MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT HAVING TIME, FREQUENCY AND LOGIC DOMAIN CHANNELS

• US 20200132741A1
• Filed: 08/27/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Nishimura, Ken A.
• Granted Patent: US 11,686,750 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 13/0236 for presentation of more than one variable
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 13/0272 for sampling
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 23/02 Arrangements for measuring frequency, e.g. pulse repetition rate; Arrangements for measuring period of current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 23/16 Spectrum analysis; Fourier analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/16 Test equipment located at the transmitter

Abstract

An oscilloscope includes a time domain input, a logic domain input, and a frequency domain input. The time domain input provides a time domain input signal in a time domain as a first input signal. The logic domain input provides logic level input as a second input signal. The logic level input includes logic levels over time. The frequency domain input provides a third input signal through frequency downconversion.

Claims

1. A measurement apparatus, comprising:

a time domain receiver configured to receive a time domain input signal in a time domain;

a logic domain receiver configured to receive a logical signal comprising logic levels over time; and

a frequency domain receiver configured to receive a frequency domain signal in a frequency domain through frequency downconversion.

2. The measurement apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller coupled to the time domain receiver and the logic domain receiver, and configured to control, based on logic levels of the logical signal over time, at least one parameter of the frequency domain signal.

16. The measurement apparatus of claim 2, wherein the frequency domain receiver is further configured to receive the frequency domain signal at acquisition frequencies controlled by the controller in accordance with the logic levels of the logical signal.

17. The measurement apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one parameter controlled by the controller includes an acquisition frequency of the frequency domain signal which is subject to frequency downconversion.

18. The measurement apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller includes a memory that stores instructions and a processor that executes the instructions to control, based on the logic levels of the logical signal over time, the at least one parameter of the frequency domain signal.

19. The measurement apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a controller coupled to the logic domain receiver to determine the logic levels over time as determined logic levels, wherein at least one parameter of the third input signal is controlled by the controller in response to the determined logic levels.

20. The measurement apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a local oscillator (LO) configured to generate a LO signal, and to provide the LO signal to an external mixer, outside the measurement apparatus, for mixing the LO signal and a radio frequency (RF) signals from a device under test (DUT) to provide the downconverted frequency domain signal.

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. A method for operating an oscilloscope, comprising:

providing to the oscilloscope a time domain input signal in a time domain at a time domain channel;

providing to the oscilloscope a logic level input comprising logic levels over time at a logic domain channel; and

providing to the oscilloscope a frequency domain signal in a frequency domain at a frequency domain channel through frequency down conversion.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

identifying the logic levels over time as determined logic levels of the logic level input signal.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying at least one of the determined logic levels of the logic level input signal, amplitude versus time of the time domain input signal, or amplitude versus time of the frequency domain signal.

21. The method of claim 8, wherein the frequency domain signal comprises a hopped signal.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the determined logic levels comprise a frequency control word (FCW) representing a center frequency of the hopped frequency domain signal.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining the center frequency of a desired frequency domain signal using the FCW; and

controlling a local oscillator (LO) of the oscilloscope to generate a LO signal in accordance with the determined center frequency, wherein the LO provides the LO signal to an internal mixer of the oscilloscope for capturing the frequency domain signal.

9. A system for analyzing a radio frequency (RF) signal from a device under test (DUT), the system comprising:

a measurement instrument comprising;

a time domain input that provides a time domain input signal;

a frequency domain input that provides a frequency domain input signal through frequency downconversion;

an integrated local oscillator (LO) signal generator that generates a LO signal, the integrated LO signal generator being embedded internally within the measurement instrument;

an LO output port for outputting the LO signal generated by the integrated LO signal generator; and

a controller programmed to control operation of the integrated LO signal generator.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the measurement instrument further comprises:

a plurality of logic domain inputs that provide logic level inputs comprising logic levels over time.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the integrated LO signal generator generates the LO signal based on respective states of the logic levels of the logic level inputs from the logic domain inputs.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

an external mixer, outside the measurement instrument, for receiving the RF signal from the device under test as a received RF signal, and mixing the received RF signal and the LO signal that is output from the LO output port to provide a frequency downconverted intermediate frequency signal.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one parameter of the frequency domain input signal is controlled by the controller in response to respective states of the logic levels from the logic domain inputs.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the frequency downconverted intermediate frequency (IF) signal from the external mixer is input to the frequency domain input.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a display configured to display the frequency downconverted intermediate frequency signal as a frequency spectrum, which corresponds to the downconverted intermediate frequency signal from the external mixer as a frequency spectrum of the frequency downconverted intermediate frequency signal.