• USB thermocouple power sensor
• 10 MHz to 18 GHz is standard
• ***For DC to 18 GHz, option U8481A-200 is required***
• Standard cable is 5 ft; see option 302 for 10 ft, option 303 for 16.3 ft
• Wide dynamic range from -35 dBm to +20 dBm

The Keysight U8481A is a USB thermocouple power sensor.

• 10 MHz to 18 GHz is standard
• For DC to 18 GHz, option U8481A-200 is required.

Improve your power measurement throughput with the world’s fastest USB thermocouple power sensors. The Keysight Technologies, Inc. U8480 Series USB thermocouple power sensors come with a measurement speed of 900 readings/second and power linearity of less than 0.8%, providing high accuracy and stability to help you make average power measurements quickly and confidently. With the U8480 Series USB sensors, one of the most cost-effective solutions in Keysight’s power meter and sensor portfolio, you get top performance features at costs so affordable that every engineer can carry one in their bags.

Several versions available

The chart below provides an overview of models in the U8480 series. Several models have a DC coupled option with the purchase of option 200.

Note - option 100 is standard on all models except U8489A. Option 200 is standard on U8489A.

The standard power sensor cable for the U8480 sensor is 5 feet long; however, longer lengths are available with the options listed below. Please note that these part numbers are only valid when ordered with a power sensor.

• U2000A-302 - 10 ft (3 m)
• U2000A-303 - 16.4 ft (5 m)

Synchronize your measurement capture with the built-in trigger-in function without the need for an external module. The trigger-in function allows you to connect an external trigger signal from a signal source or the device-under-test directly to the USB sensor through a standard BNC to SMB cable.

Internal calibration

Save time and reduce measurement uncertainty with the internal calibration function. These sensors come with technology that integrates a DC reference source and switching circuits into the body of the sensor so you can calibrate the sensor while it is connected to a device-under-test. This feature removes the need for connection and disconnection from an external calibration source, speeding up testing and reducing connector wear and tear. To perform zeroing, simply turn off the device-under-test.

Legacy excellence in a compact and portable form factor

The U8480 Series is based on the same front-end design as the Keysight 8480 and N8480 Series power sensors, now equipped with USB capabilities and improved specifications such as a measurement speed ten times faster than the legacy series.

The U8480 Series plugs directly into your PC or USB-enabled Keysight instrument and gives you the capability to measure power without needing an external power meter or power supply. The sensors draw power directly from a USB port and do not need additional triggering modules to operate.

The U8480 Series is supported by the Keysight BenchVue software and BV0007B power meter/sensor control and analysis app. Once you plug the USB power sensor into a PC and run the software, you can see measurement results in a wide array of display formats and log data without any programming.

The U8480 Series fits easily in your bag, making the sensors ideal solutions for field applications such as base station testing.

Fast measurement speed

The U8480 Series USB thermocouple power sensors offer a measurement speed of 900 readings/second (in fast mode), making them the world’s fastest USB thermocouple power sensors. This feature is especially important in high-volume manufacturing, where fast measurement speed is essential to maximize production throughput and increase productivity. By increasing the speed of measurements, test engineers can shorten the design cycle and accelerate the product time-to-market as they would require less time to carry out the same number of tests.

Real-time measurement uncertainty

Measurement uncertainty is normally calculated manually by the user. The U8480 Series USB thermocouple power sensors now compute this value in real-time and at any given point, removing the need for manual MU calculations, shortening test time, and providing highly accurate measurements. Users can also display power measurements and their measurement uncertainty simultaneously.

Gamma correction

In an ideal measurement scenario, the reference impedance of the power sensor and device-under-test (DUT) impedance should equal the reference impedance (Z0); however, this is rarely the case in practice. The mismatch in impedance values results in a portion of the signal voltage being reflected, and this reflection is quantified by the reflection coefficient, gamma.

Using the gamma correction function, users can simply input the DUT’s gamma into the USB power sensor using SCPI commands or BenchVue BV0007B power meter/sensor control and analysis app. This will remove the mismatch error, yielding more accurate measurements.

S-parameter correction

Additional errors are often caused by components that are inserted between the DUT and the power sensor, such as in base station testing, where a high power attenuator is connected between the sensor and base station to reduce the output power to the measurable power range of the sensor.

The S-parameters of these components can be obtained with a vector network analyzer in the touchstone format and inputted into the sensor using SCPI commands or BenchVue BV0007B power meter/sensor control and analysis app. This error can now be corrected using the U8480 Series USB power sensor’s S-parameter correction function. The sensor will behave as though it is connected directly to the DUT, giving users highly accurate power measurements.