Slow Dynamics: Myth or Reality?

This paper presents a method to measure the sensitivity of microwave components to memory effects caused by the DC-biasing circuit. This allows to determine the required (impedance) properties of the DC-biasing circuit to reduce slow dynamics under a certain level. The proposed measurement technique is based on the Nonlinear Vectorial Network Analyser (NVNA) [4], which allows to measure not only the absolute magnitude but also the absolute phase relations between the waves. Superimposing a multisine excitation signal on the DC-bias allows to measure the slow dynamics caused by the DC-biasing circuit as a function of frequency and input power. Furthermore, it is verified whether or not the measured phenomena depend on the type of excitation signal.