Agilent Technologies N5242A, Service Manual

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Service Guide N5242-90001 3-7
PNA Series Microwave Network Analyzers Tests and Adjustments
N5242A About System Verification and Performance Tests
System Verification Procedure
The system verification procedure tests the network analyzer measurement “system”, as
defined previously, against the system specifications. If confirmation is successful, the
measurement system is capable of making measurements to the accuracy specified by the
graphs of measurement uncertainty.
An illustrated outline of the system verification procedure:
• for ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 verification, is shown in Figure 3-1 on page 3-8 .
• for non-ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 verification, is shown in Figure 3-2 on page 3-9 .
NOTE Calibration kits are different from verification kits. Calibration kits are used
to determine the systematic errors of a network analyzer measurement
system. Verification kits are used to confirm system specifications and are not
used to generate error correction.
Performance Tests
Performance tests are used to confirm analyzer performance against the “instrument”
specifications. If confirmation is successful, the analyzer meets the instrument
specifications.
Performance tests are contained in the analyzer’s firmware with Options 897 or 898 and
are described at
“Performance Tests” on page 3-28 .
Certificate of Calibration
Agilent Technologies will issue a certificate of calibration upon successful completion of
system verification or completion of the performance tests. The certificate of calibration
will apply to the “system” (analyzer, calibration kit, test cables, and any necessary
adapters) if the system verification procedure is used to confirm the system specifications.
If the performance tests are used to confirm instrument specifications, the certificate of
calibration will apply to the PNA as an independent instrument. The equipment and
measurement standards used for the tests must be certified and must be traceable to
recognized standards.
NOTE If you have a measurement application that does not use all of the
measurement capabilities of the analyzer, you may ask your local Agilent
Technologies service office to verify only a subset of the specifications.
However, this “limited calibration” creates the possibility of making
inaccurate measurements if you then use the analyzer in an application
requiring additional capabilities.