Another selection under the CAL OPTIONS menu is a utility called Flexible Cal. The purpose of this utility is to speed measurements if the full correction capability of a given calibration is not needed and it is desired to not perform and recall a simpler calibration (to simplify a manufacturing test situation for example). For example, one may have performed a full 2-Port cal but then, for a period of time, need only measure S11 for a device with little transmission to Port 2. If one stayed with the parent cal, two sweeps would always be performed (Port 1 driving and Port 2 driving) even though only one is needed for the measurement. Flexible cal allows one to temporarily and quickly suspend the unneeded measurements to speed up the process.

This utility is only available when a full 2-Port cal has been performed (otherwise a subset makes little sense). If a lower order calibration has been performed, the feature will be labeled as Not Available. If a full 2-Port cal exists, the CAL OPTIONS menu will appears with the Flexible Cal Terms button highlighted. The buttons will only be available if a full 2-Port cal exists.

 

The Flexible Cal Setup button will bring up a dialog like that shown in FLEXIBLE CAL SETUP Dialog Box.

This dialog is very simple to use.

Perform the necessary full term calibration. On the CAP OPTIONS menu, select Flexible Cal Setup. Select which S-parameters you wish to be measured. Unneeded sweeps will not be performed even though the parent calibration is a full 2-Port (for example, if S11 and S21 only are selected, only the Port 1-driving measurements will be performed). The highest level calibration possible based on the selected parameters will be performed. When ready, select Apply Selection then Close to close the dialog.

Examples: