Guest Column: VNA Applications

By Bob Buxton, Anritsu Company

VNAs are used to characterize a wide range of devices, ranging from 2-port passive devices such as filters to complex subsystems consisting of a combination of passive and active components. Moreover, the device under test (DUT) can vary from a connectorized and packaged format to on-wafer, even to raw materials and free-space antenna measurements. Today's modern VNAs have developed over time to address the wide and growing range of applications that extend from aerospace/defense and astronomy to high-speed serial data and homeland security.