In step sweep frequency mode, the output frequency changes in discrete, synthesized steps between the selected start and stop frequencies. Step sweeps can start from a low frequency to a high frequency or from a high frequency to a low frequency. The sweep width can be set from 0.001 Hz to the full frequency range of the instrument. The step size or number of points between the sweep start and stop frequencies, the step dwell time, and sweep trigger are controllable from the SWEEP main menus.

In linear step sweep, the sweep is linearly incremented (or decremented) by the step size from the start frequency to the stop frequency. There are two ways to set the size of each step of the linear step sweep—set the step size or set the number of points. The step size range is 9 kHz to the full frequency range of the instrument; the number of points range is 2 to 65535. If the step size does not divide into the frequency range, the last step is truncated.

In logarithmic step sweep, step size increases logarithmically with the frequency and is determined by a logarithmic curve between the sweep start and stop frequencies and the number of points. The number of points can range from 2 to 65535.