Design of Sweep Signal Circuits for Portable Instruments

In special applications such as portable, handheld or modular equipment, besides the relevant functional and technical specifications, small size, light weight and low power consumption must also be achieved. In order to select appropriate design parameters, the volume, power consumption, weight and heat dissipation must be considered together to balance the cost and performance. This paper designs a sweep signal solution suitable for miniaturized handheld vector network analyzers. It gives the circuit design in details, including the selection and realization of VCO and PLL. Finally, the technical specifications achieved by this design are proposed. This solution features small size, low power consumption and light weight. The actual application in a handheld vector network analyzer demonstrates its feasibility and practicality.