Comparison of calibrated S-parameters measured under CW and Pulsed RF excitation with a NonLinear Vectorial Network Analyzer

A nonlinear pulsed rf network analysis setup is proposed based on the nonlinear vectorial network analyzer (NVNA) hardware. Using a phase coherent carrier-modulation setup, simultaneous measurement of carrier and envelope is possible. To show the measurement quality of the setup, a comparison is made between pulsed rf NVNA and continuous wave linear vectorial network analyzer (VNA) measurements of the S-parameters of a filter. Next, the nonlinear pulsed rf operation is illustrated on the pulsed measurement of an amplifier in the 900MHz range.