Test and Reference Receiver Calibration

The receiver calibration feature improves the accuracy of the individual receivers by compensating for the frequency response of each receiver. This feature is typically used when performing raw receiver measurements, or unratioed measurements, to achieve accurate absolute power levels. The test receiver designation refers to the B₁ and B₂ receivers, and the reference receiver designation refers to the A₁ and A₂ receivers, as shown in the full S-parameter test set with dual sources diagram.

Test receiver calibration can be viewed as moving the power reference plane of the B₁ or B₂ receiver from within the vector network analyzer to the calibrated power reference plane at the device under test (DUT) connection or at the end of the cable, where the absolute power is accurately known. Performing a reference receiver calibration results in an A₁ or A₂ receiver that reads back the known absolute power level obtained from an applied source power calibration. Therefore, the receiver displays the known input power to the DUT, which could be useful for amplifier compression measurements. If you have not completed a source power calibration, the power accuracy depends on the device factory calibration.

Note  Test and reference receiver calibration is compatible with only the NI 5632.