TRL Fixture for Cryogenic Testing of Microwave Components

A single-block fixture enables the rapid and accurate electrical characterization of planar microwave electronic components, by use of the through-reflect-line (TRL) technique, in air or in a vacuum at any temperature from ambient down to cryogenic temperatures. Heretofore, the TRL technique has involved the use of a split-block fixture in a procedure that unavoidably and undesirably includes breaking vacuum and/or thermal cycling back to room temperature. The design of the present single-block fixture makes it possible to complete the testing of a microwave component without interrupting a vacuum and/or cryogenic condition.