Noise figure verification using cold-Source and Y-factor technique for amplifier and down-converted mixer

In the past, RF engineers usually used Y-factor technique to measure and obtain noise figure (NF) of device under test (DUT). In recent years, the cold-Source technique was developed for NF calculation and measurement in the spectrum analyzer. In addition, the built-in receiver module in a vector network analyzer (VNA) instrument with cold-source technique to calibrate its receiver can also support NF measurement. Therefore, this paper investigates NF measurement verification using cold-source and Y-factor technique for amplifier and down-converted mixer in the VNA instrument and the noise figure analyzer (NFA) instrument.