RF Isolator Testing | RF Isolator Test and Measurement
This article on RF Isolator testing covers various test and measurement parameters used to evaluate RF Isolator. It mentions test setup used for RF Isolator testing.
About RF Isolator: It is a two port device used to protect the RF devices in the chain from getting damaged from the reverse leakage power. The RF circulator with third port terminated is also can be used as isolator.
Test Setup for RF Isolator Testing
Following table mentions parameters typically evaluated during RF isolator testing.
| RF Isolator Specifications | Description |
|---|---|
| Frequency Range | This is the range of frequencies over which RF isolator can be used in the design and testing. |
| Isolation | It is the loss to the signal from port-2 to port-1. It is also referred as reverse isolation. More it is better is the RF isolator. Typically it should be in 20-30 dB range. |
| Loss or Insertion Loss | It is the loss to the signal from port-1 to port-2. It is referred as insertion loss. Less it is better is the RF isolator. Typically it is less than 1. |
| VSWR or return loss | Voltage standing wave ratio, it should be near to one. If VSWR is near to one, it means isolator can be matched with input and output ports with minimum of reflections. |
| Peak Power in forward and reverse directions | This is the peak power isolator can sustain without any damage. |
| Average Power in forward and reverse directions | This is the average power isolator can sustain without any damage. |
Figure-2 shows typical setup used for RF isolator testing.
What is difference between or comparison between
Following links mention difference or comparison between various equipments:
comparison between VSG and VSA
DIfference between SNA ans VNA
Oscilloscope Bandwidth versus Rise time
Oscilloscope vs Logic Analyzer
Difference between Oscillscope types
Comparison between spectrum and network analyzer