The Comparison Reflectometer

The comparison reflectometer is an instrument designed to locate and measure the characteristics of reflections in waveguide and transmission-line systems: it is particularly suitable for measuring small reflections in precise microwave measuring instruments up to one meter in length. It consists of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques 1967-04, Vol.15 (4), p.250-259
Main Author: Hollway, D.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Distributed computing
Frequency measurement
Instruments
Length measurement
Microwave measurements
Particle measurements
Reflection
Testing
Transmission lines
Waveguide components
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Description
Summary:The comparison reflectometer is an instrument designed to locate and measure the characteristics of reflections in waveguide and transmission-line systems: it is particularly suitable for measuring small reflections in precise microwave measuring instruments up to one meter in length. It consists of a reflectometer in which the returning waves are combined with an accurately known reference wave and a measure of the total reflection coefficient is recorded automatically on punched paper tape at a number of preset frequencies covering a particular waveband. From sets of readings taken without, and with, the test component connected, a computer calculates and plots the distribution of reflections as a function of distance and prints out their magnitudes and phases. The reflection coefficients of individual discontinuities are also plotted by the computer as a function of frequency on Smith charts. Under suitable conditions point reflections may be Iocated in X-band waveguide within a few tenths of a millimeter and measured with an accuracy of /spl plusmn/3 percent in magnitude and /spl plusmn/ 5/spl deg/ in phase angle. The method compensates for imperfections in the reflectometer and so reduces the background level of spurious reflections to less than 0.00006.
ISSN:0018-9480
1557-9670
DOI:10.1109/TMTT.1967.1126435