NPR is a figure of Merit measured in Aerospace applications to characterize the in-band linearity of active devices using very wideband signals. This signal is used instead of typical communication modulation signals because the modulation type is usually not known in advance. The Spectrum regrowth in the notch due to the intermodulation distortion generated by the power amplifier is measured. The NPR is considered a reliable method to characterize the in-band linearity of active devices with a wideband signal.
The NPR measurement module requires IQS100B-11 as the measurements are done using a VNA (Keysight PNA-X). The a- and b-waves are measured at the input and output of DUT using the spectrum option of the PNA-X (S93090).
New NPR Modulation in the Waveform Generator
New NPR modulation in the Waveform Generator was developed to help measure the Noise Power Ratio on a Power amplifier. Test engineers can customize the characteristics of the signal by choosing the number of notches and their positions (Symmetric or Offset) on top of the bandwidth and sampling rate. The NPR Waveform Generator is included in the IQS100B-12 module.