Patent Application
20220103402
The present invention relates to a signal analysis apparatus and a signal analysis method and particularly, to a signal analysis apparatus and a signal analysis method using a superheterodyne method.
In the related art, a signal analysis apparatus that receives an RF signal of a wide band output from a device under test as a measured signal and performs frequency analysis on the measured signal has been known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
For example, as illustrated in
The first mixer 61, by performing frequency mixing of a measured signal of a frequency fRF (center frequency fc) with a first local oscillation signal of a frequency fLO1, generates output signals of a sum component and a difference component of frequencies of the two signals, that is, output signals of frequencies fRF+fLO1 and |fRF−fLO1|. The first BPF 62 allows the output signal of the difference component from the first mixer 61 to pass as an intermediate frequency signal having an intermediate frequency fIF and removes the output signal of the sum component from the first mixer 61.
The second mixer 63, by performing the frequency mixing of the signal passing through the first BPF 62 with a second local oscillation signal of a frequency fLO2, generates output signals of a sum component and a difference component of the frequencies of the two signals. The second BPF 64 allows the output signal of the difference component from the second mixer 63 to pass and removes the output signal of the sum component from the second mixer 63.
The ADC 65 performs AD conversion of the signal passing through the second BPF 64 into binary digital data having a predetermined number of bits by sampling the signal at a predetermined sampling frequency. The signal analysis unit 66 analyzes the signal after the AD conversion performed by the ADC 65.
A harmonic of the measured signal is generated in the first mixer 61, and the harmonic is input into the first BPF 62. For example, a case where a passed center frequency of the first BPF 62 is 9.8 GHz, the center frequency fc of the measured signal is 4.9 GHz, and the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal is 14.7 GHz is considered. Here, a problem arises in that a second harmonic of the measured signal appears as a spurious signal within a frequency range centered at 9.8 GHz and cannot be distinguished due to overlap with the frequency fRF of a desired wave of the measured signal.
Furthermore, as illustrated in
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 5947943
In order to avoid the above problem of being unable to distinguish the harmonic of the measured signal generated by the first mixer 61 due to overlap with the desired wave of the measured signal, a frequency relationship in which the harmonic and the desired wave of the measured signal do not overlap may be selected upon designing. For doing so, for example, a design that increases the passed center frequency of the first BPF 62 is considered. However, a problem arises in that a design difficulty or a cost of hardware related to frequency conversion including the first BPF 62 rises.
The present invention is conceived in order to solve such a problem of the related art, and an object thereof is to provide a signal analysis apparatus and a signal analysis method capable of analyzing a measured signal while avoiding a spurious harmonic of the measured signal generated by a mixer, without changing a configuration of hardware related to frequency conversion.
In order to solve the above problem, a signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention is a signal analysis apparatus that analyzes a measured signal having a frequency component fRF and includes a frequency setting unit that decides a first intermediate frequency fIF1, a frequency fLO1 of a first local oscillation signal, and a frequency fLO2 of a second local oscillation signal in accordance with a center frequency fc of the measured signal, a first local oscillator that outputs the first local oscillation signal, a first mixer that generates a first intermediate frequency signal of the first intermediate frequency fIF1 by performing frequency mixing of the measured signal with the first local oscillation signal and generates a first spurious signal including a second harmonic component of the measured signal, a first bandpass filter of a passed center frequency f0 into which the first intermediate frequency signal and the first spurious signal are input, a second local oscillator that outputs the second local oscillation signal, a second mixer that generates a second intermediate frequency signal of a second intermediate frequency fIF2 by performing frequency mixing of the first intermediate frequency signal passing through the first bandpass filter with the second local oscillation signal and generates a second spurious signal by performing frequency mixing of the first spurious signal passing through the first bandpass filter with the second local oscillation signal, a second bandpass filter of a passed bandwidth W into which the second intermediate frequency signal and the second spurious signal are input, and that allows the second intermediate frequency signal to pass and removes the second spurious signal, an AD converter that performs AD conversion of the second intermediate frequency signal passing through the second bandpass filter, and a signal analysis unit that analyzes the second intermediate frequency signal after the AD conversion performed by the AD converter, in which the first intermediate frequency fIF1 is provided as f0+Δf, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal is provided as fc+f0+Δf, the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal is provided as f0±fIF2+Δf, a frequency fSP1 of the first spurious signal is provided as 2×fRF, a frequency fSP2 of the second spurious signal is provided as |fSP1−f0±fIF2−Δf|, and the frequency setting unit decides the frequency shift amount Δf that does not establish a relationship of −W/2≤|fSP1−f0±fIF2−Δf|−fIF2≤+W/2, and decides the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal, and the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal.
According to this configuration, the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention decides the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 in accordance with the center frequency fc of the measured signal. Accordingly, by varying the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2, the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention can analyze the measured signal while avoiding a spurious harmonic of the measured signal generated by the first mixer, without changing a configuration of hardware related to frequency conversion. Furthermore, even in a case where a standard that uses a new band is established in the future, the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention can perform measurement that avoids a spurious harmonic, without changing the configuration of the hardware related to the frequency conversion.
In addition, in the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention, in a case where a relationship of −W/2≤|fSP1−f0±fIF2|−fIF2≤+W/2 is not established, the frequency setting unit may decide the frequency shift amount Δf as Δf=0.
In addition, in the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention, in a case where a relationship of −W/2≤|fSP1−f0±fIF2|−fIF2≤+W/2 is established, the frequency setting unit may decide the frequency shift amount Δf capable of allowing the second intermediate frequency signal to pass and removing the second spurious signal at the second bandpass filter.
According to these configurations, since the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 can be separately used by shifting the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 by the frequency shift amount Δf, the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention can receive a desired wave of the second intermediate frequency fIF2 while removing an unnecessary spurious harmonic of the frequency fSP2 using the second BPF of the passed bandwidth W. In other words, the signal analysis apparatus according to the present invention can separate the first intermediate frequency fIF1 and the frequency fSP1 of the first spurious signal generated by the first mixer, using the second BPF of the rear stage.
In addition, a signal analysis method according to the present invention is a signal analysis method for analyzing a measured signal including a frequency component fRF and includes a frequency setting step of deciding a first intermediate frequency fIF1, a frequency fLO1 of a first local oscillation signal, and a frequency fLO2 of a second local oscillation signal in accordance with a center frequency fc of the measured signal, a first local oscillation step of outputting the first local oscillation signal, a first frequency mixing step of generating a first intermediate frequency signal of the first intermediate frequency fIF1 by performing frequency mixing of the measured signal with the first local oscillation signal, and generating a first spurious signal including a second harmonic component of the measured signal, a first bandpass step of a passed center frequency f0 into which the first intermediate frequency signal and the first spurious signal are input, a second local oscillation step of outputting the second local oscillation signal, a second frequency mixing step of generating a second intermediate frequency signal of a second intermediate frequency fIF2 by performing frequency mixing of the first intermediate frequency signal passing through the first bandpass step with the second local oscillation signal, and generating a second spurious signal by performing frequency mixing of the first spurious signal passing through the first bandpass step with the second local oscillation signal, a second bandpass step of a passed bandwidth W into which the second intermediate frequency signal and the second spurious signal are input, the second intermediate frequency signal is allowed to pass, and the second spurious signal is removed, an AD conversion step of performing AD conversion of the second intermediate frequency signal passing through the second bandpass step, and a signal analysis step of analyzing the second intermediate frequency signal after the AD conversion in the AD conversion step, in which the first intermediate frequency fIF1 is provided as f0+Δf, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal is provided as fc+f0+Δf, the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal is provided as f0±fIF2+Δf, a frequency fSP1 of the first spurious signal is provided as 2×fRF, a frequency fSP2 of the second spurious signal is provided as |fSP1−f0±fIF2−Δf|, and in the frequency setting step, the frequency shift amount Δf that does not establish a relationship of −W/2≤|fSP1−f0±fIF2−Δf|−fIF2≤+W/2 is decided, and the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal, and the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal are decided.
According to this configuration, in the signal analysis method according to the present invention, the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 are decided in accordance with the center frequency fc of the measured signal. Accordingly, by varying the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2, in the signal analysis method according to the present invention, the measured signal can be analyzed while avoiding a spurious harmonic of the measured signal generated by the first mixer, without changing a configuration of hardware related to frequency conversion. Furthermore, even in a case where a standard that uses a new band is established in the future, in the signal analysis method according to the present invention, measurement that avoids a spurious harmonic can be performed without changing the configuration of the hardware related to the frequency conversion.
The present invention provides a signal analysis apparatus and a signal analysis method capable of analyzing a measured signal while avoiding a spurious harmonic of the measured signal generated by a mixer, without changing a configuration of hardware related to frequency conversion.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a signal analysis apparatus and a signal analysis method according to the present invention will be described using the drawings.
As illustrated in
For example, the DUT 100 is a mobile terminal or a base station that includes a wireless communication antenna and an RF circuit and can output an analog RF signal. Examples of a communication standard of the DUT 100 include 5G NR, TD-LTE, FDD-LTE, LTE-Advanced, GSM (registered trademark), TD-SCDMA, W-CDMA (registered trademark), CDMA2000, and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The DUT 100 and the frequency conversion unit 10 may be connected in a wired manner through a coaxial cable or the like, or may be connected in a wireless manner through a wireless communication antenna.
The frequency conversion unit 10 performs frequency conversion of a frequency of the analog RF signal as the measured signal SRF output from the DUT 100 and includes a first local oscillator 11, a first mixer 12, a first BPF 13, a second local oscillator 14, a second mixer 15, and a second BPF 16.
For example, the first local oscillator 11 is configured with a PLL circuit and receives a control signal from the frequency setting unit 30, described later, and outputs a sine wave of a frequency fLO1 that is higher than the original frequency fRF of the measured signal SRF by a frequency of a conversion result, to the first mixer 12 as a first local oscillation signal SLO1.
The first mixer 12, by performing frequency mixing of the measured signal SRF of the frequency fRF with the first local oscillation signal SLO1 of the frequency fLO1 output from the first local oscillator 11, generates output signals of a sum component and a difference component of the frequencies of the two signals, that is, output signals of frequencies fRF+fLO1 and |fRF−fLO1|. In addition, the first mixer 12 generates an output signal including a second harmonic component of the measured signal SRF. Hereinafter, the frequency |fRF−fLO1| will be referred to as a “first intermediate frequency fIF1”, and the output signal of the frequency |fRF−fLO1| will be referred to as a “first intermediate frequency signal SIF1”. In addition, the signal including the second harmonic component of the measured signal SRF will be referred to as a “first spurious signal SSP1”.
The first BPF 13 is a bandpass filter of a passed center frequency f0 disposed between the first mixer 12 and the second mixer 15, and output signals including the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 and the first spurious signal SSP1 output from the first mixer 12 are input into the BPF 13. The first BPF 13 allows the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 of the first intermediate frequency fIF1 and the first spurious signal SSP1 to pass among the output signals from the first mixer 12, and removes the sum component, a third or higher harmonic component of the measured signal SRF, and a harmonic component of the first local oscillation signal SLO1 among the output signals from the first mixer 12.
For example, the second local oscillator 14 is configured with a PLL circuit and receives a control signal from the frequency setting unit 30, described later, and outputs a sine wave of a frequency fLO2 that is lower (or higher) than the original frequency of a signal output from the first BPF 13 by a frequency of a conversion result, to the second mixer 15 as a second local oscillation signal SLO2.
The second mixer 15, by performing the frequency mixing of the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 of the first intermediate frequency fIF1 passing through the first BPF 13 with the second local oscillation signal SLO2 of the frequency fLO2 output from the second local oscillator 14, generates output signals of a sum component and a difference component of the frequencies of the two signals, that is, output signals of frequencies fIF1+fLO2 and |fIF1−fLO2|. In addition, the second mixer 15, by performing the frequency mixing of the first spurious signal SSP1 of the frequency fSP1 passing through the first BPF 13 with the second local oscillation signal SLO2 of the frequency fLO2 output from the second local oscillator 14, generates output signals of a sum component and a difference component of the frequencies of the two signals, that is, output signals of frequencies fSP1+fLO2 and |fSP1−fLO2|.
Hereinafter, the frequency |fIF1−fLO2| will be referred to as a “second intermediate frequency fIF2”, and the output signal of the frequency |fIF1−fLO2| will be referred to as a “second intermediate frequency signal SIF2”. In addition, the frequency |fSP1−fLO2| will be referred to as a “frequency fSP2”, and an output signal of the frequency fSP2 will be referred to as a “second spurious signal SSP2”. That is, the second spurious signal SSP2 is an unnecessary wave signal downconverted from the first spurious signal SSP1 by the second mixer 15.
For example, the second BPF 16 is a bandpass filter of a passed center frequency fIF2 and a passed bandwidth W, and output signals including the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 and the second spurious signal SSP2 output from the second mixer 15 are input into the second BPF 16. Here, the passed center frequency fIF2 is a fixed value. The second BPF 16 allows the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 of the second intermediate frequency fIF2 to pass among the output signals from the second mixer 15 and removes the sum component and the second spurious signal SSP2 among the output signals from the second mixer 15.
The AD converter 20 performs AD conversion of the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 passing through the second BPF 16 of the frequency conversion unit 10 into binary digital data having a predetermined number of bits by sampling the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 at a predetermined sampling frequency.
The first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal SLO1, the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal SLO2, the frequency fSP1 of the first spurious signal SSP1, and the frequency fSP2 of the second spurious signal SSP2 are provided by Expressions (1) to (5) below.
f
IF1
=f
0
+Δf (1)
f
LO1
=f
c
+f
IF1
=f
c
+f
0
+Δf (2)
f
LO2
=f
IF1
±f
IF2
=f
0
±f
IF2
+Δf (3)
f
SP1=2×fRF (4)
f
SP2
=|f
SP1
−f
LO2
|=f
SP1
−f
0
±f
IF2
−Δf| (5)
The frequency setting unit 30 decides the first intermediate frequency fIF1 of the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal SLO1, and the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal SLO2 in accordance with the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF depending on Expressions (1) to (3) above. Furthermore, the frequency setting unit 30 sets the decided frequency fLO1 and the frequency fLO2 in the first local oscillator 11 and the second local oscillator 14, respectively.
Here, the frequency setting unit 30 calculates Expressions (1) to (3) using the frequency shift amount Δf that does not establish a relationship in Expression (6) below, such that the frequency fSP2 of the second spurious signal SSP2 is not included in the passed bandwidth W of the second BPF 16.
f
IF2
−W/2≤fSP2≤fIF2+W/2
−W/2≤|fSP1−f0±fIF2−Δf|−fIF2≤+W/2 (6)
For example, in a case where a relationship in Expression (7) below is not established, the frequency setting unit 30 decides the frequency shift amount Δf that satisfies Δf=0. Meanwhile, in a case where the relationship in Expression (7) below is established, the frequency setting unit 30 decides the frequency shift amount Δf that satisfies Δf≥2W/3 or Δf≤−2W/3.
−W/2≤|fSP1−f0±fIF2|−fIF2≤+W/2 (7)
For example, an example of fc, fSP1, Δf, fIF1, fLO1, fLO2, fSP2, and a value of a passed band of the second BPF 16 in a case where the passed center frequency f0 of the first BPF 13 is 9.8 GHz and the passed center frequency fIF2 of the second BPF 16 is 1.95 GHz is illustrated in
In this example, in a case where the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF having a bandwidth of 100 MHz is within a range of 4.8 GHz≤fc≤4.9 GHz, setting 0.35 GHz as the frequency shift amount Δf not establishing the relationship in Expression (6) results in the first intermediate frequency fIF1 of 10.15 GHz. In addition, in a case where the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF having a bandwidth of 100 MHz is within a range of 4.9 GHz<fc≤5 GHz, setting −0.35 GHz as the frequency shift amount Δf not establishing the relationship in Expression (6) results in the first intermediate frequency fIF1 of 9.45 GHz. By doing so, the frequency fSP2 of the second spurious signal SSP2 deviates out of a range of fIF2−W/2≤fSP2≤fIF2+W/2, that is, out of a range of 1.795 to 2.105 GHz. Meanwhile, in a case where the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF is within a range of fc<4.8 GHz or 5 GHz<fc, the relationship in Expression (7) is not established. Thus, Δf=0 is satisfied.
The signal analysis unit 40 illustrated in
The storage unit 41 stores digital data of the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 output from the AD converter 20.
The baseband module 42 generates orthogonal signals I(t) and Q(t) that are orthogonal to each other, by orthogonally demodulating the digital data of the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 stored in the storage unit 41. In addition, the baseband module 42 performs a predetermined signal analysis process on the generated orthogonal signals I(t) and Q(t). Examples of the signal analysis process executed by the baseband module 42 include temporally changing an amplitude (power), a phase, a frequency, or the like of the measured signal SRF and obtaining a channel power (CHP), an occupied bandwidth (OBW), an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR), a burst average power, modulation accuracy (EVM)), a spectrum emission mask (SEM), a transmission power level, and a transmission spectrum mask.
The display unit 50 is configured with a display device such as an LCD or a CRT and displays various display contents such as a result of the signal analysis process performed by the signal analysis unit 40 in accordance with a display control performed by the control unit 52. Furthermore, the display unit 50 displays operation targets such as a button, a soft key, a pull-down menu, and a text box for setting a measurement condition and the like in accordance with a control signal output from the control unit 52.
The operation unit 51 receives an operation input of a user and is configured with, for example, a touch panel that is disposed on a surface of a display screen of the display unit 50. Alternatively, the operation unit 51 may be configured to include an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. The operation input provided to the operation unit 51 is detected by the control unit 52. For example, the user can arbitrarily designate the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF, the passed center frequency f0 of the first BPF 13, and the passed bandwidth W of the second BPF 16 using the operation unit 51.
For example, the control unit 52 is configured with a microcomputer or a personal computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, and the like and controls an operation of each of the units constituting the signal analysis apparatus 1. In addition, at least a part of the frequency setting unit 30 and the baseband module 42 can be configured in a software manner by causing the control unit 52 to move a predetermined program stored in the ROM or the like to the RAM and execute the predetermined program. At least a part of the frequency setting unit 30 and the baseband module 42 can be configured with a digital circuit such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively, at least a part of the frequency setting unit 30 and the baseband module 42 can be configured by appropriately combining a hardware process performed by the digital circuit and a software process performed by the predetermined program.
Hereinafter, an example of a process of the signal analysis method using the signal analysis apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in
First, various information related to the frequency conversion, that is, information such as the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF, the passed center frequency f0 of the first BPF 13, and the passed bandwidth W of the second BPF 16, are input by the operation input provided to the operation unit 51 by the user (step S1).
Next, the frequency setting unit 30 decides the first intermediate frequency fIF1 of the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1, the frequency fLO1 of the first local oscillation signal SLO1, and the frequency fLO2 of the second local oscillation signal SLO2 in accordance with the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF depending on Expressions (1) to (3) above (frequency setting step S2). Here, in frequency setting step S2, Expressions (1) to (3) are calculated by deciding the frequency shift amount Δf not establishing the relationship in Expression (6).
Next, the first local oscillator 11 outputs the first local oscillation signal SLO1 of the frequency fLO1 (first local oscillation step S3).
Next, the first mixer 12 generates the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 of the first intermediate frequency fIF1 by performing the frequency mixing of the measured signal SRF with the first local oscillation signal SLO1, and generates the first spurious signal SSP1 having the frequency fSP1 of the second harmonic component of the measured signal SRF (first frequency mixing step S4).
Next, the output signals including the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 and the first spurious signal SSP1 output from the first mixer 12 are input into the first BPF 13, and the first BPF 13 allows the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 and the first spurious signal SSP1 to pass (first bandpass step S5).
Next, the second local oscillator 14 outputs the second local oscillation signal SLO2 of the frequency fLO2 (second local oscillation step S6).
Next, the second mixer 15 generates the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 by performing the frequency mixing of the first intermediate frequency signal SIF1 passing through first bandpass step S5 with the second local oscillation signal SLO2. In addition, the second mixer 15 generates the second spurious signal SSP2 by performing the frequency mixing of the first spurious signal SSP1 passing through first bandpass step S5 with the second local oscillation signal SLO2 (second frequency mixing step S7).
Next, the output signals including the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 and the second spurious signal SSP2 output from the second mixer 15 are input into the second BPF 16, and the second BPF 16 allows the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 to pass and removes the second spurious signal SSP2 (second bandpass step S8).
The AD converter 20 performs the AD conversion of the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 passing through second bandpass step S8 (AD conversion step S9).
The signal analysis unit 40 analyzes the second intermediate frequency signal SIF2 after the AD conversion in AD conversion step S9 (signal analysis step S10).
As described above, the signal analysis apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment decides the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 in accordance with the center frequency fc of the measured signal SRF depending on Expressions (1) to (3) and the like. Accordingly, by varying the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2, the signal analysis apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can analyze the measured signal SRF while avoiding a spurious harmonic of the measured signal SRF generated by the first mixer 12, without changing a configuration of hardware related to the frequency conversion. Furthermore, even in a case where a standard that uses a new band is established in the future, the signal analysis apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can perform measurement that avoids a spurious harmonic, without changing the configuration of the hardware related to the frequency conversion.
In addition, since the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 can be separately used by shifting the first intermediate frequency fIF1, the frequency fLO1, and the frequency fLO2 by the frequency shift amount Δf, the signal analysis apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can receive a desired wave of the second intermediate frequency fIF2 while removing an unnecessary spurious harmonic of the frequency fSP2 using the second BPF 16 of the passed bandwidth W. In other words, the signal analysis apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can separate the first intermediate frequency fIF1 and the frequency fSP1 of the first spurious signal SSP1 generated by the first mixer 12, using the second BPF 16 of the rear stage.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-165372 | Sep 2020 | JP | national |
