RFEL Digital IC Replaces Analog IF In Spectrum Analyzer

The latest spectrum analyzer from LIG Nex1 employs RF Engines Ltd.’s advanced SpectraChip IF design to replace the instrument’s analog IF filtering section. Replacing traditional analog components with modern digital techniques helps to make the systems easier to manufacture, more reproducible, and more reliable, according to RFEL.

The use of digital technology also saves on the manufacturing alignment costs normally associated with analog circuitry. The guaranteed reliability of the digital techniques also reduces both the need for, and the costs, of ongoing calibration.

This latest design incorporates additional decimation functions and a new digital modulation analysis core, while allowing a choice of either SDRAM or FIFO for data capture. The analyzer also includes additional time domain triggering capability and an increase in the bandwidth of the initial down conversion function from 20 to 30 MHz. The board design has been developed in house by LIG Nex1, and is based on the Xilinx VII-1000 FPGA.

RF Engines Ltd
www.rfel.com