The Design and Calibration of a Universal MMIC Test Fixture

A universal test fixture suitable for performing repeatable, nondestructive microwave tests for characterizing various sized monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chips has been developed at Rockwell International. The fixture, which encloses the MMIC chip, is designed to accommodate multiple RF inputs and outputs as well as up to 36 independent isolated bias connections. A method for calibrating the fixture on an automatic network analyzer (ANA) without the use of known precision calibration standards was also developed. A description of the fixture and the calibration method is presented in this paper.