An enhanced on-wafer millimeter-wave noise parameter measurement system

A novel on-wafer resistive noise source, useful for noise characterization of microwave devices with the cold noise power measurement technique, is de scribed. The noise source enhances measurement accuracy by providing a cali brated noise temperature directly at the device reference plane. A procedur e for determining the excess noise ratio of the noise source is presented a nd validated up to 40 GHz. The noise source is employed in an on-wafer meas urement system, allowing the noise parameters of two-port devices to be ext racted. Following a description of the apparatus and measurement procedure, an example, of a high-electron-mobility transistor noise parameter measure ment at millimeter-wave frequencies is presented.