TimeView 2 Modulation Domain Analysis0 pages

TimeView™
Modulation Domain Analysis
• View dynamic frequency changes
over time
• View residual FM and AM on up to
60 GHz carriers (CNT-90XL)
• Follow frequency changes every
4s in real time (every 10 ns with
repetitive sampling)
• Analyze VCO settling, PLL
responses and more
• Analyze frequency hopping, chirp
radar, frequency droop to 20 GHz
• Powerful analysis: Statistics
(histogram), FFT, smoothing, ADEV
and MADEV vs
• Zero dead-time measurements,
detect phase jumps

Background – What’s a Modulation Domain Analyzer?

An MDA (Modulation Domain Analyzer) could be thought of
as a frequency sampler analogous to a digital oscilloscope that
is a voltage sampler. An MDA displays frequency vs time, just
like an oscilloscope displays voltage vs time. You could think
of a Modulation Domain Analyzer as a “Frequencyscope”. For
example for an FM signal, the MDA would show the modulation
frequency (f vs t), whereas an oscilloscope would show the carrier
frequency (V vs t).

that works with the Pendulum Timer/Counter/Analyzers CNT-90,
CNT-91 and CNT-90XL (via USB or GPIB) and converts the Timer/
Counter/ Analyzer into a Modulation Domain Analyzer.

Dynamic Signal Analysis of Amplitude and Frequency

The modulation domain is the “missing domain” that complements
the time and frequency domains. TimeView™ is a piece of SW

• Fast sampling front-end, CNT-90, CNT-90XL and CNT-91
• Standard PC with USB or GPIB-interface running TimeView
The signal to be characterized is connected to the front-end input
(CNT-90-family Timer/Counter/Analyzer), which samples the
frequency (or time, or phase, or voltage if selected). The data
is transferred to the PC and post-processed. All setting controls
are made from the PC. Graphs can be printed on the PC-printer
and settings and results are stored as ASCII-les, that are easily
imported in various programs, e.g. MS-Excel for further analysis.

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•

domain)
Modulation Domain Analyzer (Frequency vs. time - the modulation
domain)

The Pendulum Modulation Domain Analyzer TimeView consists of
two parts:

...

• Oscilloscope (Voltage vs. time - the time domain)
• Spectrum or FFT-analyzer (Voltage vs. frequency - the frequency

TimeView™ - an MDA Solution

O 9001

.

To analyze all dynamic properties of a signal, three basic tools are
needed, see gure 1:

Figure 1: The modulation domain (f vs. t) complements the time (V vs. t)
and the frequency (V vs. f) domains.

..

Amplitude and frequency contents are the two most important
signal properties of any signal. Oscilloscopes are used to
analyze changes in amplitude but not changes in frequencies. The
traditional tool for analyzing the frequency contents of a signal is
the Spectrum Analyzer. This can nd static frequency components
or give an averaged view of dynamic (changing) frequencies. To
view also changing frequencies a third type of tool is needed; the
Modulation Domain Analyzer (MDA).