An Automatic Calibration Method for Vector Receiver Load Pull Systems

This paper proposes a Short-Open-Load-Thru calibration method for a Vector Receiver Load-Pull system which takes advantage of the mechanical tuners’ accuracy and repeatability to implement the calibration standards. As only one connection is required, uncertainties due to connection repeatability are eliminated. In the proposed method, the primary source of error is the tuner repeatability, which is better than -50 dB. By using the tuners as calibration standards we also propose to extend the SOLT calibration method to a Least Mean Squares based calibration without adding extra complexity. This method uses several impedances to improve calibration accuracy over a wide range of loads. Finally, the method is validated and compared with a standard SOLT.