Sensitivity Analysis of S-Parameter Measurements Due to Calibration Standards Uncertainty

A new method for the sensitivity analysis of S-parameter measurements due to the uncertainty of the calibration standards is presented. It is a fully analytic, straightforward calculation and can be applied to any analytic calibration routine. As a result, simple equations for the sensitivity coefficients are obtained, thus providing an in-depth view into the error propagation mechanisms. In contrast to numerical methods, general findings independent from the particular measurement setup or frequency setting are possible. The method is demonstrated for one-port calibration and for two-port calibration with the common thru-reflect-match and thru-reflect-line calibration procedures, as well as for their nonzero-length thru extensions line-reflect-match and line-reflect-line, respectively.