About Resolution Bandwidth
Resolution Bandwidth is a qualitative measure of the minimum separation required between two frequency components to be able to visually separate them and, for the VSA, is defined as the Equivalent Noise Bandwidth of the filter, which is determined by the window type that you select and the length of the window.
- The frequency resolution for spectrum traces
- How fast the VSA makes a measurement
parameter: Specifies the measurement RBW. The VSA will adjust the RBW to the closest value that satisfies the current measurement setup.
Because resolution bandwidth is directly related to measurement time, manually selecting a narrower resolution bandwidth can slow down a measurement more than necessary. Selecting a resolution bandwidth that is too wide, on the other hand, may not provide adequate resolution and can obscure spectral components that are close together.
Auto ( Power Spectrum, Adjacent Channel Power and Spectral Emissions Mask measurements only) - When checked (default setting), automatically changes to match the ratio set by Span to ResBW Ratio.
Swept analyzers generally define ResBW (also called window BW in swept analyzers) as the 3 dB bandwidth of the window. The 89600 VSA defines ResBW as the "equivalent noise bandwidth" of the window, which is the bandwidth of a rectangular filter that passes the same noise power as the filter specified by the window.
It is recommended that Auto Frequency Points mode be enabled. mode provides the most flexibility in choosing a or for a given and .
Power Spectrum Measurements
For details about Resolution Bandwidth when making Power Spectrum measurements, see Resolution and Video Bandwidth (Power Spectrum).
See Also