Concepts and Features
R&S
®
ZNB/ZNBT
175
User Manual 1173.9163.02 ─ 53
Table 5-13: Recommended calibration methods for various measurements
Measurement
System error correction Scalar Power calibration
SMARTerCal
S-parameter meas. on linear
DUTs
Yes
Not necessary
Not necessary
S-parameter meas. on non-lin-
ear DUTs
Not possible
--> Use SMARTerCal
Yes
Power (source) and meas. receiver, sup-
ported in combination with SMARTerCal
Yes
1)
Meas. of wave quantities or
ratios on linear DUTs
Not possible
--> Use SMARTerCal
Not necessary
Yes
Meas. of wave quantities or
ratios on non-linear DUTs
Not possible
--> Use SMARTerCal
Yes
Power (source) and meas. receiver, sup-
ported in combination with SMARTerCal
Yes
Power sweep, e.g. for com-
pression point measurement
Yes
Power (source): Yes
Meas. receiver: not necessary
Not necessary
Frequency conversion mea-
surements on linear DUTs
Not possible
--> Use SMARTerCal
Not necessary
Yes
Frequency conversion mea-
surements on non-linear DUTs
Not possible
--> Use SMARTerCal
Yes
Power (source) and meas. receiver, sup-
ported in combination with SMARTerCal
Yes
1) SMARTerCal is a multi-port calibration type. For one-port measurements, perform a
two-port SMARTerCal for a port pair including the measurement port.
In general, a power calibration involves two stages:
1.
Source power calibration:
An external power meter is connected to the calibra-
tion plane. The analyzer uses the power meter readings to calibrate its reference
receiver. Subsequently, it modifies its source power so that the calibrated reference
receiver reading corresponds to the desired source power value (flatness calibra-
tion).
Tip:
Since version 3.0 of the analyzer firmware, it is possible to perform the source
(flatness) calibration using the power meter (without previously calibrating the refer-
ence receiver).
This is particularly suitable for
receiver assigned to different VNA ports.
2.
Measurement receiver calibration:
The analyzer uses the calibrated source sig-
nal to adjust the power reading at the receive port.
5.5.6.1
Source Power Calibration
A source power calibration ensures accurate power levels of the generated waves at
an arbitrary calibration plane in the measurement path. Typically the calibration plane
corresponds to the input of the DUT.
In a frequency sweep, the power at the calibration plane is maintained at a constant
"Cal Power" value. The source power calibration eliminates frequency response errors
Calibration
