Noise measurements allow the determination of the four Noise Parameters of a device (transistor). Focus’ Noise Modules integrate well with various third party noise receivers.

Noise Parameters: These are four numbers that fully describe the noise behaviour of an active or passive device (twoport) at a given frequency. For practical reasons we use the following quantities as Noise Parameters:

Focus’ noise parameter extraction routines leverage the PNA-X’s unique implementation
of the cold-source noise figure measurement technique. This specific technique requires a noise source to determine the kBG (gain-bandwidth constant) of the system and a passive mechanical tuner is used to characterize the noise receiver across both the impedance and frequency space. This step is imperative to obtain fully vector-source-corrected measurements.

A RF down conversion stage might be required if the frequency of noise measured exceeds the receiver’s bandwidth. Focus offers noise modules which support down conversion for optimal speed and performance.

Three Noise Modules; Noise Controller, Output Module, and Input Module

Noise Modules

* with Downconverter
** +/-10%

Noise Parameters

Noise Circles & Stability Regions

Noise Parameters: Minimum Noise Figure / Rn / Gamma Opt / Phase of Gamma Opt

Typical Noise Setup