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N9038A MXE EMI Receiver Self

Technical Overviews

Introduction

This demonstration guide will familiarize you with the N9038A MXE EMI receiver when making EMC compliance measurements. The MXE allows you to fully test devices up to 44 GHz in compliance with CISPR 16-1-1:2010 and MIL-STD-461.

This guide follows the EMI test flow recommended by CISPR and uses an N9038A MXE EMI receiver with firmware version A.13.58, a whip antenna, and an N5181/ 2B MXG X-Series signal generator.

User interface layout

The default startup mode in the MXE is EMI receiver mode. There are several measurements in EMI receiver mode accessible via the [Meas] key, such as frequency scan, Strip Chart, monitor spectrum, and APD. The user interface for frequency scan measurement has three display regions showing information regarding different setting menus.

Region 1#: Spectrum and setting information of scan table, trace/detector, and input/output

Region 2#: Meter graphs, metrics, and related setting information

Region 3#: Signal list with suspect signals populated by searching

Navigating the menu system

Before starting the demonstration, it is important to understand the MXE’s menu structure. The meters menu is for making a single frequency measurement with up to three detectors updated simultaneously. The frequency of meters represents the current frequency of EMI receiver mode.

The scan and (re) measure menus apply to scan sequence. Scan sequence is very important for understanding the philosophy of MXE operation because it aligns with the CISPR test flow. The MXE is designed with clearly independent settings for meters (Region 1), scan (Region 2), and (re) measure.

The current values for the Region 1 and Region 2 settings are presented in each region. Figure 2 shows the EMI test flow recommended by CISPR 16-2-3. Scan only, search only, and (re) measure are the settings of scan sequence on the MXE corresponding to pre-scan, data reduction, and final measurement of the EMI test flow. Table 1 lists the menu path of the sets of settings for meters, scan, and (re) measure respectively.

All keystrokes surrounded by [ ] indicate front panel hard keys and keystrokes surrounded by { } indicate soft keys on the side of display.

Demonstration Preparation

This demonstration guide includes the following sections:

  • Making measurements
  • Diagnostic testing tools
  • Single frequency measurement
  • Other features

The Making Measurements section is organized according to the test flow recommended by CISPR as shown in Figure 2. The demonstrations are designed to be replicated sequentially.

For most of the demonstrations, test signals were received by a whip antenna, such as FM radio and cellular signals. The MXG was only used to generate a pulse signal for the APD demo. All keystrokes surrounded by [ ] indicate front panel hard keys and keystrokes surrounded by { } indicate soft keys on the side of display.

All of these demonstrations use commercial EMI settings. If you wish to use MIL-STD-461 settings for these demonstrations, make the corresponding setting changes indicated in each demonstration.

Making Measurements

Step 1: Prescan

For some EMI standards, limit lines are given for quasi-peak and EMI average detectors, which requires an extremely long measurement time. Usually, a prescan with the peak detector (faster than quasi-peak or EMI average) is used to collect suspect signals for final measurement with quasi-peak and EMI average detectors.

For a commercial compliance measurement, when conducting a prescan, it is important to investigate the full frequency spectrum with the device under test (DUT) rotated 360° as well as the antenna height scanned between 1 and 4 m and adjusted between vertical and horizontal orientations.

For Demonstrations 1-5, we will load limit lines and amplitude corrections, set up a scan table with both smooth and time domain scan types for comparison, and set two traces to scan against the two limit lines simultaneously.

Demo 1: Load and edit limit lines

In this demonstration, we will load the built-in limit line file, ”EN 55022, Rad, Class A,

30 MHz to 1 GHz(10m).csv,” and use the limit line editor to view the limit line values. The MXE has many built-in limit line files for commercial and military standards organized in different folders, such as EN, FCC, GB, and VCCI.

We will also add a 5 dB margin to the limit line. Using a margin on a limit line allows users to account for the system uncertainties in their measurements.

Demo 2: Load and edit corrections

In this demonstration, we will load the built-in correction file “Antenna, Broadband (26 MHz to 3 GHz).csv.” The MXE has built-in correction files for many accessories on the market, such as amplifiers, LISNs, and antennas. You can create your own correction files for devices not preloaded on the MXE.

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