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Understanding bandwidth concepts TEST & MEASUREMENT HANDBOOK
MAY 25, 2018 BY DAVID HERRES — LEAVE A COMMENT
Bandwidth has an array of meanings, depending on the context. Often, but not always, the
term is applicable to a situation where one frequency is superimposed on, mixed with, or
modulates a di erent frequency. A simple and fundamental example is amplitude modulation
and its close relatives, frequency and phase modulation.
When speaking of a broadcast station’s
frequency, it is generally the carrier’s
frequency that is referenced. The true
situation is slightly more complex because,
in amplitude modulation, a much lower
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audio frequency modulates the carrier. The
carrier’s frequency is unchanged, but its
amplitude oscillates, at any instant relating
to the amplitude of the audio signal, which
OSCILLOSCOPES FINDER
itself varies in amplitude and frequency.
The carrier is said to have an envelope,
which can be displayed on the screen of an
oscilloscope.
When an audio signal is superimposed on an RF carrier, sidebands at the sum and di erence
of the carrier frequency are produced. The transmitted signal is therefore distributed in
frequency over a bandwidth that is equal to twice the highest frequency in the signal. The
broadcaster determines the bandwidth of the signal as transmitted by choosing the high-
frequency cuto of the modulating audio.
The AM band is more crowded than the FM
band. In the U.S., a regulatory agency, the
FCC, allocates a limited bandwidth for each
broadcaster so their signals will not
interfere. It is the broadcaster’s
responsibility to refrain from modulating
the carrier with high-frequency tones that
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would extend the bandwidth beyond
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statutory limits. Greater bandwidth is Thousands of
permitted for FM broadcasters because FM Suppliers.
signals, which do not bounce o the
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ionosphere but propogate only along line
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reason, most music programming, which
requires high-frequency audio, is broadcast
The spectrum of an FMed carrier consists of the via FM. AM is used more for talk radio,
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carrier plus an in nite number of sidebands where high-frequency response is less
spreading out on either side of the carrier at integral critical.
multiples of the modulating frequency. The relative Subscribe to test and measurement
levels of the sidebands is determined by the industry news, new oscilloscope product
Single sideband, as a transmission
modulation index, how much the modulated innovations and more.
technique, has the advantage of using
frequencyf the carrier varies around its
unmodulated level. As an FMed signal has
transmitter power and bandwidth in a more
sidebands that extend out to in nity, it is normal e cient manner. Conventional AM consists
accepted practice to speak of the bandwidth as that of the carrier plus two sidebands (additive
which contains approximately 98% of the signal and di erence signals) each of which carry
power. the same information. This unnecessary
duplication can be avoided by suppressing
one of the sidebands, which can be done using simple lters. Thus, bandwidth and power
requirements are reduced in a single stroke. The downside is greater complexity in tuning and
demodulation at the receiver.
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In regard to systems, instrumentation or
communications channels, bandwidth has
a somewhat di erent meaning. It is a
measure of the highest frequency that can
be processed. A 1-GHz oscilloscope, for
example, can display signals that do not
exceed 1 GHz. But that is not the whole
story. As the bandwidth limit is approached,
the signal is increasingly attenuated, until it
is lost below the noise oor of the
instrument. Therefore, in specifying the
bandwidth of the instrument, a precise attenuation level must be speci ed.
The 0 dB level is the oscilloscope’s peak response. Bandwidth of the oscilloscope is the
maximum frequency that can get through the front end with less than 70% attenuation, which
is -3 dB of the signal at the oscilloscope input. This is for an ideal sine wave. Square waves and
similar signals with fast rising and falling edges cannot be conveyed at the full bandwidth of
the instrument.
Another related meaning of bandwidth is the maximum rate of data transfer from one point to
another. Signal bandwidth and channel noise contribute to this metric. To quantify bandwidth
in this meaning, rather than frequency in Hertz, bits (or kbits, Mbits, Gbits) per second are used.
Webhosts and servers use the term bandwidth to denote the amount of data transferred to or
from the server or website per unit of time. A link can convey a maximum bit rate, in
accordance with its Shannon-Hartley channel capacity.
All spectral bands of a given width carry the same amount of information, regardless of CURRENT EDABOARD.COM
frequency. The bandwidth of a device divided by its center frequency is known as its fractional DISCUSSIONS
bandwidth. This quantity is expressed as a fraction or a percentage. The fractional bandwidth
of an antenna relates to how wideband it is.
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Bandwidth is also a measure of frequencies › ESP-CV set constraint to output check
over which an antenna can receive or
radiate electromagnetic energy. The Q › Led tester design
factor of an antenna is inversely related to
antenna bandwidth. An antenna is chosen › 6v-12v AC/DC to 5v regulated DC
on the basis of its bandwidth/Q factor. An <100mA, the easy way?
antenna with low bandwidth cannot be
used successfully in wide-band › Xilinx Platform cable USB won't
applications. connect to ISE 14.7
For comparison purposes, here are some
common antenna types. With center
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frequencies set at 1 GHz, they are ranked
DISCUSSIONS
from lowest to highest bandwidth:
• Patch – 0.03 fractional bandwidth
• Dipole – 0.08 fractional bandwidth › Short beep (from a hi latch)
• Horn – 1.694 fractional bandwidth
• Spiral – 1.805 fractional bandwidth › Automotive Generator Universal Digital
Voltage Regulator
Bandwidth and Q are also applicable to
resonant circuits in general, i.e. not just › How know if solder iron has good
those that are antennas. Q is a measure of quality tip?
the quality of a resonant circuit. It is a gure
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of merit, corresponding to narrow
suddenly shrunk to about a third of the TV
bandwidth, which is usually desirable in a
Antenna RF bandwidth is sometimes de ned as the screen's height
resonant circuit.
width in frequency at a level of 6 dB below the peak,
which may include a minor lobe which exceeds the
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-6 dB level. Where a resonant circuit contains reactive
and resistive components, Q is the ratio of
power stored to power dissipated:
Q = PSTORED / PDISSIPATED = I2X / I2R
Simplifying:
Q=X/R
where X = capacitive or inductive reactance
and R = series resistance
This equation for nding Q applies to both series and parallel resonant circuits where the
resistance is in series with the inductance. Because X is in the numerator, greater reactance
always means higher Q. Because R is in the denominator, greater resistance means lower Q.
Because I is squared, it gures prominently in similar equations, but appearing here in both
numerator and denominator, it cancels out and does not a ect Q or inversely the bandwidth of
the circuit.
At the resonant frequency, capacitive and inductive reactances are equal and cancel out. The
resistive component comprises the circuit impedance. A lower resistance creates higher Q and
lower bandwidth.
At resonance, impedance is maximum in a parallel resonant circuit. Above or below resonance,
impedance decreases. At resonance, impedance is minimum in a series resonant circuit.
Above or below resonance, impedance increases. These e ects are more dramatic when the
resistance is decreased, creating a higher Q factor and less bandwidth.
These e ects can be demonstrated by connecting an RLC resonant circuit to an arbitrary
function generator sine wave at the input. Use a potentiometer so resistance can be varied.
Probe the output and connect to an oscilloscope analog input channel. Vary the AFG sinewave
frequency to nd resonance. Substitute capacitors if necessary. Press Math>FFT to display the
circuit output in the frequency domain. Then vary R by turning the potentiometer to observe
the e ect on Q and bandwidth.
Bandwidth concepts also apply to the display of electrical noise. Besides consisting of irregular
uctuations, noise tends to be broadband in frequency. These two qualities can be exploited
to eliminate the e ects of noise in test instrumentation.
Using a Tektronix MDO3000 Series oscilloscope, we apply a sine wave from the internal AFG
and display it via an analog channel input. Then, in the AFG menu, press Output Settings and
add 30% noise. This is su cient to thicken the trace and make the display lose triggering.
Because the sine wave is periodic but the noise is random, waveform averaging is highly
e ective in cleaning up the signal. Press Acquire > Mode > Average. Then, using Multipurpose
Knob a, increase the number of waveforms that are averaged until the noise is abated.
Because noise is a broad-spectrum phenomenon, it can be mitigated by temporarily limiting
the bandwidth. Press Default Setup and reacquire the sine wave with 30% noise added. Then,
press the active channel button. In the horizontal menu at the bottom, press Bandwidth. In
addition to Full Bandwidth, it can be reduced to 250 MHz and 20 MHz. 250 MHz has little e ect
but cutting the bandwidth to 20 MHz substantially eliminates the noise.
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