A vector network analyzer multi-channel S-parameter optimization test method, device and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a method, apparatus, and storage medium for optimizing the S-parameter test of a vector network analyzer with multiple channels. The method includes: Step 1, one-to-one corresponding and binding the test channels of the test system with the windows of the vector network analyzer and the traces corresponding to the windows, and generating calibration information; the calibration information includes the names of all test channels, the names of the windows corresponding to the test channels, and the names of the corresponding traces; Step 2, one-to-one connecting the test channels to be tested of the device under test with the test channels of the test system, and calling the calibration information at one time to test the device under test. When testing according to the present invention, only the test system needs to send a call instruction through the program-controlled computer to directly call the calibrated status file locally, reducing the time for transmitting the calibration file between the program-controlled computer and the vector network analyzer using the network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method, device, and storage medium for optimizing the S-parameter test of a vector network analyzer with multiple channels. Background Art

[0002] With the development of radar technology, the requirements for the automatic test technology of radar components are also increasing day by day. Improving the test efficiency has become increasingly important, especially in improving the S-parameter test efficiency of multiple frequency points within the working frequency band of multi-channel components.

[0003] Currently, when an automatic test system performs an S-parameter test, it basically uses a vector network analyzer. When the vector network analyzer is used for testing, it is limited by the number of ports. Usually, it has two ports, and there are also four-port or eight-port ones. However, the higher the number of ports, the higher the cost of the instrument. Currently, the S-parameter test of radar components usually only uses the two-port test of the vector network analyzer. In the automatic test system software, a matrix switch is used to switch the component channels. Before the test, each test channel is calibrated, and the calibration information is saved separately. During the test, all channels of the device under test are connected to the test system simultaneously. The automatic test system switches the matrix switch to the current test channel according to the test requirements, calls the calibration Trace information of the current test channel, sets the Format and Measure parameters of the Trace, and respectively collects the corresponding S-parameter results according to the settings, and outputs the corresponding amplitude-phase standing wave values to the test user. This method uses a program-controlled method to switch the matrix switch to control the switching of radio frequency signals between the channels of the device under test, eliminating the need for manual switching of the channels of the device under test, reducing the time of manual operation, and greatly improving the test speed. However, the use of the vector network analyzer still follows the method in the manual operation mode, only using the single Channel function of the vector network analyzer for testing, without giving full play to the advantages of the current multi-Channel technology of the vector network analyzer, and there is still a large room for speed improvement.

[0004] The vector network analyzer provides the Channel function for multi-channel testing technology, which can set different frequencies and excitation information for multiple Channels. The Traces under the same Channel share the frequency and excitation information. When using multiple Channels simultaneously, the same number of frequencies and excitation information as the number of Channels can be set to adapt to the testing of different frequency bands. However, when the vector network analyzer is testing, it still uses the Trace concept, and the test results are obtained according to the Traces. Multiple Traces can work simultaneously. Traces and Channels are not in one-to-one correspondence. One Channel can have multiple Traces, but one Trace can only be in a certain Channel. When S-parameters are tested simultaneously, full two-port calibration must be performed. Full two-port calibration will generate multiple Traces, and usually multiple Traces are set in the same Channel. These Traces share the frequency and excitation information and can only be tested under the frequency and excitation information of the current Channel during testing, which limits the test frequency band range.

[0005] In the traditional fast testing method, calibration is performed channel by channel, and each channel corresponds to a calibration file. In this way, during testing, after the test system switches channels, the calibration information file corresponding to the current channel must be re-called to perform subsequent channel testing. Taking the testing of a 6-channel component as an example, for the S-parameters of multiple frequency points (201 points) within the test working frequency band, the data control flow chart of the commonly used fast testing method is as Figure 1 shown. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Object of the Invention: Aiming at the phenomenon that the multi-channel technology advantages of the instrument are not fully utilized in the multi-channel testing of the device under test, the present invention provides a method for optimizing the S-parameter testing of a vector network analyzer with multiple channels, which uses the multiple Channels of the vector network analyzer for the testing of multi-channel components. Starting from calibration, the channels of the device under test are bound to the Channels of the vector network analyzer, and only one Trace is bound in each Channel, so that the Trace number corresponds one-to-one with the channels of the device under test. During calibration, all the required test channels are calibrated at once and saved in the same state file (*.csa). During testing, only this state file needs to be called, the corresponding calibration Trace information in the calibration information is located according to the test channels of the device under test, the vector value of the current Trace is read, and the corresponding value of the S-parameter is calculated through an algorithm to obtain the amplitude-phase standing wave value.

[0007] The present invention specifically provides a method for optimizing the S-parameter testing of a vector network analyzer with multiple channels, including the following steps:

[0008] Step 1: One-to-one bind the test channels of the test system with the windows of the vector network analyzer and the traces corresponding to the windows, and generate calibration information; the calibration information includes the names of all test channels, the names of the windows corresponding to the test channels, and the names of the corresponding traces.

[0009] Step 2: One-to-one connect the test channels to be measured of the device under test with the test channels of the test system, and call the calibration information at one time to test the device under test.

[0010] Step 1 includes:

[0011] Step 1-1: Calibration connection;

[0012] Step 1-2: Program-controlled setting of channel binding;

[0013] Step 1-3: Program-controlled setting of the calibration information of the first trace Trace1: Set the frequency point information, intermediate frequency bandwidth, and input excitation value;

[0014] Step 1-4: Program-controlled implementation of calibration;

[0015] Step 1-5: Repeat the calibration of other channels: Connect, program-control set, and calibrate the next channel according to Steps 1-1 to 1-4, and confirm after calibration is completed;

[0016] Step 1-6: Save the calibration information: After the calibration of all channels is completed, use the program-control instruction to save the status file to the specified path of the vector network analyzer.

[0017] Step 1-1 includes: Determine the channels to be tested, and connect the calibration component between the two interfaces of the test channel and the vector network analyzer; the test channels of each channel are different. When performing calibration, after the calibration of one channel is completed, then connect and calibrate the next channel.

[0018] Step 1-2 includes: After the calibration connection of the current channel is completed, in the program-control instruction of the vector network analyzer, first clear all S-parameter settings, turn on the display of the first window Windows1, turn on the first channel Channel1, and turn on the first trace Trace1 for channel binding;

[0019] If the id of the window name is changed to n and the id of the channel name is changed to n, then the binding of the windows, channels, and traces of other channels can be completed.

[0020] Step 1-4 includes: Select the electronic calibration component, start the calibration of the first channel, wait for the automatic calibration of the vector network analyzer to complete, and confirm after calibration is completed.

[0021] Step 2 includes:

[0022] Step 2-1, Test Connection:

[0023] Connect the device under test between the test channel and Port1 and Port2 of the vector network analyzer;

[0024] Step 2-2, Recall the calibration information file at one time using the programmed control instruction;

[0025] Step 2-3, Locate the calibration information according to the test channel:

[0026] Locate the calibration information according to the currently set channel, and program and set the corresponding trace test information;

[0027] Step 2-4, Read the vector value of the current Trace and store it in the buffer;

[0028] Step 2-5, Calculate the S parameters;

[0029] Step 2-6, Obtain the amplitude-phase standing wave value of the current channel:

[0030] Calculate the vector information corresponding to all frequency points in the current Trace to obtain the complete Trace value, which is exactly the same as the value displayed on the vector network analyzer.

[0031] Step 2-5 includes: Calculate the data in the buffer according to the following formula to obtain the amplitude value Amplitude, the phase value Phase, and the standing wave value SWR:

[0032] Amplitude =

[0033] Phase =

[0034] SWR =

[0035] Where a represents the real part of the vector value collected back, and b represents the imaginary part of the vector value collected back.

[0036] The method of the present invention further includes Step 3: Turn off the display: After confirming the correctness of the test result according to Steps 1 to 2, after calling the calibration data during the test, turn off all displays, directly perform the test channel switching and calibration information location, and collect data for calculation.

[0037] The present invention also provides a vector network multi-channel S parameter optimization test device, including:

[0038] A calibration information generation module is configured to bind the test channels of the test system to the windows of the vector network analyzer and the traces corresponding to the windows one by one, and generate calibration information; the calibration information includes the names of all test channels, the names of the windows corresponding to the test channels, and the names of the corresponding traces.

[0039] A test module is configured to connect the test channels to be tested of the device under test to the test channels of the test system one by one, and call the calibration information at one time to test the device under test.

[0040] The present invention also provides a storage medium storing a computer program or instruction, which when run, implements the method described above.

[0041] Advantageous effects: By binding test channels during calibration, the present invention calibrates the information of all channels and stores it as a status file on the local hard disk of the vector network analyzer. During testing, the test system only needs to send a call instruction through the program control computer to directly call the calibrated status file locally, reducing the time for network transmission of the calibration file between the program control computer and the vector network analyzer.

[0042] In addition, during testing, vector data is read at one time, and all S-parameters are calculated using an algorithm, reducing the setup and data acquisition time for Format and Measure of each channel. When necessary, the display part of the vector network analyzer can also be turned off during testing, that is, after the channel of the component is switched, the calibration channel is located, and data is directly collected and calculated without being displayed on the screen of the vector network analyzer, which can also save the time for data display. Description of the Drawings

[0043] The following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments, and the above and / or other advantages of the present invention will become clearer.

[0044] Figure 1 It is a data control flow chart of the existing test method.

[0045] Figure 2 It is a data control flow chart of the method of the present invention.

[0046] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the calibration process.

[0047] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the calibration connection.

[0048] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the test process of the device under test.

[0049] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the test connection.

[0050] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram comparing the test time between the method of the present invention and the conventional method. Detailed implementation manners

[0051] As Figure 2 shown, the speed-up method proposed by the present invention is reflected in two aspects: one is calibration. The binding of the test channels starts from calibration. After the information calibration of all channels is completed, it is stored as a status file (*.csa), and stored on the local hard disk of the vector network analyzer. During testing, only the test system needs to send a call instruction through the program-controlled computer to directly call the calibrated status file locally, reducing the time for using the network to transmit the calibration file between the program-controlled computer and the vector network analyzer. The one-time call of the status file reduces the number of calls to the calibration data and greatly compresses the call time of the calibration data. The other is to read the vector data at one time during testing and calculate all S-parameters using an algorithm, reducing the setting and data acquisition time of Format and Measure for each channel. When necessary, the display part of the vector network analyzer can also be turned off during testing, that is, after the channel of the component is switched, locate the calibration channel and directly collect data for calculation without displaying it on the screen of the vector network analyzer, which can also save the time for data display.

[0052] (I) Calibration

[0053] Utilize the multi-Channel technology of the vector network analyzer, that is, different Channels can bind information of different frequency bands, to calibrate different test channels. For the independence of test result display, different Channels are bound to different Windows for display.

[0054] First, the test system switches to test channel 1 and calibrates channel 1. At this time, the binding actions to be performed by the vector network analyzer are: clear all current S-parameter definitions, select Windows1, select Channel1, and define the name of the first Trace. The vector network analyzer identifies the Trace not only by the serial number but also by the name. In this way, during the calibration process, each Trace is named according to the rule, including the channel serial number, and is bound for the first time by the serial number. For example, the Trace name is defined as "CH1-S12". During testing, the Trace corresponding to the test channel can be found according to the same naming rule.

[0055] When performing full two-port calibration using a manual calibration component, three Traces are generated during the calibration process, corresponding to different Formats of S-parameters: S12, S11, and S22. After calibration is completed, there will be three Traces in the Channel bound to the current channel, and it is impossible to bind one Trace to one channel. Then, the redundant Traces, namely S11 and S22, must be deleted to ensure that only one Trace1 corresponds to channel 1. At this time, the calibration of channel 1 is completed.

[0056] When performing full two-port calibration using an electronic calibration component, the Trace vector network analyzer generated during the calibration process will be automatically deleted, and there will be one remaining Trace after calibration is completed, and no additional operation is required for the automatic test system.

[0057] After the calibration of channel 1 is completed, the test system switches to test channel 2 and calibrates channel 2. At this time, the vector network analyzer needs to select Windows2, select Channel2, and define the name of the Trace as "CH2-S12". At this time, the Trace number automatically changes to 2, realizing the binding of test channel 2 and Trace2. The calibration method using a manual calibration component or an electronic calibration component is the same as the operation of channel 1, and the calibration of channel 2 is completed after calibration. The calibration of other channels is the same as that of channel 2.

[0058] The following takes full two-port automatic calibration as an example for explanation. The entire calibration process is as Figure 3 shown.

[0059] (1) Calibration connection

[0060] First, determine the channels to be tested, and connect the automatic calibration component between Port1 and Port2 of the test channel and the vector network analyzer. The test channels for each channel are different. When performing calibration, after the calibration of one channel is completed, the connection calibration of the next channel is carried out. The calibration connection is as Figure 4 shown. Figure 4 shown.

[0061] (2) Program-controlled setting of channel binding

[0062] After the calibration connection of the current channel is completed, in the program-controlled instructions of the vector network analyzer, first clear all S-parameter settings, turn on the display of Windows1, turn on Channel1, and turn on Trace1 for channel binding.

[0063] For the binding of Windows, Channel, and Trace of other channels (channel id is n), only change the id of Windows to n and the id of Channel to n.

[0064] (3) Program-controlled setting of the calibration information of Trace1

[0065] Set the frequency information (start frequency, end frequency, number of sweep points), set the intermediate frequency bandwidth, set the input stimulus value,

[0066] The Trace settings of other channels (channel ID is n) other than channel 1 refer to the above instruction steps. If the frequency information and excitation information of other channels are the same as those of channel 1, the following program control instructions are used to implement it, without sending the setting commands one by one.

[0067] (4) Program-controlled calibration

[0068] Select the electronic calibration module and start calibration of test channel 1. Wait for the automatic calibration of the vector network analyzer to complete and confirm after the calibration is completed.

[0069] (5) Repeat the calibration for other channels.

[0070] Follow the above 4 steps to connect the next channel, set up the program control and calibrate it, and confirm after the calibration is completed.

[0071] (6) Save calibration information

[0072] After the calibration of all channels is completed, use the program control command to save the status file (*.csa) to the specified path of the vector network analyzer for subsequent call.

[0073] (II) Testing

[0074] The test process of the device under test is as follows Figure 5 As shown:

[0075] (1) Test connection

[0076] First, connect the device under test between the test channel and Port 1 and Port 2 of the vector network analyzer. Figure 6 As shown;

[0077] (2) One-time call of calibration data

[0078] Use program control commands to call out the calibration information file.

[0079] (3) Positioning and calibration information according to the test pass

[0080] Locate the calibration information according to the currently set channel, and program the corresponding Trace test information.

[0081] (4) Read the vector value of the current Trace

[0082] At this time, the access positioning is tested on 6 channels, and the data of 6 channels is collected. The program-controlled setting data format is ASCII code, and MEASURE:DATA is set to SDATA, and the data is collected into the buffer.

[0083] (5)Calculate the S-parameters according to the algorithm

[0084] Calculate the data in the buffer according to the following formula to obtain the amplitude, phase, and standing wave values. Among them, (a, b) represents the vector value collected. The number of data collected is twice the number of sweep points, and each data is separated by a ",", and the display is as follows: According to the S-parameter calculation formula, n values can be calculated, which are the values corresponding to each Format format of the Trace.

[0085] The amplitude calculation formula is:

[0086] Amplitude=

[0087] The phase calculation formula:

[0088] Phase=

[0089] The standing wave calculation formula:

[0090] SWR=

[0091] (6)Obtain the amplitude, phase, and standing wave values of the current channel

[0092] The program-controlled computer calculates the complete Trace value through the vector information corresponding to all frequency points in the current Trace, which is exactly the same as the value displayed on the vector network analyzer.

[0093] (III)Turn off the display

[0094] According to the above steps, after confirming the correctness of the test results, after calling the calibration data during the test, all displays can be turned off, and the test channel can be switched directly and the calibration information can be located, and the data can be collected for calculation to further accelerate the test speed.

[0095] In summary, by changing the binding between calibration information and test channels, this method stores all calibration information in the local storage space of the vector network analyzer in the same file. During testing, the calibration information is called at once, and the calibration information is located according to the channel binding information. The vector values of the current channel are collected at once, and the S-parameter values are obtained through calculation. The maximum number of channels of this method is only limited by the number of Windows and the number of Channels of the vector network analyzer. The number of Windows of the vector network analyzer can reach 500, and the number of Channels can reach 500, making full use of the multi-channel technology of the vector network analyzer. By using the programmed control technology, the rapid S-parameter testing of multiple channels can be achieved without changing the hardware state of the test system.

[0096] To verify the correctness of the present invention, the actual test time of the radar component is used for verification. When performing S-parameter testing on an 8-channel TR component, the operating frequency is 8 - 12 GHz, and the frequency step is 10 MHz, that is, a test of 401 points.

[0097] First, ensure that the two methods are tested in the same automatic test system to ensure that all hardware conditions are the same. Then, use the same 8-channel component for testing. When ensuring that the test results are the same, use the conventional method and the method of the present invention for testing respectively. Then, apply this comparison method to the testing of 64 components and 4096 components respectively. The component test times are shown in Table 1.

[0098] Table 1

[0099] Test time (s) Usage method 1 component 64 components 4096 components Conventional method 40 2560 163840 This patent 8.8 564 36045

[0100] Use a line chart for comparison, and the results are as Figure 7 shown.

[0101] It can be seen from the data in the table that by using the speed-up method proposed in the present invention, when testing the same DUT in the same test system, the test time of a single component has a difference of seconds. However, as the number of components increases, there are differences of hours and days. The test time of 64 components is reduced from 2560 seconds to 564 seconds, that is, from 42 minutes to 9.4 minutes. The test time of 4096 components is reduced from 163840 seconds to 36045 seconds, that is, from 45.51 hours to 10.01 hours. The speed-up method of the present invention greatly saves the test time, especially for the testing of a large number of components, saving a large amount of labor costs and achieving the purpose of the invention.

[0102] This embodiment also provides a vector network multi-channel S-parameter optimized test device, including:

[0103] A calibration information generation module, configured to bind the test channels of the test system, the windows of the vector network analyzer, and the traces corresponding to the windows one by one, and generate calibration information; the calibration information includes the names of all test channels, the names of the windows corresponding to the test channels, and the names of the corresponding traces.

[0104] A test module, configured to connect the test channels to be tested of the device under test to the test channels of the test system one by one, and call the calibration information at one time to test the device under test.

[0105] This embodiment also provides a storage medium storing a computer program or instruction, which, when run, implements the method described above.

[0106] As described above, the device according to the embodiment of the present application can be implemented in various terminal devices, such as servers in a distributed computing system. In one example, the device according to the embodiment of the present application can be integrated into the terminal device as a software module and / or a hardware module. For example, the device can be a software module in the operating system of the terminal device, or can be an application program developed for the terminal device; of course, the device can also be one of many hardware modules of the terminal device.

[0107] Alternatively, in another example, the device and the terminal device can also be separate terminal devices, and the device can be connected to the terminal device through a wired and / or wireless network and transmit interaction information in accordance with a predefined data format.

[0108] The present invention provides a method, device, and storage medium for optimizing the S-parameter test of a multi-channel vector network analyzer. There are many methods and ways to specifically implement this technical solution. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and refinements can be made, and these improvements and refinements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention. Each component not clearly defined in this embodiment can be implemented using existing technologies.

Claims

1. A vector network multi-channel S-parameter optimization test method, characterized in that It includes the following steps: Step 1: Bind the test channels of the test system to the windows of the vector network analyzer and the traces corresponding to the windows one by one, and generate calibration information; the calibration information includes the names of all test channels, the names of the windows corresponding to the test channels, and the names of the corresponding traces; Step 2: Connect the test channels to be measured of the device under test to the test channels of the test system one by one, and call the calibration information to test the device under test at one time; Step 1 includes: Step 1-1: Calibration connection; Step 1-2: Program-controlled channel binding; Step 1-3: Program-controlled setting of the calibration information of the first trace Trace1: Set the frequency point information, intermediate frequency bandwidth, and input excitation value; Step 1-4: Program-controlled calibration implementation; Step 1-5: Repeat the calibration of other channels: Connect, program-control set, and calibrate the next channel according to Steps 1-1 to 1-4, and confirm after calibration; Step 1-6: Save the calibration information: After the calibration of all channels is completed, use the program-controlled instruction to save the status file to the specified path of the vector network analyzer.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step 1-1 includes: Determine the channels to be tested, and connect the calibration component between the test channels and the two interfaces of the vector network analyzer; the test channels of each channel are different. When performing calibration, after the calibration of one channel is completed, then connect and calibrate the next channel.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein Step 1-2 includes: After the calibration connection of the current channel is completed, in the program-controlled instruction of the vector network analyzer, first clear all S-parameter settings, turn on the display of the first window Windows1, turn on the first channel Channel1, and turn on the first trace Trace1 for channel binding; If the name id of the window is changed to n and the name id of the channel is changed to n, then the binding of the windows, channels, and traces of other channels can be completed.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Step 1-4 includes: Select the electronic calibration component, start the calibration of the first channel, wait for the automatic calibration of the vector network analyzer to complete, and confirm after calibration.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Step 2 includes: Step 2-1: Test connection: Connect the device under test between the test channels and Port1 and Port2 of the vector network analyzer; Step 2-2: Use the program-controlled instruction to call out the calibration information file at one time; Step 2-3: Locate the calibration information according to the test channel: Locate the calibration information according to the currently set channel, and program-control set the corresponding trace test information; Step 2-4: Read the vector value of the current Trace and store it in the buffer; Step 2-5: Perform the calculation of S-parameters; Step 2-6: Obtain the amplitude-phase standing wave value of the current channel: Calculate the vector information corresponding to all frequency points in the current Trace to obtain the complete Trace value, which is exactly the same as the value displayed on the vector network analyzer.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein Step 2-5 includes: Calculate the data in the buffer according to the following formula to obtain the amplitude value Amplitude, phase value Phase, and standing wave value SWR: Phase = arctan(b / a)*(180 / π) where a represents the real part of the vector value collected back, and b represents the imaginary part of the vector value collected back.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that It further includes step 3: Turn off the display: After confirming the correctness of the test results according to steps 1-2, after calling the calibration data during the test, turn off all displays, directly perform test channel switching and calibration information positioning, and collect data for calculation.

8. A vector network analyzer multi-channel S-parameter optimization test device implemented by the method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It includes: A calibration information generation module, configured to: bind the test channels of the test system, the windows of the vector network analyzer, and the traces corresponding to the windows one by one, and generate calibration information; the calibration information includes the names of all test channels, the names of the windows corresponding to the test channels, and the names of the corresponding traces; A test module, configured to: connect the test channels to be tested of the device under test to the test channels of the test system one by one, and call the calibration information at one time to test the device under test.

9. A storage medium, characterized in that, Stored with computer programs or instructions, when the computer programs or instructions are run, the method described in claim 1 is implemented.

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