Anritsu has introduced a vector network analyzer (VNA) capable of measuring from 70 kHz to 220 GHz in a single sweep.

Anritsu says the VectorStar™ ME7838G is the industry’s first VNA capable of sweeping across this wide a frequency range, enabling engineers to more accurately and efficiently characterize broadband devices, develop accurate device models and improve simulations — leading to fewer design turns.

The VectorStar VNA system incorporates Anritsu’s nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) mmWave modules. The innovative design allows the 220 GHz probe to connect directly to the mmWave module for accurate and stable on-wafer measurements, avoiding the limits of coaxial connectors at sub-THz frequencies.

By providing single sweep capability, the 220 GHz ME7838G avoids the need to reconstruct the wafer probe station above 110 GHz to conform to the higher frequency waveguide bands. This capability enables engineers to measure circuits on the same wafer without transferring from a coaxial microwave VNA to a coaxial or waveguide mmWave VNA.

The broadband system reduces measurement time for the entire wafer, improves measurement accuracy by eliminating waveguide concatenation and delivers a more affordable wafer probe station by reducing the number of VNA reconfigurations.

The ME7838G addresses the development of new applications that reach into the upper mmWave frequencies, which require accurate device characterization. The VectorStar system provides confidence in the characterization data and modeling, from near DC to well beyond the operating frequency of most devices.

Read about the design of the VNA in this article published in the October 2019 issue of Microwave Journal.