On-Wafer Measurement Accuracy Assessment Tool Kit

The traceability of on-wafer calibration standards has long been an issue among the microwave measurement community, and the proliferation of new calibration methods, elements, and applications only exacerbates the problem. This diversity in calibration needs has made traceability of a physical reference impractical. As a result, the NIST developed a procedure which can compare on-wafer calibrations to a NIST Benchmark GaAs TRL calibration. In general, the measurement community recognizes the potential value of the procedure, but is unwilling to accept the investment of time and effort currently necessary to perform the procedure correctly. The technical challenge is to develop new on-wafer calibration accuracy assessment tools which are easy to use, widely accessible, fast, and adaptable to changing calibration needs. These accuracy assessment tools will automate wafer chuck and microwave probe positioning, vector network analyzer calibration, and calibration verification based on the NIST algorithms used in the DEEMBED and VERIFY programs. The tools will be implemented for use on a PC platform in a modular format which is easily accessible.