A Simplified Calibration Methodology for On-Chip Couplers

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a simplified calibration methodology for on-chip couplers to de-embed the unwanted but unavoidable parasitics introduced by the probing pads as well as the effects originating from redundant feeding lines. The traditional TRL (Thru, Reflect, Line) calibration technique for single-ended two-port device is extended and applied to symmetrical 4-port devices that can be decomposed as the odd- and even-mode equivalent circuits. Accordingly, the TRL calibration standards in the balanced format are designed as well. As a final step, single-ended 4-port S-parameters of device under test (DUT) are reconstructed through its de-embedded odd- and even-mode 2-port S-parameters. To validate the efficacy of our proposed calibration methodology in extracting S-parameters of DUT, models in HFSS, such as a branch-line coupler and a coupled-line coupler with probing pads, and balanced TRL calibration standards are generated. After performing the de-embedding procedures proposed in this paper, the extracted S-parameters agree well with the simulated S-parameters of DUT without adding any pads and feeding lines for measurement.