An Alternative Calibration Technique for Automated Network Analyzers with Application to Adapter Evaluation

Although conceptually straightforward, the application of existing automated network analyzers to the problem of adapter evaluation is inhibited by the limited accuracy of the detection process, the requirement for several impedance standards at each frequency, and software problems. This paper describes a simple hardware modification, which for adapter evaluation yields an order of magnitude improvement in accuracy. A alternative calibration procedure is outlined which exploits this improved accuracy potential, and which requires only one impedance standard.