A cost-effective amplifier for electromagnetic field strength measurement

Problems associated with high sensitivity electromagnetic radiation measurements arise when low levels of broadband radiated emissions are to be detected. Such measurements require expensive and sensitive equipment operating in a broad range of frequencies. This paper presents an inexpensive broadband amplifier designed to increase the overall gain of a measurement system consisting of a 50 ohm broadband antenna coupled to a 50 ohm input spectrum analyzer. Addition of the amplifier increases system gain by nearly 30 dB with insignificant degradation in the signal-to-noise ratio. The bandwidth of the system exceeds 1000 MHz, with the frequency ranging between 30MHz and 2.2GHz.