Return Loss Measurement
A Background to Return Loss Measurement with the HP 81534A
146
Agilent 8163A Lightwave Multimeter, Agilent 8164A Lightwave Measurement
System, & Agilent 8166A Lightwave Multichannel System, Fourth Edition
Measuring the Power Transmitted
Through the Reflection Reference
N O T E
Note you can only measure the Front Panel Delta if you use the a Reflection
Reference Cable.
Connect your a Reflection Reference Cable to a Power Meter and measure the
transmitted power,
E
ref
. You can use
E
ref
to calculate the front panel delta, see
“Calculating the Front Panel Delta” on page 149
Measuring the Power when there are No
Reflections
Next, terminate the cable so that there are no reflections from the end. All the
power measured by the sensor now, is due to the non-ideal nature of the
measurement system. This is our termination parameter.
This measured power for the termination parameter is called
P
T
.
Measuring the Power Transmitted
Through the Measurement Cable
Connect the measurement cable (the cable you will use to connect to the Device
Under Test, DUT) directly to a Power Meter and measure the transmitted power,
E
Meas
. You can use
E
Meas
to calculate the front panel delta, see
Figure 101
Measuring the Power Transmitted Through the Reflection Reference
HP 81534A
P
in
P
r
P
src
P
Ref
Reflection
Reference
k
1
k
2
Power
Meter
E
Ref
Figure 102
Measuring the Power with the Connector Terminated
HP 81534A
P
in
P
src
P
T
Reflection-free
Termination
Reflectivity = 0