A Low-Cost Noise Wave Correlator for Noise Parameters Extraction by Cold Noise Power Measurement

Abstract

Conventionally, the noise parameters of a Device under Test (DUT) which generally characterize the noise performance of the DUT, are obtained via the impedance tuner technique. The authors have previously presented a technique which eliminates the need for impedance tuner, and rather employs an 8-port network that enables the extraction of the noise correlation matrix of a given DUT and thus its noise parameters. In this paper, we present a further simplification of the 8-port network technique, which also eliminates the need for a conventional external noise source. Cold noise powers emanating from a DUT are measured via a 6-port network with the aid of matched termination. The measured noise powers provide sufficient information for determining the noise wave correlation matrix of a DUT, which are then converted into the conventional 2-port noise parameters. The proposed technique is simple, fast and is verified to give a good estimation of the noise parameters of selected DUTs.