New Probe Adapter for the Keysight E5061B ENA Greatly Eases Power Integrity Testing

Picotest.com, a leader in high resolution test and measurement equipment, has released a new probe adapter for the popular Keysight E5061B vector network analyzer.
The Picotest J2160A Probe Adapter provides a low noise, compact solution when using the E5061B T/R ports in a 2‐port shunt thru measurement. The T/R ports are desirable for low frequency 2‐port measurements, since these ports are semi‐floating, allowing low impedance measurements without the use of a coaxial common mode transformer such as the Picotest J2102A. The floating ports allow milliohm measurements even at very low frequency and up to the 30MHz range of the T/R ports.
The current solution uses a resistive 6dB port splitter combined with coaxial cables to support this measurement. The J2160A is a slim profile adapter, converting the three E5061B BNC ports to two BNC ports for the 2‐port measurement. The 6 dB resistive port splitter is included internal to the adapter so no external splitter or cables are required. The short connections are neater, consume less bench space, and can result in a lower noise measurement.
The adapter can also be combined with ultra‐wide bandwidth DC blockers, such as the Picotest P2130A in order to make 2‐port measurements of sensitive devices, such as opamps and voltage references, without the 50 ohm DC port loading, which could overload the device being measured and/or severely distort the measurement results.
The Picotest adapter also supports the extended 2‐port shunt thru measurement, allowing higher impedance 2‐port measurements by adding a series resistor to each port, as explained in the article “Increase Range in 2‐port Impedance Measurements, EDN, May 04, 2015 (https://www.edn.com/electronics‐blogs/impedance‐measurement‐rescues/4439326/Increase‐range‐in‐2‐port‐impedance‐measurements).
The price of the Probe Adapter is $395 in single quantities and is available now from www.Picotest.com. The Injector is compatible with all versions of the Keysight E5061B ENA.
The Picotest J2160A Probe Adapter makes connecting to the popular E5061B ENA easy.