TRL Calibration Method Simplified With Analytical Calculations

Analytical Calculations for TRL Calibration | 2019-03-07 | Microwave J... https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/print/31910-analytical-calcul...
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Analytical Calculations for TRL Calibration

Kassem Hamze1,2, Edouard De Ledinghen1, Daniel Pasquet2 and Philippe Descamps2; Normandie
Universite1, Presto Engineering Europe2
March 13, 2019
The well known TRL calibration method eliminates measurement errors at the input and output of a device
under test (DUT). It uses a matrix formalism, which is not easy to realize in experimental software. In this
article, we provide the analytical version of this calculation which may be easier to implement.
Vector network analyzers (VNA) are calibrated at their own reference planes, which are generally different
from the DUT reference planes. In the case of S-parameter measurements using VNAs, the DUT is measured
through connecting devices, such as cables and connectors that introduce measurement errors due to phase
shifts, losses and mismatches (see Figure 1). The true behavior of the DUT is obtained when these errors are
removed through calibration. Various calibration methods - such as short, open, load, thru (SOLT); thru,
reflect, line (TRL); and thru, reflect, match (TRM) - are used to determine the error terms. Most require
accurate standards. The TRL calibration, however, does not rely on perfectly known standards.1-4
Figure 1 Calibration model comprises the DUT with input and output
transitions to the VNA reference planes.
TRL CALIBRATION
The S-parameters of the DUT are represented by the signal flow

graph shown in Figure 2a. The measured S-parameters of the
DUT, including measurement errors, are represented by the signal
flow graph shown in Figure 2b. The S-parameters of the error
terms, represented by the error boxes shown in Figure 1, are
determined as follows.
In the forward direction, three ratios are measured:
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Figure 2 S-parameter flow graph for

the DUT (a). The DUT with the eight-
term error model (b).
In the reverse direction, three more ratios are measured:
The resulting S-parameters are
CALIBRATION STEPS
Sij are the DUT parameters and eij describe the error terms. A limited number of values for the standards
must be known in advance. This is called the “calibration kit.”
The thru standard fixes the reference planes of the DUT, obtained when the DUT reference planes coincide.
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The line standard is generally an actual line with ∣X∣ close to unity, although it can be any passive reciprocal
symmetrical two port.5 Then, the reference impedance corresponds to the characteristic impedance of this
two port. The phase of X used in the calibration kit must be known within 90 degrees.
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Generally ∣ΓB∣ is close to unity. The phase of the reflection coefficient must be the same on both ports. If it is
not, the references planes must be shifted until phase equality is found. The phase of ΓBin the calibration kit
must be known within 90 degrees.
CALCULATIONS
From Equations 6 and 10 and 9 and 13:
If
we obtain two expressions for α:
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That gives a second degree equation in X:
There are two solutions for this equation, and both values for ∣X∣ are close to unity for a line with small
losses, making it difficult to choose the right solution. It is safer to choose ∣α∣ << 1.
From Equations 5 and 9, the directivity (e00 and e33) is the ratio of the leakage of the incident signal to the
reflected signal:
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From Equations 14 and 6:
From Equations 15 and 9:
So
The port mismatch (e22 and e11) is
All the following results correspond to transmission elements. They only need to be known by their products.
Transmission tracking:
Reflection tracking:
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DE-EMBEDDING TO EXTRACT THE DUT
Sij corresponds to the extracted behavior of the DUT alone. The de-embedding technique described below
extracts the parameters of the DUT by eliminating the embedded system of errors.
With representing the S-parameters of the measured DUT between the VNA reference planes,
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VALIDATION
A 4 to 8 GHz amplifier with 10 dB nominal gain was used as a

DUT and measured with a VNA to validate the TRL calibration
method and efficiency (see Figure 3). Figure 4a shows the
magnitude of the DUT’s transmission coefficient, ∣S21∣, and Figure Figure 3 VNA (a) and Smith chart
display of S11 (b).
4b shows its phase. The traces correspond to S21 measured without
calibration, S21 measured using the calibration algorithm internal
to the VNA and S21 calculated using the method described in this article, showing virtually no difference
between the two calibration methods. Figure 4c shows S11 plotted on the Smith chart; the two traces
represent measurements using the VNA’s built-in calibration and the calculated values using the method
described in the article. All the curves show coincidence between the analytically calculated values of S11
and S21 and those determined by the VNA’s internal calibration algorithm.
Figure 4 |S21| (a), ∠S21 (b) and S11 (c) measurements using the internal VNA and
calculated TRL calibrations.
CONCLUSION
Analytic calculations associated with the well-known TRL calibration method reduce calculation complexity
compared with the classical matrix formalism.3 This approach can be extended for further measurement
configurations, particularly for differential inputs and outputs.6-7
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References
1. G. Antonini, A. C. Scogna and A. Orlandi, “De-Embedding Procedure Based on Computed/Measured

Data Set for PCB Structures Characterization,” IEEE Transactions on Advanced Packaging, Vol. 27,
No. 4, November 2004, pp. 597–602.
2. C. J. Ong, A. Tripathi, D. Miller and L. Tsang, “De-Embedding a Device Under Test (DUT) Using
‘Thru’ Measurements,” Electrical Performance of Electronic Packaging, October 2003.
3. H. J. Eul and B. Schiek, “Thru-Match-Reflect: One Result of a Rigorous Theory for De-Embedding
and Network Analyzer Calibration,” 18th European Microwave Conference, September 1988.
4. G. F. Engen and C. A. Hoer, “Thru-Reflect-Line: An Improved Technique for Calibrating the Dual Six-
Port Automatic Network Analyzer,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 27,
No. 12, December 1979, pp. 987–993.
5. J. A. Reynoso-Hernandez, M. A. Pulido-Gaytan, A. Zarate-de Landa, J. E. Zuniga-Juarez, J. R.
Monjardin-Lopez, A. Garcia-Osorio, D. Orozco-Navarro, J. R. Loo-Yau and M. C. Maya-Sanchez,
“Using Lines of Arbitrary Impedance as Standards on the TRL Calibration Technique,” 81st ARFTG
Microwave Measurement Conference, June 2013.
6. A. Ferrero and U. Pisani, “Two-Port Network Analyzer Calibration Using an Unknown Thru,” IEEE
Microwave and Guided Wave Letters, Vol. 2, No. 12, December 1992, pp. 505–507.
7. B. Hofmann and S. Kolb, “A Multistandard Method of Network Analyzer Self-Calibration
Generalization of Multiline TRL,” IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 66,
No. 1, January 2018, pp. 245–254.
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TRL Calibration Method Simplified With Analytical Calculations

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Analytical Calculations for TRL Calibration | 2019-03-07 | Microwave J... https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/print/31910-analytical-calcul...

Analytical Calculations for TRL Calibration

The S-parameters of the DUT are represented by the signal flow

In the forward direction, three ratios are measured:

Figure 2 S-parameter flow graph for

In the reverse direction, three more ratios are measured:

The resulting S-parameters are

From Equations 6 and 10 and 9 and 13:

we obtain two expressions for α:

That gives a second degree equation in X:

From Equations 14 and 6:

From Equations 15 and 9:

The port mismatch (e22 and e11) is

DE-EMBEDDING TO EXTRACT THE DUT

A 4 to 8 GHz amplifier with 10 dB nominal gain was used as a

1. G. Antonini, A. C. Scogna and A. Orlandi, “De-Embedding Procedure Based on Computed/Measured

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