A New Precision Automatic Microwave Measurement System

The Hewlett-Packard computer-controlled network analyzer performs fully automatic rapid characterizations of passive and active networks through their scattering parameters. It is extremely flexible in both measurement capability and presentation results, and provides standards laboratory accuracy. System operation is discussed, and in particular, the sources of error involved in making such measurements are dealt with: imperfect standards used for calibration, instrumentation, and signal source accuracy and repeatability errors. Total system accuracies and some measurement results are given.