Three different methods can be applied to accurately measure passive components with a vector network analyzer.

A vector network analyzer (VNA) is a very useful test instrument for characterizing RF circuits and amplifiers. But what about measurements of simple passive components? What’s the best way to characterize a chip capacitor or an inductor—or even a resistor?

Senior RF Design Engineer Brian Walker at Copper Mountain Technologies wrote an article for Microwaves & RF discussing how to make accurate impedance measurements using a VNA.