This is where spectrum analyzers are valuable. Also, they provide only snapshots of the signal in either the frequency or modulation domain, which cannot describe the dynamic and transient nature of modern RF signals.

To test and design such circuits and systems, it is useful to see the entire signal spectrum and other factors like spurious signals, noise, modulated signal width, etc.ĭevices like swept spectrum analyzers and vector signal analyzers do not provide such capabilities. Radio frequency ( RF) signals and wireless communications are ubiquitous today thanks to Wi-Fi, mobile networking and communications, wireless internet of things device sensors, traditional radio, RADAR and more. It looks like an oscilloscope, and in fact, some devices can function as either oscilloscopes or spectrum analyzers. The frequency appears on the horizontal (X) axis, and the amplitude is displayed on the vertical (Y) axis. Eamon McCarthy Earls, Global North InstituteĪ spectrum analyzer is a device that measures and displays signal amplitude (strength) as it varies by frequency within its frequency range (spectrum).

Wireless signal analyzer