Systematic errors in noise parameter determination due to imperfect source impedance measurement

Abstract

We present a rigorous analysis of systematic errors in the four-noise parameter determination of a two-port network using the cold-source technique. The method is based on an original model that accounts for imperfectly-measured source reflection coefficients due to residual errors within a vector network analyzer (VNA). We show that even small VNA errors may seriously deteriorate the accuracy of the noise parameters when characterizing low-noise pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistors (PHEMTs).