Rohde & Schwarz ZN-Z15 Series User manual

R&S®ZN-Z15x
Calibration Units
User Manual
1337596302
Version 03
(=UÉÍ2)

This User Manual describes the following R&S ZN-Z15x models:
●R&S®ZN-Z150, N (f), 2 ports, 5 kHz to 6 GHz (1335.6710.72)
●R&S®ZN-Z151, SMA (f), 2 ports, 100 kHz to 8.5 GHz (1317.9134.32)
●R&S®ZN-Z151, N (f), 2 ports, 100 kHz to 8.5 GHz (1317.9134.72)
●R&S®ZN-Z152, SMA (f), 6 ports, 100 kHz to 8.5 GHz (1319.6003.36)
●R&S®ZN-Z153, SMA (f), 4 ports, 100 kHz to 8.5GHz (1319.6178.34)
●R&S®ZN-Z156, 1.85 mm (f), 2 ports, 5 GHz to 67 GHz (1332.7239.02)
User manual 1326.5080.02 covers the R&S®ZN-Z154 calibration unit.
© 2021 Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG
Mühldorfstr. 15, 81671 München, Germany
Phone: [phone] - 0
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.rohde-schwarz.com
Subject to change – data without tolerance limits is not binding.
R&S® is a registered trademark of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG.
Trade names are trademarks of the owners.
1337.5963.02 | Version 03 | R&S®ZN-Z15x
R&S®ZN-Z15x is abbreviated as R&S ZN-Z15x

Contents
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Contents
1 Safety Instructions................................................................ 3
2 Introduction............................................................................5
3 Establishing the USB Connection........................................6
4 Function of the Status LED...................................................6
5 Performing an Automatic Calibration.................................. 7
6 User Characterization............................................................8
7 Mounting the Calibration Unit.............................................. 8
1 Safety Instructions
General safety considerations
This calibration unit has been designed and tested in accordance with the
EC Certificate of Conformity and has left the manufacturer’s plant in a con-
dition fully complying with safety standards. To maintain this condition and
to secure safe operation, you must observe all instructions and warnings
given in this manual and in the user manual of the R&S® network analyzer.
1.1 ESD Protective Measures
To protect the calibration unit against Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) damage, use
the wrist strap and grounding cord supplied with the network analyzer and con-
nect yourself to the GND connector at the front panel. For details, refer to the
"Getting Started" guide of your analyzer.
ESD Protective Measures

Safety Instructions
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1.2 USB Connection
The calibration unit is equipped with a 5 pin ruggedized (R&S ZN-Z156) or a USB
Type-B connector at the rear. The USB connection is used to power-supply and
control the unit from a network analyzer of the R&S®ZVx or R&S®ZNx family.
A direct USB connection is recommended. You can connect several calibration
units to different USB ports of the analyzer, and you can connect other USB devi-
ces (mouse, keyboard, memory stick etc.) simultaneously.
In general, an unused calibration unit can remain connected to the USB port of
the analyzer, and you can connect or disconnect it while the network analyzer is
operating. However, note the following restrictions.
●The length of the connecting cable must not exceed 3 m. Use the USB
cable delivered with the calibration unit, if possible.
●The calibration unit relies on a USB voltage supply of 5V. If you connect
it via a USB hub, you have to use an active one.
●During a firmware update of the network analyzer, the calibration unit
must be disconnected.
●Do not disconnect the unit while data is being transferred between the
analyzer and the unit.
1.3 RF Connections
The calibration unit provides two, four or six RF connectors (numbered 1 to 6), to
be connected to the test ports of the analyzer. The connector type is the same for
all RF ports of a calibration unit, either type N (f), SMA (f) or 1.85 mm (f).
The maximum RF input power of the calibration unit is beyond the RF output
power range of the analyzer. If the device is directly connected to the test ports of
the analyzer, there is no risk of damaging the calibration unit .
If you use an external power amplifier, make sure that the maximum RF
input power of the calibration unit quoted in the data sheet is never excee-
ded.
RF Connections

Introduction
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1.4 microSD Card
On the rear of the R&S ZN-Z152 and R&S ZN-Z153 calibration units, there is a
microSD card slot. The microSD card can be used to store user characterization
data. The factory data is always stored on the internal memory.
●Use the microSD card shipped with the calibration unit, if possible.
●Before removing or inserting the microSD card, disconnect the USB
connection between calibration unit and network analyzer.
2 Introduction
A calibration unit enables the automatic calibration of several network analyzer
ports in one simple procedure. It contains calibration standards that are electroni-
cally switched by the analyzer firmware, when a calibration is performed. The
characteristic data of these standards is stored in the calibration unit, so that the
analyzer can calculate the error terms and apply the calibration without any fur-
ther input.
Automatic calibration is faster and less error-prone than manual calibration:
●There is no need to connect calibration standards manually, which is particu-
larly time-saving if you want to calibrate multiple ports.
●Invalid calibrations due to operator errors (e.g. wrong standards or improper
connections) are almost excluded.
●There is no need to handle calibration kit data.
●The internal standards do not wear out because they are switched electroni-
cally.
Scope of this document
This User Manual gives a brief introduction to the unit’s connection and use. For
detailed information, refer to the help system of your network analyzer.
The R&S ZN-Z15x calibration units differ in the number of calibration ports and
the connector types. For an overview, refer to the data sheet.

Establishing the USB Connection
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3 Establishing the USB Connection
To establish the USB connection between calibration unit and network analyzer,
proceed as follows:
1. Switch on and start up your network analyzer.
2. Connect the USB Type-A connector of the USB cable to any of the USB Type-
A connectors on the front or rear panel of the analyzer. You can also connect
the unit before switching on the analyzer.
Note: Wear a grounded wrist strap during this step (see Chapter 1.1, "ESD
Protective Measures", on page 3).
3. Wait until the operating system has recognized and initialized the new hard-
ware. After completing the initialization, the status LED will switch to green
(see Chapter 4, "Function of the Status LED", on page 6).
The unit is ready to use, as outlined below.
4 Function of the Status LED
The LED on top of the Calibration Unit informs about the actual status of the
device. The different states have the following meaning:
OFF The calibration unit is not connected or defective.
Red The micro controller is running but there is no USB communication with the
network analyzer.
With a current network analyzer firmware and error-free operation, this status
only appears for a short time after connecting the calibration unit.
Blinking red During the boot sequence of the network analyzer, the LED possibly shows a
fast blinking red until the operating system is started. The LED switches
between red and green, until the firmware comes up.
Green The calibration unit is ready use.
Blinking orange Data transfer between the calibration unit and the network analyzer. Do not
disconnect the USB cable.
Blinking blue Calibration in progress. Do not disconnect the USB cable.

Performing an Automatic Calibration
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5 Performing an Automatic Calibration
Once the USB connection between calibration unit and network analyzer has
been established, an automatic calibration can be performed as follows:
1. Start the automatic calibration function of your network analyzer.
2. Configure the automatic calibration. In particular:
a) Select the test ports you want to calibrate and the desired calibration type.
b) Select the appropriate R&S ZN-Z15x model and characterization.
c) Configure the required RF port assignments between analyzer and calibra-
tion unit.
3. For each RF port assignment:
a) Connect the calibration unit ports to the test ports of the network analyzer,
as depicted in the analyzer GUI.
b) Start the calibration data acquisition.
4. Disconnect the RF ports of the calibration unit.
Wear a grounded wrist strap during steps 3 and 4 (see Chapter 1.1, "ESD
Protective Measures", on page 3).
Accuracy considerations
To ensure an accurate calibration, please observe the following items:
●Do not use adaptors between the calibration unit and the test ports.
●After connecting the unit to the USB port, allow for a sufficient warm-up time
(see data sheet) before starting the calibration.
●To ensure best accuracy, the analyzer automatically reduces the source power
to –10 dBm. If the test setup contains a large attenuation, deactivate Auto-
matic Power Reduction for Calibration Unit in the Calibration tab of the Sys-
tem Configuration dialog and ensure an input power of –10 dBm at the ports
of the calibration unit (please also refer to the data sheet).
The calibration type depends on the number of ports and of the analyzer type. If a
single port is calibrated, the analyzer uses a reflection calibration type (e.g. Full
One Port / Refl OSM). For 2 and more ports, you can choose among several cali-
bration types.

User Characterization
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6 User Characterization
The calibration unit offers the possibility to store multiple user characterization
data files either on its internal flash memory or on the microSD card (R&S ZN-
Z152, R&S ZN-Z153). Use the "Characterize Cal Unit" function of your network
analyzer for this purpose. For details, refer to the analyzer’s help system.
7 Mounting the Calibration Unit
To mount the calibration unit e.g. on a wafer prober, remove the elastic buffers on
the bottom of the housing. There are either two threads (R&S ZN-Z156) or four
threads for use of M2.5 screws.