Using Calibration to Optimize Performance
Application Notes
If you’re responsible for a test system, then you’re also responsible for the accuracy and repeatability of the measurements it makes. Measurement repeatability, perhaps more than pure accuracy, is the key to success in design, manufacturing and ongoing operations. In a test system, the foundation of performance is the warranted specifications of the included instruments. This is especially true for crucial equipment such as network analyzers, signal analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes and signal generators. If any specified parameter is out of tolerance, measurement results can be negatively affected. An accurate, professional, and accredited calibration is the bedrock that ensures reliable and repeatable results. Calibration and metrology are a specialized subset of engineering, and relatively few engineers have been trained in these topics. Fortunately, a modest investment in a few fundamental principles will reward you with the ability to improve measurement performance, enhance the interpretation of results and, ultimately, reduce risk.