These can be saved or exported in various graphic and tabular formats including Touchstone. The PicoVNA 106 is supplied with Microsoft Windows-compatible software to support a full range of plot formats for a scalar or vector view of dual or single-port parameters. Both of these use a port power sweep at each test frequency, with both measurements extracted using second-order interpolation. The PicoVNA 106’s software two utilities address gain compression (P1dB) and AM to PM. The product also includes bias-Ts for the convenient injection of a bias or test stimulus. The PicoVNA 106 is even cost-effective as a high-dynamic-range scalar network analyzer where phase measurements are not needed, or even as a single-port vector reflectometer.

This performance compares with other full-function VNAs that are more than four times as expensive. It can gather all four S-parameters at just 190usec per frequency point, so a 500 point 2-port S2P Touchstone file (compatible with many test, math, view and EDA simulation tools) is captured in less than 1/10 sec. The PicoVNA 106 has a dynamic range of up to 118dB at 10Hz and only 0.005dB RMS trace noise at its maximum bandwidth of 140kHz. The instrument supports convenient calibration methods such as ‘enhanced isolation correction’ and ‘unknown thru’. Despite its small size and low cost, its full-function, minimal-error, ‘Quad RX’ four-receiver architecture supports both 8- and 12-term calibration without the uncorrectable switching errors, delays, and unreliability of traditional three-receiver designs. The Pico Technology PicoVNA 106 Low-Cost Vector Network Analyzer is an economical USB-controlled, professional-grade 300 kHz to 6 GHz Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) with excellent performance, portability, and affordability.

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