VNA Tools
Contact: Jürg Rüfenacht, Michael Wollensack, Johannes Hoffmann and Marko Zeier
VNA Tools is a metrology software for the vector network analyzer. The development in LabVIEW started in 1998. The first version supported one-port calibration of a VNA. The latest VNA Tools I version contained many more features and it is in use at many laboratories all over the world. Further development of the LabVIEW version has been discontinued. Instead a complete rewrite of the software in C# has been started in 2008 under the name VNA Tools II. The objectives of this project were to combine the functionality of the existing VNA Tools software with proper evaluation of measurement uncertainty in accordance with the guidelines of the GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement, ISO, Geneva, 1995). The project finished successfully and VNA Tools II is now publicly available. A spin-off product of this activity is the generic uncertainty calculation software Metas.UncLib.
VNA Tools II
METAS VNA Tools II is a software that is designed to compute uncertainties of S-parameter measurements:
- It uses a VNA measurement model for N-port Vector Network Analyzers.
- It supports the following calibration types: One Port, SOLT, GSOLT, QSOLT, Unknown Thru, TRL, and Optimization *.
- It allows the definition of all influences that affect VNA measurements.
- It uses the Linear Propagation module of Metas.UncLib to propagate all uncertainties through the VNA measurement model.
- It can visualize S-parameter data with uncertainties.
* The optimization module is only available after visiting a training course.
| VNA Tools II V0.7.2 | |
|---|---|
| Installer
Requirements: Microsoft Windows XP or later,
earlier versions might work but are not tested
|
Register |
| User reference
A short guide on how to use VNA Tools II
|
Download |
| Math reference
A document which discribes the measurement model and math used in VNA Tools II
|
Coming soon |
The end user license of the software allows free use of the software whereas redistribution in any form is prohibited. Registration is required to download VNA Tools II. Registered users will be notified of upgrades, bug fixes and new developments. Due to limited resources we can not provide support per e-mail or by telephone. We do recommend to first attend a VNA Tools II training course which will be available starting from April 2012. Please directly contact Jürg Rüfenacht for more information.
VNA Data Explorer
The VNA Data Explorer is designed to visualize and export S-parameter data in multiple formats with or without measurement uncertainties.
| VNA Data Explorer V0.7.2 | |
|---|---|
| Installer
Requirements: Microsoft Windows XP or later,
earlier versions might work but are not tested
|
Download |
| User reference
A short guide on how to use the VNA Data Explorer
|
Download |
| Example
An example project containing S-parameter data from VNA Tools II
|
Download |
Tutorials and Screencasts
The following VNA Tools II tutorial shows how to perform a SOLT calibration with the Test VNA.
The video is complemented by a written tutorial referring the same procedure on paper.
Publications and Presentations
- M. Wollensack,
VNA Tools II: S-parameter uncertainty calculation,
35th ANAMET meeting, NPL, Teddington, October 2011.
pdf (697 kB) - M. Wollensack,
VNA Tools II: S-parameter uncertainty calculation,
Agilent Metrology Workshop, Torino, May 2011.
pdf (1358 kB) - J. Rüfenacht and Michael Wollensack,
VNA Tools II: in the lab - practical aspects,
Agilent Metrology Workshop, Torino, May 2011.
pdf (2275 kB) - M. Wollensack and M. Zeier,
VNA Tools II: Metrology Software for the Vector Network Analyzer,
METinfo, Vol17, No. 3, 2010.
pdf (241 kB) - M. Wollensack and M. Zeier,
Metas.UncLib and VNA Tools II,
Agilent Metrology Workshop, Paris, September 2010.
pdf (1149 kB) - M. Zeier,
Softwareunterstützte Messunsicherheitsberechnung in der Vektornetzwerkanalyse,
VDI Fachtagung Messunsicherheit praxisgerecht bestimmen, Erfurt, November 2008.
pdf (40 kB)