CALIBRATION TYPES & CONSIDERATIONS 03/12/2018

Introduction
One of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Copper Mountain Technologies’ sales and
support departments goes something like this: “What about calibration?”

It’s an unfortunate reality that in the English language, Calibration has two completely distinct definitions.
The first relates to checking out the instrument periodically to make sure it is operating within its
specifications. “Performance test” is the procedure by which the analyzer performance is verified, typically
annually.

The second meaning is to do with Measurement or User calibration, a collection of techniques by which
measurement accuracy is maximized and made to exclude elements of the system from those
measurements (such as cables, adapters and the like).

In this application note, we discuss both meanings of calibration as related to Copper Mountain
Technologies’ Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs). First, we describe Annual Calibration and then later we
discuss measurement calibration.

Meaning 1: Annual Calibration

The objective of verifying performance of test equipment regularly is to ensure measurement performance
is within published specifications. Testing procedures for CMT instruments are well-aligned with established
industry processes. For example, VNA calibration procedures conventionally include measurement of RF
output power, frequency accuracy, harmonic distortion, as well as S-parameter measurement accuracy.

Copper Mountain Technologies recommends a 12-month calibration interval for all VNAs and Automatic
Calibration Modules (ACMs) we produce; however, the actual calibration interval is defined by the end user
organization’s quality policy and can be extended based on the nature of the instruments’ use.

Copper Mountain Technologies’ Calibration Laboratory

Copper Mountain Technologies' Indianapolis-based calibration laboratory is accredited in accordance with

the recognized international standard ISO/IEC 17025 (2005) and meets the requirements of ANSI/NCSL
Z540-1994-1, ISO/IEC 9001:2008. All reference standards and equipment of the laboratory are traceable to
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or international equivalents.
Our calibration certificate and scope, issued by ANSI-ASQ Accreditation Board (ANAB), can be accessed
at anab.org using the accreditation number below.

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Third-Party Laboratories
Should you prefer to perform annual testing yourself, or use a third party, Copper Mountain Technologies'
calibration experts are here to help. Any laboratory with sufficient RF measurement experience and
capability can perform the maintenance needed for annual verification and calibration of our VNAs.

Performance test manuals for many of our instruments can be freely accessed in the Download the
Software section of our website. Please contact us for details about or questions on using these
procedures.

Additionally, a VNA Performance Test (VNAPT) software application is available for third party laboratories
without restriction. Use of VNAPT to execute performance tests is optional, but the software is designed to
automate and streamline VNA performance testing, including generation of test reports automatically.

Copper Mountain Technologies has worked extensively with calibration service providers at many
ISO17025-accredited and Z540-1 compliant calibration labs across the United States and around the world.
A sampling of US laboratories able to calibrate CMT VNAs is included on our website for your convenience.

For locations or laboratories not listed there, please contact us or your local distributor for recommended
calibration options.

Meaning 2: Measurement Calibration

Just as weight measurements with a scale are more accurate just after it's zeroed, or "tared",
measurements with a vector network analyzer are most accurate after it has been newly calibrated. But
here we mean a different thing than in the previous section; measurement calibration is a procedure done
regularly (often daily) to provide measurement offsets and adjustments used by the analyzer to maximize
accuracy.

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 CALIBRATION TYPES & CONSIDERATIONS 03/12/2018

In this chapter, we describe reasons for calibration, as well as the basic principles and processes involved
in calibrating a VNA.

Error sources
At a high level, measurement calibration of the VNA serves two purposes:

1. removing the effects of the "fixture", which includes everything between the VNA port(s) other than
the device under test, and
2. correcting the systematic errors within the analyzer itself.

Of course, if the VNA's imperfections are small compared with the required measurement accuracy, and to
the extent we can ignore effects of the fixture (analogous to an empty container on a scale), it is possible to
forgo calibration for some applications.

However, the gap between typical accuracy requirements and the uncalibrated performance of
commercially-available instruments makes calibration a common first step in the use of any VNA.

Imperfections of the fixture

Measurements performed by an uncalibrated VNA are measurements of everything between its ports,
usually including adapters and cables, and sometimes including amplifiers, PCB traces, probes, or other
components, as well as the Device Under Test (the DUT).

In a perfect world, we could connect the VNA's test port(s) directly to the device under test, eliminating the
fixture completely. However, with the exception of Copper Mountain Technologies' uniquely compact,
patented 1-port reflectometers, this is rarely a possibility.

By calibrating at the interface(s) of the DUT, we mathematically remove the losses and delays of the fixture
from our measurements, so we are left with measurements of the DUT alone.

Imperfections of the VNA

Even in a very well-built VNA, imperfections exist to some degree. For example, the port(s) might not have
exactly the correct input or output impedance (often 50Ω) and phase (0 degrees) at all frequencies.

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 CALIBRATION TYPES & CONSIDERATIONS 03/12/2018

Fortunately, since such imperfections tend to be consistent over time, calibration can determine and
mathematically remove their effects, allowing for measurement accuracies corresponding to a more ideal
instrument.

Calibration standards and definitions

There are many variants of VNA calibration procedure, but they all involve these three basic components:
1. Knowledge of the true response of one or more calibration standards--the "right answer". This is
referred to as a standard's definition.
2. Measurement of these standards with the VNA, via the fixture.
3. Estimating and applying Corrections to eliminate the differences between (1) and (2).

1. Definition of standards

The manufacturer of a given collection, or kit, of standards will provide estimates of its standards' true
responses. The “Short” calibration standard is defined by four coefficients which determine the inductance
to third order accuracy vs. frequency and a fixed delay which represents the time delay between the actual
short circuit and the connector. The “Open” is similarly defined but as a capacitance vs. frequency. The
“Thru” calibration standard is defined merely by its delay from connector to connector. These are provided
to the VNA so it can know what the "right answer" should have been when in the next step, these standards
are measured.

Copper Mountain Technologies' VNA apps include a pre-populated list of kits with their standards'
definitions. If the kit you're using is among those provided, this step simplifies to selecting the name of the
kit being used from this list; otherwise, it's fairly straightforward to create a new kit definition in the software
by entering the coefficients given from the data sheet for the calibration standard being used.

2. Measurement of standards

The most common calibration standard types are the Short, Open, Load, and Thru, and the most common
calibration procedure is accordingly abbreviated as "SOLT" calibration (the "Thru" standard is used for
calibration of transmission measurements, so it's unnecessary when calibrating a 1-port VNA).

Executing the calibration procedure is simply a matter of connecting, one-at-a-time, the various calibration
standards to each port's fixture and running a calibration measurement while each is installed.

For maximum calibration accuracy, it's important to:

• allow the VNA, its fixture, and the standards themselves to acclimate to the ambient temperature
environment,
• use a torque wrench to connect each of the standards, and
• handle the standards with care, and clean them when necessary, as hand oils and dust can have a
significant effect on the measurement results.

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3. Computation of corrections

Once all the standards have been measured, simply click the apply button and the VNA will take care of the
rest!

Conclusion
Now that you understand both meanings of the term “Calibration” in the context of CMT VNAs, we hope
you are able to answer the question originally posed: “What about calibration?”

For long term monitoring of instrument performance, Annual Calibration (or in any case, periodic) is used.
The main goal of this procedure is to find faults or shortcomings with the instrument; to avoid taking
erroneous measurements when accuracy is important. For daily, or measurement calibration, users have a
variety of options in CMT software including SOLT, SOLR, TRL, and Waveguide calibration, and more. All
these techniques rely on measurement of a standard with known properties or known differences to
another standard. Measurement calibration can be done as often as the user desires, or as often as
required to achieve a particular measurement accuracy.

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