Large-Signal Network Analysis. Overview of the measurement capabilities of a Large-Signal Network Analyzer

This article explains the rationale of performing "large-signal network analysis" and the basic concepts involved. The focus is on the measurement technology required to perform fully calibrated measurements on nonlinear devices in a versatile environment (different bias, source and load mismatch conditions, continuous wave or modulation). Furthermore this technology is compared to existing approaches. Finally a readily available measurement system is described, which represents the latest developments from Agilent Technologies in the domain of large-signal network analysis.