Electronic Calibration Modules Reference Guide 3-7
Operating ECal Module
Setting Up a Calibration
When to Correct for Isolation
Correction for isolation is a consideration when measuring high-loss devices
such as saw filters or diplexers. When maximum dynamic range is required,
correction for isolation can remove the errors due to crosstalk (between test
ports) for transmission measurements.
When you include isolation with a two, three, or four-port calibration, the
analyzer automatically applies averaging to reduce noise in the measurement.
Without averaging, you will have noise in the measurement of the crosstalk,
and could raise the noise floor when the analyzer uses this in its error
correction.
The analyzer system isolation is normally sufficient for most measurements,
and correction for it is usually unnecessary. As long as crosstalk is below the
noise floor, it is best NOT to correct for isolation using ECal. As of PNA firmware
release 4.26, measuring isolation as part of the ECal process is no longer
supported.
