I want to capture one signal containing frequency in the band of 1-5 Ghz but i have a Digital storage oscilloscope of 3 Ghz bandwidth only. Is there any chance to capture the signal above 3 Ghz using this DSO. If yes than how?
Realistically, no.
Theoretically, if you have 2 channels on DSO, you can bandpass signal in 1-3 GHz, downconvert it with 1 GHz signal in passive mixer and feed to channel 1. Simultaneously do downconverting of bandpassed at 3-5GHz signal with 3 GHz signal and feed to channel 2.
The proposed setup is pretty unwieldy and inaccurate, therefore you`d better to lend another DSO somewhere.
It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If the DSO has a 3GHz lowpass sampling prefilter, you will only get the spectrum below 3GHz. However, if you can bypass the sampling prefilter and do aliased sampling at the 3GHz rate, and if the A to D converter has a very narrow aperature time, you can fold the spectrum of 3-5GHz down and difference to two spectral functions. It is not a real-time process so it is usually impractical to do but it is theoretically possible with a two-channel DSO. Oleg's approach is also done if you have the necessary hardware to do the downconverting. Good luck.
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