Evaluation Engineering - 12

VECTOR NETWORK ANALYZERS

Sponsored by

Pico Technology
PicoVNA 106
6-GHz vector
network analyzer.

Control provides extensive access into
the configuration of the sources and
receivers.
"The vast application coverage of network analyzers can intimidate new users, but we organize our user interface
to give experts the functionality they
expect while keeping the fundamentals
accessible to beginners," said Campbell at
Keysight. "For basic measurements, users
can press the 'New Trace' button and easily adjust all of the relevant parameters
in one pop-up. For advanced measurements on the PNA family, beginners can
follow the Device Measurement eXpert
(DMX) assistant tool to configure and
optimize complex measurements. These
enhancements for beginners do not interrupt traditional workflows that experts
may prefer."
"Ease of use was of key importance in
the design of the R&S ZNA platform," said
Pieciak. "A DUT-centric test approach
was incorporated to allow for straightforward parameter entry depending on
the measurement task at hand, with two
independent touchscreens providing convenient access to the pertinent setup and
measurements menus."

EVALUATION ENGINEERING JANUARY 2020

Pemmaiah at Copper Mountain Technologies described VNAs
as complex instruments due to the
versatility they provide. "With the addition of new features and methods, the
complexity only increases," he said. "In
addition to providing webinars and tutorials, Copper Mountain Technologies
also offers plugins to help users with a
quick and easy way to perform specific
types of measurements."
According to Denker, "MegiQ products
focus on the measurements and the results, not merely on the equipment. Our
goal is to provide an out-of-the-box measuring solution for wireless developers.
Our VNA-Sandbox with tutorial makes
it easy to get started with VNA measurements, and it provides a starting point for
wireless product development. MegiQ offers a UFL and balanced toolkit for small
applications."
"There is a balance when it comes to
creating a user interface (UI) that pleases
both new and experienced users," said
Chonko. "SIGLENTs approach has been
to put standard measurement functions
where they traditionally have been but
to add shortcut buttons or menu items
that make it easier to perform tasks that
are often repeated. Touchscreen, mouse/
keyboard support, and a web control interface that exactly copies the front panel
UI also aid in minimizing the learning
curve." He added, "We are also constantly

building videos and other content to help
guide customers in proper instrumentation usage."
Sandler at Picotest takes exception to
the claim that VNAs are difficult to use.
"This sentiment is at least 10 years behind
the times," he said. "Take a look at the latest Bode 100 VNA software. It is incredibly
easy to use. Fully wizard-driven, it eases
the test setup and the data analysis by
both describing the test setup and walking the user through the measurement
setup. Everything is software-driven on
one screen. This is not the HP3577. Gone
are the days when Bode, Nyquist, Nichols,
or impedance plots were challenging to
obtain, interpret, and publish. Now look
at today's oscilloscopes. They are far more
complicated."
Sandler continued, "Having said that, I
think much of the hard-to-use issue was
wrapped up in the 'hard to interpret' box.
Engineers are still not taught S-parameter
theory or network-analyzer usage in
schools. Introductions to the VNA at the
college level is sorely lacking. It is not clear
why, given there are many low-cost solutions, and the importance of impedance
measurement is critical to designing all
types of circuits."
REFERENCE

1. "9 GHz VNA Used in MammoWave Breast
Cancer Detection System," Case Study, Copper
Mountain Technologies.

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Evaluation Engineering

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