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On-Wafer S- and Noise-Parameters Measurements
Signal Integrity and Multiport Measurements
Nonlinear and Loadpull Measurements
Errors and Uncertainties for VNA Measurements
Nonlinear and Loadpull Measurements Forum
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Yahoo! MTT-11 Nonlinear Measurements Newsgroup addresses questions related to measurements of nonlinear devices and circuits (both on-wafer and coaxial), measurement-based modeling, and measurements for wireless systems.
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Moderator
Dominique M. M.-P. Schreurs (S'90-M'97) received the M.Sc. degree in electronic engineering and the Ph.D. degree from the Katholieke Universiteit (K.U.)Leuven, Belgium, in 1992 and 1997, respectively. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow of the fund for scientific research-Flanders and a visiting assistant professor at K.U.Leuven. She has been a visiting scientist at Agilent Technologies, ETHZ in Switzerland, and NIST. Her main research interest is the use of vectorial large-signal measurements for the characterization and modelling of non-linear microwave devices. You can contact Dominique directly at Dominique.Schreurs@esat.kuleuven.ac.be.
Kate A. Remley received the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University in 1999. She worked as a broadcast engineer in Eugene, OR between 1983 and 1992. She joined the Radio-Frequency Technology Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 1999 where she develops metrology for characterization of nonlinear devices used in wireless communication systems. You can contact Kate directly at remley@boulder.nist.gov.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Large-Signal Measurements
Q. I would really like to find more information on Large Signal measurements, specifically how they are done and the hardware needed to setup the measurement. Could anyone point me towards some good resources to start my learning process on this issue?
A. A good place to start with nonlinear and large-signal measurements might be Steve Kenney's chapter on Nonlinear Measurements in the RF and Microwave Handbook, Mike Golio editor. That has a good introduction into nonlinear processes and how to make the basic measurements.
The chapter does not deal extensively with the issue of phase measurements. If you are interested in that, you might want to find out more about (1) vector signal analyzers, (2) large-signal network analyzers, and (3) oscilloscope methods:
(1) Vector signal analyzers are discussed briefly in the Microwave and RF Handbook chapter, plus most manufacturers have good info on their web sites.
(2) Wendy Van Moer and Yves Rolain had a recent article describing in depth one type of large-signal network analyzer in the December 2006 issue of IEEE Microwave Magazine. The reference is: W. Van Moer, Y. Rolain, "A large-signal network analyzer: Why is it needed?" IEEE Microwave Magazine, vol. 7, no. 6, Dec. 2006, pp. 46 - 62.
You can also go to the web site for the one commercial product that is available and look at the literature there, too. Plus you can go to the seminal work in this area by looking at these references: [1] T. Van den Broeck and J. Verspecht, "Calibrated vectorial nonlinear network analyzer," in Proc. IEEE MTT-S, San-Diego, CA, 1994, pp. 1069-1072. [2] Urs Lott, "Measurement of magnitude and phase of harmonics generated in nonlinear microwave two-ports," IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 37, no. 10, pp. 1506-1511, Oct. 1989. [3] G. Kompa and F. van Raay, "Error-corrected large-signal waveform measurement system combining network analyser and sampling oscilloscope capabilities," IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 358-365, Apr. 1990. [4] M. Demmler, P.J. Tasker, and M. Schlechtweg, "A vector corrected high power on-wafer measurement system with a frequency range for the higher harmonics up to 40 GHz," in Proc. European Microwave Conf., 1994, pp. 1367-1372.
A new type of large signal network analyzer was recently proposed in "Mixer-based, vector-corrected, vector signal/network analyzer offering 300kHz-20GHz bandwidth and traceable phase response Blockley, P.; Gunyan, D.; Scott, J.B.; Microwave Symposium Digest, 2005 IEEE MTT-S International 12-17 June 2005." This is an exciting proof of concept.
(3) Finally, work on using oscilloscopes for broadband nonlinear measurements was discussed in
[1] P. D. Hale, C. M. Wang, D. F. Williams, K. A. Remley, and J. Wepman, "Compensation of random and systematic timing errors in sampling oscilloscopes," IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas., vol. 55, no. 6. pp. 2146-2154, Dec. 2006.
[2] K.A. Remley, P.D. Hale, D.I. Bergman, D. Keenan, "Comparison of multisine measurements from instrumentation capable of nonlinear system characterization,” 66th ARFTG Conf. Dig., Dec. 2005, pp. 34-43
[3] D.F. Williams, T.S. Clement, P.D. Hale, and A. Dienstfrey, "Terminology for high-speed sampling-oscilloscope calibration," ARFTG Conf. Dig., Dec. 2006. (ARFTG best paper award)
Multisines
Q: I have been trying to simulate a Schroeder multisine using for quite a while but with little progress. My code generates a multisine as follows:
X = sum (Ak cos(2*pi*(fc + k*del_f)*t + schroeder phase))
From the magnitude spectrum, I can get a flat spectrum only if my del_f is a multiple of fc. That means if I want to simulate an fc of 1GHz, I would need del_f to be minimum of 1 GHz or multiples of 1GHz. That would make my bandwidth extremely large. If I use a smaller del_f, I will not get a flat spectrum. What is the problem? How do I simulate at a higher carrier frequency with a small bandwidth? Could you provide any advice for me to tackle multisine designs?
A: If you are not getting a flat amplitude spectrum for a Schroeder multisine except when the tone spacing is equal to harmonics of the carrier frequency, my guess is that you do are not taking the correct number of samples in the time domain signal, and so the FFT has spectral leakage. You will need to find a sampling time that gives you an integer number of RF cycles of the carrier frequency and, more importantly, an integer number of envelope cycles. My guess is that the latter is the problem.
The period of the envelope is 1/delta_f, so for example, if your tone spacing is 1 MHz, the envelope period will be 1/delta_f = 1 microsecond. You will need to carry out the simulation for n * 1 microsecond exactly, and you need to make sure the sampling time you choose will enable this, that is, the sampling time should be a fraction of 1 microsecond. So it is necessary to carefully select both the sampling time and the maximum time in your time vector. Information on aspects of multisine test signals such as number of tones, phase relationships, and repeat measurements can be found in
K.A. Remley, "Multisine excitation for ACPR measurements," IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., June 2003, pp. 2141-2144.
Phase Calibrations
Q: I have seen a number of references, which suggest using a comb generator for wideband phase calibration. But I have not seen any references, which indicate just how accurate the phase reference is from a comb generator over say 100 MHz to 10 GHz. Since a typical comb generator output shows variations in amplitude over this frequency range, I presume that there must be phase variations. Can anyone direct me to any published information, which shows the quantitative variation in comb phase versus frequency over this frequency range?
A: The topic of phase calibration using comb generators has been a subject of a great deal of research in the last few years. Even though the magnitude and phase of a comb-generator signal may vary over the frequencies of interest, as long as we can measure those variations externally, we can correct the measurements and use the comb generator as a reference source.
The "nose-to-nose" procedure is often used to calibrate a sampling oscilloscope that is then used to characterize a comb generator. There are several references on this method on the MTT-11 Nonlinear Forum website www.mtt.org/measurements/nmf (see "Nose-to-Nose Phase Calibration" a well as "Other Phase Calibrations").
Additional work on this topic is from a workshop at the 60th ARFTG conference (Fall 2002). The workshop presentation was "Comb-Generator Characterization with Calibrated Oscilloscopes." It was written by Dylan Williams, Tracy Clement, Paul Hale, and Juanita Morgan (NIST), as well as Howard Reader (Univ. of Stellenbosch, South Africa), and Steve Vandenplas, Jan Verspecht, Frans Verbeyst, Varc Vanden Bossche (NMDG Engineering).
The presentation talks about using an electro-optic sampling (EOS) system to characterize an optical photodetector, which is then used to calibrate a sampling oscilloscope. The scope provides a calibrated measurement of a comb generator in both magnitude and phase. A preliminary uncertainty analysis of the photodetector measurements by EOS system has been carried out to 110 GHz. It shows uncertainty of less than 2 degrees in phase at 10 GHz (less than 4.5 degrees in phase at 50 GHz).
Measurements of a comb generator made with the EOS-calibrated and nose-to-nose calibrated oscilloscopes are compared in this work and agree to within about 2 degrees to almost 20 GHz. This work will hopefully be published in a conference or journal paper soon - it is under way at this moment.
What does the above discussion mean for the practicing engineer? If you are only looking at frequencies below 20 GHz, the nose-to-nose calibration appears to be adequate. If you don't have that capability, you could probably send your scope somewhere to be calibrated. With a calibrated scope, you can more or less characterize the comb generator yourself (you will still have issues with time-base distortion and mismatch correction, but those are discussed in the references). If you want to go above 20 GHz, you might want to investigate a transfer standard based on an EOS-calibrated photodiode.
Figures of Merit for Nonlinear Systems
Q: I assume that IP3, P1dB, AM/AM as well as AM/PM response will help predicting the NPR. Can you recommend software that can calculate and predict NPR?
A: As far as I know, there is no commercial software specifically intended for NPR predictions. Nevertheless, there are some ways (although none of them is easy) you could estimate that distortion figure:
1 – Use a harmonic-balance nonlinear circuit simulator with an excitation composed of many tones equally separated in frequency with one or more in the middle shutdown (those frequency positions will constitute the test frequencies). If the tones are equally separated, the stimulus can be viewed as being dependent on only two base frequencies (the central frequency, or carrier frequency, and the common separation) which eases the computations. Nevertheless, when the number of tones increases, the number of harmonics of the separation may be so high that the problem can easily become intractable. In this view, a NPR computation relies on averaging the results obtained in various simulation runs by randomly varying the phases of each tone. This way you will be simulating not a deterministic spectrum, but a band-limited power spectral density function corresponding to Gaussian distributed noise.
2 – Use an envelope driven harmonic-balance simulator with an excitation composed of a carrier modulated by Gaussian distributed noise. More precisely, the modulation should be of the I/Q type in which both the I and the Q modulation signals are independent Gaussian distributed band-limited white noise. Then, before using this signal in the circuit, you will have to create a notch in the input spectrum. It will be this notch that corresponds to the desired measurement window.
Both of these methods require the complete knowledge of the equivalent circuit of the amplifier and a detailed nonlinear model of its active device. If such models are not available, then you will have to rely on a behavioural characterization of the amplifier. References like:
[1] - J. C. Pedro and N. B. Carvalho, "On the Use of Multi-Tone Techniques for Assessing RF Components’ Intermodulation Distortion”, IEEE Trans. on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. MTT-47, nº 12, pp.2393-2402, Dec. 1999.
[2] - N. B. Carvalho and J. C. Pedro, "Compact Formulas to Relate ACPR and NPR to Two-Tone IMR and IP3", Microwave Journal, vol. 42, No.12, pp.70,77-78,80,82,84, Dec. 1999.
[3] - J. C. Pedro e N. B. Carvalho, Intermodulation Distortion in Microwave and Wireless Circuits, Artech House, Inc., Norwood, MA., 2003
have shown that, for memoryless and mild nonlinearities described by 3rd order Taylor series, it is possible to relate NPR with IP3 or IMR. Since your circuit is a class A amplifier it should be considered a mild nonlinearity. Therefore, even if it can not be considered memoryless, you may still get some rough estimates of NPR performance.
Q: I’m searching for the mathematical relationships between AM/AM, AM/PM, IP3 and ACPR for a multisine.
A: Some of the answers to your question appear in a paper by members of our discussion forum. The reference is:
"On the use of multitone techniques for assessing RF components' intermodulation distortion," J.C. Pedro and N. B. de Carvalho, MTT Transactions, Dec. 1999, pp. 2392-2402.
In this paper, they analytically compare multisine approximations of several digital figures of merit, including intermodulation ratio and ACPR. The multisines in their paper have random phase relationships between the frequency components. You could also take a look at the companion paper:
"Compact forumulas to relate ACPR and NPR to two-tone IMR and IP3," N. B. de Carvalho and J.C. Pedro, Microwave Journal, Dec. 1999, pp. 70-84.
As well, the MTT-11 Nonlinear Forum ( http://mtt.org/committees/mtt-11/index.html, click on "Nonlinear Forum") has a bibliographic section with several references that address this issue in one way or another. You might want to look under the section 1(d): System characterization using special test signals
Mixer Reciprocity
Q: I was wondering whether anyone in this discussion group has had experience using a mixer as a reciprocal device at frequencies of 1-20 GHz. Many papers refer to using a reciprocal mixer for calibrating a vector network analyzer when the VNA is used for frequency-offset measurements. These papers assume that a mixer, when operated in the linear region, and is well matched at all ports, is reciprocal.
Would anyone like to comment on the reciprocity error in mixers? I would be particularly interested in any quantitative measurements of both amplitude and phase reciprocity. If mixers are not reciprocal, do you think it is reasonable to believe that mixer reciprocity error is constant and they could still be used for frequency-offset calibration using a one-time-determined reciprocity coefficient?
A: When two identical mixers are used, we expect their nonreciprocal behavior to be approximately the same. Thus it doesn't really matter which is used as upconverter and which is used as downconverter, the pair together will exhibit approximately reciprocal behavior. However, when two different mixers are used, the difference between upconversion and downconversion of each mixer becomes apparent.
What is really needed is a way to measure the behavior of an individual mixer. This is hard with a VNA, since the same frequencies should appear on both ports. In fact, this topic is the subject of current research at several institutions. To measure the magnitude reciprocity, Joel Dunsmore et al. mention a method in [1] that uses a power-meter calibrated VNA. Offhand, I did not find a reference that explains this method in detail, but there may be an Application Note describing it.
There are currently two methods that I am aware of being developed to characterize both magnitude and phase reciprocity of an individual mixer. The first method is based on the Large-Signal Network Analyzer [2, 3], which can measure the magnitude and phase of signals at harmonically related frequencies. The second method [4], developed at NIST, is based on use of a calibrated oscilloscope. Because the scope can sample several channels simultaneously, one can acquire and align signals at both the IF and RF frequencies.
[1] J. Dunsmore, "Novel method for vector mixer characterization and mixer test system vector error correction," IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., June 2002, pp. 1833-1836.
[2] W. Van Moer and Y. Rolain, "Determining the reciprocity of mixers through 3-port large-signal network analyzer measurements," 62nd ARFTG Conf. Dig., Dec. 2003, pp. 165-170."
[3] A. Cidronali, K.C. Gupta, J.A. Jargon, K.A. Remley, D.C. DeGroot, G. Manes, "Extraction of conversion matrices for P-HEMTs based on vectorial large-signal measurements," IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., June 2003, pp. 777-780.
[4] D. F. Williams, H. Khenissi, F. Ndagijimana, K. A. Remley, J. P. Dunsmore, P. D. Hale, C. M. Wang, and T. S. Clement, "Sampling-Oscilloscope Measurement of a Microwave Mixer with Single-Digit Phase Accuracy," IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech. vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 1210-1217, March 2006.
Load-Pull Measurements
Q: For load pull measurement (on wafer devices), do we get the power contour at constant delivered input power or constant absorbed input power. I always find that paper only use Pin without specification.
A: Use constant available power, i.e., constant a1 for perfect source termination.
Q: Another thing is how to choose the input power level for finding optimal load?
A: One hopes the sensitivity of optimum termination to drive level is low; it should be zero for small signals, but a power amplifier mostly comes into its own... where? This varies with your application. The first onset of hard nonlinearity is not a bad place to look, and P-1dB is a good RF measure of this place.
If the sensitivity were to be high, and your target signal a complex-modulated carrier with high crest factor, I would optimize in the small-signal region by backing off (by the crest factor?). I have not heard of this being done.
I too have noted that papers are not usually clear on these points.
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Selected Bibliography
Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive bibliography. If you would like to suggest a suitable paper to be listed here, please email the moderator.
1. Measurements of digitally modulated signals
2. Load pull and high-power measurements
3. NVNA measurements (including LSNA, MTA, and scope measurements)
4. Measurement-based behavioral modeling
5. Measurement of long-memory effects
6. Measurements of frequency converters
7. Differential measurements of NL devices
1. Measurements of digitally modulated signals
a. Distortion measurements (ACPR, NPR, etc.)
b. Power measurements
c. BER and other system measurements
d. System characterization using special test signals
Relating two-tone and digital modulation figures of merit
Multisines to approximate digital modulation
Measurements Relating Two-Tone and Digital Modulation Figures of Merit
An examination of two measures of power amplifier linearity - intermodulation distortion and channel spectral regrowth
J. Staudinger
Proc. Wireless Comm. Conf.
1996 Page(s):27 - 30
Effects of nonlinear distortion on CDMA communication systems
Chen, S.-W.; Panton, W.; Gilmore, R.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 44, Issue 12, Part 2, Dec. 1996 Page(s):2743 - 2750
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.554660AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(864 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Baseband-equivalent models of a CDMA system for a bandpass nonlinearity derived from AM/AM and AM/PM. The derived model is used to predict two-tone intermodulation and NPR.]
ACPR, IM3 and their correlation for a PCS CDMA power amplifier
W. Xinwei, H. Nakamura, and R. Singhn
50th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 50, 1997 Page(s):91 - 96Full Text: PDF
[Measured and simulated results showing correlation between IM3 and ACPR in a weakly nonlinear power amplifier.]
Prediction of a CDMA output spectrum based on intermodulation products of two-tone test
Seung-June Yi; Sangwook Nam; Sung-Hoon Oh; Jae-Hee Han;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 49, Issue 5, May 2001 Page(s):938 - 946
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.920152AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(224 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Two-tone measurements are used to find AM/AM and AM/PM, linked to an analytical, baseband-equivalent model of a memoryless amplifier. Results are used to bound the expected ACPR. The method is demonstrated on one example.]
Estimation of error vector magnitude using two-tone intermodulation distortion measurements [power amplifier]
Hyunchul Ku; Kenney, J.S.;
Microwave Symposium Digest, 2001 IEEE MTT-S International
Volume 1, 20-25 May 2001 Page(s):17 - 20 vol.1
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWSYM.2001.966829AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(266 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[Extraction of an intrinsic kernel function from two-tone measurements, and subsequent calculation of EVM. The intrinsic kernel function of an RF amplifier represents the incremental change in distortion characteristics of the power amplifier for incremental changes in signal amplitude.]
Power-amplifier characterization using a two-tone measurement technique
Clark, C.J.; Silva, C.P.; Moulthrop, A.A.; Muha, M.S.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 50, Issue 6, June 2002 Page(s):1590 - 1602
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMTT.2002.1006421AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(436 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[A dynamic two-tone measurement set-up is described to find both AM/AM and AM/PM].
Multisines to Approximate Digital Modulation
Multitone signals with low crest factor
Boyd, S.;
Circuits and Systems, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 33, Issue 10, Oct 1986 Page(s):1018 - 1022AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(552 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Summarizes some early work on multisines with low peak-to-average-power characteristics.]
See also:
Comments on 'Multitone Signals with Low Crest Factor'
Van der Ouderaa, E.; Schoukens, J.; Renneboog, J.;
Circuits and Systems, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 34, Issue 9, Sep 1987 Page(s):1125 - 1127AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(336 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions
Characterization of a 2 GHz submicron bipolar 60 watt power transistor with single tone, multi-tone, and CDMA signals
M. Shaw and A. Wood
47th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 47, 1996 Page(s):26 - 31Full Text: PDF
Multitone power and intermodulation load-pull characterization of microwave transistors suitable for linear SSPA's design
Hajji, R.; Beanregard, F.; Ghannouchi, F.M.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 45, Issue 7, July 1997 Page(s):1093 - 1099
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.598446AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(168 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Loadpull set-up using a multisine source for excitation and an MTA as a vector receiver.]
Measuring the characteristics of modulated non-linear devices
Y. Rolain, W. van Moer, and P. Vael
53th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 53, 1999 Page(s):89 - 97Full Text: PDF
[Characterization of an RFIC using NVNA. Measurements of wave variables, frequency-dependent behavior of the amplifier, and spectral regrowth at harmonics with swept power. Description of hardware and software used.]
On the use of multitone techniques for assessing RF components' intermodulation distortion
Pedro, J.C.; De Carvalho, N.B.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 47, Issue 12, Dec. 1999 Page(s):2393 - 2402
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.808986AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(312 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Develops and compares closed-form solutions for common nonlinear system figures of merit (IMD, NPR, ACPR, CCPR) using multisine excitation. Investigates number of tones required.]
Measurement based nonlinear modeling of spectral regrowth
Van Moer, W.; Rolain, Y.; Geens, A.;
Microwave Symposium Digest., 2000 IEEE MTT-S International
Volume 3, 11-16 June 2000 Page(s):1467 - 1470 vol.3
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWSYM.2000.862251AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(280 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[Extracts model parameters from single-tone input signals and validates the model with multisine measurements of spectral regrowth.]
Network analysis beyond S-parameters: characterizing and modeling component behaviour under modulated large-signal conditions
J. Verspecht, F. Verbeyst, and M. Vanden Bossche
56th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 56, Dec. 2000 Page(s):9 - 12Full Text: PDF
[Measurements of amplifier utilizing NVNA and multisine excitation. Effects of harmonic generation on distortion illustrated in the time domain.]
System Identification: A Frequency Domain Approach
R. Pintelon and J. Schoukens
New York, NY: IEEE Press, 2001.[Sections of the book discuss the appropriate use of multisines.]
A comprehensive explanation of distortion sideband asymmetries
Borges de Carvalho, N.; Pedro, J.C.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 50, Issue 9, Sept. 2002 Page(s):2090 - 2101
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMTT.2002.802321AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(397 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Use of multisines to verify explanation of distortion asymmetry.]
Multisine excitation for ACPR measurements
Remley, K.A.;
Microwave Symposium Digest, 2003 IEEE MTT-S International
Volume 3, 8-13 June 2003 Page(s):2141 - 2144 vol.3AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(361 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[Investigates the use of four types of multisines in the approximation of digital modulation for ACPR measurements.]
Accurate Measurement of Wideband Modulated Signals
A. A. Moulthrop, M. S. Muha, and C. P. Silva
Microwave Journal
Volume 43, Issue 6, Jun. 2000 Page(s):84 - 98
(see also topics
2, 3,
4, and 5)
2. Load Pull and High-Power Measurements
a. Passive load pull
b. Active load pull
c. NVNA and load pull
d. Other high power measurements
3. NVNA Measurements (including LSNA, MTA, and scope measurements)
a. Evolution of NVNA measurements
High-frequency periodic time-domain waveform measurement system
Sipila, M.; Lehtinen, K.; Porra, V.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 36, Issue 10, Oct. 1988 Page(s):1397 - 1405
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.6087AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(728 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[2-channel scope with one coupler at the input.]
Measurement of magnitude and phase of harmonics generated in nonlinear microwave two-ports
Lott, U.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 37, Issue 10, Oct. 1989 Page(s):1506 - 1511
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.40993AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(440 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Phase reference calibration using a "golden diode" approach.]
Error-corrected large-signal waveform measurement system combining network analyzer and sampling oscilloscope capabilities
Kompa, G.; van Raay, F.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 38, Issue 4, April 1990 Page(s):358 - 365
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.52575AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(692 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[2-channel scope with VNA test-set + receiver.]
A Vector Corrected High Power On-Wafer Measurement System with a Frequency Range for the Higher Harmonics up to 40 GHz
M. Demmler, P. Tasker, and M. Schlechtweg
Proc. 24th European Microwave Conference
Volume 24, 1994 Page(s):1367 - 1372[Test-set with MTA.]
Waveform-based modeling and characterization of microwave power heterojunction bipolar transistors
Ce-Jun Wei; Lan, Y.E.; Hwang, J.C.M.; Wu-Jing Ho; Higgins, J.A.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 43, Issue 12, Part 2, Dec. 1995 Page(s):2899 - 2903
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.475652AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(516 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Test-set with MTA.]
Accurate on wafer measurement of phase and amplitude of the spectral components of incident and scattered voltage waves at the signal ports of a nonlinear microwave device
Verspecht, J.; Debie, P.; Barel, A.; Martens, L.;
Microwave Symposium Digest, 1995., IEEE MTT-S International
16-20 May 1995 Page(s):1029 - 1032 vol.3
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWSYM.1995.406147AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(447 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[4 couplers with 2 synchronised MTA's.]
Measurements of time-domain voltage/current waveforms at RF and microwave frequencies based on the use of a vector network analyzer for the characterization of nonlinear devices-application to high-efficiency power amplifiers and frequency-multipliers optimization
Barataud, D.; Arnaud, C.; Thibaud, B.; Campovecchio, M.; Nebus, J.-M.; Villotte, J.P.;
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 47, Issue 5, Oct. 1998 Page(s):1259 - 1264
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/19.746594AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(236 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[VNA test-set + receiver with loadpull and pulsed capability.]
b. Calibration of NVNAs
General NVNA Calibration
Calibrated vectorial nonlinear-network analyzers
Van den Broeck, T.; Verspecht, J.;
Microwave Symposium Digest, 1994., IEEE MTT-S International
23-27 May 1994 Page(s):1069 - 1072 vol.2
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWSYM.1994.335170AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(504 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[Description of early NVNA hardware and calibration.]
Accurate on wafer measurement of phase and amplitude of the spectral components of incident and scattered voltage waves at the signal ports of a nonlinear microwave device
Verspecht, J.; Debie, P.; Barel, A.; Martens, L.;
Microwave Symposium Digest, 1995., IEEE MTT-S International
16-20 May 1995 Page(s):1029 - 1032 vol.3
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWSYM.1995.406147AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(447 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[Evolved description of NVNA and calibrations.]
A microwave multisine with known phase for the calibration of narrowbanded nonlinear vectorial network analyzer measurements
Barel, A.; Rolain, Y.;
Microwave Symposium Digest, 1998 IEEE MTT-S International
Volume 3, 7-12 June 1998 Page(s):1499 - 1502 vol.3
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWSYM.1998.700659AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(320 KB) IEEE CNF
Rights and Permissions[A method for calibrating NVNA's for modulated signal measurements.]
Calibration of a wideband IF nonlinear vectorial network analyser
W. Van Moer and Y. Rolain
53th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 53, 1999 Page(s):98 - 103Full Text: PDF
[Description of stochastically based calibration and comparison to standard calibration.]
An improved calibration technique for on-wafer large-signal transistor characterization
Ferrero, A.; Pisani, U.;
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 42, Issue 2, April 1993 Page(s):360 - 364
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/19.278582AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(316 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[De-embedding of vector quantities and power at the probe tips for on-wafer measurements.]
Nose-to-Nose Phase Calibration
Characterizing high-speed oscilloscopes
Rush, K.; Draving, S.; Kerley, J.;
Spectrum, IEEE
Volume 27, Issue 9, Sept. 1990 Page(s):38 - 39
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/6.58452AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(284 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[First paper demonstrating similarity of kickout pulse and impulse response of samplers.]
Individual characterization of broadband sampling oscilloscopes with a nose-to-nose calibration procedure
Verspecht, J.; Rush, K.;
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 43, Issue 2, Apr 1994 Page(s):347 - 354
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/19.293446AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(616 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Theoretical model of nose-to-nose calibration, measurements comparing swept-sine and nose-to-nose, preliminary error analysis.]
Broadband sampling oscilloscope characterization with the "Nose-to-Nose” calibration procedure: a theoretical and practical analysis
Verspecht, J.;
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 44, Issue 6, Dec. 1995 Page(s):991 - 997
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/19.475144AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(532 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Analytic model of nose-to-nose calibration with diode represented as time-varying conductance. Effects of sampling circuit asymmetry. Measurements investigating error mechanisms: sampler linearity, repeatability and noise, timebase drift and jitter, diode conductance symmetry.]
Estimating the magnitude and phase response of a 50 GHz sampling oscilloscope using the 'Nose-to-Nose' method
P. D. Hale, T. S. Clement, K. J. Coakley, C. M. Wang, D. C. DeGroot, and A. P. Verdoni
55th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 55, 2000 Page(s):35 - 42Full Text: PDF
[Discussion of measurement method and potential measurement errors including time-base drift, distortion, and mismatch. Measurement results.]
Analysis of interconnection networks and mismatch in the nose-to-nose calibration
D. C. DeGroot, P. D. Hale, M. Vanden Bossche, F. Verbeyst, and J. Verspecht
55th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 55, 2000 Page(s):116 - 121Full Text: PDF
[Analysis of conditions on input network for nose-to-nose calibration validity.]
Effects of nonlinear diode junction capacitance on the nose-to-nose calibration
Remley, K.A.; Williams, D.F.; DeGroot, D.C.; Verspecht, J.; Kerley, J.;
Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, IEEE [see also IEEE Microwave and Guided Wave Letters]
Volume 11, Issue 5, May 2001 Page(s):196 - 198
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/7260.923026AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(56 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[SPICE model simulations showing the change in the shape of the kickout pulse due to the sampling diodeís nonlinear junction capacitance.]
Analytic sampling-circuit model
Williams, D.F.; Remley, K.A.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 49, Issue 6, Part 1, June 2001 Page(s):1013 - 1019
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.925484AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(156 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Analytic model including cases with constant diode junction capacitance, asymmetric diode conductance, and nonlinear diode junction capacitance.]
Other Phase Calibrations
Multiharmonic generators for relative phase calibration of nonlinear network analyzers
Heymann, P.; Deorner, R.; Rudolph, M.;
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 50, Issue 1, Feb. 2001 Page(s):129 - 134
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/19.903890AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(212 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Comparison of Schottky diodes, step-recovery diodes, and nonlinear transmission lines as possible on-wafer phase reference generators.]
Quantifying the maximum phase-distortion error introduced by signal samplers
Verspecht, J.;
Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 46, Issue 3, June 1997 Page(s):660 - 666
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/19.585425AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(312 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Derives an upper bound on phase error of samplers.]
(see also topics
4, 5,
6, 7, and 8)
4. Measurement-Based Behavioral Modeling
a. Devices
Using conventional measurement set-ups
Using NVNAs
b. Circuits, subsystems, and systems
Using conventional measurement set-ups
Using NVNAs
5. Measurement of long-memory effects
Two-tone measurements:
Measurement of memory effect of high-power Si LDMOSFET amplifier using two-tone phase evaluation
B. Kim, Y. Yang, J. Cha, Y. Y. Woo, and J. Yi
60th ARFTG Conference Digest
Volume 60, Dec. 2002[Detailed description of measurement set-up and methodology for finding relative phases through cancellation of intermodulation products of amplifiers excited with two-tone signals.]
See also original short paper:
Measurement of two-tone transfer characteristics of high-power amplifiers
Youngoo Yang; Jeahyok Yi; Joongjin Nam; Bumman Kim; Myungkyu Park;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 49, Issue 3, March 2001 Page(s):568 - 571
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.910567AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(76 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Introduction to the above measurement set-up.]
The original work in this area was described in:
Transfer characteristic of IM3 relative phase for a GaAs FET amplifier
Suematsu, N.; Iyama, Y.; Ishida, O.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 45, Issue 12, Part 2, Dec. 1997 Page(s):2509 - 2514
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.643867AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(168 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Original work on measurement of relative phase through cancellation of IM products of amplifiers excited with two-tone signals.]
Measurement and simulation of memory effects in predistortion linearizers
Bosch, W.; Gatti, G.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 37, Issue 12, Dec 1989 Page(s):1885 - 1890
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.44098AbstractPlus | Full Text: PDF(456 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Measure magnitude and phase of a two-tone excitation as a function of input power and frequency spacing using two VNAs. A pulsed system to capture long thermal memory effects is also demonstrated.]
Quantifying memory effects in RF power amplifiers
Ku, H.; McKinley, M.D.; Kenney, J.S.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 50, Issue 12, Dec. 2002 Page(s):2843 - 2849
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMTT.2002.805196AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(1658 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[Method to use a simple (two-tone) signal for development of a model that includes memory effects. Model validation using CDMA IS-95 signal on low- and high-power amplifiers.]
Three-tone measurements:
Measurement technique for characterizing memory effects in RF power amplifiers
Vuolevi, J.H.K.; Rahkonen, T.; Manninen, J.P.A.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 49, Issue 8, Aug. 2001 Page(s):1383 - 1389
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.939917AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(104 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[A three-tone method to find the phase of two-tone excitation intermodulation products. The third tone is set for frequency of the intermod product of interest. Its magnitude and phase are adjusted for best cancellation. The paper also has a thorough description of the causes of long-memory effects.]
Pulse measurements:
Time-domain envelope measurement technique with application to wideband power amplifier modeling
Clark, C.J.; Chrisikos, G.; Muha, M.S.; Moulthrop, A.A.; Silva, C.P.;
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 46, Issue 12, Part 2, Dec. 1998 Page(s):2531 - 2540
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/22.739245AbstractPlus | References | Full Text: PDF(284 KB) IEEE JNL
Rights and Permissions[A measurement technique that downconverts a microwave signal to its low-pass equivalent form using a calibrated downconverter. The measurement system utilizes pulsed excitation and an MTA.]
6. Measurements of frequency converters