Four-Port Single-Sweep VNA Serves D- and G-Band Apps

Oct. 23, 2023

Anritsu’s differential vector network analyzer, which can cover from 70 kHz to 220 GHz in a single sweep, is useful for applications such as device modeling and characterization for the D- and G-band.

Alix Paultre

Related To: Microwaves & RF

This article is part of the TechXchange: Vector Network Analyzers.

Anritsu's VectorStar ME7838x4 broadband vector-network-analyzer (VNA) systems provide four-port measurements. According to the company, they offer better calibration stability and better measurement stability with significantly longer time between calibrations.

The ME7838G4 leverages the MA25400A mmWave module, which implements Anritsu's Nonlinear Transmission Line technology for measurements up to 220 GHz. Its Spectrum Analyzer option is presented as the first single-sweep spectrum analyzer that covers frequency ranges from 70 kHz to 220 GHz using mmWave modules; it's available on all baseband VectorStar models. The Spectrum Analyzer option performs spectral domain measurements of quantities such as harmonics, spurs, distortion products, and general frequency content.

VectorStar is presented as the only VNA platform capable of measuring noise figure from 70 kHz to 125 GHz. It comes with an optimized noise receiver for measurements from 30 to 125 GHz, with a differential noise figure option for characterizing the noise figure of differential devices. For broadband applications, the ME7838 Series covers from 70 kHz to 110, 125, and 145 GHz in a single coaxial test port.

Alix Paultre | Editor-at-Large, Microwaves & RF

Alix is Editor-at-Large for Microwaves & RF.

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the U.S. military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications, most recently as Editor-in-Chief of Power Systems Design.

Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.