Speed considerations for Spurious Level Measurements with Spectrum Analyzers

The measurement speed for spurious signal measurements is mainly defined by the spectrum analyzer sweep speed. With traditional swept spectrum analyzers and tight spurious limits the measurement can easily take hours or even a full day. This application note describes the differences in sweep speed between swept spectrum analyzers and modern spectrum analyzers with a wide-band FFT process, and how this improves the measurement speed for general spurious measurement.