Capturing and Measuring Microphonics and Phase-Hits with the RTSA

In this application note, we begin with a brief overview of the RTSA's extraordinary capabilities and an introduction to the microphonic and phase-hit problems in communications systems. We will review common causes of microphonic sensitivity, and then provide a similar review of phase-hit sources. Next, we will show how the RTSA can reliably capture these events. Finally, we will examine several methods of stimulating and characterizing the disturbances to allow the communications systems engineer to specify the required component performance to the vendors.