Atec Agilent-8510C User Manual

Agilent 8510C

Network Analyzer

Data Sheet

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45 MHz to 110 GHz

Contents

Page

System performance characteristics . . . . . . . . .3

Major Agilent Technologies 8510 Network
Analyzer Systems

8510E, Option 005, 45 MHz to 20 GHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

8510SX, 45 MHz to 26.5 GHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

85107B Option 005, 45 MHz to 50 GHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

85107B Option 005 & 007, 45 MHz to 50 GHz . . . . . . . .7

85106D millimeter-wave systems,

33 GHz to 110 GHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

8510XF, E7340A Option 005,

45 MHz to 85 GHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

8510XF, E7350A Option 005,

45 MHz to 110 GHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

85108A pulsed-RF system, 2 GHz to 20 GHz . . . . . . . .12

85108L pulsed-RF system, 45 MHz to 2 GHz . . . . . . . .12

8511A, 8511B frequency converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Accuracy considerations

when using RAMP sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

8510C network analyzer capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

8510 System software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

S-Parameter test sets, with common options . . . . . .22

8510C Accessories

(calibration kits, verification kits, and cables) . . . . . . . .23

Excellence in
Network Analysis

The 8510C vector network analyzer continues
to provide the best performance to meet your new design
and test challenges. With unmatched accuracy and
convenience, the 8510C vector network analyzer makes
broadband measurements from 45 MHz to 50 GHz in 2.4
mm coax, from 45 MHz to 110 GHz in 1.0 mm coax and
from 33 GHz to 110 GHz in waveguide bands.

The 8510C network analyzer measures the magnitude,
phase, and group delay of two-port networks to character­ize their linear behavior. Optionally, the 8510C
network analyzer is also capable of displaying a network’s
time domain response to an impulse or a step waveform
by computing the inverse Fourier transform of the
frequency domain response.

The 8510C family of systems is modular. Choose the
source(s), S-parameter test set(s), and test accessories to
meet your measurement applications. This data sheet
presents performance specifications for most standard
8510 network analyzer systems. To acquire specifications
for system configurations not covered in this data sheet,
refer to the 8510 Specifications and Performance
Verification Software (part number 08510-10033) which
is shipped with all 8510C network analyzers, test sets, and
calibration kits.

2

3

System performance characteristics

This data sheet offers two types of performance numbers
to describe the merit of any measurement system:
specifications and supplemental characteristics.

Specifications describe the instrument’s warranted
performance over the temperature range of 23 ˚C ± 3 ˚C.

Supplemental characteristics are typical but non-war­ranted performance parameters. These are denoted as
“typical,” “nominal,” or “approximate.”

To specify the performance of an 8510 system, the data
sheet lists each system’s dynamic range, measurement
uncertainty and measurement port characteristics. The
glossary below explains the major terms used in the
System Performance section of this data sheet.

DYNAMIC RANGE has two descriptions: receiver
dynamic range and system dynamic range. In either case,
the noise floor (which affects P

min

as defined below) is
measured with full two-port error-correction and 1024
averages.

System dynamic range = P

ref–Pmin

, where P

ref

is the
nominal or reference power out of port 1 with maximum
power delivered from the source and P

min

is the minimum
power into port 2 that can be measured above the peaks of
the system’s noise floor (10 dB above the average noise
floor). System dynamic range is the amount of attenuation
that can be measured from a 0 dB reference.

Receiver dynamic range = P

max–Pmin

, where P

max

is

the maximum power that can be input to port 2 before

0.1 dB compression of the test set and P

min

is the mini­mum power into port 2 that can be measured above the
peaks of the system’s noise floor (10 dB above the aver­age noise floor). Receiver dynamic range is the system’s
full usable dynamic range if the system is considered a
receiver. An active device, such as an amplifier, may be
required to realize the receiver dynamic range.

Calibration is the process of measuring standards which
have fully defined models (and are thus called “known”
standards) in order to quantify a network analyzer’s
systematic errors based on an error model.

Calibration must be performed within the operating tem­perature specified for the calibration kit. For all calibra­tion kits the operating temperature is 23˚ C ±3˚ C. For a
calibration to remain fully verifiable, the temperature of
the network analyzer must remain within ±1˚ C around the
initial measurement calibration temperature.

Error correction is the process of mathematically
removing from the measurement those systematic errors
determined by calibration.

MEASUREMENT UNCERTAINTY curves show the
worst case uncertainty in reflection and transmission
measurements using full two-port error correction with a
specified calibration kit. This includes residual systematic
errors, as well as system dynamic accuracy, connector
repeatability, noise and detector errors. Cable stability and
system drift are not included. All measurements assume
step sweep mode with 1024 averages unless otherwise
specified.

Furthermore, the graphs for reflection measurement
uncertainty apply to a one-port device. The graphs for
transmission measurement uncertainty assume a well­matched device (S

11

= S22= 0). In the phase uncertainty
curves, the phase detector accuracy is better than 0.02
degrees, useful for measurements where only phase
changes.

Using the 8510 specification and performance verification
software, uncertainty curves can be calculated for non­idealized devices, and specifications can be edited
for custom setups.

MEASUREMENT PORT CHARACTERISTICS indi­cate the RF performance of test set port leakages, mis­matches, and frequency response. The specification for
the test set’s crosstalk does not include noise.

“Raw” port characteristics refer to the test set’s intrinsic,
uncorrected performance. “Residual” port characteris­tics give the test set’s performance after error correction.

4

Agilent 8510E-005

45 MHz to 20 GHz

The following specifications describe the system
performance for the 8510C network analyzer in the
8510E-005 (replaces 85052D fixed loads with 85052B
sliding loads calibration kit) configuration. The system
hardware includes the following:

Test set: 8514B S-parameter test set
RF source: 83621B synthesized sweeper
Calibration kit: 85052B 3.5mm calibration kit
Calibration technique: Full two-port calibration with

sliding loads.

Dynamic range (for transmission measurements)

Frequency range (GHz)

0.045–2 2–8 8–20

Maximum power

measured at port 2 +20 dBm +11 dBm +10 dBm

Reference power

at port 1 (nominal) +2 dBm –2 dBm –6 dBm

Minimum power

measured at port 2 –66 dBm –95 dBm –95 dBm

Receiver dynamic range 86 dB 106 dB 105 dB
System dynamic range 68 dB 93 dB 89 dB

Measurement uncertainty

Frequency range (GHz)

RESIDUAL 0.045–2 2–8 8–20
Directivity 48 dB 44 dB 44 dB

Source match 40 dB 33 dB 31 dB
Load match 48 dB 44 dB 44 dB
Reflection tracking ±0.003 dB ±0.003 dB ±0.006 dB
Transmission tracking ±0.017 dB ±0.044 dB ±0.084 dB
Crosstalk 89 dB 115 dB 110 dB

Frequency range (GHz)

RAW (Typical) 0.045–2 2–8 8–20
Directivity 23 dB 23 dB 14 dB

Source match 17 dB 15 dB 11 dB
Load match 17 dB 15 dB 11 dB

Reflection measurements

Transmission measurements

System dynamic range

Magnitude Phase

Magnitude Phase

System performance

5

Agilent 8510SX

45 MHz to 26.5 GHz

The following specifications describe the system perfor­mance for the 8510C network analyzer with the 8510SX
configuration. The system hardware includes the following:

Test set: 8515A S-parameter test set
RF source: 83631B synthesized sweeper
Calibration kit: 85052C 3.5mm precision

calibration kit

Calibration technique: TRL two-port calibration

Dynamic range (for transmission measurements)

Frequency range (GHz)

0.045–2 2–8 8–20 20–26.5

Maximum power

measured at port 2 +2 dBm +3 dBm +3 dBm –1 dBm

Reference power

at port 1 (nominal) –5 dBm –9 dBm –14 dBm –25 dBm

Minimum power

measured at port 2 –98 dBm –98 dBm –100 dBm –99 dBm

Receiver dynamic range 100 dB 101 dB 103 dB 98 dB
System dynamic range 93 dB 89 dB 86 dB 74 dB

Measurement uncertainty

Measurement
port character-

istics

Frequency range (GHz)

RESIDUAL 0.045–2 2–8 8–20 20–26.5
Directivity 48 dB 50 dB 50 dB 50 dB

Source match 40 dB 50 dB 50 dB 50 dB
Load match 48 dB 50 dB 50 dB 50 dB
Reflection tracking ±0.003 dB ±0 dB ±0 dB ±0 dB
Transmission tracking ±0.009 dB ±0.004 dB ±0.009 dB ±0.01 dB
Crosstalk 114 dB 111 dB 106 dB 95 dB

Frequency range (GHz)

RAW (Typical) 0.045–2 2–8 8–20 20–26.5
Directivity 24 dB 24 dB 28 dB 27 dB

Source match 23 dB 23 dB 16 dB 14 dB
Load match 23 dB 23 dB 16 dB 14 dB

Reflection measurements

Transmission measurements

System dynamic range

Magnitude Phase

Magnitude Phase

Agilent 85107B-005

45 MHz to 50 GHz

The following specifications describe the system
performance for the 8510C network analyzer in
the 85107B-005 (adds step attenuators and bias tees to
the 8517B test set) configuration for 50 GHz measure­ments. The system hardware includes the
following:

Test set: 8517B S-parameter test set
RF source: 83651B synthesized sweeper
Calibration kit: 85056A 2.4mm calibration kit
Calibration technique: Full two-port calibration with

sliding loads

Dynamic range (for transmission measurements)

Frequency range (GHz)

0.045–2 2–20 20–40 40–50

Maximum power

measured at port 2 +17 dBm +8 dBm +4 dBm –3 dBm

Reference power

at port 1 (nominal) +1 dBm –8 dBm –19 dBm –30 dBm

Minimum power

measured at port 2 –76 dBm –97 dBm –91 dBm –90 dBm

Receiver dynamic range 93 dB 105 dB 95 dB 87 dB
System dynamic range 77 dB 89 dB 72 dB 60 dB

Measurement uncertainty

Reflection measurements

Measurement port characteristics

Frequency range (GHz)

RESIDUAL 0.045–2 2–20 20–40 40–50
Directivity 42 dB 42 dB 38 dB 36 dB

Source match 41 dB 38 dB 33 dB 31 dB
Load match 42 dB 42 dB 38 dB 36 dB
Reflection tracking ±0.001 dB ±0.008 dB ±0.02 dB ±0.027 dB
Transmission tracking ±0.014 dB ±0.043 dB ±0.110 dB ±0.137 dB
Crosstalk 99 dB 110 dB 93 dB 81 dB

Frequency range (GHz)

RAW (Typical) 0.045–2 2–20 20–40 40–50
Directivity 22 dB 18 dB 18 dB 18 dB

Source match 20 dB 12 dB 9 dB 9 dB
Load match 20 dB 12 dB 9 dB 9 dB

Magnitude Phase

Magnitude Phase

System dynamic range

6

7

Agilent 85107B-005, 007

45 MHz to 50 GHz

The following specifications describe the system
performance for the 8510C network analyzer in the
85107B-005 (adds step attenuators and bias tees to the
8517B test set) and 85107B-007 (adds high power and
high dynamic range to the 8517B test set) configuration
for 50 GHz measurements. Specifications not shown are
the same as those given for the 85107B-005. The system
hardware includes the following:

Test set: 8517B-027, 8517B-003 S-parameter test set
RF source: 83651B synthesized sweeper
Calibration kit: 85056A 2.4mm calibration kit
Calibration technique: Full two-port calibration with

sliding loads

Measurement uncertainty

Transmission measurements

Agilent 85106D

33 GHz to 110 GHz

The following specifications describe the system
performance for the 8510C network analyzer in the
85106D configuration for measurements from 33 to
110 GHz in four waveguide bands. For complete
specifications, refer to the 85106D system data sheet.
The system hardware includes the following:

Test set (two each): 85104A series millimeter-wave test
set modules

RF sources (two): 83621B synthesized sweepers
Calibration kit: 11644A series waveguide

calibration kit

Calibration technique: TRL two-port calibration

Dynamic range (for transmission measurements)

Frequency range (GHz)

0.045–2 2–20 20–40 40–50

Maximum power

measured at port 2 +17 dBm +13 dBm +6 dBm –4 dBm

Reference power

at port 1 (nominal) +5 dBm +2 dBm –5 dBm –16 dBm

Minimum power

measured at port 2 –71 dBm –92 dBm –89 dBm –91 dBm

Receiver dynamic range 88 dB 105 dB 95 dB 87 dB
System dynamic range 76 dB 94 dB 84 dB 75 dB

Dynamic range (for transmission measurements)

Frequency range (GHz)
33–50 40–60 50–75 75–110

Maximum power

measured at port 2 +12 dBm +10 dBm +10 dBm 0 dBm

Reference power

at port 1 (nominal) 0 dBm 0 dBm 0 dBm –3 dBm

Minimum power

measured at port 2 –87 dBm –87 dBm –75 dBm –79 dBm

Receiver dynamic range 99 dB 97 dB 85 dB 79 dB
System dynamic range 87 dB 87 dB 75 dB 76 dB

System dynamic range

System dynamic range

8

Agilent 8510XF system performance
E7340A-005 (45 MHz to 85 GHz)

The following specifications describe the system performance of the 8510XF system in the E7340A-005
configuration, from 0.045 GHz to 85 GHz. The following system configuration was used to generate the specifi­cations:

Test set: E7342A-005, millimeter controller and two test heads, 45 MHz to 85 GHz
RF sources: 83621B and 83651B synthesized sweepers (one each)
Calibration kit: 85059A 1.0 mm precision calibration/verification kit
Calibration techniques: SOLT to 50 GHz, and offset-shorts from 50 to 85 GHz

Dynamic range (for transmission measurements)

Frequency range (GHz)

0.045 - 2 2 - 18 18 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 65 65 - 75 75 - 85

Maximum power (in)

measured at port 2 0 dBm 0 dBm +10 dBm +10 dBm –3 dBm –3 dBm –3 dBm

Reference power (out)

at port 1 (nominal) 0 dBm 0 dBm –12 dBm –12 dBm –3 dBm –3 dBm –10 dBm

Minimum power (in)

measured at port 2 –74 dBm –104 dBm –84 dBm –84 dBm –80 dBm –80 dBm –70 dBm

Receiver dynamic range 74 dB 104 dB 94 dB 94 dB 77 dB 77 dB 67 dB
System dynamic range 74 dB 104 dB 72 dB 72 dB 77 dB 77 dB 60 dB

Measurement port characteristics

Frequency range (GHz)

RESIDUAL 0.045 - 2 2 - 18 18 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 65 65 - 75 75 - 85
Directivity 30 dB 30 dB 26 dB 24 dB 28 dB 28 dB 28 dB
Source match 27 dB 27 dB 23 dB 21 dB 28 dB 28 dB 28 dB
Load match 27 dB 27 dB 23 dB 21 dB 28 dB 28 dB 28 dB
Reflection tracking ±0.10 dB ±0.10 dB ±0.20 dB ±0.25 dB ±0.30 dB ±0.30 dB ±0.30 dB
Transmission tracking ±0.273 dB ±0.273 dB ±0.429 dB ±0.669 dB ±0.322 dB ±0.340 dB ±0.360 dB

Frequency range (GHz)

RAW (Typical) 0.045 - 2 2 - 18 18 - 40 40 - 50 50 - 65 65 - 75 75 - 85
Directivity 20 dB 20 dB 15 dB 15 dB 13 dB 10 dB 10 dB
Source match 20 dB 20 dB 15 dB 15 dB 13 dB 12 dB 12 dB
Load match 11 dB 11 dB 10 dB 10 dB 10 dB 10 dB 10 dB

9

Reflection measurements

Transmission measurements

Magnitude Phase

Magnitude Phase

Magnitude Phase

Magnitude Phase

Measurement uncertainty