TY - JOUR
T1 - A Novel Calibration Method for Active Interferometer-Based VNAs
AU - Mubarak, F.A.
AU - Romano, R.
AU - Rietveld, G.
AU - Spirito, M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Manuscript received April 26, 2020; accepted June 12, 2020. Date of publication July 13, 2020; date of current version August 7, 2020. This work was supported by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. (Corresponding author: F. A. Mubarak.) F. A. Mubarak and G. Rietveld are with the Department of Research and Development, National Metrology Institute of The Netherlands (VSL), 2629 JA Delft, The Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected]). R. Romano is with Vertigo Technologies B.V., 2629 JA Delft, The Netherlands. M. Spirito is with the Electronics Engineering Department, Delft University of Technology (TUD), 2629 JA Delft, The Netherlands. Color versions of one or more of the figures in this letter are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/LMWC.2020.3006701
Publisher Copyright:
© 2001-2012 IEEE.
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - The addition of RF interferometers to vector network analyzer (VNA) test benches has allowed for realization of low-noise high-frequency measurements of extreme impedance devices. However, when employing correction techniques such as the short-open-load method, the RF response of the interferometer hardware introduces measurement inaccuracies due to unwanted load-dependent inconsistencies. This letter presents a novel VNA calibration method that enables both low-noise and accurate small-signal characterization of highly mismatched devices. The proposed solution is experimentally validated in the 10-18-GHz band, confirming a 23-fold improvement in measurement resolution with absolute accuracy across the entire \Gamma range of the VNA. The accuracy of the new calibration process is verified via comparison with traceable reference standards supported by state-of-the-art uncertainties.
AB - The addition of RF interferometers to vector network analyzer (VNA) test benches has allowed for realization of low-noise high-frequency measurements of extreme impedance devices. However, when employing correction techniques such as the short-open-load method, the RF response of the interferometer hardware introduces measurement inaccuracies due to unwanted load-dependent inconsistencies. This letter presents a novel VNA calibration method that enables both low-noise and accurate small-signal characterization of highly mismatched devices. The proposed solution is experimentally validated in the 10-18-GHz band, confirming a 23-fold improvement in measurement resolution with absolute accuracy across the entire \Gamma range of the VNA. The accuracy of the new calibration process is verified via comparison with traceable reference standards supported by state-of-the-art uncertainties.
KW - Calibration
KW - Extreme impedance measurement
KW - Impedance mismatch
KW - Measurement
KW - Microwave interferometry
KW - Nanoelectronics
KW - Nanostructures
KW - Noise
KW - Traceability
KW - Vector Network Analyzer (VNA)
KW - n/a OA procedure
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85089524225
U2 - 10.1109/LMWC.2020.3006701
DO - 10.1109/LMWC.2020.3006701
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089524225
SN - 1531-1309
VL - 30
SP - 829
EP - 832
JO - IEEE microwave and wireless components letters
JF - IEEE microwave and wireless components letters
IS - 8
M1 - 9139196
ER -