If you need to make multiple measurements to characterize a device, you can use various methods to increase throughput. Experiment with these methods to find what is best for your measurement application needs.
Other topics about Optimizing Measurements
Set Up Measurements for Increased Throughput
To achieve optimum throughput of devices that require multiple measurements, it is helpful to know the operation of the analyzer. This knowledge allows you to set up the measurement scenarios that are best for your applications.
Learn more about Traces, Channels, and Windows
If you arrange measurements to keep the complete set of device measurements in one instrument state, you can save them so that you can later recall a number of measurements with one recall function.
See Pre-configured Measurement Setups for more information.
Segment sweep is helpful if you need to change the following settings to characterize a device under test.
Frequency Range
Power Level
IF Bandwidth
Number of Points
The segment sweep allows you to define a set of frequency ranges that have independent attributes. This allows you to use one measurement sweep to measure a device that has varying characteristics.
See Segment Sweep for more information.
Trigger Measurements Selectively
You can use the measurement trigger to make measurements as follows:
Continuously update only the measurements that have rapidly changing data.
Occasionally update measurements that have infrequently changing data.
For example, if you had four channels set up as follows:
Two channels measuring the data that is used to tune a filter
Two channels measuring the data for the out-of-band responses of the filter
You would want to constantly monitor only the measurement data that you use for tuning the filter. If you continuously update all of the channels, this could slow the response of the analyzer so that you would not be able to tune the filter as effectively.
Note: You must either trigger the infrequent measurement manually or with remote interface commands.
To trigger measurements selectively:
This procedure shows you how to set up two different measurements with the following behavior:
Channel 1 measurement will continuously update the data.
Channel 2 measurement will occasionally update the data.
In the Windows menu, click Meas Setups, Setup D.
In the Sweep menu, click Trigger, Trigger....
Under Trigger Source, click Internal.
Under Channel Trigger State, select Channel 1, and click Continuous.
Under Channel Trigger State, select Channel 2, and click Single, OK.
If you want the analyzer to trigger more than a single sweep, click the Enable Groups check box and enter the number of sweeps.
In the System menu, click Keys, Trigger.
Click on the lower window to make Channel 2 the active channel.
On the active entry toolbar, click the type of trigger you set up.
Click Single if you set up the analyzer for a single sweep per trigger.
Click Groups if you set up the multiple sweeps per trigger.
Note: A trace must be active for you to initiate a trigger for that measurement.
Automate Changes Between Measurements
If there are slight differences between the various measurements that you need to characterize a device, you may find that it is faster to change the measurement settings using programming.
The most efficient way to recall measurements is to recall them as a set of measurements (instrument state).
It only takes a short time longer to recall an instrument state that includes multiple measurements, than it does to recall an instrument state with only one measurement.
Each recall function has time associated with it. You can eliminate that time by setting up the measurements as a set so you can recall them as a set.
See Save and Recall Files for more information.