Extracting network analyzer data in ASCII S2P format.

The ES and ET models in the Agilent 8753/8720 family of network analyzers can store their data to a disk file in "S2P" format, a popular ASCII data format.  The S2P file can only be created when two-port error correction is on, and the file will contain data for all four S-parameters.

In the Save/Recall menu, under Define Disk Save, select Save Using Ascii, and select either Data Array On or Data Only On.  Then under Select Disk, choose where you want to save the file.  Finally, press Save State.  The file(s) will be named "S1" for channel 1 data, and "S2" for channel 2, if applicable.

The S2P files always contain the analyzer's formatted data arrays, including the effects of electrical delay and port extensions.  The format of the data is determined by the current selection in the Format menu.  If Format is Log Mag, the S2P data is dB magnitude and angle in degrees.  If Format is Lin Mag, the S2P data is linear magnitude and angle in degrees.  For all other Format choices, the S2P data is real and imaginary pairs.

Caution: if you use the smoothing feature or time domain when saving an S2P file, it may contain invalid data.

The newest firmware revision of these analyzers also adds the ability to store data in comma-separated variable (csv) files.  In the analyzer's User Guide, find "CSV" in the index for more information.