Guest Column
The Rise Of VNAs
How vector network analyzers help shape today's microwave/RF designs
By Bob Buxton, Anritsu Company
The vector network analyzer (VNA) has been around for many years. For much of that time, it has been considered complicated and expensive. However, with today's high-frequency complex designs, the microwave VNA may be perhaps the single most important measurement tool in the RF/microwave industry.
Why? Because a microwave VNA is a precise, multichannel measurement system capable of measuring minute differences of amplitude and phase over multi-octave frequency ranges. That is the reason VNAs are used to verify so many designs, from Bluetooth devices, cellular telephones, and wireless local area networks (WLANs) to high-speed serial interconnects, military electronic warfare (EW), electronic countermeasures (ECM), and radar systems. This introductory article will be followed by others that will cover various aspects of VNAs in more detail.
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