Frequency Converter Application

Scalar Mixer Calibration

See Hardware setup

Overview

Provides highest Scalar accuracy for measurements of conversion loss/gain.

Optionally measures phase

Combines SOLT and power-meter calibration.

Measurements Offered

Both forward and reverse directions.

DUT can be connected to any VNA ports.

Equipment Required

Power meter and sensor

Common equipment for SMC

• Mechanical cal kit or ECal module

How to make SMC settings

Using Hardkey/SoftTab/Softkey

Using a mouse

1. Press Freq > Main > SMC Setup... .

1. Click Stimulus

2. Select Frequency

3. Select SMC

Sweep Type

Input

LO

Output

Linear

Swept

Swept

Fixed

Swept

Fixed

Swept

Fixed

Swept

Swept

CW Time

Power

Fixed

Fixed

Fixed

Tips

Although you will soon become comfortable navigating these tabs, at first it may be best to complete the dialog in the following order:

1. For 2-stage mixers, select Mixer Setup settings.

2. Select Sweep tab settings.

3. Select Mixer Frequency settings.

4. Select Power settings.

5. Select Mixer (LO) Power settings.

Sweep Tab - SMC dialog box help

Sweep Type

Linear  Sweep frequency. Measurements are displayed on a standard grid with ten equal horizontal divisions.  Learn how to select the range to display on the X-Axis.

CW Time  All ranges are set to a Fixed (CW) frequency, and the data is displayed versus time.

Segment Sweep  Sweep user-defined segments. Learn more.

Power  Sweep Input or LO power.

X-axis Point Spacing (Available only with Segment Sweep) - Learn about this feature

Number of Points  Learn about this feature.

IF Bandwidth  Learn about this feature.

Phase Reference Point (SMC ONLY) Learn about this feature.

Learn about these buttons.

Power Tab - SMC dialog box help

Note: Set LO Power on the Mixer (LO) Power tab.

Configures Input and Output power settings for an FCA measurement. Use the Mixer Power tab to set LO power.

Power ON (All channels)  Check to turn RF Power ON or clear to turn power OFF for all channels.

Port Powers Coupled   Check to set the same power level at the DUT Input and Output ports. The LO power is NOT coupled. Clear to set power levels independently for each test port. Uncouple power, for example, to apply more power in the reverse direction than in the forward direction  Learn more about Setting Independent Port Power

DUT Input / Output Port

Select the VNA port that is connected to the DUT Input and Output. For VMC, the DUT input must always be connected to VNA port 1 because of the need for a reference mixer on port 1.

Power Level  Set the power level to the DUT Input port. To set power at the Output port, clear the Port Powers Coupled checkbox.

Source Attenuator Auto  Check to automatically select the correct attenuation to achieve the specified input power. Clear, then select attenuator setting that is used achieve the specified Power Level. Learn more about Source Attenuation.

All VNA channels in continuous sweep must have the same attenuation value. Learn more.

Receiver Attenuator  Specifies the receiver attenuator setting for the DUT port.

Source Leveling   Choose from: Internal (normal operation), Open Loop (used only for Wideband Pulse measurements), or Receiver - R1 for Receiver Leveling.

DUT Input and Output Port Power Sweep

Available when Power (sweep) is selected on the Sweep tab.

Input Start and Stop Power  To set Start and Stop power at the Output port, clear the Port Powers Coupled checkbox.

Note: If your DUT requires more input power than this setting allows below 3.2 GHz, use the PNA-X Hi-power mode, available from the RF Path Configuration dialog. The disadvantage to this is higher harmonic content.

Power Points  Number of power points to measure.

Power Step (Size)  Calculated value from current Start, Stop, and Points settings. This setting can NOT be changed directly.

Learn about these buttons.

Mixer Frequency tab - SMC Setup -dialog box help

Learn about this dialog

Mixer Setup tab - SMC Setup -dialog box help

Learn about this dialog

Mixer (LO) Power tab - SMC Setup -dialog box help

Learn about this dialog

Mixer Frequency tab - Segment Sweep - SMC dialog box help

How to configure a segment using the GUI:

1. Click Add. Click Delete to remove a segment and renumber all subsequent segments.

2. State is ON by default. Click OFF and that segment will not be included in the sweep.

3. Configure Frequency settings for Input, LO, and Output ranges.

• For each segment, the same sweep requirements apply as a standard (non-segment) sweep. For example, at least one range MUST be Fixed (Start = Stop frequencies).

• The Input, Output, and LO frequencies of segments ARE allowed to overlap other segments.

• All segments must sweep in either the forward (Start<Stop) or reverse (Start>Stop) directions. Mixed sweep directions are NOT allowed.

• The following settings can be set independently for each segment:

• • Number of Points - Total number of points for all segments is limited to the Max allowed by the VNA.

  • IF Bandwidth

  • Port Powers: (Input, Output, LO 1, LO2). These settings override the settings on the Power tab.

• The following settings apply to ALL segments:

• • Number of Converter/Mixer Stages (1 or 2).

  • LO Source Selections

  • All Input and LO Multipliers and Dividers

  • Source and Receiver Attenuator Settings

  • Source Leveling

  • Nominal Incident Power (SMC only)

  • X-Axis Display (Input, LO1, LO2, Output) There must be at least two data points for this setting to be available.

  • X-Axis Point Spacing (vs Normal point spacing).

  • SMC + Phase

• Mixer Segment sweep data can be saved to a *.S2PX file (NOT *.S2P).

• Mixer Segment setup information is saved to a *.MXRX or *.CSV file. Learn more.

How to add multiple segments using the GUI and Excel *.csv file:

Start with the GUI to set up mixer settings and to create the first segment then save it as a *.csv file. The *.csv file will then be opened in Excel and the additional segments will be entered. Learn more.

1. Click Add.

2. State is ON by default. Click OFF and that segment will not be included in the sweep.

3. Configure Frequency settings for Input, LO, and Output ranges.

4. Click on the Save... button.

5. Select CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) to save the settings and first segment to a *.csv file.

6. Open the *.csv file in Excel.
   
   

7. Highlight the segment row then copy it.

8. Paste the copied segment row to add the desired number of segments into the Excel file.

9. Modify the settings for each added segment as necessary. The following is an example showing 3 segments:
   
   

10. Save the *.csv file.

11. In the GUI, load this *.csv file.
    
    

Learn about these buttons

Measurement Type

p1

p2

p3

p4

Scalar

S11

SC21 (FWD)

SC12 (REV)

S22