Understanding the

Fundamental Principles
of Vector Network Analysis
Appl i cati on Note 1287-1
Table of Contents
Page
I ntroducti on 2
Measurements i n
Communi cati ons Systems 2
I mportance of Vector
Measurements 4
The Basi s of I nci dent and
Refl ected Power 5
The Smi th Chart 5
Power Transfer Condi ti ons 6
Network Anal ysi s Termi nol ogy 9
Measuri ng Group Del ay 11
Network Characteri zati on 12
Measurements in
Communications
Systems
2
Introduction
Network anal ysi s i s the process by whi ch desi gners and manufacturers
measure the el ectri cal performance of the components and ci rcui ts used i n
more compl ex systems. When these systems are conveyi ng si gnal s wi th
i nformati on content, we are most concerned wi th getti ng the si gnal from
one poi nt to another wi th maxi mum effi ci ency and mi ni mum di storti on.
Vector network anal ysi s i s a method of accuratel y characteri zi ng such
components by measuri ng thei r effect on the ampl i tude and phase of
swept-frequency and swept-power test si gnal s.
I n thi s appl i cati on note, the fundamental pri nci pl es of vector network
anal ysi s wi l l be revi ewed. The di scussi on i ncl udes the common parameters
that can be measured, i ncl udi ng the concept of scatteri ng parameters
(S-parameters). RF fundamental s such as transmi ssi on l i nes and the
Smi th chart wi l l al so be revi ewed.
Hewl ett-Packard Company offers a wi de range of both scal ar and vector
network anal yzers for characteri zi ng components from DC to 110 GHz.
These i nstruments are avai l abl e wi th a wi de range of opti ons to si mpl i fy
testi ng i n both l aboratory and producti on envi ronments.
Linear behavior:
input and output frequencies
are the same (no additional
frequencies created)
output frequency only
undergoes magnitude and
phase change
Time
A
t
o
Frequency f
1
Time
Sin 360 * f * t
Frequency
A
phase shift =
to * 360 * f
1
f
DUT
A * Sin 360 * f ( t t )

Input Output
Time
Frequency
Nonlinear behavior:
output frequency may undergo
frequency shift (e.g. with mixers)
additional frequencies created
(harmonics, intermodulation)
f
1
Figure 1.
Linear versus
Nonlinear
Behavior
I n any communi cati ons system, the effect of si gnal di storti on must be
consi dered. Whi l e we general l y thi nk of the di storti on caused by nonl i near
effects (for exampl e, when i ntermodul ati on products are produced from
desi red carri er si gnal s), purel y l i near systems can al so i ntroduce si gnal
di storti on. Li near systems can change the ti me waveform of si gnal s
passi ng through them by al teri ng the ampl i tude or phase rel ati onshi ps
of the spectral components that make up the si gnal .
Lets exami ne the di fference between l i near and nonl i near behavi or
more cl osel y.
Li near devi ces i mpose magni tude and phase changes on i nput si gnal s
(Fi gure 1). Any si nusoi d appeari ng at the i nput wi l l al so appear at the
output, and at the same frequency. No new si gnal s are created. Both acti ve
and passi ve nonl i near devi ces can shi ft an i nput si gnal i n frequency or
add other frequency components, such as harmoni c and spuri ous si gnal s.
Large i nput si gnal s can dri ve normal l y l i near devi ces i nto compressi on or
saturati on, causi ng nonl i near operati on.
3
Frequency Frequency Frequency
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e
Time
Linear
Network
Time
F(t) = sin wt +
1
/3 sin 3wt +
1
/5 sin 5wt
For l i near di storti on-free transmi ssi on, the ampl i tude response of the
devi ce under test (DUT) must be fl at and the phase response must be
l i near over the desi red bandwi dth. As an exampl e, consi der a square-wave
si gnal ri ch i n hi gh-frequency components passi ng through a bandpass fi l ter
that passes sel ected frequenci es wi th l i ttl e attenuati on whi l e attenuati ng
frequenci es outsi de of the passband by varyi ng amounts.
Even i f the fi l ter has l i near phase performance, the out-of-band
components of the square wave wi l l be attenuated, l eavi ng an output
si gnal that, i n thi s exampl e, i s more si nusoi dal i n nature (Fi gure 2).
I f the same square-wave i nput si gnal i s passed through a fi l ter that onl y
i nverts the phase of the thi rd harmoni c, but l eaves the harmoni c
ampl i tudes the same, the output wi l l be more i mpul se-l i ke i n nature
(Fi gure 3). Whi l e thi s i s true for the exampl e fi l ter, i n general , the output
waveform wi l l appear wi th arbi trary di storti on, dependi ng on the
ampl i tude and phase nonl i neari ti es.
Frequency
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e
Linear
Network
Frequency
Frequency
Time
0
360

180

Time
F(t) = sin wt +
1
/3 sin 3wt +
1
/5 sin 5wt
Figure 2.
Magnitude
Variation with
Frequency
Figure 3.
Phase Variation
with Frequency
4
Nonlinear Networks
Frequency Frequency
Time
Time
Saturation, crossover, intermodulation, and other
nonlinear effects can cause signal distortion
Nonl i near devi ces al so i ntroduce di storti on (Fi gure 4). For exampl e, i f an
ampl i fi er i s overdri ven, the output si gnal cl i ps because the ampl i fi er i s
saturated. The output si gnal i s no l onger a pure si nusoi d, and harmoni cs
are present at mul ti pl es of the i nput frequency. Passi ve devi ces may al so
exhi bi t nonl i near behavi or at hi gh power l evel s, a good exampl e of whi ch i s
an L-C fi l ter that uses i nductors wi th magneti c cores. Magneti c materi al s
often exhi bi t hysteresi s effects that are hi ghl y nonl i near.
Effi ci ent transfer of power i s another fundamental concern i n
communi cati ons systems. I n order to effi ci entl y convey, transmi t or
recei ve RF power, devi ces such as transmi ssi ons l i nes, antennas and
ampl i fi ers must present the proper i mpedance match to the si gnal source.
I mpedance mi smatches occur when the real and i magi nary parts of i nput
and output i mpedances are not i deal between two connecti ng devi ces.
Measuri ng both magni tude and phase of components i s i mportant for
several reasons. Fi rst, both measurements are requi red to ful l y
characteri ze a l i near network and ensure di storti on-free transmi ssi on.
To desi gn effi ci ent matchi ng networks, compl ex i mpedance must be
measured. Engi neers devel opi ng model s for computer-ai ded-engi neeri ng
(CAE) ci rcui t si mul ati on programs requi re magni tude and phase data for
accurate model s.
I n addi ti on, ti me-domai n characteri zati on requi res magni tude and phase
i nformati on i n order to perform an i nverse-Fouri er transform. Vector
error correcti on, whi ch i mproves measurement accuracy by removi ng the
effects of i nherent measurement-system errors, requi res both magni tude
and phase data to bui l d an effecti ve error model . Phase-measurement
capabi l i ty i s very i mportant even for scal ar measurements such as return
l oss, i n order to achi eve a hi gh l evel of accuracy (see Applying Error
Correction to Network Analyzer Measurements, Hewl ett-Packard
Appl i cati on Note 1287-3).
Figure 4.
Nonlinear
Induced
Distortion
Importance of
Vector Measurements
5
The Basis of Incident
and Reflected Power
I n i ts fundamental form, network anal ysi s i nvol ves the measurement of
i nci dent, refl ected, and transmi tted waves that travel al ong transmi ssi on
l i nes. Usi ng opti cal wavel engths as an anal ogy, when l i ght stri kes a cl ear
l ens (the i nci dent energy), some of the l i ght i s refl ected from the l ens
surface, but most of i t conti nues through the l ens (the transmi tted energy)
(Fi gure 5). I f the l ens has mi rrored surfaces, most of the l i ght wi l l be
refl ected and l i ttl e or none wi l l pass through i t.
Whi l e the wavel engths are di fferent for RF and mi crowave si gnal s, the
pri nci pl e i s the same. Network anal yzers accuratel y measure the i nci dent,
refl ected, and transmi tted energy, e.g., the energy that i s l aunched onto
a transmi ssi on l i ne, refl ected back down the transmi ssi on l i ne toward the
source (due to i mpedence mi smatch), and successful l y transmi tted to the
termi nati ng devi ce (such as an antenna).
Incident
Reflected
Transmitted
Lightwave Analogy
Figure 5.
Lightwave
Analogy to
High-Frequency
Device
Characterization
The Smith Chart
The amount of refl ecti on that occurs when characteri zi ng a devi ce depends
on the i mpedance that the i nci dent si gnal sees. Si nce any i mpedance
can be represented wi th real and i magi nary parts (R+jX or G+jB), they
can be pl otted on a recti l i near gri d known as the compl ex i mpedance
pl ane. Unfortunatel y, an open ci rcui t (a common RF i mpedence) appears
at i nfi ni ty on the real axi s, and therefore cannot be shown.
The pol ar pl ot i s useful because the enti re i mpedance pl ane i s covered.
However, i nstead of pl otti ng i mpedance di rectl y, the compl ex refl ecti on
coeffi ci ent i s di spl ayed i n vector form. The magni tude of the vector i s the
di stance from the center of the di spl ay, and phase i s di spl ayed as the angl e
of vector referenced to a fl at l i ne from the center to the ri ght-most edge.
The drawback of pol ar pl ots i s that i mpedance val ues cannot be read
di rectl y from the di spl ay.
Power Transfer
Conditions
A perfectl y matched condi ti on must exi st at a connecti on between two
devi ces for maxi mum power transfer i nto a l oad, gi ven a source resi stance
of R
S
and a l oad resi stance of R
L
. Thi s condi ti on occurs when R
L
= R
S
,
and i s true whether the sti mul us i s a DC vol tage source or a source of
RF si ne waves (Fi gure 7).
When the source i mpedance i s not purel y resi sti ve, maxi mum power
transfer occurs when the l oad i mpedance i s equal to the compl ex conjugate
of the source i mpedance. Thi s condi ti on i s met by reversi ng the si gn of the
i magi nary part of the i mpedance. For exampl e, i f R
S
= 0.6 + j 0.3, then
the compl ex conjugate i s R
S
* = 0.6 j 0.3.
The need for effi ci ent power transfer i s one of the mai n reasons for the
use of transmi ssi on l i nes at hi gher frequenci es. At very l ow frequenci es
(wi th much l arger wavel engths), a si mpl e wi re i s adequate for conducti ng
power. The resi stance of the wi re i s rel ati vel y l ow and has l i ttl e effect on
l ow-frequency si gnal s. The vol tage and current are the same no matter
where a measurement i s made on the wi re.
6
90
o
0
o
180
o
+

.2
.4
.6
.8
1.0
90
o
0
0 +R
+jX
jX

Smith chart maps

rectilinear impedance
plane onto polar plane
Rectilinear impedance
plane
Polar plane
Z = Zo
L
= 0
Constant X
Constant R
Z =
L
= 0
O
1
Smith chart
(open)

L
Z = 0
= 180
O
1
(short)
Figure 6.
Smith Chart
Review
Si nce there i s a one-to-one correspondence between compl ex i mpedance
and refl ecti on coeffi ci ent, the posi ti ve real hal f of the compl ex i mpedance
pl ane can be mapped onto the pol ar di spl ay. The resul t i s the Smi th chart.
Al l val ues of reactance and al l posi ti ve val ues of resi stance from 0 to
i nfi ni ty fal l wi thi n the outer ci rcl e of the Smi th chart (Fi gure 6).
On the Smi th chart, l oci of constant resi stance appear as ci rcl es, whi l e l oci
of constant reactance appear as arcs. I mpedances on the Smi th chart are
al ways normal i zed to the characteri sti c i mpedance of the component or
system of i nterest, usual l y 50 ohms for RF and mi crowave systems and
75 ohms for broadcast and cabl e-tel evi si on systems. A perfect termi nati on
appears i n the center of the Smi th chart.
7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
L
o
a
d

P
o
w
e
r

(
n
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d
)
R
L
/ R
S
R
S
R
L
Maximum power is transferred
when R
L
= R
S
For complex impedances,
maximum power transfer occurs
when Z
L
= Z
S
* (conjugate match)

Z
s
= R + jX
Z
L
= Z
s
* = R jX
Figure 7.
Power Transfer
At hi gher frequenci es, wavel engths are comparabl e to or smal l er than
the l ength of the conductors i n a hi gh-frequency ci rcui t, and power
transmi ssi on can be thought of i n terms of travel i ng waves. When the
transmi ssi on l i ne i s termi nated i n i ts characteri sti c i mpedance, maxi mum
power i s transferred to the l oad. When the termi nati on i s not equal to the
characteri sti c i mpedance, that part of the si gnal that i s not absorbed by
the l oad i s refl ected back to the source.
I f a transmi ssi on l i ne i s termi nated i n i ts characteri sti c i mpedance, no
refl ected si gnal occurs si nce al l of the transmi tted power i s absorbed by the
l oad (Fi gure 8). Looki ng at the envel ope of the RF si gnal versus di stance
al ong the transmi ssi on l i ne shows no standi ng waves because wi thout
refl ecti ons, energy fl ows i n onl y one di recti on.
For reflection, a transmission line terminated in Z
o

behaves like an infinitely long transmission line
Z
s
= Z
o
Z
o
V
refl
= 0 (all the incident
power is absorbed in the load)
V
inc
Z
o
= characteristic impedance
of transmission line
Figure 8.
Transmission
Line Terminated
with Z
o
When the transmi ssi on l i ne i s termi nated i n a short ci rcui t (whi ch can
sustai n no vol tage and therefore di ssi pates zero power), a refl ected wave i s
l aunched back al ong the l i ne toward the source (Fi gure 9). The refl ected
vol tage wave must be equal i n magni tude to the i nci dent vol tage wave and
be 180 degrees out of phase wi th i t at the pl ane of the l oad. The refl ected
and i nci dent waves are equal i n magni tude but travel i ng i n the opposi te
di recti ons.
I f the transmi ssi on l i ne i s termi nated i n an open-ci rcui t condi ti on (whi ch
can sustai n no current), the refl ected current wave wi l l be 180 degrees out
of phase wi th the i nci dent current wave, whi l e the refl ected vol tage wave
wi l l be i n phase wi th the i nci dent vol tage wave at the pl ane of the l oad.
Thi s guarantees that the current at the open wi l l be zero. The refl ected and
i nci dent current waves are equal i n magni tude, but travel i ng i n the
opposi te di recti ons. For both the short and open cases, a standi ng wave
pattern i s set up on the transmi ssi on l i ne. The vol tage val l eys wi l l be zero
and the vol tage peaks wi l l be twi ce the i nci dent vol tage l evel .
I f the transmi ssi on l i ne i s termi nated wi th say a 25-ohm resi stor, resul ti ng
i n a condi ti on between ful l absorpti on and ful l refl ecti on, part of the
i nci dent power i s absorbed and part i s refl ected. The ampl i tude of the
refl ected vol tage wave wi l l be one-thi rd that of the i nci dent wave, and the
two waves wi l l be 180 degrees out of phase at the pl ane of the l oad. The
val l eys of the standi ng-wave pattern wi l l no l onger be zero, and the peaks
wi l l be l ess than those of the short and open cases. The rati o of the peaks to
val l eys wi l l be 2:1.
The tradi ti onal way of determi ni ng RF i mpedance was to measure VSWR
usi ng an RF probe/detector, a l ength of sl otted transmi ssi on l i ne, and a
VSWR meter. As the probe was moved al ong the transmi ssi on l i ne, the
rel ati ve posi ti on and val ues of the peaks and val l eys were noted on the
meter. From these measurements, i mpedance coul d be deri ved. The
procedure was repeated at di fferent frequenci es. Modern network
anal yzers measure the i nci dent and refl ected waves di rectl y duri ng a
frequency sweep, and i mpedance resul ts can be di spl ayed i n any number of
formats (i ncl udi ng VSWR).
8

Z
s
= Z
o
V
refl
V
inc
For reflection, a transmission line terminated in
a short or open reflects all power back to source
In phase (0 ) for open
Out of phase (180 ) for short
o
o
Figure 9.
Transmission
Line Terminated
with Short, Open
9
TRANSMISSION
Gain / Loss
S-Parameters
S21,S12
Group
Delay
Transmission
Coefficient
Insertion
Phase
REFLECTION
SWR
S-Parameters
S11,S22
Reflection
Coefficient
Impedance,
Admittance
R+jX,
G+jB
Return
Loss
,
,
Incident
Reflected
Transmitted
R
B
A
Reflected
Incident
A
R
=
Transmitted
Incident
B
R
=
Network Analysis
Terminology
Now that we understand the fundamental s of el ectromagneti c waves, we
must l earn the common terms used for measuri ng them. Network anal yzer
termi nol ogy general l y denotes measurements of the i nci dent wave wi th
the R or reference channel . The refl ected wave i s measured wi th the
A channel , and the transmi tted wave i s measured wi th the B channel
(Fi gure 10). Wi th the ampl i tude and phase i nformati on i n these waves,
i t i s possi bl e to quanti fy the refl ecti on and transmi ssi on characteri sti cs
of a DUT. The refl ecti on and transmi ssi on characteri sti cs can be expressed
as vector (magni tude and phase), scal ar (magni tude onl y), or phase-onl y
quanti ti es. For exampl e, return l oss i s a scal ar measurement of
refl ecti on, whi l e i mpedance i s a vector refl ecti on measurement.
Rati oed measurements al l ow us to make refl ecti on and transmi ssi on
measurements that are i ndependent of both absol ute power and
vari ati ons i n source power versus frequency. Rati oed refl ecti on i s often
shown as A/R and rati oed transmi ssi on as B/R, rel ati ng to the
measurement channel s i n the i nstrument.
Figure 10.
Common
Terms for
High-Frequency
Device
Characterization
The most general term for rati oed refl ecti on i s the compl ex refl ecti on
coeffi ci ent, or gamma (Fi gure 11). The magni tude porti on of i s cal l ed
or rho. The refl ecti on coeffi ci ent i s the rati o of the refl ected si gnal vol tage
l evel to the i nci dent si gnal vol tage l evel . For exampl e, a transmi ssi on l i ne
termi nated i n i ts characteri sti c i mpedance Z
o,
wi l l have al l energy
transferred to the l oad so V
refl
= 0 and = 0. When the i mpedance of the
l oad, Z
L
i s not equal to the characteri sti c i mpedance, energy i s refl ected
and i s greater than zero. When the l oad i mpedance i s equal to a short or
open ci rcui t, al l energy i s refl ected and = 1. As a resul t, the range of
possi bl e val ues for i s 0 to 1.
10
V
Transmitted
V
Incident
Transmission Coefficient = =
V
Transmitted
V
Incident
=
DUT
Gain (dB) = 20 Log
V
Trans
V
Inc
= 20 log
Insertion Loss (dB) = 20 Log
V
Trans
V
Inc
= 20 log
Figure 12.
Transmission
Parameters
Return l oss i s a way to express the refl ecti on coeffi ci ent i n l ogari thmi c
terms (deci bel s). Return l oss i s the number of deci bel s that the refl ected
si gnal i s bel ow the i nci dent si gnal . Return l oss i s al ways expressed as a
posi ti ve number and vari es between i nfi ni ty for a l oad at the characteri sti c
i mpedance and 0 dB for an open or short ci rcui t. Another common term
used to express refl ecti on i s vol tage standi ng wave rati o (VSWR), whi ch i s
defi ned as the maxi mum val ue of the RF envel ope over the mi ni mum val ue
of the RF envel ope. I t i s rel ated to as (1 + )/(1 ). VSWR ranges from
1 (no refl ecti on) to i nfi ni ty (ful l refl ecti on).
The transmi ssi on coeffi ci ent i s defi ned as the transmi tted vol tage di vi ded
by the i nci dent vol tage (Fi gure 12). I f the absol ute val ue of the transmi tted
vol tage i s greater than the absol ute val ue of the i nci dent vol tage, a DUT or
system i s sai d to have gai n. I f the absol ute val ue of the transmi tted vol tage
i s l ess than the absol ute val ue of the i nci dent vol tage, the DUT or system
i s sai d to have attenuati on or i nserti on l oss. The phase porti on of the
transmi ssi on coeffi ci ent i s cal l ed i nserti on phase.
=
Z
L
Z
O
Z
L
+
O
Z
Reflection
Coefficient
=
V
reflected
V
incident
=

=

dB
No reflection
(Z
L
= Z
o
)

RL
VSWR
0 1
Full reflection
(Z
L
= open, short)
0 dB
1
Return loss = 20 log(),
VSWR =
Emax
Emin
=
1 +
1
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
Emax
Emin
Figure 11.
Reflection
Parameters
11
Di rect exami nati on of i nserti on phase usual l y does not provi de useful
i nformati on. Thi s i s because the i nserti on phase has a l arge (negati ve)
sl ope wi th respect to frequency due to the el ectri cal l ength of the DUT. The
sl ope i s proporti onal to the l ength of the DUT. Si nce i t i s onl y devi ati on
from l i near phase that causes di storti on i n communi cati ons systems, i t i s
desi rabl e to remove the l i near porti on of the phase response to anal yze
the remai ni ng nonl i near porti on. Thi s can be done by usi ng the el ectri cal
del ay feature of a network anal yzer to mathemati cal l y cancel the average
el ectri cal l ength of the DUT. The resul t i s a hi gh-resol uti on di spl ay of
phase di storti on or devi ati on from l i near phase (Fi gure 13).
Deviation from constant group
delay indicates distortion
Average delay indicates transit time
Group
Delay
Frequency
Group Delay
Average Delay
t
o
t
g
Group Delay (t ) g
=
1
360
o
=

d
d
d
f
in radians
in radians/sec
in degrees
in Hz f

2 = ( ) f
Phase

Frequency
Use electrical delay to remove
linear portion of phase response
Linear electrical
length added
+ yields
Frequency
(Electrical delay function)
Frequency
RF filter response
Deviation from
linear phase
P
h
a
s
e

1


/
D
i
v
o
P
h
a
s
e

4
5


/
D
i
v
o
Frequency
Low resolution High resolution
Figure 13.
Deviation from
Linear Phase
Figure 14.
What Is Group
Delay?
Measuring
Group Delay
Another useful measure of phase di storti on i s group del ay (Fi gure 14).
Thi s parameter i s a measure of the transi t ti me of a si gnal through a DUT
versus frequency. Group del ay can be cal cul ated by di fferenti ati ng the
DUTs phase response versus frequency. I t reduces the l i near porti on of the
phase response to a constant val ue, and transforms the devi ati ons from
l i near phase i nto devi ati ons from constant group del ay, (whi ch causes
phase di storti on i n communi cati ons systems). The average del ay
represents the average si gnal transi t ti me through a DUT.
12
Dependi ng on the devi ce, both devi ati on from l i near phase and group del ay
may be measured, si nce both can be i mportant. Speci fyi ng a maxi mum
peak-to-peak phase ri ppl e i n a devi ce may not be suffi ci ent to compl etel y
characteri ze i t, si nce the sl ope of the phase ri ppl e depends on the number
of ri ppl es that occur per uni t of frequency. Group del ay takes thi s i nto
account because i t i s the di fferenti ated phase response. Group del ay i s
often a more easi l y i nterpreted i ndi cati on of phase di storti on (Fi gure 15).
Same peak-to-peak phase ripple can result in different group delay
P
h
a
s
e
P
h
a
s
e
G
r
o
u
p

D
e
l
a
y
G
r
o
u
p

D
e
l
a
y
d
d
f
f
f
f
d
d
I n order to compl etel y characteri ze an unknown l i near two-port devi ce, we
must make measurements under vari ous condi ti ons and compute a set of
parameters. These parameters can be used to compl etel y descri be the
el ectri cal behavi or of our devi ce (or network), even under source and l oad
condi ti ons other than when we made our measurements. Low-frequency
devi ce or network characteri zati on i s usual l y based on measurement of
H, Y, and Z parameters. To do thi s, the total vol tage and current at the
i nput or output ports of a devi ce or nodes of a network must be measured.
Furthermore, measurements must be made wi th open-ci rcui t and
short-ci rcui t condi ti ons.
Si nce i t i s di ffi cul t to measure total current or vol tage at hi gher
frequenci es, S-parameters are general l y measured i nstead (Fi gure 16).
These parameters rel ate to fami l i ar measurements such as gai n, l oss,
and refl ecti on coeffi ci ent. They are rel ati vel y si mpl e to measure, and do
not requi re connecti on of undesi rabl e l oads to the DUT. The measured
S-parameters of mul ti pl e devi ces can be cascaded to predi ct overal l system
performance. S-parameters are readi l y used i n both l i near and nonl i near
CAE ci rcui t si mul ati on tool s, and H, Y, and Z parameters can be deri ved
from S-parameters when necessary.
The number of S-parameters for a gi ven devi ce i s equal to the square of
the number of ports. For exampl e, a two-port devi ce has four S-parameters.
The numberi ng conventi on for S-parameters i s that the fi rst number
fol l owi ng the S i s the port at whi ch energy emerges, and the second number
i s the port at whi ch energy enters. So S
21
i s a measure of power emergi ng
from Port 2 as a resul t of appl yi ng an RF sti mul us to Port 1. When the
numbers are the same (e.g. S
11
), a refl ecti on measurement i s i ndi cated.
Figure 15.
Why Measure
Group Delay?
Network
Characterization
13
H,Y, and Z parameters
Hard to measure total voltage and current
at device ports at high frequencies
Active devices may oscillate or self-destruct with shorts or opens
S-parameters
Relate to familiar measurements
(gain, loss, reflection coefficient, etc.)
Relatively easy to measure
Can cascade S-parameters of multiple
devices to predict system performance
Analytically convenient
CAD programs
Flow-graph analysis
Can compute H, Y, or Z parameters from S-parameters if desired
Incident Transmitted S21
S11
Reflected
S
22
Reflected
Transmitted Incident
b
1
a
1 b
2
a
2
S
12
DUT
b
1
=S
11
a
1
+ S
12
a
2
b
2
=S21
a
1
+ S
22
a
2
Port 1 Port 2
S
11
=
Reflected
Incident
=
b
1
a
1
a
2 =0
S
21
=
Transmitted
Incident
=
b
2
a
1
a
2 =0
2
1
1
2
1
Incident Transmitted S
21
S
11
Reflected
b
1
a
1
b
2
Z
0
Load
a
2
=
0
DUT
Forward
Incident Transmitted S
12
S
22
Reflected
b
2
a
2
1
b
a
1
=0
DUT
Z
0
Load
Reverse
S
22
=
Reflected
Incident
=
b
a
a
=0
S
12
=
Transmitted
Incident
=
b
2
a
a
=0
Figure 16.
Limitations of H,
Y, and Z
Parameters
(Why Use
S-parameters?)
Figure 17.
Measuring
S-Parameters
Forward S-parameters are determi ned by measuri ng the magni tude and
phase of the i nci dent, refl ected, and transmi tted si gnal s when the output
i s termi nated i n a l oad that i s preci sel y equal to the characteri sti c
i mpedance of the test system. I n the case of a si mpl e two-port network,
S
11
i s equi val ent to the i nput compl ex refl ecti on coeffi ci ent or i mpedance of
the DUT, whi l e S
21
i s the forward compl ex transmi ssi on coeffi ci ent. By
pl aci ng the source at the output port of the DUT and termi nati ng the i nput
port i n a perfect l oad, i t i s possi bl e to measure the other two (reverse)
S-parameters. Parameter S
22
i s equi val ent to the output compl ex refl ecti on
coeffi ci ent or output i mpedance of the DUT whi l e S
12
i s the reverse
compl ex transmi ssi on coeffi ci ent (Fi gure 17).
Exploring the Architectures of Network Analyzers, Hewl ett-Packard
Appl i cati on Note 1287-2.
Applying Error Correction to Network Analyzer Measurements,
Hewl ett-Packard Appl i cati on Note 1287-3.
Network Analyzer Measurements: Filter and Amplifier Examples,
Hewl ett-Packard Appl i cati on Note 1287-4.
Suggested Reading
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Data Subject to Change
Copyright 1997
Hewlett-Packard Company
Printed in U.S.A. 5/97
5965-7707E