Calibration of the Three-Port VNA using the General 6-Term Error Model

Abstract

A general 6-term error model is presented for the calibration of the three-port vector network analyzer (VNA). In the general two-port 6-term error model where port i (i ≤ 3) is the signal source, and other unexcited ports are regarded as a general port. The nodes and coefficients related with the general port are replaced by the complex vectors and square matrixes. With every port connected to the power source, the actual S-parameters of the three-port device can be finally solved from the general 6-term error model. Experiment results of a three-port device attest the good performance of the general 6-term error model.