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Useful links and other resources

Vector Network Analyzers are complex instruments which means just reading the instruction manual will not tell you sufficient information about on how to use them. Here are listed several resources you may find useful, as they are all related to some aspect of vector network analyzers.:

Application notes

The best single source of application notes related to vector network analyzers is those from HP/Agilent/Keysight, though there are other useful application notes from Maury Microwave, Anritsu, Rohde & Schwarz etc. He is a partial list of the most useful application notes. In some cases we have local copies of these, as external sites move files, creating broken links. For example, many links to Agilent were broken when the test equipment division was renamed to Keysight. So to avoid this, we have local copies. You may be able to find later copies elsewhere.

HP/Agilent/Keysight

  1. Understanding the Fundamental Principles of Vector Network Analysis.
  2. 10 Hints for Making Better Network Analyzer Measurements. Application Note 1291-1B
  3. Specifying Calibration Standards for the Agilent 8510 Network Analyzer. Application note 8510-5B. Despite the fact the 8510 series are obsolete, this application note is very informative. There is a later Keysight version - see the next item.
  4. Specifying Calibration Standards and kits for Keysight Vector Network Analyzers. This is a more recent version of the above application note.
  5. Time Domain Analysis Using a Network Analyzer Application Note 1287-12
  6. Simplified Filter Tuning Using Time Domain (Agilent version) Application Note AN 1287-8
  7. Simplified Filter Tuning Using Time Domain (Keysight version) Application Note AN 1287-8
  8. Network Analysis Solutions Advanced Filter Tuning Using Time Domain Transforms Application Note 5980-2785EN
  9. Understanding and Improving Network Analyzer Dynamic Range. Application Note 1363-1. Describes two quite common, but different ways of defining dynamic range. One is the system dynamic range, the other the receiver dynamic range.
  10. Improving Throughput in Network Analyzer Applications. AN 1287-5
  11. Applying Error Correction to Network Analyzer Measurements Application Note AN 1287-3
  12. Network Analysis Applying the 8510 TRL Calibration for Non-Coaxial Measurements. Product Note 8510-8A
  13. Calibration Kit Definitions

Anritsu

  1. Vector Network Analyzer Primer.

Rohde & Schwarz

  1. T-Check Accuracy Test for Vector Network Analyzers utilizing a Tee-junction
  2. Frequently Asked Questions about Vector Network Analyzer ZVR. Application Note 1EZ38_3E. This application note covers the ZVR ZVRE & ZVRL products.

Books

I would also recommend the book Handbook of Microwave Component Measurements: with Advanced VNA Techniques by Dr. Joel Dunsmore, who works for Keysight on the development of VNAs.

Book by Dr. Joel Dunsmore on VNAs

Ph.D. theses

  1. Dunsmore, Joel Phillip., The time-domain response of coupled-resonator filters with applications to tuning, PhD Thesis, University of Leeds, 2004.

Scientific papers

  1. Radiation from the Open End of a Coaxial Cable
  2. Maricevic, Z.A.; Sarkar, T.K.; Hua, Y.; Djordjevic, A.R.; Time-domain measurements with the Hewlett-Packard network analyzer HP 8510 using the matrix pencil method Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on , vol.39, no.3, pp.538-547, Mar 1991.
  3. Dunsmore J.; Tuning band pass filters in the time domain Microwave Symposium Digest, 1999 IEEE MTT-S International, vol.3, no., pp.1351-1354 vol.3, 1999

Standards

  1. Touchstone® File Format Specification Rev 1.1 (Draft)
  2. Touchstone® File Format Specification Rev 2.0

Applications for VNAs and similar instruments

Dielectric Measurements

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