Establishing Traceability to the International System of Units for Scattering Parameter Measurements From 750 GHz to 1.1 THz

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a new measurement capability which provides fully calibrated, traceable scattering parameter measurements in rectangular metallic waveguide in the frequency range 750 GHz-1.1 THz. The instrumentation consists of a vector network analyzer (VNA) with waveguide extender heads, situated at the University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K., and primary measurement standards characterized by the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, U.K.. The measurement standards consist of lengths of precision waveguide that are used during the calibration of the instrumentation. Traceability to the International System of Units (SI) is established by performing high-precision dimensional measurements on the waveguide sections. A preliminary uncertainty budget is presented, indicating the expected sizes of the main sources of error in both reflection and transmission measurements.