Using 2nd Tier Calibration for Cable Fixture De-embedding

Beginning with SW Release 6.5.x.x (available late April/May 2011), the SPARQ software includes the capability of performing a user-generated 2nd-tier calibration. When a user 2nd-tier calibration is used, error terms from a secondary manual calibration is applied “on top” of the automatic OSLT and factory calibrations. One application of this feature includes de-embedding of fixtures used for cable measurements including SFP+, QSFP+, DisplayPort and USB3.0 fixtures by using calibration structures included with the cable testing fixtures. This application note describes how to perform a user 2nd-tier calibration that de-embeds the test fixture.
Using 2nd Tier Calibration for APPLICATION NOTE

Cable Fixture De-embedding
Dr. Alan Blankman, SPARQ Product Manager



Summary
Beginning with SW Release 6.5.x.x (available May/June 2011), the SPARQ software includes the capability of
performing a user-generated 2nd-tier calibration. When a user 2nd-tier calibration is used, error terms from a
secondary manual calibration is applied “on top” of the automatic OSLT and factory calibrations. One application
of this feature includes de-embedding of fixtures used for cable measurements including SFP+, QSFP+,
DisplayPort and USB3.0 fixtures by using calibration structures included with the cable testing fixtures. This
application note describes how to perform a user 2nd-tier calibration that de-