A Sub-6 GHz Switching System for Simultaneous Use of 2-Port Network Analyzer by 4 Users

Abstract

A vector network analyzer (VNA) is an expensive and essential device for measuring the scattering coefficients of RF devices in the research and development of microwave systems. However, these VNAs are limited in that they can be only used by one user. To address this limitation, this paper presents a switching system that allows multiple users to measure each device under test using a single VNA at the same time. In particular, a four-user switching system is developed in this study. It is important to calibrate the differences between each channel that inevitably arise during implementation. For calibration, we propose and implement a technique for de-embedding the uneven characteristics between these channels. Its performance is validated by measuring insertion loss, reflection loss, and isolation for the developed switching system.