MICROWAVE MEASUREMENTS

By
Jaiverdhan
3.1 Transmission line
characteristics
Transmission Line- In
the microwave frequency region,
power is considered to be in electric and
magnetic fields that are guided from place to
place by some physical structure. Any physical
structure that will guide an electromagnetic wave
place to place.

Transmission lines are distributed devices.

RLCG type models are commonly used to
approximate the distributed behavior of a
transmission line.
RLCG Model for Single
Transmission Line

The single
transmission line
shown below can be
modeled by a
network consisting of
a series resistance
and inductance with
parallel capacitance
and conductance.
•R Resistive loss of the conductor (transmission line
trace). Determined by the conductance of the metal,
width, height, and length of the conductor.
•L Inductive part of the circuit resulting from the layout
of the conductors.
•C Capacitive part of the circuit resulting from the layout
of the conductors. Determined by the permittivity and
thickness of the board material and the area of the
conductor.
•G Shunt loss of the dielectric. Determined by the layout
of the conductors, permittivity, loss tangent and thickness
of the board material.
General Characteristics of Transmission
Line
⚫ Propagation delay per unit length (T0) {
time/distance} [ps/in] Or Velocity (v0)
{distance/ time} [in/ps]
⚫ Characteristic Impedance (Z0)
⚫ Per-unit-length Capacitance (C0) [pf/in]
⚫ Per-unit-length Inductance (L0) [nf/in]
⚫ Per-unit-length (Series) Resistance (R0) [W/in]
⚫ Per-unit-length (Parallel) Conductance (G0)
[S/in]
Transmission Line Equations
Propagation equation

α is the attenuation (loss) factor

β is the phase (velocity) factor
Characteristic Impedance
equation
Characteristics of transmission line

A: Terminated in Zo

Zs
−
Vs
Zo Zo ρ = Zo Zo = 0
Zo + Zo

B: Short Circuit

Zs
Zo 0 − Zo
Vs ρ= = −1
- +
0 Zo

C: Open Circuit
Zs ∞ − Zo
Ρ= =1
Vs
∞ + Zo
The Reflection and Transmission
Losses
• When the resistive load termination is not equal to the
characteristic impedance, part of the power is reflected
back and the remainder is absorbed by the load
• . The amount of voltage reflected back is called voltage
reflection coefficient.

Γ = Vi/Vr The reflection coefficient is

also given by :
where Vi is incident Γ = (ZL - ZO)/(ZL + ZO)
voltage and vr is
reflected voltage.
 VOLTAGE STANDING WAVE RATIO (VSWR)

• A standing wave is formed by • Voltage Standing Wave Ratio:

the addition of incident and
reflected waves and has nodal
points that remain stationary
with time.
VSWR = Vmax/Vmin
Voltage standing wave • The maximum impedance of the
ratio expressed in line is given by:
decibels; • Zmax = Vmax/Imin

• The minimum impedance of the line

SWR (dB) = is given by:
20log10VSWR • Zmin = Vmin/Imax

or alternatively:
• Zmin = Zo/VSWR
• Relationship between VSWR and Reflection Coefficient:

VSWR = (1 + | Γ |)/(1 - | Γ |)

Γ = (VSWR – 1)/(VSWR + 1)
TYPES OF MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF EQUIPMENTS
MEASUREMENT
Wavemeter s (absorption, transmission or reaction).
Slotted lines.
FREQUENCY-DOMAIN
Spectrum analyzer, frequency sweepers and
frequency counters.
Sampling oscilloscope.
DISPLAY OF
TIME-DOMAIN Oscilloscope.

Slotted lines ( direct method or double minimum

VSWR
method)
Power meters.
Detectors with oscilloscopes.
POWER
Spectrum analyzers.

WAVELENGTH Coaxial and waveguide slotted lines

NOISE Noise meters.
Network analyzer – multifunctional test equipment.
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF INSTRUMENT IN
MICROWAVE TESTING.

MICROWAVE
SOURCE

POWER VSWR
METER INDICATOR

ISOLATOR

WAVEMET DIRECTIONAL SLOTTED LINE TUNER TERMINATOR

ATTENUATOR ER COUPLER
FUNCTION OF EACH BLOCK

MICROWAVE SOURCE – generates microwave source in X-band (8

– 12 GHz);
e.g klystron, magnetron or TWT

ISOLATOR /CIRCULATOR - Allow wave to travel through in one

direction while being attenuated in the other direction or it is
use to eliminate the unwanted generator frequency pulling
(changing the frequency of the generator) due to system
mismatch or discontinuity. (to prevent reflected energy from
reaching the source)
❖ATTENUATOR - Control the amount of power level in a fixed
amount, variable amount or in a series of fixed steps from
the from the microwave source to the wavemeter.

❖WAVEMETER - Used to select / measure resonant cavity

frequencies by having a plunger move in and out of the
cavity thus causes the the cavity to resonate at different
frequencies.
•
❖DIRECTIONAL COUPLER - Samples part of the power
travelling through the main waveguide and allows part of its
energy to feed to a secondary output port. Ideally it is used to
separate the incident and reflected wave in a transmission
line.
•
❖SLOTTED LINE - Used to determine the field strength through
the use of a detector probe that slides along the top of the
waveguide.
•VSWR INDICATOR - Denotes the value of VSWR measured
by the slotted line.

⚫ TUNER - Allows only the desired frequency to appear at the

output. Any harmonic frequencies that appear at the output are
reduced to an acceptable level.

⚫ TERMINATOR - May range from a simple resistive

termination to some sort of deep-space antenna array, active
repeater or similar devices. 3 special cases of transmission line
i.e short circuit, open circuit, match impedance.
TUNABLE DETECTOR:
❖The low frequency square-wave modulated microwave signal
is detected using non-reciprocal detector diode mounted in
the microwave transmission line.

❖These diodes are specially designed point contact or metal-

semi conductor Schottky barrier diodes. To match the detector
to the transmission system a tunable stub is used as shown in
Fig.1.

❖Broadband detectors are also manufactured in coaxial form.

In order to pick up propagating fields, a coaxial line tunable
probe detector is used.

18
Fig.1 (a) Tunable waveguide detector (b) Coaxial detector (c) Tunable probe
detector
 SLOTTED-LINE CARRIAGE :
❖A slotted-line carriage (Fig.2) contains a coaxial E field probe which penetrates
inside a rectangular waveguide slotted section or a coaxial slotted line section
from the outer wall and is able to traverse a longitudinal narrow slot.

❖The longitudinal slot is cut along the centre of the waveguides broad wall or
along the outer conductor of the coaxial line over a length of 2–3 wavelengths
where the electric current on the wall does not have any transverse component.

❖The slot should be narrow enough to avoid any distortion in the original field
inside the waveguide. The two ends of the slot is tapered to zero width for
reducing the effect of discontinuity.

❖The probe is made to move longitudinally at a constant small depth to achieve a

uniform coupling coefficient between the electric field inside the line and the
probe current at all positions. The probe samples the electric field which is
proportional to the probe voltage. This unit is primarily used for the
determination of locations of voltage standing wave maxima and minima along
the line.
 ❖ The probe carriage contains a stub tunable coaxial probe detector to obtain a low
frequency modulating signal output to a scope or VSWR meter. The probe should
be very thin compared to the wavelength and the depth also should be small
enough to avoid any field distortion.

Fig. 2 (a) Slo ed-line carriage and schema c diagram (b) Cross sec on of a coaxial
slo ed line(c) Cross sec on of rectangular waveguide slo ed line (d) Longitudinal
slot and electric wall currents
❖ The slotted line with tunable probe detector is used to measure
1. VSWR and standing wave pattern
2. Wavelength
3. Impedance, reflection coefficient and return loss measurements by the
minima shift method.

VSWR METER

❖A VSWR meter is a sensitive high-gain, high Q, low-noise voltage

amplifier tuned normally at a fixed frequency of 1 kHz at which the
microwave signal is modulated.

❖The input to the VSWR meter is the detected signal output of the
microwave detector and the output of the amplifier is measured with a
square- law-calibrated voltmeter which directly gives the VSWR
reading Vmax/Vmin for an input of Vmin, after the meter is adjusted to
unity VSWR for an input corresponding to Vmax as shown in Fig. 3.
❖There are three scales on the VSWR meter.
When the VSWR is between 1 and 4, reading can be taken from the
top SWR NORMAL scale.
For VSWR between 3.2 and 10, bottom of SWR NORMAL scale is
used.
When the VSWR is less than 1.3, a more accurate reading can be
taken by selecting the EXPANDED scale, graduated from 1 to 1.3.
The third scale at the bottom is graduated in dB.

Fig. 3 VSWR meter (Courtesy: Hewle Packard)

REFLECTION COEFFICIENT

REFLECTION
VSWR,
COEFFICIENT, LOAD, ZL REMARK
σ
ρ
Due to phase reversal i.e
short circuit, change of phase thus the
ρ = -1 σ=0
ZL = 0; incident and reflected wave
will be cancelled.
Total refelection occurs
open circuit ,
ρ=1 σ = ∞ because the 2 waves are in
ZL = ∞
phase.
Matching
No reflection occurs only have
ρ=0 load, ZL = σ = 1
incident wave.
Z0
STUB MATCHING
•When a line is ‘matched’ the reflection coefficient ρ = 0
and so the standing wave ratio, S = 1. Most system are
therefore designed to work with S as near to 1 as possible.

•A value of S > 1, represent mismatched and end to loss of

power at the receiving end. In other cases it may caused a
voltage breakdown as in high power radar system or
distortion in tv.

•It it therefore necessary to match a line. Matching in the

case of two wire lines, may be done by using one or more
stub and is called ‘stub matching’ or by the use of quarter
wave transformer.
 POWER MEASUREMENT
❖ Power is defined as the quantity of energy dissipated or stored per
unit time.
❖ Methods of measurement of power depend on the frequency of
operation, levels of power and whether the power is continuous or
pulsed.
❖ The range of microwave power is divided into three categories :-
i. Low power ( < 10mW @ 0dBm)
ii. Medium power ( from 10 mW - 10 W @ 0 – 40 dBm)
iii. High power ( > 10 W @ 40 dBm)
• The microwave power meter consists of a power sensor, which
converts the microwave power to heat energy.

❖ The sensors used for power measurements are the Schottky barrier
diode, bolometer and the thermocouple.
SCHOTTKY BARRIER DIODE

❖A zero-biased Schottky Barrier Diode is used as a square-law

detector whose output is proportional to the input power.
❖The diode detectors can be used to measure power levels as
low as 70dBm.
BOLOMETERS
❖A Bolometer is a power sensor whose resistance changes with
temperature as it absorbs microwave power.

❖Bolometer are power detectors that operate on thermal

principles. Since the temperature of the resistance is dependent
on the signal power absorbed, the resistance must also be in
proportion to the signal power.

❖The two most common types of bolometer are, the barretter

and the thermistor. Both are sensitive power detectors and is
used to indicate microwatts of power. They are used with bridge
circuits to convert resistance to power using a meter or other
indicating devices.
BOLOMETER
 BARETTERS

❖Baretters are usually thin pieces of wire such as platinum. They

are mounted as terminating devices in a section of transmission
line. The section of transmission line with the mounting
structure is called a detector mount.

❖The increase of temperature of the baretter due to the power

absorbed from the signal in the line causes the temperature of
the device to increase.

❖The temperature coefficient of the device causes the resistance

to change in value in proportion to the change in temperature of
the device (positive temperature coefficient i.e the resistance
increases with increasing temperature; R α t).
BARETTER
THERMISTOR

❖Thermistor are beads of semiconductor material that are

mounted across the line.

❖They have a negative temperature coefficient i.e the

resistance decreases with increasing temperature; R α 1/ t.

❖The impedance of baretters and thermistors must match

that of the transmission so that all power is absorbed by the
device.
Thermistor mount
❖ Variations in resistance due to thermal-sensing devices must
be converted to a reading on an indicating device such as a
meter. This can be done accurately using a balanced bridge
arrangement as shown below:-

DC VOLTAGE
R1

DETECTORS
❖With no power to the detector that contains the sensor
element, the sensor-line R1 is adjusted to zero reading through
the meter M1 and the bridge circuit is balanced.

❖When signal is applied to the sensor element, causing its

temperature to change, the sensor resistance changes, causing
the bridge to become unbalanced.

❖Resistor R1 is adjusted to balance meter M1. The change in the

reading of meter M2 in the sensor element leg is a direct
measure of the microwave power.
 THERMOCOUPLES

❖Thermocouples are used as power monitors in the low-to-medium

power regions and are very sensitve.

❖It is a thin wire made of two disimilar metals. Hence there will be
two junctions (hot & cold).
•
❖When the temperature at two junctions are different, a voltage is
developed across the thermocouple (i.e across both junctions).
This developed voltage is proportional to the difference between
the two junction temperatures.

❖When the temperature at both junctions are the same, the

difference in voltage = 0.
Thermocouple
MICROWAVE CRYSTALS

❖ Microwave Crystals are non-linear detectors that provide

current in proportion to the power. It is limited to making
low-power measurements.

❖The current is proportional to the power due to the square-law

characteristic of the crystal. This square-law characteristic only
occurs for small signal levels.

❖At larger signal levels the relationship is linear, as with any diode.
Therefore the proportional relationship between power and
current output is only true at power levels below 10mW.
Microwave Crystal
CALORIMETERS
❖ The calorimeters are the most accurate of all instruments for
measuring high power. Calorimeters depend on the complete
conversion of the input electromagnetic energy into heat.

❖Direct heating requires the measurement of the heating effect on

the medium, or load, terminating the line.
❖Indirect heating requires the measurement of the heating effect on
a medium or body other than the original power-absorbing material.

❖Power measurement with true calorimeter methods is based solely

on temperature, mass, and time. Substitution methods use a known,
low-frequency power to produce the same physical effect as an
unknown of power being measured.

❖Calorimeters are classified as STATIC (non flow) types and

CIRCULATING (flow) types.
CALORIMETER
SPECTRUM ANALYZER:
❖A spectrum analyzer is a broadband superhet receiver which provides a
plot of amplitude versus frequency of the received signal, i.e., the signal
spectrum as explained in Fig. 4.

❖The local oscillator is electronically swept back and forth between two
frequency limits at a linear rate. The sweep voltage waveform is saw
tooth type with zero flyback time to move the spot on the CRT
horizontally in synchronism with the frequency sweep so that the
horizontal position is a function of the frequency of the local oscillator.

❖The basic design considerations for proper operation are

1. Frequency sweep rate
2. Frequency sweep range
3. Bandwidth of IF amplifier
4. Centre frequency of IF amplifier

❖ For highest resolution, the bandwidth should be kept minimum and

consequently sweep speed should be very low in order to allow time
to build up the voltage in the receiver circuit.
❖ The range of frequencies to be covered should be as small as possible. The IF
frequency should be chosen high enough to avoid the image response. If fi is
image frequency, f0 is local oscillator frequency, fif is IF frequency and fs is
signal frequency, then
fi = f0 ± fif = fs ± 2f if ……………………………
1
is the frequency that beats with the LO frequency and produces a frequency
difference equal to the IF. Thus,
fif = fs – f0; fs > f0 ……………………………..2

= f0 – fs ; fs < f0 …………………………..3

Fig. 4 Basic block diagram of a spectrum analyzer

 NETWORK ANALYZER

❖The use of the slotted line for microwave measurements has the disadvantage
that the amplitude and phase measurements are limited to single frequencies.
Therefore, broadband testing is very time consuming and manpower cost is very
high.
❖ A network analyzer measures both amplitude and phase of a signal over a wide
frequency range within a reasonable time. The basic measurements involve an
accurate reference signal which must be generated with respect to which the test
signal amplitude and phase are measured. A schematic block diagram of a
complex network analyzer is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig.5 Schematic block diagram of a complex network analyzer

❖The microwave signal from a sweep oscillator is first divided by means of a
power divider into test signal and a reference signal channel. The test signal is
transmitted through the device under test, while the reference signal passes
through a phase equalizing length of line.

❖The output signals from the harmonic frequency converter are compared to
determine the amplitude and phase of the test signal as shown in Fig.6. This
allows swept frequency measurements.
❖ The frequency conversion takes place in two steps. The first mixer converts RF
to a fixed IF in the MHz range and then after amplification they are further
converted to another fixed IF in the kHz range by means of second mixer for
the final amplitude and phase comparison.

Fig.6 Schema c block diagram of the harmonic frequency converter

VSWR MEASUREMENTS:

❖VSWR and the magnitude of voltage reflection coefficient G are very

important parameters which determine the degree of impedance
matching. These parameters are also used for the measurement of load
impedance by the slotted line method as shown in Fig.7.

❖When a load ZL π Z0 is connected to a transmission line, standing waves

are produced. By inserting a slotted line system in the line, standing
waves can be traced by moving the carriage with a tunable probe
detector along the line.

❖VSWR can be measured by detecting Vmax and Vmin in the VSWR

meter:
S = Vmax/Vmin.
Fig.7 Sloted-line method of VSWR measurement: (a) Basic experimental setup (b) Slant pa ttern due
to mechanical slope error (c) Flat minimum position due to imperfect square wave modulaing
signal
 IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENT
Since impedance is a complex quantity, both amplitude and phase of the test
signal are required to be measured.
Slotted-Line Method
The complex impedance ZL of a load can be measured by measuring the phase
angle fL of the complex reflection coefficient GL from the distance of first voltage
standing wave minimum dmin and the magnitude of the same from the VSWR, S.
The following relations are important for the computation of ZL.
❖steps for Impendence measurement are summarized as follows.
1. Measure the load VSWR to find rL from Eq.
2. Measure the distance d between two successive voltage minima to
find g = 2 d and b = 2p/lg.
3. Measure the distance dmin of the first voltage minimum from the load
plane towards generator in the following manner.
❖Since it may not be possible to reach the first dmin by the probe close to
the load directly using slotted line, an equivalent load reference plane on
the slotted line is established by means of a short circuit at the load
reference plane where a voltage minimum now occurs.
❖Since a series of minima are produced on the slotted line at intervals of
lg/2, the load reference plane can be shifted to a convenient minimum
position near the centre of the slotted line as shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 Determina on of dmin

 MICROWAVE ANTENNA MEASUREMENTS
❖The most important parameters required to be measured to determine the
performance characteristics of microwave antennas are radiation amplitude
patterns, radiation phase patterns, absolute gain, directivity, radiation
efficiency, beam width, input impedance, bandwidth and polarizations. The
accurate measurement methods for these parameters require standard
antenna test ranges.

❖There are two basic antenna test ranges used for antenna measurements.
These are indoor and outdoor test ranges. Usual indoor test range is an
anechoic chamber which consists of a rectangular volume enclosed by
microwave absorber walls. These walls reduce reflections from the boundary
walls and increases the measurement accuracy. Microwave absorbers are
carbon impregnated polyurethane foam in the shape of pyramids.

Outdoor Antenna Test Range

The most popular microwave antenna test range is the free space outdoor
range in which the antennas are mounted on tall towers as shown in fig.9.
Fig. 9 Outdoor antenna test range
 Radiation Pattern Measurements
❖ The radiation pattern is a representation of the radiation characteristics
of the antenna as a function of elevation angle θ and azimuthal angle Φ
for a constant radial distance and frequency.

❖The three-dimensional pattern is decomposed into two orthogonal

two-dimensional patterns in E and H field planes where the Z-axis is the
line joining the transmitting and receiving antennas and perpendicular to
the radiating apertures.

❖Initially, two antennas are aligned in the line of their maximum radiation
direction by adjusting the angle and height by the controller and antenna
mast. Effects of all surroundings are removed or suppressed through
increased directivity and low side lobes of the source antenna, clearance
of LOS, and absorption of energy reaching the range surface.
 Phase Measurement
❖The phase of the radiated field is a relative quantity and is measured with
respect to a reference as shown in Fig. 10.

❖ This reference is provided either by coupling a fraction of the transmitted

signal to the reference channel of the receiver or by receiving the
transmitted signal with a fixed antenna placed near the test antenna.

❖The fixed antenna output is fed to the reference channel of the receiver and
the phase pattern is recorded as the antenna under test is rotated in the
horizontal plane.

Fig. 10 Phase pattern measurement set-up

Polarization Measurements
The polarization of an antenna is conveniently measured by using it in the
transmitting mode and probing the polarization by a dipole antenna in the
plane that contains the direction of the electric field as shown in Fig. 11 The
dipole is rotated in the plane of polarization and the received voltage pattern is
recorded and analyzed as follows.
❑ Linear Polarization For linear polarization, the output voltage pattern will be
a figure of eight.
❑ Circular Polarization For circular polarization, the output voltage pattern
will be a circle.
❑ Elliptical Polarization For an elliptical polarization, the nulls of the figure of
eight are filled and a dumb-bell polarization curve is obtained which will be
tilted and a polarization ellipse can be drawn as shown by dashed curve in
Fig. 12. The sense of rotation of the circular and elliptical polarizations can be
determined by comparing the responses of two circularly polarized antenna,
one left and the other rightwise rotation. The polarization of the test antenna
will be the same as that of one of these two directions for which the response
is larger.
Fig. 11 Polarization measurements

Fig. 12. Polarization patterns

56