
#igure 5 shows outputs <, 5, 7, and 3 of the '%0%A with a swept input. *ote that
each output has an output freuency, when in range, of the '%0%A 123th-octave
band-pass filter.
&$ +utputs 0 through . o) the 4S5SA each correspond to a #6.th-octa1e bandwidth o) the band-pass
)ilter$
"he '%'-./# mi+er2filter with the '%0%A low-power spectrum-analyzer
integrated circuit with an oscillator, divider, and selector thus provides a solution
for measuring distortion for received radio signals, while using less power than an
all-digital solution.
John R. Ambrose is the vice president of applications and system engineering
at Mixed Signal Integration Corp