Performing Connected Measurements

This chapter teaches you how to make connected measurements using the measurement panels accessible through the Connection Manager client.

Overview

From the Connection Manager client dialog, you can access 2-port power swept S-parameter, S-parameter, spectrum, and voltage waveform measurements.
Connection Manager uses measurement panels to configure instruments, execute measurements, and collect and format ADS datasets. Using these dialogs, you can easily configure and perform measurements made available on the server.
For detailed information on the measurement configuration, see Understanding the Measurement Panels.

Measuring S-Parameters

Connection Manger measurement panels enable behavioral modeling (2-port power swept) measurements and 2-, 3-, and 4-port frequency swept S-parameter measurements using the following network analyzer families.
2-port power swept measurements available for:

8753/8722/8720/8719 network analyzer family
ENA B, ENA C, PNA, and PNA-X network analyzer families
2-, 3-, and 4-port frequency swept measurements available for:
8753/8722/8720/8719 network analyzer family
8712/8714 network analyzer family
ENA B, ENA C, PNA, and PNA-X network analyzer families
8510 network analyzer family
Note
In all cases, the instrument must return both amplitude and phase information. Scalar analyzers do not provide information in a format suitable for use with Connection Manager.

To Measure 2-Port Power Swept S-Parameters

This measurement is available for two network analyzer families, the Agilent 8753/ 8722/8720/8719 Network Analyzer Family and the Agilent ENA B, ENA C, PNA, and PNA-X Series Network Analyzer Families .
For detailed information regarding S-parameter measurement panel functionality, see Understanding S-Parameter and Behavioral Modeling Measurements.

To make a 2-port power swept S-parameter measurement, complete the following steps.

Configure the frequency and power settings, and calibrate the network analyzer.
Insert the device under test into the measurement path.
Select Measurements > Behavioral Modeling > ENA B and PNA Network Analyzer Families .
To update the Select Instrument list with the latest instruments configured on the server, click Refresh .
Select the VISA resource connected to the network analyzer from the Select Instrument drop-down list.
In the Select Power Settings group box Start Power (dB) data entry field,
enter -20 .
In the Stop Power (dB) data entry field, enter -10 .
In the Step (dB) data entry field, enter 1 .
Deselect all measurements except S11 .
Enter device1_psS11 in the Dataset Name field.
To send the client information in the Power Swept Measurement panel to the server workstation, click Measure .

The server processes the request and returns the results. The first time a measurement is run, the server imports the drivers and libraries necessary for the proper execution of the measurement. The results are stored in the dataset file. These stored values can be used by Data Display and/or in a simulation.
Note
While the measurement is running, the Measurement window is disabled. When finished, a Measurement complete window appears. Select OK to dismiss.

To Measure 2-Port Frequency Swept S-Parameters

To make a 2-port S-parameter measurement, complete the following steps.

Configure the frequency and power settings, and calibrate the network analyzer.
Insert the device under test into the measurement path.
Select Measurements > S-Parameters > ENA B and PNA Network Analyzer Families .
To update the Select Instrument list with the latest instruments configured on the server, click Refresh .
Select the VISA resource connected to the network analyzer from the Select Instrument drop-down list.
Deselect all measurements except S11 .
Enter device1_S11 in the Dataset Name field.
To send the client information in the S-Parameter Measurement panel to the server workstation, click Measure .

The server processes the request and returns the results. The first time a measurement is run, the server imports the drivers and libraries necessary for the proper execution of the measurement. The results are stored in the dataset file. These stored values can be used by Data Display and/or in a simulation.
Note
While the measurement is running, the Measurement window is disabled. When finished, a Measurement complete window appears. Select OK to dismiss.

For more information, see Understanding S-Parameter and Behavioral Modeling Measurements.

To Display the Measurement Data

To view the measurement data in a Data Display window, complete the following steps.

From the toolbar in the schematic window select Window > New Data Display .
Select the device1_S11 dataset.

Select the Rectangular Plot button, then select inside the Data Display window to open the Plot Traces & Attributes dialog box.

Note
The measurement variable is s1_1 . If only part of an S-parameter matrix is stored, the variable names cannot use the standard matrix notation. If all four S-parameters are selected, and Measure is selected again, the dataset variable naming conforms to the matrix notation.

The following illustration shows the result of an S11 measurement displayed in the Data Display window.

To Export the Measurement Data to a Text File

Besides storing measured S-parameter data in a dataset, you can also export it to a text file in either CitiFile or Touchstone formats.
To export the S-Parameter measurement data to a text file, follow these steps.

Select the Export to Text File check box.
Select the file type to export from the File Type drop-down list.
Click Browse to select an existing file, or type the file name for a new file.
To record the data into the selected text file and dataset, click Measure .

For more information on exporting S-parameter data, see Understanding S-Parameter and Behavioral Modeling Measurements.

Measuring Frequency Spectrum

Use the Spectrum measurement panel to gather frequency domain measurement data. Spectrum measurements are available for three types of spectrum analyzers:

856XX spectrum analyzer family
859XX spectrum analyzer family
E444XA PSA Series spectrum analyzers

To Measure Frequency Spectrum

For detailed information regarding frequency spectrum measurement panel functionality, see Understanding Spectrum Measurements.

To make a frequency spectrum measurement of a carrier at 2 GHz −10 dBm using an E444XA PSA, complete the following steps.

Preset the spectrum analyzer.
Connect the spectrum analyzer INPUT to the signal source.
On the PSA, set Trace 1 to Max Hold and Trace 3 to Min Hold.
Select Measurements > Spectrum > E444X Spectrum Analyzer Family .
To update the Select Instrument list with the latest instruments configured on the server, click Refresh .
Select the VISA resource connected to the spectrum analyzer from the Select Instrument drop-down list.
In the Select Frequency Settings group box, choose the Start/Stop Frequency radio button.
In the Start Freq field and Units drop-down list, enter 1.998 and choose GHz .
In the Stop Freq field and Units drop-down list, enter 2.002 and choose GHz .
In the Select Measurement group box, select the Trace 1 and Trace 3 check boxes.
To send the client information in the Spectrum Measurement panel to the server workstation, click Measure .

The server processes the request and returns the results. The first time a measurement is run, the server imports the drivers and libraries necessary for the proper execution of the measurement. The results are stored in the dataset file. These stored values can be used by Data Display and/or in a simulation.
Note
While the measurement is running, the Measurement window is disabled. When finished, a Measurement complete window appears. Select OK to dismiss.

Note
While the measurement is running, the Measurement window is disabled. Upon completion a Measurement complete window appears. Select OK to dismiss this window.

The following screen capture shows the results of the preceding measurement.

For more spectrum measurement information, see Understanding Spectrum Measurements.

Measuring Voltage Waveform

Use a Voltage Waveform Measurement panel to gather time domain measurement data. Voltage waveform measurements create datasets where the Y-axis values represent sampled voltage data and the X-axis values represent the times at which each voltage sample was taken.

Voltage waveform measurements are available for the following oscilloscopes:

Agilent 86100A oscilloscope
Agilent 5462X and 5464X oscilloscope families
Agilent 5483X and 5485X oscilloscope families (with client-based instrument configuration)

When using the first three measurement panels, the client measurement panel configures only data storage. You must manually configure channel, timebase, trigger, and memory settings on the oscilloscope front panel before executing the measurement.

Using the Agilent 5483X and 5485X Oscilloscope Families measurement panel, you can configure many oscilloscope settings and download the settings to the oscilloscope from the client.
A cooperative protocol exists between clients and the server to prevent buffer overrun caused by transferring waveforms with too many data points, allowing the transfer of waveforms containing as many data points as the oscilloscope can store.

The 5483x and 5485x oscilloscope measurement checks to see that the corresponding server library is at the correct revision to support buffered transfers.

Caution
Use caution when transferring large waveforms, as doing so results in extremely large data set files.

To Measure Voltage Waveform

The following example uses the Agilent 54832B Infiniium oscilloscope to make a voltage waveform measurement. This measurement includes instrument configuration from the client measurement panel.
For detailed information regarding voltage waveform measurement panel functionality, see Understanding Voltage Waveform Measurements.

To configure the instrument and perform the measurement, complete the following steps.

Connect the oscilloscope channel 1 INPUT to the signal source.
From the client, select Measurements > Voltage Waveform > 5485X and 5483X Oscilloscope Families .
To update the Select Instrument list with the latest instruments configured on the server, click Refresh .
Select the VISA resource connected to the oscilloscope from the Select Instrument drop-down list.
In the Data Storage tab, select the Channel 1 , Memory 1 , Channel 2 , and Memory 2 check boxes. In the Dataset Name entry field, enter VoltageWaveform1 .
In the Channel Settings tab, choose the Channel 1 tab and enter 2 V for the Scale, select the Display channel 1 and the Include panel contents in instrument upload check box. Choose the Channel 2 tab and select the Display channel 2 and the Include panel contents in instrument upload check box.
In the Timebase Settings tab, choose Left from the Timebase Reference drop-down list and select the Include panel contents in instrument upload check box. In the Timebase Scale entry fields, enter 20 ns .
In the Trigger Settings tab, choose Channel 2 from the Trigger source drop-down list and select the Include panel contents in instrument upload check box.
In the Memory Settings tab, choose the Memory 1 tab and select the Include panel contents in instrument upload , and Display memory 1 check boxes. Choose the Memory 2 tab and select the Include panel contents in instrument upload , and Display memory 2 check boxes.

In the Advanced tab, select the Override instrument model check check box.

Note
Selecting the Override instrument model check check box is necessary only when using an unsupported oscilloscope. Other oscilloscopes will most likely use the same instruction sets as the Agilent 54832X or 54855X.

Click Apply then Download .
The following screen capture shows the results of the preceding measurement using the Data Display server.

For more spectrum measurement information, see Understanding Voltage Waveform Measurements.