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Advantages of FFT Spectrum Analyzer Technology

FFT spectrum analyzers have advantages of fast capture of waveforms, including non-repetitive events, and ability to analyze signal phase and store waveforms. Disadvantages include frequency limitations due to analog-to-digital converters and high costs. FFT uses discrete Fourier transforms to convert discrete time domain samples to frequency domain bins, using fast Fourier transforms to reduce computation. Key components of an FFT spectrum analyzer are analog front-end components, anti-aliasing filter, sampler, analog-to-digital converter, FFT processor, and display.

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Pramod Dhaigude
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362 views2 pages

Advantages of FFT Spectrum Analyzer Technology

FFT spectrum analyzers have advantages of fast capture of waveforms, including non-repetitive events, and ability to analyze signal phase and store waveforms. Disadvantages include frequency limitations due to analog-to-digital converters and high costs. FFT uses discrete Fourier transforms to convert discrete time domain samples to frequency domain bins, using fast Fourier transforms to reduce computation. Key components of an FFT spectrum analyzer are analog front-end components, anti-aliasing filter, sampler, analog-to-digital converter, FFT processor, and display.

Uploaded by

Pramod Dhaigude
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Advantages of FFT spectrum analyzer technology

 Fast capture of waveform: In view of the fact that the waveform is analysed digitally, the
waveform can be captured in a relatively short time, and then the subsequently analysed. This short
capture time can have many advantages - it can allow for the capture of transients or short lived
waveforms.
 Able to capture non-repetitive events: The short capture time means that the FFT analyzer can
capture non-repetitive waveforms, giving them a capability not possible with other spectrum
analyzers.
 Able to analyse signal phase: As part of the signal capture process, data is gained which can be
processed to reveal the phase of signals.
 Waveforms can be stored Using FFT technology, it is possible to capture the waveform and
analyse it later should this be required.
Disadvantages of the FFT spectrum analyzer technology
 Frequency limitations: The main limit of the frequency and bandwidth of FFT spectrum analyzers
is the analogue to digital converter, ADC that is used to convert the analogue signal into a digital
format. While technology is improving this component still places a major limitation on the upper
frequency limits or the bandwidth if a down-conversion stage is used.
 Cost: The high level of performance required by the ADC means that this item is a very high cost
item. In addition to all the other processing and display circuitry required, this results in the costs
rising for these items.
Fast Fourier Transform
At the very heart of the concept of the FFT analyzer is the fast Fourier Transform itself. The fast Fourier
Transform, FFT uses the same basic principles as the Fourier transform, developed by Joseph Fourier
(1768 - 1830) in which one value in, say, the continuous time domain is converted into the continuous
frequency domain, including both magnitude and phase information.
However to capture a waveform digitally, this must be achieved using discrete values, both in terms of the
values of samples taken, and the time intervals at which they are taken. As the time domain waveform is
taken at time intervals, it is not possible for the data to be converted into the frequency domain using the
standard Fourier transform. Instead a variant of the Fourier transform known as the Discrete Fourier
Transform, DFT must be used.
As the DFT uses discrete samples for the time domain waveform, this reflects into the frequency domain
and results in the frequency domain being split into discrete frequency components of "bins." The number
of frequency bins over a frequency band is the frequency resolution. To achieve greater resolution, a
greater number of bins is needed, and hence in the time domain a large number of samples is required. As
can be imagined, this results in a much greater level of computation, and therefore methods of reducing
the amount of computation required is needed to ensure that the results are displayed in a timely fashion,
although with today's vastly increased level of processing power, this is less of a problem. To ease the
processing required, a Fast Fourier Transform, FFT is used. This requires that the time domain waveform
has a the number of samples equal to a number which is an integral power of two.
FFT spectrum analyzer
The block diagram and topology of an FFT analyzer are different to that of the more usual superheterodyne
or sweep spectrum analyzer. In particular circuitry is required to enable the digital to analogue conversion
to be made, and then for processing the signal as a Fast Fourier Transform.
 Analogue front end attenuators / gain: The test instrument requires attenuators of gain stages
to ensure that the signal is at the right level for the analogue to digital conversion. If the signal level
is too high, then clipping and distortion will occur, too low and the resolution of the ADC and noise
become a problems. Matching the signal level to the ADC range ensures the optimum performance
and maximises the resolution of the ADC.
 Analogue low pass anti-aliasing filter: The signal is passed through an anti-aliasing filter. This is
required because the rate at which points are taken by the sampling system within the FFT analyzer
is particularly important. The waveform must be sampled at a sufficiently high rate. According to
the Nyquist theorem a signal must be sampled at a rate equal to twice that of the highest frequency,
and also any component whose frequency is higher than the Nyquist rate will appear in the
measurement as a lower frequency component - a factor known as "aliasing". This results from the
where the actual values of the higher rate fall when the samples are taken. To avoid aliasing a low
pass filter is placed ahead of the sampler to remove any unwanted high frequency elements. This
filter must have a cut-off frequency which is less than half the sampling rate, although typically to
provide some margin, the low pass filter cut-off frequency is at highest 2.5 times less than the
sampling rate of the analyzer. In turn this determines the maximum frequency of operation of the
overall FFT spectrum analyzer.
 Sampling and analogue to digital conversion: In order to perform the analogue to digital
conversion, two elements are required. The first is a sampler which takes samples at discrete time
intervals - the sampling rate. The importance of this rate has been discussed above. The samples are
then passed to an analogue to digital converter which produces the digital format for the samples
that is required for the FFT analysis.
 FFT analyzer: With the data from the sampler, which is in the time domain, this is then converted
into the frequency domain by the FFT analyzer. This is then able to further process the data using
digital signal processing techniques to analyze the data in the format required.
 Display: With the power of processing it is possible to present the information for display in a
variety of ways. Today's displays are very flexible and enable the information to be presented in
formats that are easy to comprehend and reveal a variety of facets of the signal. The display
elements of the FFT spectrum analyzer are therefore very important so that the information
captured and processed can be suitably presented for the user.

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