Highly Integrated 4–32-GHz Two-Port Vector Network Analyzers for Instrumentation and Biomedical Applications

Nehring J, Schütz M, Dietz M, Nasr I, Aufinger K, Weigel R, Kissinger D (2017)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Review article

Publication year: 2017

Journal

IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Book Volume: 65

Pages Range: 229-244

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1109/tmtt.2016.2616873

Abstract

This paper addresses the miniaturization of microwave vector network analyzers (VNAs) and the future vision of the VNA on a chip. Therefore, a highly integrated two-port VNA with a multioctave bandwidth from 4 to 32 GHz is presented. The proposed system is based on a fully integrated radio-frequency frontend consisting of a two-port stimulus, a four-channel heterodyne receiver, and a wideband testset. The testset is comprised of on-chip multisection directional couplers. The chip is operated inside a hardware demonstrator using a 16-term calibration procedure. The measurement of arbitrary devices under test is in excellent agreement with commercial measurement equipment and showed a mean deviation from the reference measurement of 0.17 dB and 1.29° regarding the forward transmission of a coaxial 30-dB attenuator. The system and receiver dynamic ranges are 44-77 and 82-101 dB at a resolution bandwidth of 100 kHz over the full system bandwidth. The measurements are highly repeatable and are robust against drift over time. As a proof of concept, the developed integrated network analyzers are utilized in a biomedical sensing scenario with an external and an on-chip sensor. Both approaches showed good sensitivity regarding the mixture ratio of binary solutions of ethanol and methanol.

Authors with CRIS profile

Johannes Nehring Lehrstuhl für Technische Elektronik Martin Schütz Lehrstuhl für Hochfrequenztechnik Marco Dietz Lehrstuhl für Technische Elektronik Robert Weigel Lehrstuhl für Technische Elektronik

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Berlin DE Germany (DE) Infineon Technologies AG DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Nehring, J., Schütz, M., Dietz, M., Nasr, I., Aufinger, K., Weigel, R., & Kissinger, D. (2017). Highly Integrated 4–32-GHz Two-Port Vector Network Analyzers for Instrumentation and Biomedical Applications. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 65(1), 229-244. https://doi.org/10.1109/tmtt.2016.2616873

MLA:

Nehring, Johannes, et al. "Highly Integrated 4–32-GHz Two-Port Vector Network Analyzers for Instrumentation and Biomedical Applications." IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65.1 (2017): 229-244.

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