Resolution bandwidth (RBW) sets the width of the intermediate frequency filter used to sweep across a signal spectrum. A narrower filter lowers the displayed noise floor and allows distinct peaks to emerge from closely spaced signals, but it significantly increases the required sweep time. Test engineers constantly balance this trade-off when hunting for low-level spurious emissions or closely spaced harmonics.
Drop the RBW down to ten kilohertz so we can pull that spur out of the noise floor.
Rookies often crank the RBW down to get a clean trace, only to wonder why their sweep takes several minutes to complete.
Related terms
Frequency domain
A method of analyzing a signal by looking at its frequency components rather than its changes over time.
DUT
A device under test is the specific component, board, or system being evaluated by test equipment.
IF
A specific frequency to which a carrier wave is shifted as an intermediate step in signal processing.