A n-state time-domain measurement test-bench for characterization of intermodulation distortion on device level

A flexible nonlinear measurement system is presented for the investigation of intermodulation distortion (IMD) on device level at Ka-band frequencies. The setup is unique in the way that a passive load-pull tuner embedded inside a full two-port test-set is combined with a hybrid receiver to one fully automated test system. The calibration problem of the resulting n-state test-set is formulated with a generalized 4-port error model, for the first time. The hybrid receiver is composed of a virtual 4 channel time-domain sampling oscilloscope and a spectrum analyzer. As an application, we show various two-tone sweep-scenarios applied to our GaAs HEMTs targeting high power applications at Ka-band frequencies.

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