U2040 X-Series Wide Dynamic Range Power Sensors

Data Sheets

U2040 X-Series Wide Dynamic Range Power Sensors

Accurately measure any modulated signal with the Keysight Technologies U2040 X-Series power sensors. With LAN connectivity, a first in the industry, and USB connectivity, the U2040 X-Series comes with the world’s widest dynamic range in a power sensor, covering a range of -70 to +26 dBm. And because the U2049XA LAN power sensor is thermal vacuum qualified, you can get the same accuracy and performance even in thermal vacuum chambers.

U2040 X-Series Power Sensor Comparison Table

U2040 X-Series selection guide

U2040 X-Series Key Features

Widest dynamic range power sensor

The U2040 X-Series are power sensors with the widest dynamic range of 96 dB (-70 dBm to +26 dBm). The 96 dB dynamic range enables accurate power measurements of very low signal levels for a broad range of applications such as wireless chipset, power amplifier and module manufacturing, satellite payload testing, test system or instrument calibration, and radar pulse parameter measurements. The U2042/44/49XA can support up to 4 pairs of gate power measurements.

Super-fast measurement speed

The U2040 X-Series takes up to 50,000 super-fast readings per second (in fast/buffer mode/average mode), a ten times improvement over Keysight’s previous sensor offerings, allowing test engineers to increase test throughput capacity and reduce cost of test especially in high volume manufacturing environments such as mobile chipset manufacturing.

This measurement speed is fast enough to measure every continuous pulse without leaving time gaps in between measurement acquisitions. While conventional sensors only provide a snapshot of continuous pulses, leaving dead time where a glitch could slip by unnoticed, the U2040 X-Series measures continuously in real time and keeps pace with very fast pulses, up to 10 kHz PRF. Users are also able to fully control which portion of the signal is measured and what throughput they can expect because the aperture duration precisely defines the maximum measurement speed as 1/aperture duration. For example, setting the aperture duration to 20 μs offers 20 μs of measurement time per reading, equaling a measurement speed of 50,000 readings per second.

Broadband coverage for any modulated signal formats

The U2040 X-Series makes accurate average or time-selective average power measurements of any modulated signal, and covers all common wireless signals such as LTE, LTE-Advanced with 100 MHz bandwidth, and WLAN 802.11ac with 80/160 MHz bandwidth. A 4-path diode stack design with parallel data acquisition paths offers seamless range transition with high accuracy and repeatability. This design enables all the diodes to operate in their square law region, allowing the U2040 X-Series to function like thermocouple power sensors to provide accurate average or RMS power for broadband modulated signals.

Time selectivity in average mode with variable aperture duration

The U2040 X-series offers a new feature called average mode time selectivity, whereby users can configure the aperture duration of measurement capture with reference to immediate trigger or external trigger. The aperture duration can be set from 20 μs to 200 ms with a resolution of 100 ns, a resolution low enough to cover any radio format.

This new feature allows users to control which portions of the waveform to be measured, giving the same results as time-gated power measurements made in the conventional normal/peak mode. The key benefits of this feature is that it enables the sensor to measure both average and time-selective average power measurements across the full 96 dB dynamic range, and offers real time measurements of up to 50,000 readings per second. This is a significant improvement when compared to conventional power sensors; a conventional sensor’s time gated power dynamic ranges are typically clipped at around 50 dB with maximum speed of 1000 readings per second.

Internal zero and calibration

Save time and reduce measurement uncertainty with the internal zero and calibration function. Each U2040 X-Series sensor comes with technology that integrates a DC reference source and switching circuits into the body of the sensor so you can calibrate the sensor while it is connected to a device-under-test. This feature removes the need for connection and disconnection from an external calibration source, speeding up testing and reducing connector wear and tear.

This internal zero and calibration function allows continuous long distance and remote measurements by maintaining the accuracy of the sensor and is useful in manufacturing and automated test environments where each second and each connection counts.