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CN-121995118-A - Vector network analyzer frequency expander, system and measuring method

CN121995118ACN 121995118 ACN121995118 ACN 121995118ACN-121995118-A

Abstract

The invention relates to a frequency expander, a system and a measuring method of a vector network analyzer, which comprise an ultra-wideband switch, a first double directional coupler and a high frequency spread spectrum module, wherein the ultra-wideband switch is provided with a control port, a public port, a first channel port and a second channel port, the input end of the first double directional coupler is used for receiving a first low-frequency-band radio frequency signal from a host computer of the vector network analyzer, the through end of the first double directional coupler is connected to the first channel port of the switch, the input end of the high frequency spread spectrum module is used for receiving a second low-frequency-band radio frequency signal from the host computer of the vector network analyzer, and the output end of the high frequency spread spectrum module is connected to the second channel port of the ultra-wideband switch. The frequency expander disclosed by the invention realizes broadband coverage of 10MHz to 110GHz by integrating the 67-110GHz spread spectrum module and the 10MHz-110GHz switch, so that a network analyzer host can support S parameter test in an ultra-wide frequency range, and the test frequency range and application scene are obviously expanded.

Inventors

  • NAN JIANJUN
  • JIANG LUYING
  • ZHANG WEI

Assignees

  • 苏州伏波电子科技有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20260204

Claims (9)

  1. 1. A vector network analyzer frequency extender, comprising: An ultra wideband switch (3) having a control port, a common port, a first channel port and a second channel port, said control port being controlled by a test controller, said common port being a test port of said frequency extender; A first bi-directional coupler (1) having an input for receiving a first low-band radio frequency signal (RF 1 ) from a host computer of the vector network analyzer and a pass-through terminal connected to a first channel port of the switch; A high-frequency spread spectrum module (2) with an input end for receiving a second low-frequency radio frequency signal (RF 2 ) from a vector network analyzer host, and an output end connected to a second channel port of the ultra-wideband switch (3); the ultra-wideband switch (3) is configured to enable a control port to be used for signal gating, sequentially switch a low-frequency band signal of a first channel port and a high-frequency band signal of a second channel port to a common port for output in a transmitting path, and sequentially guide signals received by the common port to the first channel port and the second channel port in a receiving path.
  2. 2. A vector network analyzer frequency extender as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the frequency switching point of said ultra wideband switch (3) coincides with the maximum native output frequency of said vector network analyzer main unit, said low frequency band covers the continuous frequency band from the lowest frequency of said vector network analyzer main unit to said frequency switching point, and said high frequency band covers the continuous frequency band from said frequency switching point to the maximum extension frequency of said high frequency spreading module (2).
  3. 3. A vector network analyzer frequency extender as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said high frequency spreading module (2) comprises: The transmitting link is used for carrying out frequency multiplication processing on the input second low-frequency-band radio frequency signal (RF 2 ) to generate a high-frequency-band excitation signal, and at least comprises a first frequency multiplier (4) and an isolator (5) which are connected in sequence; a built-in second bidirectional coupler (6) coupled to the output end of the transmitting link for extracting the high frequency incident signal inputted to the device under test and the high frequency reflected signal from the device under test; And the at least one mixing receiving link is used for receiving the signal extracted by the built-in second bidirectional coupler (6), mixing the signal with a high-frequency local oscillation signal (LO), and outputting a reference intermediate frequency signal (Ref.IF) and a measurement intermediate frequency signal (Mea.IF) after down-conversion.
  4. 4. A vector network analyzer frequency expander as claimed in claim 3, wherein said high frequency spreading module further comprises a local oscillator power divider (7) and two-way mixing reception links; The local oscillator power divider (7) is used for dividing one path of high-frequency local oscillator signals (LO) into two paths; The first mixer (9) is used for mixing the local oscillation signal after frequency multiplication with an incident signal extracted by the second bidirectional coupler (6) and outputting a reference intermediate frequency signal (Ref.IF); The other path of mixing receiving link is used as a measuring channel and comprises a third frequency multiplier (10), a second frequency mixer (11) and an intermediate frequency power amplifier (12) which are sequentially connected, wherein the second frequency mixer (11) is used for mixing the local oscillation signal after frequency multiplication with the reflection or transmission signal extracted by the second bidirectional coupler (6) and outputting a measuring intermediate frequency signal (Mea.IF).
  5. 5. A vector network analyzer frequency expander according to claim 4 and wherein said power amplifier (12) in series after the second mixer (11) in the mixed receive chain of said measurement channel is a gain-adjustable power amplifier.
  6. 6. A vector network analyser frequency expander as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said first bi-directional coupler (1) connected to a first channel port of said ultra-wideband switch (3) has a coupling port which outputs a reference signal (ref.) for characterising incident wave energy and a measurement signal (Mea.) for characterising reflected wave or transmitted wave energy, respectively.
  7. 7. A vector network analyzer frequency extender as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said ultra wideband switch (3), first bi-directional coupler (1) and high frequency spread spectrum module (2) are integrally packaged in a unified shielded enclosure.
  8. 8. A vector network analyzer frequency expansion system, comprising: A vector network analyzer host for generating a first low-frequency radio frequency signal (RF 1 ) and a second low-frequency radio frequency signal (RF 2 ); A frequency expander as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a first input port is connected to said vector network analyzer host for receiving said first low frequency band radio frequency signal (RF 1 ) and a second input port is connected to said vector network analyzer host for receiving said second low frequency band radio frequency signal (RF 2 ); The test port of the frequency expander is used for outputting a continuous frequency spectrum excitation signal covering from the lower limit frequency of the first low-frequency-band radio frequency signal (RF 1 ) to the upper limit frequency of the expanded high-frequency band to the tested device and receiving a full-frequency-band response signal from the tested device; and the vector network analyzer host calculates and obtains the S parameter of the tested device in the ultra-wideband according to the low-frequency band signal and the down-converted high-frequency band signal in the response signal.
  9. 9. A method for continuous sweep measurement of a frequency expander as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising the steps of, in order: Step 1, a host computer of the vector network analyzer generates a continuous sweep frequency signal covering a primary frequency band of the host computer as a first low-frequency band radio frequency signal (RF 1 ), and simultaneously generates a single-frequency point or a narrow-band sweep frequency signal as a second low-frequency band radio frequency signal (RF 2 ); step 2, a first low-frequency-band radio frequency signal (RF 1 ) is processed by a first double directional coupler (1) and a first channel of an ultra-wideband switch (3) in the expander, and a second low-frequency-band radio frequency signal (RF 2 ) is processed by a second channel of the ultra-wideband switch (3) and up-converted by a high-frequency spread spectrum module (2) in the expander; Step 3, the ultra-wideband switch (3) can generate a continuous frequency spectrum excitation signal covering a low-frequency starting point to a high-frequency cut-off point by switching two paths of channels, and the continuous frequency spectrum excitation signal is applied to a tested device through a test port; Step 4, a response signal from the tested device enters the ultra-wideband switch (3) from the test port, and is sequentially led into the first channel port and the second channel port through the switch control end; Step 5, sampling the low-frequency response signal through the first double directional coupler (1) to obtain a reference signal (Ref.) and a measurement signal (Mea.) and directly returning the reference signal (Ref.) and the measurement signal (Mea.) to the vector network analyzer host; and 6, sequentially processing two paths of received signals by the vector network analyzer host computer, and calculating and synthesizing an S parameter curve of the tested device in the whole ultra-wideband.

Description

Vector network analyzer frequency expander, system and measuring method Technical Field The invention relates to the technical field of microwave and radio frequency engineering, in particular to a vector network analyzer frequency expander, a vector network analyzer frequency expander system and a vector network analyzer frequency measuring method. Background The vector network analyzer is a core test instrument for measuring electromagnetic wave energy characteristics, and can not only measure amplitude information of network parameters (such as S parameters) but also accurately measure phase information thereof. The basic working principle is that a precise signal source is arranged in the device to be tested, and the device to be tested is excited by frequency scanning of a frequency band. In single port measurements, the vector network analyzer can accurately characterize the impedance or reflection characteristics of the device under test, such as return loss, by measuring the amplitude and phase of the signal reflected from the port, and in dual port and above measurements, it can also fully evaluate transmission characteristics, such as insertion loss, gain and phase delay. Therefore, the vector network analyzer has become an indispensable tool in the research, development, manufacture and maintenance of components, circuits and systems in the fields of radio frequency, microwave and millimeter wave. Currently, with the rapid development of wireless communication, radar, aerospace and semiconductor technologies, the working frequency of a device to be tested is continuously expanded to millimeter wave or even terahertz wave bands, and the device to be tested has higher and higher requirements on the testing frequency range of a vector network analyzer. In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present inventors have actively studied and innovated to create a frequency expander, a system and a measuring method for a vector network analyzer, which make the vector network analyzer have more industrial utility value. Disclosure of Invention In order to solve the technical problems, the invention aims to provide a vector network analyzer frequency expander, a vector network analyzer frequency expander system and a vector network analyzer frequency measuring method. In order to achieve the above purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: One of the objects of the present invention is: a vector network analyzer frequency extender comprising: An ultra wideband switch having a control port, a common port, a first channel port and a second channel port, the control port being controlled by the test controller, the common port being a test port of the frequency expander; the input end of the first double directional coupler is used for receiving a first low-frequency-band radio frequency signal from a vector network analyzer host, and the through end of the first double directional coupler is connected to a first channel port of the switch; the input end of the high-frequency spread spectrum module is used for receiving a second low-frequency band radio frequency signal from the vector network analyzer host, and the output end of the high-frequency spread spectrum module is connected to a second channel port of the ultra-wideband switch; the ultra-wideband switch is configured to switch the low-frequency band signal of the first channel port and the high-frequency band signal of the second channel port to the common port in sequence in a transmitting path for signal gating, and to guide the signals received by the common port to the first channel port and the second channel port in sequence in a receiving path. As a further improvement of the invention, the frequency switching point of the ultra-wideband switch is consistent with the maximum primary output frequency of the vector network analyzer host, the low frequency band covers the continuous frequency band from the lowest frequency of the vector network analyzer host to the frequency switching point, and the high frequency band covers the continuous frequency band from the frequency switching point to the maximum expansion frequency of the high-frequency expansion module. The ultra-wideband switch has the advantages of remarkably improving the full-band insertion loss flatness and the high-frequency isolation degree by adopting the topology of combining a distributed compensation circuit and a multi-stage isolation structure in an extremely wideband of 10MHz-100GHz, and simultaneously combining a three-dimensional heterogeneous integrated packaging and low-power-consumption latch driving technology, realizing chip-level miniaturization and simultaneously taking into consideration high power capacity, high switching speed and low static power consumption. As a further improvement of the present invention, the high-frequency spread module includes: The transmitting link is used for carrying out frequency multiplication processing on t