Help for Smith V4.

Circuit Design with

Smith Chart

www.fritz.dellsperger.net

January 2018
Content
Help for Smith V4.1 ................................................................................................................................. 1
Overview .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Smith-Chart.............................................................................................................................................. 2
Menu and Toolbar ............................................................................................................................... 5
Input of Datapoints .............................................................................................................................. 7
Input of Circuit Elements for the Network ........................................................................................... 9
Circuit Elements ................................................................................................................................ 11
Edit circuit element values ............................................................................................................ 11
Tune circuit element values, Tuning Cockpit ................................................................................ 12
Capacitor (Serial or parallel element)..................................................................................... 14
Inductor (Serial or parallel element)..................................................................................... 15
Resistor (Serial or parallel element)..................................................................................... 16
Physical Transmission Line (Serial element) ................................................................... 17
Open ended Transmission Line, Open Stub (Parallel element) .................................. 19
Shorted Transmission Line, Shorted Stub (Parallel element) ...................................... 21
Transformer (Serial element) ................................................................................................. 23
R-L-C parallel connected (Serial element)......................................................................... 25
R-L-C serial connected (Parallel element) ......................................................................... 26
Edit Datapoints .................................................................................................................................. 27
Zoom-Function .................................................................................................................................. 27
Undo and Redo ................................................................................................................................. 28
Sweeps .............................................................................................................................................. 28
Circles ............................................................................................................................................... 31
Constant Q-Circles ........................................................................................................................ 31
Constant Gain Circles ................................................................................................................... 33
Constant VSWR Circles ................................................................................................................ 35
Stability-Circles ............................................................................................................................. 36
Constant Noise Figure Circles ...................................................................................................... 37
Settings ............................................................................................................................................. 39
Print the Smith-Chart ......................................................................................................................... 41
Copy to Clipboard.............................................................................................................................. 42
Shortcuts ........................................................................................................................................... 42
Save Netlist ....................................................................................................................................... 43
Export Data ....................................................................................................................................... 44
S-Plot ..................................................................................................................................................... 45
Export ................................................................................................................................................ 49
Export H-, Z-, Y- and A-Parameter to File .................................................................................... 49
Export CITI to S-Parameter Touchstone File ............................................................................... 51
Export S11 or S22 to smith chart .................................................................................................. 51
Print S-Plot ........................................................................................................................................ 53
Copy to Clipboard.............................................................................................................................. 54
Smith-Chart Basics ................................................................................................................................ 55
Smith-Chart Construction .................................................................................................................. 55
Stability Circles ............................................................................................................................. 58
Constant Gain Circles ................................................................................................................... 62
Simultaneous Conjugate Match .................................................................................................... 70
Constant Noise Figure Circles ...................................................................................................... 71
File format info ....................................................................................................................................... 72
®
Touchstone ...................................................................................................................................... 72
CITI .................................................................................................................................................... 74
EZNEC .............................................................................................................................................. 76
References ............................................................................................................................................ 77
License, Demoversion and Contact ...................................................................................................... 78
It’s a long way to a perfect software... ................................................................................................... 79
History.................................................................................................................................................... 80
Overview
The software is split in two parts: Smith-Chart and S-Plot
Smith-Chart

Features:

Matching ladder networks with capacitors, inductors, resistors, transformers, serial

transmission lines and open or shorted stubs
Free settable normalization impedance for the Smith-Chart
Circles and contours for stability, noise figure, gain, VSWR and Q
Edit element values after insertion
Tune element values using sliders (Tuning Cockpit) new in V4.0
Sweep versus frequency or datapoints
Serial transmission line with loss
Export datapoint and circle info to ASCII-file for post-processing in spreadsheets or math
software
Import datapoints from S-parameter files (Touchstone, CITI, EZNEC)
Undo- and Redo-Function
Save and load designs (licensed version only)
Print Smith-Chart, schematic, datapoints, circles and S-Plot graphs
Copy to clipboard for documentation purposes
Settings for color and line widths for all graphs

S-Plot

Features:
®
Read S-Parameter - Files in Touchstone -, CITI- and EZNEC- Format
Graphical display of s11, s12, s21 and s22
Graphical display and listing of MAG. (maximum operating power gain), MSG (maximum
stable gain), stability factor k, µ and returnloss.
Linear or logarithmic frequency axis.
Cursor readout at gain and return loss graphs.
Convert and export S-Parameter to normalized or unnormalized H-, Z-, Y- or A-
Parameters in Touchstone® - Format files.
Export s11 or s22 to Smith-Chart
Print all graphics or listings

System requirements:

Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10

.NET Framework 4.6.1 or higher

1
Smith-Chart
Activate Smith-Chart in menu „Mode“

or

toggle between “S-Plot” and “Smith-Chart” with

The display has following features:

 Smith-Chart
Use the Smith-Chart the same way as on paper. Additionally comfortable tools like circles and
locus are available. Window can be resized and moved to any position on display. Size and
position of windows are saved on exit.

Datapoints input with mouse, keyboard or from S-parameter file are labeled with DPn. n is the
number of datapoint, starting with number 1.

Datapoints transformed by circuit elements are labeled with TPm. m is the number of
transformed datapoint, starting with nmax+1.

Transformed datapoints resulting from sweeps are labeled with SPp. p is the number of
transformed datapoint, starting with 1.

2
 Schematic-window
Networks on Smith-Chart are displayed as schematics. Window can be resized and moved to
any position on display. Size and position of windows are saved on exit.

Datapoint from which network is starting

In “Tools - Settings” the schematic can be rotated to vertical.

Datapoint from which network is starting

3
 Datapoints-window
Values for all datapoints are listed here. Window can be resized and moved to any position on
display. Size and position of windows are saved on exit.

Datapoints input with mouse, keyboard or from S-parameter file are labeled with DPn. n is the
number of datapoint, starting with number 1.

Datapoints transformed by circuit elements are labeled with TPm. m is the number of
transformed datapoint, starting with nmax+1.

Transformed datapoints resulting from sweeps are labeled with SPp. p is the number of
transformed datapoint, starting with 1.

 Circles-window
Information of all circles is listed here. Window can be resized and moved to any position on
display. Size and position of windows are saved on exit.

Gn = Gain circle number n

Sn = Stability circle number n
Nn = Noise circle number n

 Cursor-window
Display of actual values for the mouse cursor (Return Loss, VSWR, Q,  (Gamma),
Admittance Y, Impedance Z, normalizing impedance Z0 and Frequency of datapoint from
which network is starting).

4
Menu and ToolbarMenu:

Toolbar:
All toolboxes in the toolbar are docking-toolboxes. They can be placed to any position on screen.
Position of toolboxes and windows are saved on exit.

Toolbox “Standard”

Open project (.xmlsc or .smc for V2.03 and older)

Save project (.xmlsc)
Print
Undo (Circuit elements, Datapoints and Sweeps)
Redo (Circuit elements, Datapoints and Sweeps)
Copy to clipboard

Toolbox “Zoom”

Zoom in
Zoom out
Zoom 1:1

5
Toolbox “Mode, circles and settings”

Toggle between Smith-Chart and S-Plot

Open Circles Dialogbox
Open Settings
Open Sweep Dialogbox
Clear Sweep
Open Tuning Cockpit

Toolbox “Datapoints”

Input Datapoint

Mouse
Keyboard
S11 from file
S22 from file

Toolbox “Elements”

Insert Serial Element Insert Parallel Element

Capacitor Capacitor
Inductor Inductor
Resistor Resistor
Transmission Line Open Stub
Transformer Shorted Stub
R-L-C R-L-C

6
Input of Datapoints
There are four options to input datapoints:

Input Datapoint

Mouse
Keyboard
S11 from file
S22 from file

Input with mouse:

Select „Mouse“ in toolbox. This is a toggle-function ON/OFF. The button color turns to
green for ON, blue for OFF.

Move mouse cursor to desired datapoint in Smith-Chart. Watch window Cursor for actual
data values.

Left mouse click sets datapoint.

Enter frequency in dialogbox.

Continue with input of next datapoint.

Terminate datapoint input with clicking to “Mouse”-button in toolbox (color turns back to
blue)
or
select a circuit-element

Input with Keyboard:

Select „Keyboard“

Enter values in dialogbox. Data can be input as impedance, admittance or reflection

coefficient in cartesian or polar notation.
Enter frequency in dialogbox.

Import from S-Parameter Data File:

Datapoints can be imported from S-Parameter files or exported from S-Plot. See „S-Plot, Export to
Smith Chart„. S-Parameter file can be in Touchstone-, CITI- or EZNEC-format.

Click on „S11“ or „S22“.

7
Select File.

Choose file format:

Touchstone format (*.s1p, *.s2p)
CITI format (*.citi, *.cti)
EZNEC format (*.txt)

8
 Select datapoints to import using <shift> and <ctrl> for multiple selection. Terminate with
OK.

Input of Circuit Elements for the Network

Check setting of reference impedance Zo. Click menu “Extras-Settings”, Tab “Smith-Chart” and set Zo
to desired value (usually 50 Ohm). Zo is displayed in Cursor- window.
Before selecting network elements from the toolbox, at least one datapoint must be placed.
If more than one datapoint is placed, select the datapoint from which the network transformation
should start by clicking to the desired datapoint or the checkbox in the window “Datapoints”. The
selected datapoint is marked with a bold square.

Click on one of the circuit elements in the toolbox.

From the toolbox following elements can be selected:

Insert Serial Element Insert Parallel Element

Capacitor Capacitor
Inductor Inductor
Resistor Resistor
Transmission Line Open Stub
Transformer Shorted Stub
R-L-C R-L-C

Except for serial or parallel-R-L-C and serial transmission line with loss, a locus for transformation is
drawn in Smith-Chart and the element is added to the schematic. Move the cursor along the locus
while watching cursor and values in Cursor-window and schematic.
9
 Click at desired value. This terminates the element insertion.
For RLC, input element values in dialogbox.

Undo with right mouse button if desired.

Change element value by double-clicking on element or element-value in Schematic-

window.

Serial transmission line:

If attenuation  is 0 dB/m a locus for transformation is drawn in Smith-Chart and the

element is added to the schematic. Move the cursor along the locus while watching
cursor and values in Cursor-window and schematic.

If attenuation  is >0 dB/m the line length in  must be defined. No locus for cursor
moving is drawn on Smith-Chart.

10
Circuit Elements

Edit circuit element values

To edit circuit element values:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change values

Click Draw and watch Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

11
 Tune circuit element values, Tuning Cockpit
To tune circuit element values with sliders:

Use menu “Tools”, “Tune” or button in toolbox to open tuning cockpit

In schematic point and click to desired element to add it to the tuning cockpit. Selected
elements are marked with a red rectangle.

The tuner starts with the element value from schematic for mid position of slider. With the
slider the element value can be tuned to maximum of 120% and minimum of 80% of
starting value. Maximum and minimum values cannot be changed.

Using “Reset Min/Max” button the actual element value is taken

for new mid position of slider. Maximum and minimum values are adjusted to new mid
position value.

12
 Before “Reset Min/Max”

After “Reset Min/Max”

Move slider and watch Smith-Chart

Remove element from tuning cockpit with remove button.

Remove all elements from tuning cockpit.

For final closing of tuning cockpit and terminate all tuning functions remove all elements in
Tune window. The red marking rectangles of the elements in schematic are deleted.

13
 Capacitor (Serial or parallel element)

Model: Ideal capacitor, Q = infinity

Parameters:
Name Description Units
C ** Capacitance pF, nF, uF

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

To edit capacitance value:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change value

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

Netlist:
CAP n1 n2 C=capacitance_in_pF

14
 Inductor (Serial or parallel element)

Model: Ideal inductor, Q = infinity

Parameters:
Name Description Units
L ** Inductance pH, nH, uH

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

To edit inductance value:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change value

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

Netlist:
IND n1 n2 L=iductance_in_nH

15
 Resistor (Serial or parallel element)

Model: Ideal resistor

Parameters:
Name Description Units
R ** Resistance mOhm, Ohm, kOhm, MOhm, GOhm

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

To edit resistance value:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change value

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

Netlist:
RES n1 n2 C=resistance_in_Ohm

16
 Physical Transmission Line (Serial element)

Model: Physical transmission line

Parameters:
Name Description Units
Z0 ** Line impedance Ohm
Er (re) Effective relative permittivity None
L electr. in  ** Electrical length in wavelength None
L electr. in mm Electrical line length m, mm
L phys. in mm Physical (mechanical) line length m, mm
 Attenuation (frequency dependent) dB/m physical length

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

 is modeling the conductor loss (which is usually dominant) and is frequency scaled by
f
f   
fDP

fDP = frequency of the datapoint for the network.

L
The physical line length is Lphys  electr
re

To edit element values:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

17
 Change values

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

Netlist:
TLINP n1 n2 n3 Z=line_imp_in_Ohm L=length_elec_in_mm K=eff_dielectric_const_Ere
A=attenuation_in_dB/m F=0

Z, L, K, A, F
n1 n2

n3 n3
n3=0

Remark on relative permittivity (relative dielectric constant) r using lines:

If the line consist of microstrip, stripline or other planar line, use effective relative permittivity  re .
 re is a function of substrate  r , W/h, t and frequency.
For microstrip lines it can be approximated by

t0 f 0
0.555
r 1 r 1 h
 re    1  10  w / h 1
2 2  w

Sometime instead of r the relative velocity vr is used.

vr is related to r by
1
vr 
r

18
 Open ended Transmission Line, Open Stub (Parallel element)

Model: Ideal transmission line

Parameters:
Name Description Units
Z0 ** Line impedance Ohm
Er Effective dielectric constant None
L electr. in  ** Electrical length in wavelength None
L electr. in mm Electrical line length m, mm
L phys. in mm Physical (mechanical) line length m, mm

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

L electr
The physical line length is Lphys 
re

To edit element values:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change values

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

19
Netlist:
TLINP n1 n2 n3 Z=line_imp_in_Ohm L=length_elec_in_mm K=eff_dielectric_const_Ere A=0 F=0

Z, L, K, A, F
n1 n2

n3 n3
n2=99 n3=0

Remark on relative permittivity (relative dielectric constant) r using lines:

If the line consist of microstrip, stripline or other planar line, use effective relative permittivity  re .
 re is a function of substrate  r , W/h, t and frequency.
For microstrip lines it can be approximated by

t0 f 0
0.555
r 1 r 1 h
 re   1  10 w / h 1
2 2  w 

Sometime instead of r the relative velocity vr is used.

vr is related to r by
1
vr 
r

20
 Shorted Transmission Line, Shorted Stub (Parallel element)

Model: Ideal transmission line

Parameters:
Name Description Units
Z0 ** Line impedance Ohm
Er Effective dielectric constant None
L electr. in  ** Electrical length in wavelength None
L electr. in mm Electrical line length m, mm
L phys. in mm Physical (mechanical) line length m, mm

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

L electr
The physical line length is Lphys 
re

To edit element values:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change values

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

21
Netlist:
TLINP n1 n2 n3 Z=line_imp_in_Ohm L=length_elec_in_mm K=eff_dielectric_const_Ere A=0 F=0

Z, L, K, A, F
n1 n2

n3 n3
n2=0 n3=0

Remark on relative permittivity (relative dielectric constant) r using lines:

If the line consist of microstrip, stripline or other planar line, use effective relative permittivity  re .
 re is a function of substrate  r , W/h, t and frequency.
For microstrip lines it can be approximated by

t0 f 0
0.555
r 1 r 1 h
 re    1  10  w / h 1
2 2  w

Sometime instead of r the relative velocity vr is used.

vr is related to r by
1
vr 
r

22
 Transformer (Serial element)

Model: Ideal transformer

Parameters:
Name Description Units
n ** Voltage ratio (number of turn ratio) None
0<n<∞

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

To edit element value:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change value

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.
2
Remark: Impedance ratio is n

23
Netlist:
TRF n1 n2 n3 n4 N=turns_ratio R1=0
N:1
n1 n2
R1

n3 n4
n3=0 n4=0 R1=0

24
 R-L-C parallel connected (Serial element)

Model: Ideal Resistor, Inductor and Capacitor parallel connected

Parameters:
Name Description Units
R ** Resistance Ohm, kOhm, MOhm
L ** Inductance pH, nH, uH
C ** Capacitance pF, nF, uF

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

To edit element values:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change values

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

Netlist:
PRLC n1 n2 R=resistance_in_Ohm L=inductance_in_nH C=capacitance_in_pF

25
 R-L-C serial connected (Parallel element)

Model: Ideal Resistor, Inductor and Capacitor serial connected

Parameters:
Name Description Units
R ** Resistance Ohm, kOhm, MOhm
L ** Inductance pH, nH, uH
C ** Capacitance pF, nF, uF

** Value adjustable in tuning cockpit

To edit element values:

Double-click on element or element-value in Schematic-window.

Change value in dialogbox and click “Draw”. All calculations are redone and the Smith-
Chart is updated.

Change values

Click Draw and see on Smith-chart,

schematic and window „Datapoints“ how
this affect transformation

OK when done

Do not use values of 0 (zero), instead input a very small value, e.g. 0.000001.
In some special cases a value of 0 can cause an error.

Netlist:
SRLC n1 n2 R=resistance_in_Ohm L=inductance_in_nH C=capacitance_in_pF

n2=0

26
Edit Datapoints
Double-click on datapoint in Smith-Chart.

Change values in dialogbox. All calculations are redone and the Smith-Chart updated.

Zoom-Function

Use menu “Zoom” or shortcuts or buttons in toolbox.

There are 3 options for zooming:

 “Zoom in” Shortcut “Ctrl+1”

 “Zoom out” Shortcut “Ctrl+2”
 “Zoom 1:1” Shortcut “Ctrl+3”

The center of zoom is always the center of the Smith-Chart.

27
Undo and Redo
Undo and Redo works on circuit elements and datapoints only, not on circles or other operations.

Undo:

 Right mouse button

 Menu „Edit“

Button in toolbox
 Shortcut “Ctrl+Z”

Redo:

 Menu „Edit“

Button in toolbox
 Shortcut “Ctrl+Y”

Sweeps
There are two possibilities to sweep a network:
Frequency sweep

Datapoint Sweep

Use menu “Tools”, “Sweep” (“Remove Sweep”) or button in toolbox to invoke or clear a sweep.

Before doing a sweep design a network starting from one datapoint. For datapoint sweep all
datapoints must be input before starting a sweep.

Frequency sweep:
Example:
Match 25 Ohm to 50 Ohm using a 6 element lowpass at 400 MHz. Use a frequency sweep from 300
MHz to 800 MHz to find out the matching performance (VSWR) for this network versus the frequency
range from 300 MHz to 800 MHz.

28
 After invoke of a sweep, edit element values to watch changes of swept points.

Datapoint sweep:
Example:
An antenna has different impedances at different frequencies. This datapoints are loaded from a S11-
file. Match the antenna at 1.9 GHz to 50 Ohm using a 50 Ohm transmission line and a parallel
capacitor. Use a datapoint sweep to find out the matching performance (VSWR) for this network for all
datapoints.

29
After invoke of a sweep, edit element values to watch changes of swept points.

30
Circles
Use menu „Tools“, „Circles“ or shortcut “Ctrl+T” or button in toolbox.

There are following options:

Q-Circles

Gain-Circles

VSWR-Circles

Stability-Circles

Noise Figure Circles

Constant Q-Circles

Select menu „Tools“, „Circles“ or shortcut “Ctrl+T”

or click button in toolbox and select tab „Q“

Enter Q for the locus

This draws the locus (ellipse) of all points for

Im( Z )
Q  const.  .
Re( Z )

31
Q-circles are not listed in window “Circles”.

32
 Constant Gain Circles
Select menu „Tools“, „Circles“ or shortcut “Ctrl+T”

or click button in toolbox and select tab „Gain“.

Select “Available Power Gain”, “Operating Power Gain” or “Unilateral”.

Use “Available Power Gain” for low noise amplifiers.

Use “Operating Power Gain” for amplifiers with maximum output power, best efficiency or lowest
intermodulation.
Use “Unilateral” for first approximation of matching network.

Enter S-parameter or import parameter from a file.

Enter desired Gain for the circle (must be less than Gmax).

If Stability factor K<1, Available Power Gain and Operating Power Gain are undefined and circles are
for conditionally stable twoports. Be careful your amplifier may oscillate. One possibility to avoid
oscillation is to stabilize the twoport in advance (serial or parallel resistor at input and/or output, until
K>1).
For unilateral devices S12 is assumed to be zero.

Click “Draw”.

Continue with entering gain for next circle. Click “Draw”, etc.

Constant Gain circles are labeled with „Gn“. n is the number of the circle, starting with number 1.

33
Zoom if necessary.

The Constant-Gain-Circle will be described in window “Circles” with following data:

 Gn Gain circle number n

 Input or output plane
 Gain for the circle
 Gmax
 S-Parameter
1)
 Frequency

With the checkboxes in window “Circles” the visibility and highlight of the circle on Smith-Chart can
be switched on and off.

To remove a circle from Smith-Chart highlight appropriate line in window “Circles” and press
“Delete”.
1)
Frequency is only assigned to circles if parameters are input from a S-parameter-file. If
parameters are input manually or altered, no frequency will be assigned.

34
 Constant VSWR Circles
Select menu „Tools“, „Circles“ or shortcut “Ctrl+T”

or click button in toolbox and select tab „VSWR“

Enter VSWR for the circle

The circles are always centered to the center of the Smith-Chart.

VSWR-circles are not listed in window “Circles”.

35
 Stability-Circles
Select menu „Tools“, „Circles“ or shortcut “Ctrl+T”

or click button in toolbox and select tab „Stability“.

Select Input plane or Output plane.

Enter S-parameter or import parameter from a file.

Click “Draw”.

Continue with entering S-parameter for next circle. Click “Draw”, etc.

Stability circles are labeled with „Sn“. n is the number of the circle, starting with number 1.

If the circle lies outside the Smith-Chart zoom out.

The Stability-Circles are described in window “Circles” with following data:

 Sn Stability circle number n

 Input or output plane
 Stable inside or outside of the circle
 Stability factor K
 S-Parameter
36
 1)
 Frequency

With the checkboxes in window “Circles” the visibility and highlight of the circle on Smith-Chart can
be switched on and off.

To remove a circle from Smith-Chart highlight appropriate line in window “Circles” and press
“Delete”.
1)
Frequency is only assigned to circles if parameters are input from a S-parameter-file. If
parameters are input manually or altered, no frequency will be assigned.

Constant Noise Figure Circles

Select menu „Tools“, „Circles“ or shortcut “Ctrl+T”

or click button in toolbox and select tab „Noise Figure“.

Enter noise data or import parmeter from a file:

 Minimum noise figure NFmin in dB

 G_ NFmin (reflection coefficient corresponding to NFmin)
 Equivalent input noise resistance, normalized or
unnormalized

Enter desired Noise figure NF for the circle in dB (>NF min)

Click “Draw”.

Continue with entering NF for next circle. Click “Draw”, etc.

Constant Noise Figure Circles are labeled with „Nn“. n is the number of the circle, starting with number
1.

37
Zoom if necessary.

Remark: Touchstone files have normalized noise resistance info. CITI-files can have normalized or
not normalized noise resistance info. Check appropriate radio button in window above.

The Constant Noise Figure Circle will be described in window “Circles” with following data:

 Nn Noise Figure circle number n

 NF for the circle
 NFmin
  _ NFmin
 Equivalent input noise resistance
1)
 Frequency

38
 With the checkboxes in window “Circles” the visibility and highlight of the circle on Smith-Chart can
be switched on and off.

To remove a circle from Smith-Chart highlight appropriate line in window “Circles” and press
“Delete”.
1)
Frequency is only assigned to circles if parameters are input from a S-parameter-file. If
parameters are input manually or altered, no frequency will be assigned.

Settings
Select menu „Tools“, „Settings“ or shortcut “Ctrl+E” or click button in toolbox

Tab Smith-Chart
- Line width and colors
- Zo for Smithchart
- Default frequency for datapoint
- Labels
- Z-plane, Y-plane on/off

39
Tab S-Plot
- Line width and colors
- Labels
- Z-plane, Y-plane on/off

Tab General
- Default start mode (Smith-Chart or S-Plot)

40
Print the Smith-Chart

Select “Print“ or “Print Preview” in menu “File“or click button in toolbox and select
or deselect appropriate items in dialogbox.

 Smith-Chart: Print Smith-Chart

 Schematic: Print schematic
 Datapoints: Print window “Datapoint”
 Circles: Print window “Circles”

41
Copy to Clipboard

Select „Copy to Clipboard“ in menu „Edit“ or click button in toolbox and select
appropriate item.

A copy of the selected item is put to the clipboard for insertion in office applications.

Shortcuts
Following shortcuts can be used for best productivity:

File New Ctrl+N

Open Ctrl+O
Save Ctrl+S

Edit Undo Ctrl+Z

Redo Ctrl+Y

Mode Toggle Smith-Chart/S-Plot Ctrl+M

Tools Circles Ctrl+T

Extras Settings Ctrl+E

Zoom Zoom in Ctrl+1

Zoom out Ctrl+2
Zoom 1:1 Ctrl+3

Help Help F1

42
Save Netlist
Select “Save Netlist” in menu “File”.

Save an ASCII-file in Touchstone netlist format. This format is used by several linear simulators.
CKT is standard file extensions.

The generated netlist include:

Comments:
Comments are ignored by the simulators. They can be added anywhere in the file by a preceding
exclamation mark (!).

DIM Statement:
The DIM statement set the units.

CKT block:
This block contains the description of the circuit. At the end of this block the statement DEF2P define
the network as a 2-port.

FREQ block:
Defines the frequency for analysis.

Example:

! SMITH-CHART NETLIST GENERATOR VERSION 1.0

! INPUT FILE: Example_netlist.xmlsc
! OUTPUT FILE: Example_netlist.ckt
! GLOBAL
DIM FREQ=1e6 RES=1e0 IND=1e-9 CAP=1e-12 LNG=1e-3 TIME=1e-12 COND=1e-0
!
CKT
SRLC 1 0 R=33 L=22 C=18
TLINP 1 2 0 Z=50 L=37.8 K=1 A=2 F=0
RES 2 3 R=46.08
IND 3 0 L=13.18
CAP 3 4 C=19.4
DEF2P 1 4 A ! A is actual passive Network
!
FREQ
FIXED 500

43
Export Data
Select “Export” in menu “File”.

Export datapoints or circle data to an ASCII-file for post-processing in spreadsheets or math software.
Delimiter format: None, semicolon or comma.

Data file examples:

Export datpoints
Start DP Point R[Ohm] X[Ohm] Q Frequency[Hz]
true; 1; 20.000; -12.000; 0.600; 450000000.000
false; 2; 20.000; 12.033; 0.602; 450000000.000
false; 3; 27.180; 1.281; 0.047; 450000000.000
false; 4; 27.180; 16.280; 0.599; 450000000.000
false; 5; 36.855; 1.679; 0.046; 450000000.000
false; 6; 36.855; 21.754; 0.590; 450000000.000
false; 7; 49.695; 0.006; 0.000; 450000000.000

Export circles
G1;input plane const. gain circle;12.94;12.94;0.12;-149.00;0.11;59.40;3.76;78.90;0.41;-54.50;2.0GHz;
G2;input plane const. gain circle;12.50;12.94;0.12;-149.00;0.11;59.40;3.76;78.90;0.41;-54.50;2.0GHz;
G3;input plane const. gain circle;12.00;12.94;0.12;-149.00;0.11;59.40;3.76;78.90;0.41;-54.50;2.0GHz;
N1;3.60;3.60;0.42;39.10;0.98;2.0GHz;
N2;3.70;3.60;0.42;39.10;0.98;2.0GHz;
N3;3.80;3.60;0.42;39.10;0.98;2.0GHz;
N4;3.90;3.60;0.42;39.10;0.98;2.0GHz;
N5;4.00;3.60;0.42;39.10;0.98;2.0GHz;
S1;Input plane stability circle;stable outside;1.17;0.12;-149.00;0.11;59.40;3.76;78.90;0.41;-54.50;2.0GHz;
S2;Output plane stability circle;stable outside;1.17;0.12;-149.00;0.11;59.40;3.76;78.90;0.41;-54.50;2.0GHz;

For meaning of values see window “Circles”

44
S-Plot

Export
Print S-Plot

®
Read S-Parameter - Files in Touchstone -, CITI- and EZNEC- Format and display the data in
different graphs and listings.

Convert and export S-Parameter to normalized or unnormalized H-, Z-, Y- or A-Parameters in

Touchstone® - Format files.

Export s11 or s22 to Smith-Chart.

Print all graphs or listings.

Select „S-Plot“ in menu „Mode“.

Load S-Parameter file with „Open“ in menu „File“.

45
 Choose file format:
Touchstone format (*.s1p, *.s2p)
CITI format (*.citi, *.cti)
EZNEC format (*.txt)

S11 and S22 are plotted to a Smith-Chart, S12 and S21 to a polar plot.

There are additional windows for:

 Source file
 Gain table with listing of MAG[dB] (maximum available operating power gain), MSG[dB]
(maximum stable gain), stability factor K, stability factor s (Mue) and S12[dB]
 Gain graph for MAG[dB] (for K1) and MSG[dB] (for K<1), stability factor K and stability factor
s (Mue)
 Return Loss graph for S11[dB] and S22[dB]

The selected line in window “Gain table” highlights the corresponding datapoint in all graphs.

46
47
Equations:

MAG  G p max 
S21
S12

 K  K2 1  ; K 1

S21
MSG  G p max stabil  ; K 1
S12

1  S11  S22  
2 2 2

K
2  S12  S21
  S11  S22  S12  S21

1  S22
2

S  1
S11    S22
*
 S21S12

S11[dB ]  20log  S11 

S 22[dB ]  20log  S22 

S12[dB ]  20log  S12 

48
Export

Export H-, Z-, Y- and A-Parameter to File

Export CITI to S-Parameter Touchstone File
Export S11 or S22 to Smith Chart

Export H-, Z-, Y- and A-Parameter to File

After loading an S-Parameter file in S-Plot, the file can be converted to H-, Z-, Y- or A-Parameter
(normalized or unnormalized) and saved in a file.
®
All converted files are in Touchstone - Format.

Menu „Export“, „s- to x-parameter-file“.

Equations Twoport Parameter Conversion

S-, Z-, Y-, H- and A(ABCD)-Parameter:

‘ (apostrophe) denotes normalized parameter.

S11 
 z '11  1 z '22  1  z '12 z '21 z '11 
1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
 z '11  1 z '22  1  z '12 z '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
2 z '12 2S12
S12  z '12 
 z '11  1 z '22  1  z '12 z '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
2 z '21 2S21
S21  z '21 
 z '11  1 z '22  1  z '12 z '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21

S22 
 z '11  1 z '22  1  z '12 z '21 z '22 
1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
 z '11  1 z '22  1  z '12 z '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
z11 z12 z21 z22
z '11  z '12  z '21  z '22 
Zo Zo Zo Zo

49
S11 
1  y '11 1  y '22   y '12 y '21 y '11 
1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
1  y '11 1  y '22   y '12 y '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
2 y '12 2S12
S12  y '12 
1  y '11 1  y '22   y '12 y '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
2 y '21 2S21
S21  y '21 
1  y '11 1  y '22   y '12 y '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21

S22 
1  y '11 1  y '22   y '12 y '21 y '22 
1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
1  y '11 1  y '22   y '12 y '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
y '11  y11Z o y '12  y12 Z o y '21  y21Z o y '22  y22 Z o

S11 
 h '11 1 h '22  1 h '12 h '21 h '11 
1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
 h '11  1 h '22  1  h '12 h '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
2h '12 2S12
S12  h '12 
 h '11  1 h '22  1  h '12 h '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
2h '21 2S21
S21  h '21 
 h '11  1 h '22  1  h '12 h '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21

S22 
1  h '11 1  h '22   h '12 h '21 h '22 
1  S22 1  S11   S12 S21
 h '11  1 h '22  1  h '12 h '21 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21
h11
h '11  h '12  h12 h '21  h21 h '22  h22 Z o
Zo

1  1  s11 1  S22   S12 S21 Z o 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21  
A  
2S21 Yo 1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21  1  S11 1  S22   S12 S21 

1  A11  A12Yo  A21Z o  A22 2  A11 A22  A12 A21  

S  
1  2  A11  A12Yo  A21Z o  A22 

1  A11  A12Yo  A21Z o  A22

50
 Export CITI to S-Parameter Touchstone File
A CITI-file loaded in S-Plot can be saved as S-parameter file in Touchstone format.

Menu „Export“, „CITI- to S“.

Export S11 or S22 to smith chart

Menu „Export“, „s11 (or s22) to smith chart“.

51
Select appropriate parameter lines using <Shift> and <Ctrl> for multiple selection. Terminate
with OK.

52
Print S-Plot

Select “Print“ or “Print Preview” in menu “File“or click button in toolbox and select
or deselect appropriate items in dialogbox.

 S11, S12, S21, S22: Print window S11, S12, S21, S22
 Gain table: Print Gain table
 Gain graph: Print Gain graph
 Return loss graph: Print Return loss graph

53
Copy to Clipboard

Select „Copy to Clipboard“ in menu „Edit“ or click button in toolbox and select
appropriate item.

A copy of the selected item is put to the clipboard for insertion in office applications.

54
Smith-Chart Basics

Smith-Chart Construction
Stability Circles
Source Stability Circles
Load Stability Circles
Constant Gain Circles
Transducer Power Gain
Operating Power Gain
Max Available Gain MAG and Max Stable Gain MSG
Available Power Gain
Unilateral Transducer Gain
Simultaneous Conjugate Match
Constant Noise Figure Circles

Smith-Chart Construction

The Smith-Chart is a bilinear transformation introduced by Philip Smith in 1940. Still in the Gigahertz-
clocked-computer-age the Smith-Chart is the most important visualization tool for transformation
networks in the impedance, admittance or reflection coefficient plane. Even the best mathematical
software tool cannot beat the graphically based procedure of the Smith-Chart to design matching
circuit topology. Of course Math-software is doing the number-crunching much faster and you get
more digits in the results. In my opinion we can’t miss either.
For my students and for the interested reader, here are some basics for the Smith-Chart construction:

The definition of the reflection coefficient  (gamma) is

Z  1

Z  1

with normalized impedance

Z
Z 
Z0

Solved to Z  and separated to Real- and Imaginary part

1  u 2  v 2  j  2v
R  j  X  
1  u 2  v 2  2u

with   u  jv

From
1  u2  v2
R   const.
1  u 2  v 2  2u

55
we get, after some algebraic manipulations,

R 
2
 1
u     v  
2

 R 1 ( R  1) 2

This is the equation of a circle. Thus, constant resistance R (real part of impedance) in the impedance-
plane map into a circle in the s-plane.

Similarly, we find by setting X’ = const.

2
 1  1
(u  1) 2   v   
 X  X 
2

Thus, constant reactance X (imaginary part of impedance) in the impedance-plane maps into a circle
in the s-plane.

The same procedure in the admittance-plane results also in circles in the s-plane:
1
Y   G   j  B
Z
G 
2 2
  1 
 u    v 2
   
 G  1   G 1
2 2
 1 1
(u  1) 2   v     
 B   B 

Thus, constant conductance G (real part of admittance) and constant susceptance B (imaginary part of
admittance) in the admittance-plane map into a circle in the s-plane.

A graphical representation of this equations results in the Smith-Chart:

56
 Constant Resistance R
Constant Reactance X

Constant Conductance G
Constant Suszeptance B

A Powerpoint presentation referencing this subject can be found on my homepage

www.fritz.dellsperger.net

57
 Stability Circles

Source Stability Circles

Load Stability Circles

Stability
Unconditional stable:

1  S22  S11  
2 2 2

K 1 (Rolett stability factor)

2 S12 S21

and

 1

  S11S22  S12 S21

or

1  S22  S11  
2 2 2

K 1
2 S12 S21

and

B  1  S11  S22    0
2 2 2

or

Graphically defined stability according to Edwards/Sinsky [6]:

Source plane

1  S22
2

S  1
S11    S22
*
 S21S12

Load plane

1  S11
2

L  1
S22    S11*  S21S12

58
 Stability circles:

S12 S21
RSS  Radius source plane
S11  
2 2

S 
*
 S22
*
S11*  * S22
 
11
CSS Center source plane
S11   S11  
2 2 2 2

S  S11* 
*
S22*  * S11
 
22
CLS Center load plane
S22   S22  
2 2 2 2

S12 S21
RLS  Radius load plane
S22  
2 2

Stability circle
|C|

The stable region is inside the stability circle when the center of the Smith-Chart is enclosed, and
outside if the center is not enclosed. If the circle lies completely outside the Smith-Chart or completely
encloses the Smith-Chart the twoport is unconditionally stable.

59
 unstable

unstable

stable stable

Unconditionally stable

unstable

stable

stable
unstable

Unconditionally stable

unstable
stable

stable
unstable

60
 Source Stability Circles

The Source Stability Circle is the locus of all source impedances for which the magnitude of the output
reflection coefficient of the twoport equals 1.

The stable region is inside the stability circle when the center of the Smith-Chart is enclosed, and
outside if the center is not enclosed. If the circle lies completely outside the Smith-Chart or completely
encloses the Smith-Chart the twoport is unconditionally stable.

Load Stability Circles

The Load Stability Circle is the locus of all load impedances for which the magnitude of the input
reflection coefficient of the twoport equals 1.

The stable region is inside the stability circle when the center of the Smith-Chart is enclosed, and
outside if the center is not enclosed. If the circle lies completely outside the Smith-Chart or completely
encloses the Smith-Chart the twoport is unconditionally stable.

61
 Constant Gain Circles

Transducer Power Gain

Operating Power Gain
Available Power Gain
Maximum Available Gain MAG and Maximum Stable Gain
MSG
Unilateral Transducer Gain
Simultaneous Conjugate Match
Gain Definitions

a1 b2

ZS b1 a2
Transistor
 S11 S12  ZL
 
S21 S22 

 S 1 2  L
Z S Z1 Z2 ZL

Transducer Power Gain:

Arbitrary  S and  L

Power delivered to load P

GT   L
Power available from source PAvS

Operating Power Gain:

Independent of  S (arbitrary  L with  S  1* )

Power delivered to load PL

Gp  
Power input to network P1

Available Power Gain:

Independent of  L (arbitrary  S with  L  *2 )

Power available from network PAvL

GA  
Power available from source PAvS
62
 Transducer Power Gain

Transducer Power Gain

Arbitrary  S and  L

Power delivered to load P

GT   L
Power available from source PAvS

Z0
Transistor
Input Output
matching
 S11 S12  Z0
matching
network
 
S21 S22  network

S 1 2 L

ZS Z1 Z2 ZL

GT 
1    S 1   
S
2
21
2
L
2

1   S S11 1   L S22   S12 S21 S  L

2

1  S 1  L
2 2

GT   S21 
2

1   S 1 1   L S22
2 2

S12 S21 L
1  S11 
1  S22 L

or

1  S 1  L
2 2

GT   S21 
2

1   S S11 1   L2
2 2

S12 S21 S
2  S22 
1  S11 S

63
 For : Z G  Z 0  Z L (  S  0,  L  0)

GTZo  S21
2

GTZo  dB   10log S21  20log S21

2

Operating Power Gain

Operating Power Gain

Independent of  S (arbitrary  L with  S  1* )

Use “Operating Power Gain” for amplifier design with maximum output power, best
efficiency or lowest intermodulation. Choose  L for maximum output power, best efficiency
or lowest intermodulation. Match input conjugately to resulting 1 (  S  1* ).
S12 S21 L
1  S11 
1  S22  L

Power delivered to load PL

Gp  
Power input to network P1

Z0
Transistor
Input Output
matching  S11 S12  matching Z0
network   network
S21 S22 

S = 1* 1 2 L

ZS = Z1* Z1 Z2 ZL

64
 Gp 
S21
2
1    L
2

1   1
2
 1 S  22 L
2


S21
2
1    L
2

1  S22  L  S11   L
2 2


S21
2
1    L
2

 S   L
2

 1  11  1  S22  L
2

 1  S22  L 
 


S21
2
1    L
2

1  S11   L
2 2
S 22
2
    2 Re    S
2
L 22  S11*  

  S11S22  S12 S21

Constant Operating Power Gain circles:

The Operating Power Gain Circle is the locus of all load impedances for constant operating
power gain. The input is conjugately matched to the resulting input reflection coefficient.

1  2 K S12 S21 g p  S12 S21 g 2p

2

Rp 
 
Radius load plane
1  g p S22  
2 2

g p  S22  S11*   *
Cp 
 
Center load plane
1  g p S22  
2 2

Gp Gp
gp   2
Gain reduction for circle
GTZo S21
Gp: Desired gain

65
 Maximum Available Gain MAG and Maximum Stable Gain MSG

Maximum Available Gain:

MAG  G pmax  GTmax 

S21
S12

K  K2 1  ( K  1)

1    S11  S22
2 2 2

K 1
2  S12  S21

Maximum Stable Gain:

S21
MSG   K  1
S12

Available Power Gain

Available Power Gain

Independent of  L (arbitrary  S with  L  *2 )

Use Available Power Gain for low noise amplifier design. Choose  S for lowest noise
figure. Match output conjugately to resulting  2 (  L  *2 ).
S12 S21 S
2  S22 
1  S11 S

Power available from network PAvL

GA  
Power available from source PAvS

66
 Z0
Transistor
Input Output
matching  S11 S12  matching Z0
network   network
S21 S22 

S 1 2 L = 2*

ZS Z1 Z2 ZL = Z2*


1    S S
2
21
2

1  S  1   
GA 2 2
11 S 2


1    S S
2
21
2

1  S22   S
2 2
 S     2 Re   S
11
2 2
S 11  S22
*
 

Constant Available Power Gain circles:

The Available Power Gain Circle is the locus of all source impedances for constant available
power gain. The output is conjugately matched to the resulting output reflection coefficient.

1  2 K S12 S21 g A  S12 S21 g A2

2

RA 
 
Radius source plane
1  g A S11  
2 2

g A  S11  S 22
*
*
CA 
 
Center source plane
1  g A S11  
2 2

GA G
gA   A2 Gain reduction for circle
GTZo S21
GA: Desired gain

67
 Unilateral Transducer Gain

Unilateral Transducer Gain

S12  0  1  S11 2  S22

Use Unilateral Transducer Gain for first approximation of matching network.

Z0
Input Transistor Output
matching matching
network network Z0
GS G0 GL

 S S11 S22  L

1  S 1  L
2 2

GTU   S21 
2

1   S S11 1   L S22
2 2

GTU  GS  Go  GL

1  S 1  L
2 2

GS  Go  S21 GL 
2

1   S S11 1   L S22
2 2

Maximum unilateral gain can be achieved by conjugate match:

 S  S11 and  L  S22

1 1
GSmax  GLmax 
1  S11 1  S22
2 2

1 1
GTU max   S21 
2

1  S11 1  S22
2 2

„Unilateral Figure of Merit“ U:

S12 S21 S11 S22

U
1  S 1  S 
11
2
22
2

68
 Error boundaries:

1 GT 1
  ˆ E   Eeff  E 
1  U  GTU 1  U  2
2

 1  G   1 
10log  2 
 10log  T   10log  
 1  U    GTU   1  U 2 
   

Maximum error in dB

 1   1 
Emax  dB   10log  2 
 10log  
 1  U    1  U 2 
   

On error larger than 1 dB (U>0.1) unilateral approximation is not valid.

Constant unilateral gain circles:

RSU 
1  g SU 1  S11  2
 Radius source plane
1  S11 ( g SU  1)
2

g SU S11*
CSU  Center source plane
1  S11 ( g SU  1)
2

g SU 
GS
GSmax

 GS 1  S11
2
 Gain reduction for circle

GS: Desired gain

RLU 
1  g LU 1  S22  2
 Radius load plane
1  S22 ( g LU  1)
2

69
 *
g LU S22
CLU  Center load plane
1  S22 ( g LU  1)
2

g LU 
GL
GL max

 GL 1  S22
2
 Gain reduction for circle

GL: Desired gain

Simultaneous Conjugate Match

Simultaneous Conjugate Match

 S  1*  L  *2 K 1

Give maximum gain. Device has to be unconditionally stable  K  1 .

B1  B12  4 C1
2

 SCM   
*
1
2C1
Source

B1  1  S11  S22  
2 2 2

C1  S11  S22
*


B2  B22  4 C2
2

 LCM   
*
2
2C2
Load

B2  1  S22  S11  
2 2 2

C2  S22  S11* 

70
 Constant Noise Figure Circles

Noise Figure
2
4  rn  S   Sopt
F  Fmin 
1    1  
S
2
Sopt
2

NFmin
10
Fmin = Minimum noise factor = 10

NFmin = Minimum noise figure in dB

Rn
rn = equivalent normalized noise resistance =
Z0

 Sopt = source reflection coefficient that produces Fmin

Constant noise circle:

RFi 

N i2  N i 1   Sopt
2
 Radius
1  Ni

 Sopt
CFi  Center
1  Ni

Fi  Fmin 2
Ni   1  Sopt
4rn

Fi = desired noise factor (> Fmin )

71
File format info
Touchstone®
®
Twoport-Parameter - Files (S-, H-, Z-, Y- and ABCD-Parameter) in Touchstone - Format must follow
the rules below:

 In one line all characters after an exclamation-mark „!“ are comment only. The line terminates
with carriage return and line feed

 In front of data there must be a parameter-line:

<Frequency unit> <Parameter-designation> <Format> <R n>

 : Parameter-line designator

 <Frequency unit>: „GHz“, „MHz“, „kHz“ or „Hz“

 <Parameter-Designation>:
„S“ for S-Parameter
„H“ for H-Parameter
„Z“ for Z-Parameter
„Y“ for Y-Parameter.

 <Format>:
„MA“: magnitude-angle
„DB“: decibel-angle
„RI“: real-imaginary

 <R n>: n = normalization impedance in Ohm (e.g. R 50)

 Data:
Each line contains the data for one frequency. The parameters are separated with one space
minimum. Data must be in following sequence:

1. Frequency
2. Magnitude, decibel or real part of x11
3. Imaginary part or angle of x11
4. Magnitude, decibel or real part of x21
5. Imaginary part or angle of x21
6. Magnitude, decibel or real part of x12
7. Imaginary part or angle of x12
8. Magnitude, decibel or real part of x22
9. Imaginary part or angle of x22

x = S, H, Z, or Y.
Frequencies must be ascending sequence

At the end of the twoport parameters, noise parameters can be added:

Each line contains the data for one frequency. The parameters are separated with one
space minimum. Data must be in following sequence:

1. Frequency
2. Nfmin Minimum Noise Figure in dB
72
 3. Magnitude of reflection coefficient for NFmin
(Gamma_opt)
4. Angle of reflection coefficient for NFmin
(Gamma_opt) in degree
5. Normalized equivalent noise resistor

The lowest noise parameter frequency must be less or equal to the highest S-
Parameter frequency.

Example:

! SIEMENS Small Signal Semiconductors

! CF750
! GaAs Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit in SOT143
! VDGND = 3.8 V ID = 2 mA
! Common Source S-Parameters: April 1992
! Parameters valid for V D-GND between 3.0 and 5.0 VDC
! for Id=1.6mA MAG[S21] is abt. 10% lower
! for Id=2.8mA MAG[S21] is abt. 20% higher
! >>>>>> Source bypass capacitor must be low inductance!!
# GHz S MA R 50
! f S11 S21 S12 S22
! GHz MAG ANG MAG ANG MAG ANG MAG ANG
0.010 0.9700 -1.0 1.780 179.0 0.0020 89.0 0.9800 -1.0
0.100 0.9700 -3.0 1.780 175.0 0.0080 84.0 0.9800 -2.0
0.250 0.9600 -8.0 1.760 169.0 0.0150 78.0 0.9700 -6.0
0.500 0.9400 -16.0 1.730 155.0 0.0270 75.0 0.9500 -11.0
0.750 0.9100 -26.0 1.700 141.0 0.0390 71.0 0.9300 -16.0
1.000 0.8700 -34.0 1.680 127.0 0.0460 64.0 0.9100 -22.0
1.250 0.8300 -42.0 1.650 118.0 0.0540 62.0 0.8900 -26.0
1.500 0.7800 -49.0 1.620 108.0 0.0610 57.0 0.8800 -30.0
1.750 0.7200 -57.0 1.590 95.0 0.0660 55.0 0.8700 -34.0
2.000 0.6600 -65.0 1.540 82.0 0.0690 52.0 0.8600 -38.0
2.250 0.6100 -73.0 1.510 71.0 0.0710 54.0 0.8500 -43.0
2.500 0.5600 -81.0 1.470 60.0 0.0730 60.0 0.8400 -48.0
2.750 0.5200 -87.0 1.450 52.0 0.0740 63.0 0.8300 -52.0
3.000 0.4900 -93.0 1.420 45.0 0.0750 66.0 0.8200 -56.0
!
! NOISE
! f Fmin Gammaopt rn/50
! GHz dB MAG ANG -
0.900 1.60 0.63 26 0.98
1.800 1.90 0.52 51 0.72
!
! SIEMENS AG Semiconductor Group, Munich

®
Touchstone : Copyright by Keysight/Agilent/EEsof

73
CITI
(Text adopted from Agilent)

Overview
CITIfile is a standardized data format that is used for exchanging data between different computers
and instruments. CITIfile stands for Common Instrumentation Transfer and Interchange file format.
CITIfile defines how the data inside an ASCII package is formatted. Since it is not tied to any particular
disk or transfer format, it can be used with any operating system, such as DOS or UNIX, with any disk
format, such as DOS or HFS, or with any transfer mechanism, such as by disk, LAN, or GPIB.
By careful implementation of the standard, instruments and software packages using CITIfile are able
to load and work with data created on another instrument or computer. It is possible, for example, for a
network analyzer to directly load and display data measured on a scalar analyzer, or for a software
package running on a computer to read data measured on the network analyzer.

Data Formats
CITIfile uses the ASCII text format.
The ASCII format is accepted by most text editors. This allows files to be created, examined, and
edited easily, making CITIfile easy to test and debug.

CITIfile Definitions
This section defines: package, header, data array, and keyword.
Package
A typical CITIfile package is divided into two parts:
 The header is made up of keywords and setup information.
 The data usually consists of one or more arrays of data.
The following example shows the basic structure of a CITIfile package:

When stored in a file there may be more than one CITIfile package. With the Agilent 8510 network
analyzer, for example, storing a memory all will save all eight of the memories held in the instrument.
This results in a single file that contains eight CITIfile packages.
Header
The header section contains information about the data that will follow. It may also include information
about the setup of the instrument that measured the data. The CITIfile header shown in the first
example has the minimum of information necessary; no instrument setup information was included.
Data Array
An array is numeric data that is arranged with one data element per line. A CITIfile package may
contain more than one array of data. Arrays of data start after the BEGIN keyword, and the END
keyword follows the last data element in an array.
A CITIfile package does not necessarily need to include data arrays. For instance, CITIfile could be
used to store the current state of an instrument. In that case the keywords VAR, BEGIN, and END
would not be required.
When accessing arrays via the DAC (DataAccessComponent), the simulator requires array elements
to be listed completely and in order.
Example: S[1,1], S[1,2], S[2,1], S[2,2]
Keywords
Keywords are always the first word on a new line. They are always one continuous word without
embedded spaces.

74
CITIfile Example
2-Port S-Parameter Data File
This example shows how a CITIfile can store 2-port S-parameter data. The independent variable
name FREQ has two values located in the VAR_LIST_BEGIN section. The four DATA name
definitions indicate there are four data arrays in the CITIfile package located in the BEGIN...END
sections. The data must be in the correct order to ensure values are assigned to the intended ports.
The order in this example results in data assigned to the ports as shown in the table that follows:

CITIFILE A.01.00
NAME BAF1
VAR FREQ MAG 2
DATA S[1,1] MAGANGLE
DATA S[1,2] MAGANGLE
DATA S[2,1] MAGANGLE
DATA S[2,2] MAGANGLE
VAR_LIST_BEGIN
1E9
2E9
VAR_LIST_END
BEGIN
0.1, 2
0.2, 3
END
BEGIN
0.3, 4
0.4, 5
END
BEGIN
0.5, 6
0.6, 7
END
BEGIN
0.7, 8
0.8, 9
END

DATA FREQ = 1E9 FREQ = 2E9

s[1,1] s[0.1,2] s[0.2,3]
s[1,2] s[0.3,4] s[0.4,5]
s[2,1] s[0.5,6] s[0.6,7]
s[2,2] s[0.7,8] s[0.8,9]

For more information see Keysight/Agilent documentation.

75
EZNEC
EZNEC is a very powerful antenna simulation tool. It creates a datafile “Lastz.txt”.
The Lastz.txt file is created when a Frequency Sweep or SWR sweep is run. It contains, in comma-
delimited ASCII format, the impedance and SWR at each source and frequency. It remains in the
EZNEC program directory after the program ends and can be used for other purposes if desired. Text
headers in the first line identify the field contents.

Freq MHz Frequency in MHz

Src# Number of source
R Real part of impedance
X Imaginary part of impedance
SWR (50 ohms) VSWR referenced to 50 Ohms
SWR (alt Z0) VSWR referenced to other specified resistance

Example:

"EZNEC+ ver. 5.0"

"Vert13m h=2,5m 4xRad6m Hut4x7m","10.09.2008 12:48:36"
"Alt Z0: ",75
"Freq MHz","Src #","R","X","SWR (50 ohms)","SWR (alt. Z0)"
3.4,1,30.0344,-104.4704,9.427082,7.611355
3.45,1,31.09572,-87.45639,7.006533,5.937705
3.5,1,32.19752,-70.44454,5.082611,4.596093
3.55,1,33.35558,-53.0484,3.573638,3.53528
3.6,1,34.53947,-35.95722,2.484591,2.770061
3.65,1,35.77891,-18.79243,1.733638,2.262968
3.7,1,37.08047,-1.231948,1.350235,2.02335
3.75,1,38.42399,16.13573,1.567183,2.071931
3.8,1,39.82835,33.66065,2.157393,2.371814
3.85,1,41.2804,51.10541,2.964938,2.861347
3.9,1,42.81051,68.93056,3.993486,3.518317

For more information see EZNEC documentation.

76
References
[1] Medley, Max W.: Microwave and RF Circuits: Analysis, Synthesis and Design. Norwood:
Artech House, Inc., 1993. ISBN 0-89006-546-2

[2] Gonzalez, Guillermo: Microwave transistor amplifiers. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1984. ISBN 0-13-581646-7

[3] Vendelin, George David: Microwave circuit design using linear and nonlinear techniques.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990. ISBN 0-471-60276-0

[4] Dellsperger, Fritz: Vorlesung Hochfrequenztechnik, Kapitel "Leitungen" (Lecture: High

Frequency Engineering, Chapter "Lines")
1989-2005, Bern University of Applied Sciences

[5] Dellsperger, Fritz: Vorlesung "Verstärker-Entwurf mit S-Parameter" (Lecture: Amplifier

Design with S-Parameter)
1997-2005, Bern University of Applied Sciences

[6] M.L. Edwards/J.H. Sinsky: A new criterion for linear 2-port stability using geometrically
derived parameters
IEEE Transaction on MTT, Vol. 40, No. 12, pp. 2303-2311, Dec. 1992

[7] Pieper, Ron; Dellsperger, Fritz: Personal Computer Assisted Tutorial for Smith-Charts
rd
IEEE Proceedings of the 33 Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, pp. 139-143,
March 2001

[8] Dellsperger, Fritz; Kaufmann, Alfred: Vorlesung "Telekom-Elektronik" (Lecture: Telecom

electronics, circuit design)
2006-2012, Bern University of Applied Sciences

[9] Keysight/Agilent/EEsof: Advanced Design System, ADS 2009, Documentation

www.keysight.com

[10] Lewallen, Roy, W7EL: EZNEC Antenna Software, Documentation

www.eznec.com

77
License, Demoversion and Contact
The unlicensed Demoversion allows 5 elements and 5 datapoints only. Save project and save
netlist are disabled.

If you are interested in a licensed version with full capabilities send an e-mail to

[email protected]

Commercial licenses are priced to US$ 120

Licenses for universities, students and Ham’s with callsign are priced to US$ 80

Demoversion and additional documents related to the Smith-Chart can be downloaded at

www.fritz.dellsperger.net

78
It’s a long way to a perfect software...
If this ever exists...

While using our Smith software you may find bugs or new features to implement.

Send me a mail.
For next version we will fix the bugs and maybe put a few new ones.
We will also think about new features...

We’re working hard...

Prof. Fritz Dellsperger

Dipl. Ing. Michel Baud

October 2016
May 2010
January 2010
October 2009
September 2005
November 2004

Former team members at

Bern University of Applied Sciences
Engineering and Information Technology
Division of Electrical- and Communication Technology

Jürg Tschirren
Roger Wetzel
Martin Aebersold
Stephan Roethlisberger

April 2004
March 2004
July 2002
July 2000
February 1998
August 1995

79
History
Version 4.0 to Version 4.1, January 2018

Fixed bug in labels of circles (VSWR, Q)

Solved Problems with multiple datapoints and editing or tuning serial line
Solved Problems with multiple datapoints, datapoint sweep and tuning serial line length
Corrected text for Operating Power Gain Circles in circle window
Fixed bug with input for “number of points” in frequency sweep
Corrected CITI file load problems in S-Plot
Corrected S21 and S12 swapping in s2p file from “Export > CITI-to S” in S-Plot
Fixed different labels and minor bugs in “Smith” and “S-Plot”

Version 3.01 to Version 4.0, October 2016

Added Tuning Cockpit to tune element values with sliders

Fixed bugs in element definitions, frequency sweeps and other subjects
Solved problems with Decimal Symbol in window settings
Corrected file load problems in S-Plot
Minor changes in menue and dialog boxes

Version 3.01 to Version 3.10, May 2010

Added Frequency and Datapoint Sweep

Serial transmission line with loss (attenuation)
Export datapoint and circle info to ASCII-file for post-processing in spreadsheets or math software
Linear or logarithmic frequency axis in S-Plot graphs
Cursor readout in S-Plot graphs
Minor changes in toolboxes and settings

Version 3.0 to Version 3.01, January 2010

Fixed problem with key-files including “Umlauts” and other vowel mutations
Allow delete of manually defined VSWR-circles
Solved problems with gain-, noise- and stability-circle dialogbox
Automatic update of values in schematic on selecting active datapoint and insert circuit elements
Fixed bug for line length units in schematic
Last input of Er on line elements will be default value for next line insertion
Replaced “Ohm” with greek  in some dialogboxes
Removed unused checkbuttons in window “Datapoints”
Correct frequency assignment from datapoints to circuit elements

Version 2.03 to Version 3.0, October 2009

Complete redesign

Version 2.02 to Version 2.03, September 2005

Version 2.01 to Version 2.02, November 2004

Version 2.00 to Version 2.01, April 2004

Version 1.92 to Version 2.0, March 2004

Version 1.91 to Version 1.92, July 2002

Version 1.90 to Version 1.91, July 2000

Version 1.82 to Version 1.90, June 2000

Version 1.71 to Version 1.82, February 1998

Version 1.0, August 1995

80