A new technique for vector network analyzer calibration verification using a single reconfigurable device

A novel technique for verifying the calibration of systems, such as vector network analyzers, used for measuring air-filled metal-pipe rectangular waveguides is presented. The key aspect of the proposed method is that the verification device can be reconfigured to enable its characteristics to be changed by known amounts. The device introduces relative changes in its reflected and transmitted waves and is insensitive to errors introduced by waveguide flange misalignments. These errors would normally become increasingly more significant as frequency increases from the microwave to terahertz frequency ranges. A suitably modified WR-15 waveguide, operating in the 50 to 75 GHz frequency range, is presented as a proof-of-concept verification device and experimentally validated.