Communications Analyzer Touts 60-GHz Bandwidth

Capable of processing signals 0.01 to 40 Gbits in size, the MCA1060 microwave communications analyzer packs two 60-GHz input channels, 6.25- to 200-MHz TTL and 6.25-MHz to 1.6-GHz ECL outputs, an impulse output with a 6.25-MHz to 60-GHz frequency content, connections for 10-MHz reference I/O, and GPIB, VGA and Centronics ports. In terms of performance, the tester can analyze signals in both time and frequency domains and, through use of a new method of synchronous sampling, can reportedly capture signals more cleanly than existing methods.
While still requiring use of repetitive incoming signals, as do existing analyzers, the MCA1060 does away with the need for triggers in sampling signals, with the instrument synthesizing a sample rate synchronous to the signal under test. And besides acquiring the data with a very low noise floor (i.e., -80 dBm), the new acquisition technique, together with an impulse-based stimulus having wideband frequency components, is also said to be much faster than traditional sampling methods.
The company also claims that in many cases, the MCA1060 can perform measurements equivalent to that of a vector network analyzer. The MCA1060 comes with a 6.4" color TFT LCD and is priced at $39,990; a 40-GHz clock source costs $4,000; and a 10-Gbit pattern generator, $9,200.