S-Parameter Techniques: Test & Measurement

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H Test & Measurement
Appl i cati on Note 95- 1
S-Parameter
Techniques
for Faster, More Accurate Network Design

Contents
1. Forew ord and I ntroducti on
2. Tw o- Port Netw ork Theory
3. Usi ng S- Parameters
4. Netw ork Cal cul ati ons w i th Scatteri ng Parameters
5. Ampl i fi er Desi gn usi ng Scatteri ng Parameters
6. M easurement of S- Parameters
7. Narrow - Band Ampl i fi er Desi gn
8. Broadband Ampl i fi er Desi gn
9. Stabi l i ty Consi derati ons and the Desi gn of
Refl ecti on Ampl i fi ers and Osci l l ators
Appendi x A. Addi ti onal Readi ng on S- Parameters
Appendi x B. Scatteri ng Parameter Rel ati onshi ps
Appendi x C. The Softw are Revol uti on
Rel evant Products, Educati on and I nformati on
Contacti ng Hew l ett- Packard
Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company, 1997. 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto California, USA.
H
Test & Measurement
Applicat ion Not e 95-1
S-Par amet er Techniques

3
Foreword
H
Test & Measurement
Applicat ion Not e
95-1
February 1967 HP Journal

Cover of issue in which
the original S-Parameters
Theory and Application,
written during Christmas
holiday 1966, first appeared.
HP Journal is now online at:
www.hp.com/ go/ journal
HEWLETT-PACKARD J OURNAL
FEBRUARY 1967
A NEW MICROWAVE INSTRUMENT SWEEP
MEASURES GAIN, PHASE IMPEDANCE

WITH SCOPE OR METER READOUT; page 2
THE MICROWAVE ANALYZER IN THE
FUTURE; page 11
S-PARAMETERS THEORY AND
APPLICATIONS; page 13
Cover:
See Also:
This applicat ion not e is based on an art icle writ t en for t he

February 1967 issue of t he Hewlett-Packard Jou rn al, yet
it s cont ent remains import ant t oday. S-paramet ers are an
essent ial part of high-frequency design, t hough much else
has changed during t he past 30 years. During t hat t ime,
HP has cont inuously forged ahead t o help creat e t oday' s
leading t est and measurement environment .
We cont inuously apply our capabilit ies in measurement ,

communicat ion, and comput at ion t o produce innovat ions
t hat help you t o improve your business result s. In wireless
communicat ions, for example, we est imat e t hat 85 percent
of t he worlds GSM ( Groupe Speciale Mobile) t elephones
are t est ed wit h HP inst rument s. Our accomplishment s
30 years hence may exceed our boldest conject ures.
This int eract ive applicat ion not e revises and updat es
t he1967 art icle for online elect ronic media. It reflect s
t he changes in our indust ry, while reminding us of t he
underlying scient ific basis for t he t echnology, and t akes
advant age of a pot ent new informat ion disseminat ion capabilit y,
t he World Wide Web. We hope you find t his t ut orial useful.

Richard Anderson,
HP Vice President and General Manager,
Microwave and Communicat ions Group
4
Linear net works, or nonlinear net works operat ing wit h signals
sufficient ly small t o cause t he net works t o respond in a linear
manner, can be complet ely charact erized by paramet ers
measured at t he net work t erminals ( port s) wit hout regard t o
t he cont ent s of t he net works. Once t he paramet ers of a
net work have been det ermined, it s behavior in any ext ernal
environment can be predict ed, again wit hout regard t o t he
cont ent s of t he net work.
S-paramet ers are import ant in microwave design because t hey
are easier t o measure and work wit h at high frequencies t han
ot her kinds of paramet ers. They are concept ually simple,
analyt ically convenient , and capable of providing a great
insight int o a measurement or design problem.
To show how s-paramet ers ease microwave design, and how
you can best t ake advant age of t heir abilit ies, t his applicat ion
not e describes s-paramet ers and flow graphs, and relat es t hem
t o more familiar concept s such as t ransducer power gain and
volt age gain. Dat a obt ained wit h a net work analyzer is used t o
illust rat e amplifier design.
Introduction
1
Maxwells equations
All electromagnetic
behaviors can ultimately be
explained by Maxwells four
basic equations:
However, it isnt always
possible or convenient to
use these equations directly.
Solving them can be quite
difficult. Efficient design
requires the use of
approximations such
as lumped and distributed
models.

+
D E
B
B H j
D
t
t
0
H
Test & Measurement
5
Alt hough a net work may have any number of port s,
net work paramet ers can be explained most easily by
considering a net work wit h only t wo port s, an input port
and an out put port , like t he net work shown in Figure 1.
To charact erize t he performance of such a net work, any
of several paramet er set s can be used, each of which has
cert ain advant ages. Each paramet er set is relat ed t o a set of
four variables associat ed wit h t he t wo-port model. Two of t hese
variables represent t he excit at ion of t he net work ( independent
variables) , and t he remaining t wo represent t he response of
t he net work t o t he excit at ion ( dependent variables) . If t he
net work of Fig. 1 is excit ed by volt age sources V
1
and V
2
, t he
net work current s I
1
and I
2
will be relat ed by t he following
equat ions ( assuming t he net work behaves linearly) :
( 1)
( 2)
I y V y V
2 21 1 22 2
+

I y V y V
1 11 1 12 2
+
2
Two-Port Network Theory
Figure 1
General t wo-port net work.
H
Test & Measurement
I
1
I
2
V
1
V
2
TWO - PORT
NETWORK
+ +

Port 2 Port 1
Why are models needed?
Models help us predict the
behavior of components,
circuits, and systems.
Lumped models are useful at
lower frequencies, where
some physical effects can be
ignored because they are so
small. Distributed models
are needed at RF frequencies
and higher to account for the
increased behavioral impact
of those physical effects.
6
In t his case, wit h port volt ages select ed
as independent variables and port
current s t aken as dependent variables,
t he relat ing paramet ers are called
short -circuit admit t ance paramet ers,
or y-paramet ers. In t he absence of
addit ional informat ion, four
measurement s are required t o det ermine t he four paramet ers
y
11
,
y
12
,
y
21
,
y
22
. Each measurement is made wit h one port
of t he net work excit ed by a volt age source while t he ot her
port is short circuit ed. For example, y
21,
t he forward
t ransadmit t ance, is t he rat io of t he current at port 2 t o t he
volt age at port 1 wit h port 2 short circuit ed, as shown in
equat ion 3.
( 3)
y
I
V
V
21
2
1
0
2
( output short circuited)

2
Two-port models
Two-port, three-port, and
n-port models simplify the
input / output response of
active and passive devices
and circuits into black
boxes described by a set
of four linear parameters.
Lumped models use
representations such as
Y (conductances),
Z (resistances), and
h (a mixture of conductances
and resistances). Distributed
models use s-parameters
(transmission and reflection
coefficients).
H
Test & Measurement
7
If ot her independent and dependent variables had been
chosen, t he net work would have been described, as
before, by t wo linear equat ions similar t o equat ions 1
and 2, except t hat t he variables and t he paramet ers
describing t heir relat ionships would be different .
However, all paramet er set s cont ain t he same
informat ion about a net work, and it is always possible
t o calculat e any set in t erms of any ot her set .
Scat t ering paramet ers, which are commonly referred
t o as s-paramet ers, are a paramet er set t hat relat es t o
t he t raveling waves t hat are scat t ered or reflect ed
when an n-port net work is insert ed int o a t ransmission
line.
Appendix B Scat t ering Paramet er Relat ionships
cont ains t ables convert ing scat t ering paramet ers t o
and from conduct ance paramet ers ( y) ,
resistance parameters ( z) , and a mixture of
conductances and resistances parameters ( h) .
2
H
Test & Measurement
8
3
Using S-Parameters
The ease wit h which scat t ering paramet ers can be measured
makes t hem especially well suit ed for describing t ransist ors and
ot her act ive devices. Measuring most ot her paramet ers calls for
t he input and out put of t he device t o be successively opened
and short circuit ed. This can be hard t o do, especially at RF
frequencies where lead induct ance and capacit ance make short
and open circuit s difficult t o obt ain. At
higher frequencies t hese measurement s
t ypically require t uning st ubs, separat ely
adjust ed at each measurement frequency,
t o reflect short or open circuit condit ions
t o t he device t erminals. Not only is t his
inconvenient and t edious, but a t uning
st ub shunt ing t he input or out put may
cause a t ransist or t o oscillat e, making
t he measurement invalid.
S-paramet ers, on t he ot her hand, are usually measured wit h t he
device imbedded bet ween a 50 load and source, and t here is
very lit t le chance for oscillat ions t o occur.
H
Test & Measurement

9
( 4) ( 5)

b
V Z I
Z
i
i i i
i
=
*
Re 2

a
V Z I
Z
i
i i i
i
=
+
2 Re
3
Transmission and Reflection
When light interacts with a
lens, as in this photograph,
part of the light incident on
the woman' s eyeglasses is
reflected while the rest is
transmitted. The amounts
reflected and transmitted
are characterized by optical
reflection and transmission
coefficients. Similarly,
scattering parameters are
measures of reflection and
transmission of voltage
waves through a two-port
electrical network.
Using S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
Anot her import ant advant age of s-paramet ers st ems from
t he fact t hat t raveling waves, unlike t erminal volt ages and
current s, do not vary in magnit ude at point s along a lossless
t ransmission line. This means t hat scat t ering paramet ers can
be measured on a device locat ed at some dist ance from t he
measurement t ransducers, provided t hat t he measuring device
and t he t ransducers are connect ed by low-loss t ransmission lines.
De r i va t i on
Generalized scat t ering paramet ers have been defined by
K. Kurokawa [Appendix A]. These paramet ers describe
t he int errelat ionships of a new set of variables ( a
i
, b
i
) .
The variables a
i
and b
i
are normalized complex volt age waves
incident on and reflect ed from t he i
t h
port of t he net work.
They are defined in t erms of t he t erminal volt age V
i
, t he
t erminal current I
i
, and an arbit rary reference impedance Z
i
,
where t he ast erisk denot es t he complex conjugat e:

For most measurement s and calculat ions it is convenient
t o assume t hat t he reference impedance Z
i
is posit ive
and real. For t he remainder of t his art icle, t hen, all
variables and paramet ers will be referenced t o a single
posit ive real impedance, Z
0
.
The wave funct ions used t o define s-paramet ers for a
t wo-port net work are shown in Fig. 2.
10
3
Figure 2
Two-port net work showing incident waves
(a
1
, a
2
) and ref lect ed waves (b
1
, b
2
) used in
s-paramet er def init ions. The f low graph f or
t his net work appears in Figure 3.
Using S-Parameters
Scattering parameters
relationship to optics
Impedance mismatches
between successive
elements in an RF circuit
relate closely to optics,
where there are successive
differences in the index of
refraction. A materials
characteristic impedance,
Z
0
, is inversely related to
the index of refraction, N:
The s-parameters s
11
and
s
22
are the same as optical
reflection coefficients;
s
12
and s
21
are the same
as optical transmission
coefficients.
N
Z
0
377
1
=
H
Test & Measurement
a
1
Z
S
Z
L
V
S
a
2
b
1
b
2
TWO - PORT
NETWORK
11
The independent variables a
1
and a
2
are normalized
incident volt ages, as follows:
( 6)
( 7)
Dependent variables b
1
, and b
2
, are normalized reflected voltages:
( 8)
( 9)

b
V I Z
Z Z
V
Z
r
2
2 2 0
0 0
2
0
2

voltage wave reflected from port 2

b
V I Z
Z Z
V
Z
r
1
1 1 0
0 0
1
0
2

voltage wave reflected from port 1

a
V I Z
Z Z
V
Z
i
2
2 2 0
0 0
2
0
2
+

voltage wave incident on port 2

a
V I Z
Z Z
V
Z
i
1
1 1 0
0 0
1
0
2
+

voltage wave incident on port 1

3
Using S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
The linear equat ions describing t he t wo-port net work are
t hen:
( 10)
( 11)
The s-paramet ers s
11
, s
22
, s
21
, and s
12
are:
( 12)
( 13)
( 14)
( 15)

s
b
a
a
12
1
2
0
1

s
b
a
a
21
2
1
0
2

s
b
a
a
22
2
2
0
1

s
b
a
a
11
1
1
0
2

b s a s a
2 21 1 22 2
+

b s a s a
1 11 1 12 2
+
12
3
= Out put reflect ion coefficient
wit h t he input t erminat ed by a
mat ched load ( Z
S
=Z
0
set s V
s
=0)
= Forward t ransmission ( insert ion)
gain wit h t he out put port
t erminat ed in a mat ched load.
= Reverse t ransmission ( insert ion)
gain wit h t he input port
t erminat ed in a mat ched load.
Using S-Parameters
Limitations of
lumped models
At l ow f requenci es most
ci rcui t s behave i n a
predi ct abl e manner and
can be descri bed by a
group of repl aceabl e,
l umped-equi val ent bl ack
boxes. At mi crowave
f requenci es, as ci rcui t
el ement si ze approaches
t he wavel engt hs of t he
operat i ng f requenci es,
such a si mpl i f i ed t ype
of model becomes
i naccurat e. The physi cal
arrangement s of t he
ci rcui t component s can
no l onger be t reat ed as
bl ack boxes. We have t o
use a di st ri but ed ci rcui t
el ement model and
s-paramet ers.
= Input reflect ion coefficient wit h
t he out put port t erminat ed by a
mat ched load ( Z
L
=Z
0
set s a
2
=0)
H
Test & Measurement
13
Not ice t hat
( 16)
and
( 17)
where is t he input impedance at port 1.
This relat ionship bet ween reflect ion coefficient and impedance
is t he basis of t he Smit h Chart t ransmission-line calculat or.
Consequent ly, t he reflect ion coefficient s s
11
and s
22
can be
plot t ed on Smit h chart s, convert ed direct ly t o impedance, and
easily manipulat ed t o det ermine mat ching net works for
opt imizing a circuit design.

Z
V
I
1
1
1

Z Z
s
s
1 0
11
11
1
1
( )
( )

s
b
a
V
I
Z
V
I
Z
Z Z
Z Z
11
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1 0
1 0

+
3
S-parameters
S-paramet ers and
di st ri but ed model s
provi de a means of
measuri ng, descri bi ng,
and charact eri zi ng
ci rcui t el ement s when
t radi t i onal l umped-
equi val ent ci rcui t
model s cannot predi ct
ci rcui t behavi or t o t he
desi red l evel of
accuracy. They are used
f or t he desi gn of many
product s, such as
cel l ul ar t el ephones.
Using S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement

Smi t h Cha r t Tr a nsf or ma t i on
The movie at t he right animat es t he
mapping bet ween t he complex impedance
plane and t he Smit h Chart . The Smit h
Chart is used t o plot reflect ances, but t he
circular grid lines allow easy reading of
t he corresponding impedance. As t he
animat ion shows, t he rect angular grid
lines of t he impedance plane are
t ransformed t o circles and arcs on t he
Smit h Chart .
Vert ical lines of const ant resist ance on t he impedance plane
are t ransformed int o circles on t he Smit h Chart . Horizont al
lines of const ant react ance on t he impedance plane are
t ransformed int o arcs on t he Smit h Chart . The t ransformat ion
bet ween t he impedance plane and t he Smit h Chart is nonlinear,
causing normalized resist ance and react ance values great er
t han unit y t o become compressed t owards t he right side of t he
Smit h Chart .
14
3
Using S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
Animation 1
Transf ormat i on bet ween
t he i mpedance pl ane and
t he Smi t h Chart . Cl i ck
over i mage t o ani mat e.
Showing transformations
graphically
To ease hi s RF desi gn
work, Bel l Labs Phi l l i p H.
Smi t h devel oped i ncreas-
i ngl y accurat e and power-
f ul graphi cal desi gn ai ds.
One versi on, a pol ar co-
ordi nat e f orm, worked f or
al l val ues of i mpedance
component s, but Smi t h
suspect ed t hat a gri d wi t h
ort hogonal ci rcl es mi ght
be more pract i cal . In 1937
he const ruct ed t he basi c
Smi t h Chart st i l l used
t oday, usi ng a t ransf orma-
t i on devel oped by co-
workers E.B. Ferrel l and
J.W. McRae t hat accom-
modat es al l dat a val ues
f rom zero t o i nf i ni t y.

15
Adva nt a ge s of S- Pa r a me t e r s
The previous equat ions show one of t he import ant
advant ages of s-paramet ers, namely t hat t hey are
simply gains and reflect ion coefficient s, bot h
familiar quant it ies t o engineers.
By comparison, some of t he y-paramet ers
described earlier in t his art icle are not so familiar.
For example, t he y-paramet er corresponding
t o insert ion gain s
21
is t he forward
t rans-admit t ance y
21
given by
equat ion 3. Clearly, insert ion
gain gives by far t he
great er insight int o
t he operat ion of
t he net work.
3
Digital pulses
Di gi t al pul ses are
compri sed of hi gh-order
harmoni c f requenci es
t hat det ermi ne t he shape
of t he pul se. A short
pul se wi t h st eep edges
has a si gnal spect rum
wi t h rel at i vel y hi gh
power l evel s at very hi gh
f requenci es. As a resul t ,
some el ement s i n
modern hi gh-speed
di gi t al ci rcui t s requi re
charact eri zat i on wi t h
di st ri but ed model s and
s-paramet ers f or accurat e
perf ormance predi ct i on.
Using S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
16
3
Using S-Parameters
Anot her advant age of s-paramet ers springs from t he
simple relat ionship bet ween t he variables a
1
, a
2
, b
1
,
and b
2
, and various power waves:

b
2
2
Power reflected from the output port of the network.

Power incident on the load.
Power that would be delivered to a Z load.
0

b
1
2
Power reflected from the input port of the network.

Power available from a Z source minus the power
delivered to the input of the network.
0

a
2
2
Power incident on the output of the network.

Power reflected from the load.

a
Z
1
2
0
Power incident on the input of the network

Power available from a source impedance
.
.
Radar
The devel opment
of radar, whi ch
uses powerf ul si gnal s
at short wavel engt hs t o
det ect smal l obj ect s at
l ong di st ances, provi ded
a powerf ul i ncent i ve f or
i mproved hi gh f requency
desi gn met hods duri ng
Worl d War II. The desi gn
met hods empl oyed at
t hat t i me combi ned
di st ri but ed measurement s
and l umped ci rcui t
desi gn. There was an
urgent need f or an
ef f i ci ent t ool t hat coul d
i nt egrat e measurement
and desi gn. The Smi t h
Chart met t hat need.
H
Test & Measurement
S-Par amet er
Techniques
17
The previous four equat ions show t hat s-paramet ers are
simply relat ed t o power gain and mismat ch loss,
quant it ies which are oft en of more int erest
t han t he corresponding volt age funct ions:

s
12
2
Reverse transducer power gain with Z load and source
0

s
21
2
Power delivered to a Z load

Power available from Z source
Transducer power gain with Z load and source
0
0
0

s
22
2
Power reflected from the network output

Power incident on the network output

s
11
2
Power reflected from the network input

Power incident on the network input
3
Using S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
18
H
Test & Measurement
Si gna l Fl ow Gr a phs
Scat t ering paramet ers t urn out t o be part icularly convenient
in many net work calculat ions. This is especially t rue for power
and power gain calculat ions. The t ransfer paramet ers s
12
and
s
21
are a measure of t he complex insert ion gain, and t he
driving point paramet ers s
11
and s
22
are a measure of t he input
and out put mismat ch loss. As dimensionless expressions of
gain and reflect ion, t he s-paramet ers not only give a clear and
meaningful physical int erpret at ion of t he net work performance,
but also form a nat ural set of paramet ers for use wit h signal
flow graphs [See references here and also in Appendix A ].
Of course, it is not necessary t o use signal flow graphs in order
t o use s-paramet ers, but flow graphs make s-paramet er
calculat ions ext remely simple. Therefore, t hey are st rongly
recommended. Flow graphs will be used in t he examples
t hat follow.
4
References
J. K. Hunton, Analysis of
Microwave Measurement
Techniques by Means of
Signal Flow Graphs,
IRE Transactions on
Microwave Theory and
Techniques, Vol. MTT-8,
No. 2, March, 1960.
N. Kuhn, Simplified Signal
Flow Graph Analysis,
Microwave Journal, Vol. 6,
No. 11, November, 1963.
Network Calculations with
Scattering Parameters
19
In a signal flow graph, each port is
represent ed by t wo nodes. Node a
n
represent s t he wave coming int o t he
device from anot her device at port n,
and node b
n
represent s t he wave
leaving t he device at port n. The
complex scat t ering coefficient s are
t hen represent ed as mult ipliers on
branches connect ing t he nodes wit hin
t he net work and in adjacent
net works. Fig. 3, right , is t he flow
graph represent at ion of t he syst em of Fig. 2.
Figure 3 shows t hat if t he load reflect ion coefficient
L
is
zero ( Z
L
= Z
0
) t here is only one pat h connect ing b
1
t o a
1
( flow graph rules prohibit signal flow against t he forward
direct ion of a branch arrow) . This confirms t he definit ion
of s
11
:

s
b
a
a b
L
11
1
1
0
2 2

s
11
s
22
s
21
s
12
a
1
a
2
b
2
b
1
1
S
Z Z
b
V Z
S
S
=
+
0
0
L
L
L
Z Z
Z Z
=
-
+
0
0
S
S
S
Z Z
Z Z
=
-
+
0
0
Figure 3
Fl ow graph f or
t wo-port net work
appeari ng i n Fi gure 2.
4
H
Test & Measurement
20
The simplificat ion of net work analysis by flow graphs result s
from t he applicat ion of t he non-t ouching loop rule. This rule
applies a generalized formula t o det ermine t he t ransfer
funct ion bet ween any t wo nodes wit hin a complex syst em. The
non-t ouching loop rule is explained below.
The Nontouchi ng Loop Rul e
The nont ouching loop rule provides a
simple met hod for writ ing t he solut ion of
any flow graph by inspect ion. The solut ion
T ( t he rat io of t he out put variable t o t he
input variable) is defined, where:
T
k
= pat h gain of t he k
t h
forward pat h
= 1
(
all individual loop gains
)
+
(
loop gain product s of all possible
combinat ions of 2 nont ouching loops
)

(
loop gain product s of all possible
combinat ions of 3 nont ouching loops
)
+
. . .
k
= The value of not t ouching t he k
t h
forward pat h.
4
Better Smith Charts
On t he copyri ght ed Smi t h
Chart , curves of const ant
st andi ng wave rat i o,
const ant at t enuat i on, and
const ant ref l ect i on
coef f i ci ent are al l ci rcl es
coaxi al wi t h t he cent er of
t he di agram. Ref i nement s
t o t he ori gi nal f orm have
enhanced i t s usef ul ness.
In an art i cl e publ i shed i n
1944, f or exampl e, Smi t h
descri bed an i mproved
versi on and showed how
t o use i t wi t h ei t her
i mpedance or admi t t ance
coordi nat es. More recent
i mprovement s i ncl ude
doubl e Smi t h Chart s f or
i mpedance mat chi ng and
a scal e f or cal cul at i ng
phase di st ance.
H
Test & Measurement

T
T
k k
k

21
A pat h is a cont inuous succession of branches, and a forward
pat h is a pat h connect ing t he input node t o t he out put node,
where no node is encount ered more t han once. Pat h gain is
t he product of all t he branch mult ipliers along t he pat h. A loop
is a pat h t hat originat es and t erminat es on t he same node, no
node being encount ered more t han once. Loop gain is t he
product of t he branch mult ipliers around t he loop.
For example, in Figure 3 t here is only one forward pat h from
b
s
t o b
2,
and it s gain is s
21
. There are t wo pat hs from b
s
t o b
1
;
t heir pat h gains are s
21
s
12
L
and s
11
respect ively. There are
t hree individual loops, only one combinat ion of t wo
nont ouching loops, and no combinat ions of t hree or more
nont ouching loops. Therefore, t he value of for t his net work
is
The t ransfer funct ion from b
s
t o b
2
is t herefore
b
b
s
s
2
21
=
4
H
Test & Measurement
S-parameters & Smith Charts
Invent ed i n t he 1960 s,
S-paramet ers are a way
t o combi ne di st ri but ed
desi gn and di st ri but ed
measurement . s
11
and s
22
,
t he t wo s-paramet ers
t ypi cal l y represent ed usi ng
Smi t h Chart s, are si mi l ar t o
l umped model s i n many
respect s because t hey are
rel at ed t o t he i nput
i mpedance and out put
i mpedance, respect i vel y.
The Smi t h Chart perf orms
a hi ghl y usef ul t ransl at i on
bet ween t he di st ri but ed
and l umped model s and i s
used t o predi ct ci rcui t and
syst em behavi or.
( )
s s
s s
11 12
21 22
= + + + 1
11 21 12 22 11 22
( s s s s s s
S L S L L S
)

22
Tr a nsduc e r Pow e r Ga i n
Using scat t ering paramet er flow-graphs and t he non-t ouching
loop rule, it is easy t o calculat e t he t ransducer power gain wit h an
arbit rary load and source. In t he following equat ions, t he load and
source are described by t heir reflect ion coefficient s
L
and
S
,
respect ively, referenced t o t he real charact erist ic impedance Z
0
.
Transducer power gain:
G
P
P
P P P
b
P
b
G
b
b
T
L
avS
L
L
avS
S
S
T
S
S L
= =
=
=
=
=
Power delivered to the load
Power available from the source
incident on load reflected from load ( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
2 2
2
2
2
2
2 2
1
1
( )
1 1

4
H
Test & Measurement
23
4
Obtaining maximum
performance
S-paramet ers are used
t o charact eri ze RF and
mi crowave component s
t hat must operat e
t oget her, i ncl udi ng
ampl i f i ers, t ransmi ssi on
l i nes, and ant ennas (and
f ree space). Because
s-paramet ers al l ow t he
i nt eract i ons bet ween
such component s t o be
si mpl y predi ct ed and
cal cul at ed, t hey make i t
possi bl e t o maxi mi ze
perf ormance i n areas
such as power t ransf er,
di rect i vi t y, and
f requency response.
Using t he non-t ouching loop rule,
( 18)
Two ot her paramet ers of int erest are:
1) Input reflect ion coefficient wit h t he out put
t erminat ion arbit rary and Z
s
= Z
0
.
( 19)

+
s
b
a
s s s s
s
s
s s
s
L L
L
L
L
11
1
1
11 22 21 12
22
11
21 12
22
1
1
1
( )

b
b
s
s s s s s s
s
s s s s
G
s
s s s s
S S L L S S L
S L L S
T
S L
S L L S
2
21
11 22 21 12 11 22
21
11 22 21 12
21
2 2 2
11 22 21 12
2
1
1 1
1 1
1 1

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
H
Test & Measurement
24
2) Volt age gain wit h arbit rary source
and load impedances
( 20)
Appendix B cont ains formulas for calculat ing many oft en-used
net work funct ions ( power gains, driving point charact erist ics,
et c.) in t erms of scat t ering paramet ers. Also included are
conversion formulas bet ween s-paramet ers and h-, y-, and
z-paramet ers, which are ot her paramet er set s used very oft en
for specifying t ransist ors at lower frequencies.

A
V
V
V a b Z V V
V a b Z V V
a b
b s a
A
b
a s
s
s s
V i r
i r
L
V
L L
L
+ +
+ +
+
+

+
+
2
1
1 1 1 0 1 1
2 2 2 0 2 2
2 2
1 11 1
2
1 11
21
22 11
1
1
1
1 1
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
4
Waveguides
A radar syst em del i vers a
l arge amount of energy
f rom a mi crowave (W)
source t o t he t ransmi t t i ng
ant enna. The hi gh f i el d
st rengt hs cause short
ci rcui t s i n st andard wi res,
cabl i ng, and coax, so
wavegui des are used.
These hol l ow met al t ube
const ruct i ons conduct W
energy much l i ke a
pl umbi ng syst em. In t he
desi gn of wavegui des, we
can t est f or si gnal ref l ec-
t i ons and t ransmi ssi on
qual i t y wi t h s-paramet ers.
H
Test & Measurement

Traveling wave amplifier
S-parameters are extensively
used for designing RF/W
circuits such as the HP TC702
distributed traveling wave
amplifier (TWA) enlarged
in the photograph below.
The frequency-dependent
impedances (or dispersion)
in this integrated circuit can
not be modeled by lumped-
equivalent circuit elements,
but s-parameters can
accurately characterize the
amplifier' s response.
25
Usi ng Sc a t t e r i ng Pa r a me t e r s
The remainder of t his applicat ion not e will show wit h several
examples how s-paramet ers are used in t he design of t ransist or
amplifiers and oscillat ors. To keep t he discussion from becoming
bogged down in ext raneous det ails, t he emphasis in t hese
examples will be on s-paramet er design methods,
and mat hemat ical manipulat ions will
be omit t ed wherever possible.
5
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
The HP 83017A mi crowave
system ampl i fi er achi eves
0.526.5 GHz bandwi dth by
i ncorporati ng the HP TC702
GaAs MESFET TWA IC.

26
Most design problems will begin wit h a
t ent at ive select ion of a device and t he
measurement of it s s-paramet ers.
Figures 4a 4e, which appear t o t he
right and on t he next t wo pages, are a
set of oscillograms showing complet e
s-paramet er dat a bt ween 100 MHz and
1.7 GHz for a 2N3478 t ransist or in t he
common-emit t er configurat ion.
These graphs are t he result s of swept -
frequency measurement s made wit h t he
classic HP 8410A microwave net work
analyzer. They were originally published
as part of t he 1967 HP Jou rn al art icle.
Measurement s made wit h a modern
net work analyzer are present ed at t he
end of t his sect ion. While t he
measurement t ools have changed over
t he past 30 years, t he basic
measurement t echniques have not .
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
Figure 4a
s
11
of a 2N3478 t ransi st or measured wi t h t he
cl assi c HP 8410A net work anal yzer. Out ermost
ci rcl e on Smi t h Chart overl ay corresponds t o
|s
11
| = 1. The movement of s
11
wi t h f requency
i s approxi mat el y al ong ci rcl es of const ant
resi st ance, i ndi cat i ve of seri es capaci t ance and
i nduct ance.
H
Test & Measurement
1700 MHz
100 MHz
S
11

Figure 4c
Magni tude and phase of s
12
. Whi l e the
phase of s
12
i s rel ati vel y i nsensi ti ve to the
frequency, the magni tude of s
12
i ncreases
about 6dB/octave.
27
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
Figure 4b
Di spl ayed on the same scal e as Fi gure 4a,
s
22
moves between the i ndi cated frequenci es
roughl y al ong ci rcl es of constant conductance,
characteri sti c of a shunt RC equi val ent ci rcui t.
H
Test & Measurement
1700 MHz
100 MHz
S
22
30
dB
110
1700 MHz 100 MHz
|
S
12
|
10 dB/cm
S
12
50/cm

Figure 4e Removing Linear Phase Shift.
Magni t ude and phase of s
21
measured
wi t h a l i ne st ret cher adj ust ed t o remove
t he l i near phase shi f t above 500 MHz.
28
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
Figure 4d Magnitude and phase of s
21
.
The magni t ude of s
21
decays wi t h a sl ope
of about 6 dB/oct ave, whi l e t he phase
decreases l i nearl y above 500 MHz.
0 dB
+
90
1700 MHz 100 MHz
|
S
21
|
10 dB/ cm
S
21
50/ cm
0 dB

+
20
1700 MHz 100 MHz
|
S
21
|
10 dB/ cm
S
21
50/ cm

29
In Fig. 4f, t he magnit ude of s
21
from Fig. 4d is
replot t ed on a logarit hmic frequency scale,
along wit h addit ional dat a on s
21
below
100 MHz, measured wit h a vect or volt met er.
The magnit ude of s
21
is essent ially const ant
t o 125 MHz, and t hen it rolls off at a slope of
6 dB/oct ave.
The phase of s
21
, as seen in
Fig. 4d, varies linearly wit h
frequency above about 500 MHz.
By adjust ing a calibrat ed line
st ret cher in t he net work
analyzer, a compensat ing linear
phase shift was int roduced, and
t he phase curve of Fig. 4e
result ed. To go from t he phase
curve of Fig. 4d t o t hat of Fig.4e
required 3.35 cm of line, t hat
is equivalent t o a pure t ime
delay of 112 picoseconds.
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
10 MHz 100 MHz 1 GHz 10 GHz
20
10
0
10
20
30
10
3.162
1
.3162
.03162
.1
Frequency
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e

(
d
B
)
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e
u
|s
21
|
H
Test & Measurement
Figure 4f
Top curve: |s
21
| f rom Fi g. 4 i s repl ot t ed
on a l ogari t hmi c f requency scal e. Dat a
bel ow 100 MHz was measured wi t h an
HP 8405A vect or vol t met er. The bot t om
curve u, the unilateral figure of merit,
cal cul at ed f rom s-paramet ers.
30
Aft er removal of t he const ant -delay, or linear-phase,
component , t he phase angle of s
21
for t his t ransist or ( Fig. 4e)
varies from 180 at dc t o +90 at high frequencies, passing
t hrough +135 at 125 MHz, t he -3 dB point of t he magnit ude
curve. In ot her words, s
21
behaves like a single pole in t he
frequency domain, and it is possible t o writ e a closed
expression for it . This expression is
( 21)
where
The t ime delay T
0
= 112 ps is due primarily t o t he
t ransit t ime of minorit y carriers ( elect rons) across
t he base of t his npn t ransist or.
T ps
f
s
0
0
21
112
2
2 125
11 2 21
0

MHz
dB .

s
s e
j
j T
21
21
0
0
0
1
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
Importance of simple
approximations
Using first-order
approximations such as
equation 21 is an important
step in circuit design. The
intuitive sense that
designers gain from
developing an under-
standing of these
approximations can
eliminate much frustration.
The acquired insight can
save hours of time that
otherwise might be wasted
generating designs that
cannot possibly be realized
in the lab, while also
decreasing development
costs.
31
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
Figure 5a
S-paramet ers of 2N3478 t ransi st or
i n common-emi t t er conf i gurat i on,
measured by an HP 8753 net work
anal yzer. Thi s pl ot shows s
11
and
s
22
on a Smi t h Chart . The marker set at 47 MHz represent s
t he -3 dB gai n rol l of f poi nt of s
21
. The f requency i ndex of
t hi s poi nt i s ref erenced i n t he ot her pl ot s.
H
Test & Measurement
S
11
S
22
The s-paramet ers of an 2N3478
t ransist or shown in Figures 4a
t hrough 4f were measured wit h t he
classic HP 8410A net work analyzer.
In Figures 5a t hrough 5e, t he
s-paramet ers of an 2N3478 t ransist or
are shown re-measured wit h a
modern HP 8753 net work analyzer.
Figures 5a t hrough 5e represent t he
act ual s-paramet ers of t his t ransist or
bet ween 0.300 MHz and 1.00 GHz.
32
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
S
12
Figure 5b
A pl ot of t he magni t ude and phase of s
12
. Whi l e t he
phase of s
12
depends onl y weakl y on t he f requency,
t he magnitude i ncreases rapi dl y at l ow f requenci es.
Figure 5c
A pol ar pl ot of s
21
. The frequency
marker shown i s at t he -3 dB poi nt .
Bot h t he phase angl e and magni t ude
decrease dramat i cal l y as t he
f requency i s i ncreased.
H
Test & Measurement
S
21
Frequency
P
h
a
s
e

(
d
e
g
)
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e

(
d
B
)
33
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement
S
21
Figure 5d
The magnitude of s
21
pl ot t ed on a l og
scal e showi ng t he 6 dB/oct ave rol l -of f
above 75 MHz.
Figure 5e
The phase angl e, i n degrees, of s
21
. A t i me
del ay of 167 ps was de-embedded f rom t he
measured data usi ng t he anal yzer' s el ect ri cal -
del ay f eat ure t o get a response wi t h a si ngl e-
pol e t ransf er charact eri st i c. Removi ng t hi s
t i me del ay al l ows t he phase di st ort i on t o be
vi ewed wi t h much great er resol ut i on.
S
21
Frequency (Hz)
Frequency (GHz)
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e

(
d
B
)
P
h
a
s
e

(
d
e
g
)

Vector Network Analyzers
Most modern design
projects, RF through
lightwave, use
sophisticated simulation
software to model system
performance from
components through
subsystems. These
programs require complete
s-parameter data on each
component. Measurements
are made with a VNA,
Vector Network Analyzer,
an instrument that
accurately measures the
s-parameters, transfer
function, or impedance
characteristic of linear
networks across a broad
range of frequencies.
34
In Fig. 5d, t he magnit ude of s
21
from Fig. 5c is replot t ed
on a logarit hmic frequency scale. The magnit ude of s
21
is
essent ially const ant t o 75 MHz, and t hen rolls off at a slope
of 6 dB/oct ave. The phase angle of s
21
as seen in Fig. 5e
varies linearly wit h frequency above 500 MHz. To bet t er
charact erize phase dist ort ion, a compensat ing linear phase
shift was int roduced elect ronically in t he net work analyzer.
This est ablished an accurat e calibrat ion for measuring t he
device, result ing in t he second phase curve of Figure 5e.
To go from t he first phase curve of Fig. 5e t o t he second phase

curve required removing a pure t ime delay of 167 picoseconds.
Thirt y years ago t his operat ion was accomplished by
de-embedding 5.0 cm of line using a calibrat ed line st ret cher.
Today it s performed by soft ware in t he net work analyzer.
Aft er removal of t he const ant -delay, or linear-phase,

component , t he phase angle of s
21
for t his t ransist or
( Fig. 5e) varies from 180 at dc t o +90 at high frequencies,
passing t hrough +135 at 75 MHz, t he -3 dB point of t he
magnit ude curve. In ot her words, s
21
behaves like a single
pole in t he frequency domain.
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
H
Test & Measurement

6
35
Since s
21
behaves like a single pole in t he frequency domain,
it is possible t o writ e a closed expression for it . This expression
is t he same as equat ion 21, repeat ed here.
The t ime delay T
0
= 167 ps is due primarily t o t he t ransit t ime
of minorit y carriers ( elect rons) across t he base of t his npn
t ransist or. Removing t his t ime delay using t he elect rical-delay
feat ure of t he vect or net work analyzer allows t he phase
dist ort ion t o be viewed wit h much great er resolut ion.

Using t he first -order, single-pole approximat ion for s
21
is an
import ant st ep in circuit design. Today, however, we have design
t echnology undreamed of in 1967. Subsequent ly, t hrough t he
process of elect ronic design aut omat ion ( EDA) , comput er-aided
engineering ( CAE) t ools now can be used it erat ively t o simulat e
and refine t he design. These t ools combine accurat e models
wit h performance-opt imizat ion and yield-analysis capabilit ies.

where
T ps
f
s
0
0
21
0
167
2
2 75
8 4 18 5
=
=
=
= =

MHz
dB . .
s
s e
j
j T
21
21
0
0
0
1
=
Measurement of
S-Parameters
Complete network
characterization
Vector Network Analyzers
(VNA) are ideal for applica-
tions requiring complete
network characterization.
They use narrow-band
detection to achieve wide
dynamic range and provide
noise-free data. VNAs are
often combined with powerful
computer-based electronic
design automation (EDA)
systems to both measure
data, and simulate and
optimize the performance
of the complete system
implementation being
developed.
H
Test & Measurement
36
H
Test & Measurement
6
Measurement of
S-Parameters
Ex pl a na t i on of M e a sur e me nt Di sc r e pa nc i e s
You may have not iced a difference bet ween t he measured and
caclulat ed dat a from t he 1967 HP Jou rn al art icle and t he dat a
obt ained for t his updat ed applicat ion not e. Bot h set s of dat a are
fundament ally correct . Two major sources account for t hese
differences:
Me as ure me nt t e chnique s Early net work analyzers did not
have onboard comput ers, an HP-IB st andard, or high-resolut ion
graphics t o perform calibrat ion, ext ract precision numerical
dat a, or display elect ronic markers. Calibrat ion t echniques
used in 1967 were procedurally and mat hemat ically simpler
t han t hose used t oday. Modern net work anaylzers cont ain
sophist icat ed aut omat ed t echniques t hat enhance measurement
processing capabilit ies and reduce operat or errors.
De vice diffe re nce s Semiconduct or manufact uring processes
evolve over t ime. Device engineers at t empt t o produce ident ical
t ransist ors wit h different processes. Nevert heless, successive
generat ions of part s like t he 2N3478 can exhibit unint ent ional,
and somet imes unavoidable, performance differences, especially
in charact erist ics not guarant eed on t he dat asheet .
37
Suppose now t hat t his 2N3478 t ransist or is t o be
used in a simple amplifier, operat ing bet ween a
50 source and a 50 load, and opt imized
for power gain at 300 MHz by means of
lossless input and out put mat ching
net works. Since reverse gain s
12
for t his
t ransist or is quit e small50 dB smaller
t han forward gain s
21
, according t o
Fig. 4t here is a possibilit y t hat it can be
neglect ed. If t his is so, t he design problem will
be much simpler, because set t ing s
12
equal t o zero will make
t he design equat ions much less complicat ed.
In det ermining how much error will be int roduced by assuming
s
12
= 0, t he first st ep is t o calculat e t he unilat eral figure of
merit u, using t he formula given in Appendix B. That is,
( 22)

u
s s s s
s s

11 12 21 22
11
2
22
2
1 1 ( ) ( )
7
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
Unilateral figure of merit
All two-port models are
bilateral, so both the
forward and reverse signal
flow must be considered.
If the signal flow in the
reverse direction is much
smaller than the flow in
the forward direction,
it is possible to make the
simplification that the
reverse flow is zero.
The unilateral figure of
merit is a quick calculation
that can be used to
determine where this
simplification can be
made without significantly
affecting the accuracy of
the model.
38
A plot of u as a funct ion of frequency, calculat ed from
t he measured paramet ers, appears in Fig. 4f. Now if G
Tu
is t he t ransducer power gain wit h s
12
= 0 and G
T
is t he
act ual t ransducer power gain, t he maximum error
int roduced by using G
Tu
inst ead of G
T
is given by t he
following relat ionship:
( 23)
From Fig. 4f, t he maximum value of u is about 0.03, so t he
maximum error in t his case t urns out t o be about +0.25 dB
at 100 MHz. This is small enough t o just ify t he assumpt ion
t hat s
12
= 0.
Incident ally, a small reverse gain, or feedback fact or, s
12
, is an
import ant and desirable propert y for a t ransist or t o have, for
reasons ot her t han it simplifies amplifier design. A small feedback
fact or means t hat t he input charact erist ics of t he complet ed
amplifier will be independent of t he load, and t he out put will be
independent of t he source impedance. In most amplifiers,
isolat ion of source and load is an import ant considerat ion.

1
1
1
1
2 2
( ) ( ) +
< <
u
G
G
u
T
Tu
7
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
High-frequency transistors
Discrete transistors were
the mainstay of high-
frequency system design in
1967 when Dick Anderson
wrote the article on which
this application note is
based. Thirty years later,
discrete devices are still
available, manufactured
and selected for specific,
often exceptional,
performance characteristics.
Discrete transistors remain
the best choice for many
applications, such as
sensitive first-stage
amplifiers in satellite
TV receivers.
H
Test & Measurement
39
Ret urning now t o t he 300-MHz amplifier design, t he unilat eral
expression for t ransducer power gain, obt ained eit her by
set t ing s
12
= 0 in equat ion 18 or looking in Appendix B, is
( 24)
When
|
s
11
|
and
|
s
22
|
are bot h less t han one, as t hey are in
t his case, maximum G
Tu
occurs for
S
= s*
11
and
L
= s*
22
( Appendix B) .
The next st ep in t he design is t o synt hesize mat ching net works
t hat will t ransform t he 50 load and source impedances t o
t he impedances corresponding t o reflect ion coefficient s of s*
11
and s*
22
, respect ively. Since t his is t o be a single-frequency
amplifier, t he mat ching net works need not be complicat ed.
Simple series-capacit or, shunt -induct or net works will not only
do t he job, but will also provide a handy means of biasing t he
t ransist orvia t he induct orand of isolat ing t he dc bias from
t he load and t he source.

G
s
s s
Tu
S L
S L

21
2 2 2
11
2
22
2
1 1
1 1
( ) ( )

7
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
Satellite Broadcast Signals
Satellites provide broad
geographical signal
coverage over a wide band
of frequencies by using
high power vacuum tubes,
called Traveling Wave
Tubes (TWTs), which are
best characterized by
s-parameters.
40
Values of L and C t o be used in t he mat ching net works for t he
300-MHz amplifier are det ermined using t he Smit h Chart of
Fig. 6, which is shown on t he next page. First , point s
corresponding t o s
11
, s*
11
, s
22
, and s*
22
at 300 MHz are
plot t ed. Each point represent s t he t ip of a vect or leading away
from t he cent er of t he chart , it s lengt h equal t o t he magnit ude
of t he reflect ion coefficient being plot t ed, and it s angle equal
t o t he phase of t he coefficient .
Next , a combinat ion of const ant -resist ance and const ant -
conduct ance circles is found, leading from t he cent er of t he
chart , represent ing 50 , t o s*
11
and s*
22
. The circles on t he
Smit h Chart are const ant -resist ance circles; increasing series
capacit ive react ance moves an impedance point count er-
clockwise along t hese circles.
7
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
Matching networks
Matching networks are
extra circuit elements
added to a device or
circuit to cancel out
or compensate for
undesired characteristics
or performance variations
at specified frequencies.
To eliminate reflections in
an amplifier, one matching
network is carefully
designed to transform
the 50 load impedance
to s*
11
. Another matching
network transforms the
50 source impedance to
s*
22
.
H
Test & Measurement
You wi l l f i nd an i nt eract i ve Impedance Mat chi ng Model at t he
HP Test & Measurement websi t e l i st ed bel ow. Chal l enge
yoursel f t o i mpedance mat chi ng games based on pri nci pl es
and exampl es di scussed i n t hi s appl i cat i on not e!
Cl i ck on t he URL bel ow or t ype t he address i n your browser.
http://www.hp.com/go/tminteractive
41
7
s
11
*
s
22
*
s
22
s
11
L
1
1
C
L
2
2
C
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
Figure 6
Smi t h Chart f or 300-MHz
ampl i f i er desi gn exampl e.
In this case, the circle to be used for
finding series C is the one passing
through the center of the chart, as
shown by the solid line in Fig. 6.
Increasing shunt inductive
susceptance moves impedance
points clockwise along constant-
conductance circles. These
circles are like the constant-
resistance circles, but they
are on another Smith Chart,
one that is just the reverse
of the chart shown in Fig. 6.
The constant-conductance
circles for shunt L all pass
through the leftmost point of
the chart rather than the rightmost
point. The circles to be used are
those passing through s*
11
and s*
22
,
as shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 6.
H
Test & Measurement
42
Once t hese circles have been locat ed,
t he normalized values of L and C
needed for t he mat ching net works are
calculat ed from readings t aken from t he
react ance and suscept ance scales of t he
Smit h Chart s.
Each element s react ance or
suscept ance is t he difference bet ween
t he scale readings at t he t wo end point s
of a circular arc. Which arc corresponds
t o which element is indicat ed in Fig. 6.
The final net work and t he element
values, normalized and unnormalized,
are shown in Fig. 7.
7
Figure 7
A 300-MHz ampl i f i er wi t h
mat chi ng net works f or
maxi mum power gai n.
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
50 50 L
1
L
2
C
1
C
2
2N3478
X
L
C
L
2
50
0.32
156
2
2
= =
C
1
L 26 nH
1
x
nH
156
2 0 3 10
83
9
= =
( . )
x
pF
1
2 0 3 10 3 5 50
3
9
= =
( . )( . )( )
pF
1
25 = =
x 2 0 3 10
9
( . )(0.42)(50)
50
= =
x 2 0 3 10
9
( . )(1.01)
Calculat ions:

The animat ion t o t he right demonst rat es how t o use a
Smit h Chart t o design a mat ching net work bet ween a t ransist or
out put and a resist ive load. As previously described, t o
maximize t he power delivered t o t he load, t he s*
22
paramet er of
t he t ransist or must be mat ched t o t he load impedance, 50 in
t his 300-MHz amplifier example. This mat ching is achieved
using t he LC circuit shown at t he right .
St art ing from t he 50 load, t he series capacit ance is varied t o
move t he impedance point along t he circle of const ant 50
resist ance on t he Smit h Chart . The capacit ance is adjust ed unt il
it int ersect s t he const ant conduct ance circle on which s*
22
is
sit t ing. Varying t he shunt induct ance t hen moves t he impedance
point along t his const ant
conduct ance circle as
indicat ed by t he admit t ance
Smit h Chart . To reach s*
22
,
t he shunt induct ance is
adjust ed unt il t he impedance
point reaches s*
22
.
43
7
Narrow-Band
Amplifier Design
50 L
C
2N3478
Animation 2
Impedance mat chi ng
usi ng t he Smi t h Chart
f or t he mat chi ng
net work shown at t he
l ef t . Cl i ck over t he chart
t o st art ani mat i on.
http://www.hp.com/go/tminteractive
H
Test & Measurement
C = 1000 pF
L = 10000 nH
S
22
*
44
Designing a broadband amplifier, t hat is, one
which has nearly const ant gain over a
prescribed frequency range, is a mat t er of
surrounding a t ransist or wit h ext ernal
element s in order t o compensat e for t he
variat ion of forward gain,
|
s
21
|
wit h
frequency.
This can be done in eit her of t wo ways
first , negat ive feedback, or second, select ive
mismat ching of t he input and out put
circuit ry. We will use t he second met hod.
When feedback is used, it is usually
convenient t o convert t o y- or z-paramet ers
( for shunt or series feedback, respect ively)
using t he conversion equat ions given in
Appendix B and a digit al comput er.
Equat ion 24 for t he unilat eral t ransducer
power gain can be fact ored int o t hree part s,
as shown t o t he right :
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design

G
Tu
G
0
G
1
G
2
G
0
s
21
2
G
1
1
s
2
1 s
11
s
2
G
2
1
L
2
1 s
22 L
2
H
Test & Measurement
45
When a broadband amplifier is designed by selective
mismatching, the gain contributions of G
1
and G
2
are varied to
compensate for the variations of G
0
= |s
21
|
2
with frequency.
Suppose that the 2N3478 transistor whose s-parameters are
given in Fig. 4 is to be used in a broadband amplifier that will
operate from 300 MHz to 700 MHz. The amplifier is to be
driven from a 50 source and is to drive a 50 load.
According to Figure 4f,
To realize an amplifier with a constant gain of 10 dB, source
and load matching networks must be found that will decrease
the gain by 3 dB at 300 MHz, leave the gain the same at
450 MHz, and increase the gain by 4 dB at 700 MHz.

s
21
2
13 dB at 300 MHz
10 dB at 450 MHz
6 dB at 700 MHz
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
46
Alt hough in t he general case bot h a source
mat ching net work and a load mat ching
net work would be designed, G
1max
( i.e.,
G
1
for
s
= s*
11
) for t his t ransist or is
less t han 1 dB over t he frequencies of
int erest , which means t here is lit t le t o
be gained by mat ching t he source.
Consequent ly, for t his example, only
a load-mat ching net work will be
designed. Procedures for designing
source-mat ching net works are
ident ical t o t hose used for designing
load-mat ching net works.
The first st ep in t he design of t he
load-mat ching net work is t o plot s*
22
over t he required frequency range on t he
Smit h Chart , Fig. 8a.
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design
s
22
*
700
450
300
H
Test & Measurement
Figure 8a
A pl ot of s*
22
over t he f requency
range f rom 300 MHz t o 700 MHz.
47
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
Next , a set of const ant -gain circles is drawn. As shown in Fig. 8b,
each circle is drawn for a single frequency; it s cent er is on a line
bet ween t he cent er of t he Smit h Chart and t he point
represent ing s*
22
at t hat frequency. The dist ance from
t he cent er of t he Smit h Chart t o t he cent er of t he
const ant gain circle is given by t he following
equat ions, which also appear in Appendix B:
where
The radius of t he const ant -gain circle is:

2
2 22
2
22
2
2
1 1
1 1

g s
s g
( )
( )

g
G
G
G s
2
2
2
2 22
2
1
max
( )

r
g s
s g
2
2 22
22
2
2
1
1 1

( )
2
2
r
2
2
r
2
r
G dB
at MHz
2
4
700
= +
G dB
at MHz
2
0
450
=
G dB
at MHz
2
3
300
=
Figure 8
Const ant -gai n ci rcl es.
48
For t his example, t hree circles will be drawn, one for G
2
= -3 dB
at 300 MHz, one for G
2
= 0 dB at 450 MHz, and one for G
2
=
+4 dB at 700 MHz. Since |s
22
| for t his t ransist or is const ant at
0.85 over t he frequency range [see Figure 4( b) ], G
2max
for all
t hree circles is ( 0.278)
-1
, or 5.6 dB. The t hree const ant -gain
circles are indicat ed in Fig. 8b.
The required mat ching net work must t ransform t he cent er of t he
Smit h Chart , represent ing 50 , t o some point on t he -3 dB
circle at 300 MHz, t o some point on t he 0 dB circle at 450 MHz,
and t o some point on t he +4 dB circle at 700 MHz. There are
undoubt edly many net works t hat
will do t his. One sat isfact ory
solut ion is a combinat ion of t wo
induct ors, one in shunt and one in
series, as shown in Fig. 9.
Z
L
= 50
50
L
series
L
shunt
2N3478
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design
Figure 9
A combi nat i on of shunt
and seri es i nduct ances
i s a sui t abl e mat chi ng
net work f or t he
broadband ampl i f i er.
H
Test & Measurement
49
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
Shunt and series element s move impedance point s
on t he Smit h Chart along const ant -conduct ance
and const ant -resist ance circles, as explained in
t he narrow-band design example. As shown in
Fig. 10a, t he shunt induct ance t ransforms t he
50 load alng a circle of const ant conduct ance
and varying ( wit h frequency) induct ive
suscept ance. The series induct or t ransforms
t he combinat ion of t he 50 load and t he
shunt induct ance along circles of const ant
resist ance and varying induct ive react ance.
Opt imizing t he values of shunt and series L
is an it erat ive process wit h t wo goals:
t he t ransformed load reflect ion
t erminat es on t he right gain circle at
each frequency, and
t he suscept ance component decreases
wit h frequency and t he react ance component
increases wit h frequency. ( This rule applies t o
induct ors; capacit ors would behave in t he
opposit e way.)
3
0
0
M
H
z
4
5
0
M
H
z
7
0
0
M
H
z
Constant
conductance
circle-Transformation
due to L
shunt
Constant resistance
circles-Transformation
due to L
series
L
locus
Figure 10a
Matching paths
for shunt and
series L.
50
Once appropriat e const ant -
conduct ance and const ant -
resist ance circles have been found,
t he react ances and suscept ances
of t he element s can be read
direct ly from t he Smit h Chart .
Then t he element values are
calculat ed, t he same as t hey were
for t he narrow-band design.
Figure 10b is a schemat ic diagram
of t he complet ed broadband
amplifier, wit h unnormalized
element values.
Figure 10b
Broadband amplif ier wit h const ant gain
of 10 dB f rom 300 MHz t o 700 MHz.
50
Z
S
= 50
20.4 nH
36.4 nH
2N3478
Inductance Calculations:
j L
Z
j j
Z
j L
j
series
shunt
0
0
3 64 0 44 3 2
1 3
= - =
= -
( . . ) .
L nH nH
series
3 2 50
2 0 7
36 4 = =
( . ) ( )
( . )
.
.
L nH
shunt
50
1 3 2 0 3
20 4 = =
( . ) ( ) ( . )
.
From 700 MHz data,
From 300 MHz data,
8
Broadband
Amplifier Design
H
Test & Measurement
51
Desi gn of Refl ecti on Ampl i fi ers
and Osci l l ators
When t he real part of t he input impedance of a
net work is negat ive, t he corresponding input
reflect ion coefficient ( Equat ion 17) is great er
t han one, and t he net work can be used as t he
basis for t wo import ant t ypes of circuit s,
reflect ion amplifiers and oscillat ors. A reflect ion
amplifier ( Fig. 11) can be realized wit h a
circulat ora nonreciprocal t hree-port device
and a negat ive-resist ance device.
The circulat or is used t o separat e t he incident
( input ) wave from t he larger wave reflect ed by
t he negat ive-resist ance device. Theoret ically, if
t he circulat or is perfect and has a posit ive real
charact erist ic impedance Z
0
, an amplifier wit h
infinit e gain can be built by select ing a negat ive-
resist ance device whose input impedance has a
real part equal t o -Z
0
and an imaginary part
equal t o zero ( t he imaginary part can be set
equal t o zero by t uning if necessary) .
Figure 11
Ref l ect i on ampl i f i er
consi st s of ci rcul at or and
t ransi st or wi t h negat i ve
i nput resi st ance.
9
Stability Considerations
Circulator
Input Output
Two port with
s'
11
> 1
(Real part of input
impedance is
negative)
H
Test & Measurement

H
52
Amplifiers, of course, are not supposed to oscillate, whether they
Figure 3, the ratio
of the reflected voltage wave b
1
to the input voltage wave b
s
is
where s
11
is the input reflection coefficient with
s
= 0 ( Z
2
= Z
0
)
and an arbitrary load impedance Z
L
, as defined in Equation 19.
If at some frequency
( 25)
the circuit is unstable and it will oscillate at that frequency.
On the other hand, if
the device is unconditionally stable and will not oscillate, what ever
t he phase angle of
s
might be.

< s
s
11
1
s
s =
11
1

b
b
s
s
s s
1
11
11
1
=

9
Test & Measurement
Computer Aided
Engineering tools (CAE)
CAE sof t ware t ool s are
used i n t he desi gn process
t o si mul at e act ual devi ce
and ci rcui t behavi or so
desi gns can be eval uat ed
bef ore t hey' re bui l t . The
CAE approach i s f ast er,
produces accurat e resul t s,
and i s easi er t o f ol l ow
t han manual met hods
usi ng graphi cal desi gn ai ds.
CAE t ool s are part of t he
t ot al engi neeri ng sol ut i on.
are reflection amplifiers or some other kind. There is a convenient

criterion based upon scattering parameters for determining whether
a device is stable or potentially unstable with given source and load
impedances. Referring again to the flow graph of
53
To see how t hese principles of
st abilit y are applied in design
problems, consider t he
t ransist or oscillat or design
illust rat ed in Fig. 12. In t his
case t he input reflect ion
coefficient s
11
is t he reflect ion
coefficient looking int o t he
collect or circuit , and t he
source reflect ion coefficient
s
is one of t he t wo t ank-circuit
refect ion coefficient s,
T1
or
T2
. From equat ion 19,

+
s s
s s
s
L
L
11 11
12 21
22
1
9
150

T
1
0
, Q
T
2
200 Z
L
,
L
s'
11
15
0
, Q
Parallel
Tank
Circuit
Series
Tank
Circuit
Gain
Element
H
Test & Measurement
Figure 12 The t ransi st or
osci l l at or i s desi gned by
choosi ng a t ank ci rcui t
such t hat

s
s
11
1

54
To make the transistor oscillate, s
11
and
s
must be adjusted so
that they satisfy equation 25. There are four steps in the design
procedure:
Measure the four scattering parameters of the transistor as
functions of frequency.
Choose a load reflection coefficient
L
that makes s
11
greater
than unity. In general, it may also take an external feedback
element that increases s
12
s
21
to make s
11
greater than one.
Plot 1/s
11
on a Smith Chart. ( If the network analyzer is
being used to measured the s-parameters of the transistor,
1/s
11
can be measured directly by reversing the reference and
test channel connections between the reflection test unit and
the harmonic frequency converter. The polar display with a
Smith Chart overlay then gives the desired plot immediately.)
Connect either the series or the parallel tank circuit to the
collector circuit and tune it so that
T1
or
T2
is large enough
to satisfy equation 25. ( The tank circuit reflection coefficient
plays the role of
s
in this equation.)
9
H
Test & Measurement
55
Figure 13 shows a Smit h Chart plot of
1/s
11
for a high frequency t ransist or
in t he common-base configurat ion.
Load impedance Z
L
is 200 ,
which means t hat
L
referred t o
50 is 0.6. Reflect ion
coefficient s
T1
and
T2
are
also plot t ed as funct ions of t he
resonant frequencies of t he
t wo t ank circuit s. Oscillat ions
occur when t he locus of
T1
or
T2
passes t hrough t he shaded
region. Thus, t his t ransist or
would oscillat e from 1.5 t o
2.5 GHz wit h a series t uned circuit ,
and from 2.0 t o 2.7 GHz wit h a
parallel t uned circuit .
Di ck An derson , 1967 an d 1997
9
s'
11
0 0
2.5 GHz
T
1
T
2
2.7 GHz
2.0 GHz
1.5 GHz
Figure 13 The t ransi st or wi l l osci l l at e i n t he shaded area bet ween 1.5 and 2.5 GHz
wi t h a seri es-t uned ci rcui t and bet ween 2.0 and 2.7 GHz wi t h a paral l el -t uned ci rcui t .
H
Test & Measurement
56
H
Test & Measurement
In addit ion t o previous references list ed earlier and repeat ed
again here, t he following papers and books were list ed in t he
1967 HP Jou rn al art icle as sources for informat ion on
s-paramet er design procedures and flow graphs. Current
references are also ment ioned.
J. K. Hunt on, Analysis of Microwave Measurement
Techniques by Means of Signal Flow Graphs,
IRE Transact ions on Microwave Theory and Techniques,
Vol. MTT- 8, No. 2, March, 1960.
D.C Youla, On Scat t ering Mat rices Normalized t o Complex
Port Numbers, Proc. IRE, Vol. 49, No. 7, July, 1961.
J.G. Linvill and J.F. Gibbons, Transist ors and Act ive
Circuit s, McGraw-Hill, 1961. ( No s-paramet ers, but good
t reat ment of Smit h Chart design met hods.)
N. Kuhn, Simplified Signal Flow Graph Analysis,
Microwave Journal, Vol. 6, No, 11, November, 1963.
K. Kurokawa, Power Waves and t he Scat t ering Mat rix,
IEEE Transact ions on Microwave Theory and Techniques,
Vol. MTT-13, No. 2, March, 1965.
A
Additional Reading
on S-Parameters

57
H
Test & Measurement
F. Weinert , Scat t ering Paramet ers Speed Design of
High-Frequency Transist or Circuit s,
Elect ronics, Vol. 39, No. 18, Sept . 5, 1966.
G. Fredricks, How t o Use S-Paramet ers for Transist or
Circuit Design, EEE Vol. 14, No. 12, Dec., 1966.
Among many modern reference sources on t he subject , t he
following book, first published in 1969, is definit ely a classic:
Smit h, Phillip H., Elect ronic Applicat ions of t he Smit h
Chart in Waveguide, Circuit and Component Analysis,
Noble Publishing Classic Series, Tucker, Georgia, 1995,
ISBN-1-884932-39-8, 237 pp.
We also ment ion a useful t ext book cont aining 5 chapt ers,
2 appendices, and problem set s. This t ext present s a unified
t reat ment of t he analysis and design of microwave t ransist or
amplifiers using scat t ering paramet ers t echniques:
G. Gonzalez, Microwave Transist or Amplifiers:
Analysis and Design, Prent ice Hall, 1984,
ISBN 0-13-581646-7, 240 pp.
A
Additional Reading
on S-Parameters
Keep up to date
Thi s book by P. H. Smi th
referenced here must be
consi dered the ul ti mate
source on Smi th Charts.
Many excel l ent arti cl es on
the use of Smi th charts
have appeared i n trade
publ i cati ons such as the
Mi crowave Journal , and
educati onal Smi th Chart
software i s sol d over the
i nternet.

A
V
V
s
s s
V
L
L

+
+
2
1
21
22 11
1
1 1
( )
( )( )
s s
s s
s
S
S
22 22
12 21
11
1
s s
s s
s
L
L
11 11
12 21
22
1
58
I nput refl ecti on coeffi ci ent w i th
arbi trary Z
L
Output refl ecti on coeffi ci ent w i th
arbi trary Z
s
Vol tage gai n w i th
arbi trary Z
L
and Z
S
Scattering Parameter
Relationships

b s a s a
b s a s a
1 11 1 12 2
2 21 1 22 2
+
+
B
a
1
V
2
V
1
a
2
b
1
b
2
TWO - PORT
NETWORK
+ +

H
Test & Measurement

59
B
Relationships

Power Gain
G
Power delivered to load
Power input to network
= =
s
s s D
L 21
2 2
11
2 2
22
2 2
1
1
L
2Re( N)
S
2Re( M)

Available Power Gain
G
A
Power available from network
Power available from source
= =
s
s s D
S
S
21
2 2
22
2 2
11
2 2
1
1

Transducer Power Gain
G
T
Power delivered to load
Power available from source
= =
( )
( )
s
s s s s
S L
S L L S
21
2 2
2
11 22 12 21
2
1 1
1 1

)
H
Test & Measurement
60
B
Relationships

Unilateral Transducer Power Gain
Maximum Unilateral Transducer Power Gain when s
and s Maximum obtained for and
11
22
s
G
s
s s
G G G
s s
G
s
s s
Tu
S L
S L
S L
u
12
21
2 2 2
11
2
22
2
0 1 2
11 22
21
2
11
2
22
2
0
1 1
1 1
1
1
1 1
( )
_
,
_
,
<
<
_
,
_
,

.
* *
G G G
0 1 2 max max

G s
G
s
G
s
G
s
i
S
S
L
L
i
ii
0 21
2
1
2
11
2
2
2
22
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 2
max
,
H
Test & Measurement
61
Constant Gai n Ci rcl es (Uni l ateral case: s
12
= 0)
B
Relationships
i
i
r
S
ii
*
Constant Gain Circle
center of constant gain circle is on line between center
of Smith Chart and point representing s*
ii
distance of center of circle from center
of Smith Chart:
radius of circle:
where i = 1, 2, and

g
G
G
G s
i
i
i
i ii

max
( ) 1
2

i
i ii
ii i
g s
s g

1 1
1 1
2
2
( )
( )

r
g s
s g
i
i ii
ii i
1 1
2
( )
H
Test & Measurement
62
B
Relationships

Unilateral Figure of Merit
Error Limits on Unilateral Gain Calculations
u
s s s s
s s
u
G
G
u
T
Tu

+
< <
11 22 12 21
11
2
22
2
2 2
1 1
1
1
1
1
( )( )
( ) ( )
H
Test & Measurement
Unilateral figure of merit
All two-port models are
bilateral, so both the
forward and reverse signal
flow must be considered.
If the signal flow in the
reverse direction is much
smaller than the flow in
the forward direction, its
possible to make the
simplification that the
reverse flow is zero.
The unilateral figure of
merit is a quick calculation
that can be used to
determine where this
simplification can be
made without significantly
affecting the accuracy of the
model.

63
B
Relationships

a s s
b
s s M
s D
c
s s N
s D
. ,
.
.
*
*
11 22
12 21
11
2 2
12 21
22
2 2
1 1
1
1
< <
>
>

Conditions for Absolute Stability :
No passive source or load will cause a network to
oscillate, if conditions a, b, and c are all satisfied.
Condition that a two- port network can be simultaneously
matched with a real source and load :
> or < where = Linvill C Factor and K C C
C K
K
D s s
s s
1 1
1
2
1
2
11
2
22
2
12 21
=
=
+

D s s s s
M s Ds
N s Ds
=
=
=
11 22 12 21
11 22
22 11
*
*
H
Test & Measurement
64

B s s D
B s s D
1 11
2
22
2 2
2 22
2
11
2 2
1
1
+
+
B
Relationships

(Use minus sign
when is positive,
plus sign when
is negative.)
B
B
1
1
H
Test & Measurement
Source and load for Simultaneous Match
Maximum Available Power Gain
If ,
where
mS
mL
A
M
B B M
M
N
B B N
N
K G
s
s
K K
K C
1
]
1
1
1
1
]
1
1
1
> t
_
,

*
*
max
1 1
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
2
21
12
2
1
4
2
4
2
1 1
65
s-parameters
in terms of z-parameters
z-parameters
in terms of s-parameters
B
Relationships

z
s s s s
s s s s
z
s
s s s s
z
s
s s s s
z
s s s s
s s s s
11
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
12
12
11 22 12 21
21
21
11 22 12 21
22
22 11 12 21
11 22 12 21
1 1
1 1
2
1 1
2
1 1
1 1
1 1
+ +

+ +

( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )

s
z z z z
z z z z
s
z
z z z z
s
z
z z z z
s
z z z z
z z z z
11
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
12
12
11 22 12 21
21
21
11 22 12 21
22
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
1 1
1 1
2
1 1
2
1 1
1 1
1 1
+
+ +
+ +
+ +
+
+ +
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
H
Test & Measurement
66
s-parameters
in terms of y-parameters
y-parameters
B
Relationships

s
y y y y
y y y y
s
y
y y y y
s
y
y y y y
s
y y y y
y y y y
11
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
12
12
11 22 12 21
21
21
11 22 12 21
22
11 22 12 21
11 22 12
1 1
1 1
2
1 1
2
1 1
1 1
1 1
+ +
+ +

+ +

+ +
+ +
+ +
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
21 21

y
s s s s
s s s s
y
s
s s s s
y
s
s s s s
y
s s s s
s s s s
11
22 11 12 21
11 22 12 21
12
12
11 22 12 21
21
21
11 22 12 21
22
11 22 12 21
11 22 12
1 1
1 1
2
1 1
2
1 1
1 1
1 1
+ +
+ +

+ +

+ +
+ +
+ +
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
21 21
H
Test & Measurement
67
s-parameters
in terms of h-parameters
h-parameters
B
Relationships

s
h h h h
h h h h
s
h
h h h h
s
h
h h h h
s
h h h h
h h h h
11
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
12
12
11 22 12 21
21
21
11 22 12 21
22
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
1 1
1 1
2
1 1
2
1 1
1 1
1 1
+
+ +
+ +

+ +
+ +
+ +
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )

h
s s s s
s s s s
h
s
s s s s
h
s
s s s s
h
s s s s
s s s s
11
11 22 12 21
11 22 12 21
12
12
11 22 12 21
21
21
11 22 12 21
22
22 11 12 21
11 22 12 21
1 1
1 1
2
1 1
2
1 1
1 1
1 1
+ +
+ +
+ +

+ +

+ +
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
H
Test & Measurement
68
The h, y, and zparameters listed in
previous tables are all normalized to Z
0
.
If h, y, z are the actual parameters, then:
B
Relationships

z z Z
z z Z
z z Z
z z Z
11 11 0
12 12 0
21 21 0
22 22 0

y y Z
y y Z
y y Z
y y Z
11 11 0
12 12 0
21 21 0
22 22 0
/
/
/
/

h h Z
h h
h h
h h Z
11 11 0
12 12
21 21
22 22 0
/
Parameter Normalization
The vari ous scat t eri ng
paramet ers are al l
normal i zed by t he
ref erence i mpedance, Z
0
.
Thi s i mpedance i s usual l y
t he charact eri st i c
i mpedance of t he
t ransmi ssi on l i ne i n whi ch
t he net work of i nt erest i s
embedded. Normal i zi ng
t he scat t eri ng paramet ers
makes t he Smi t h Chart
readi l y appl i cabl e t o
t ransmi ssi on l i nes of any
i mpedance. In addi t i on,
i mpedance and
admi t t ance val ues can be
pl ot t ed on t he same
chart .
H
Test & Measurement
69
El ectroni c Desi gn Automati on ( EDA)
The Sof t w a r e Re vol ut i on
In t he 30 years t hat have elapsed since t he
publicat ion of Dick Anderson' s art icle,
comput er aided engineering ( CAE) t ools have
been developed for t he high-frequency design
met hods t hat were t radit ionally implement ed
using pencil and paper. These comput er
soft ware programs run on UNIX workst at ions
and PCs, and do much more t han merely
assist in comput at ion-int ensive design t asks.
Modern CAE t ools for high-frequency
design eliminat e t he need for simplifying
assumpt ions ( such as, s
12
= 0) and can
accurat ely simulat e act ual device, circuit , or
syst em behavior. They enable broadband
solut ions, offer opt imizat ion and yield-analysis capabilit ies, and
provide answers t o What if? quest ions. CAE t ools also speed t he
analysis of a wide range of RF and microwave devices, circuit s,
and syst ems, for a short er t ime t o market , while lowering cost s.
C
H
Test & Measurement
CAE tools for High-
Frequency Design

C
H
Test & Measurement
CAE tools for High-
Frequency Design
70
The CAE t ools of int erest t o RF and
microwave designers include t hose
summarized below:
Small-s ignal ( s -parame t e r) s imulat ion
Small-signal analysis CAE t ools simulat e
response over a range of frequencies, so act ual implement at ions
perform more closely t o design paramet ers. Mat ching circuit s are
easily det ermined, and can be readily opt imized, saving t ime.
A yield-analysis feat ure allows t he select ion of component s in
mat ching net works for t he best product ion yield, saving cost s.
Large -s ignal s imulat ion This powerful analysis t ool
includes t he harmonic balance implement at ion, useful for
oscillat or design and many ot her problems.
Circuit Enve lope s imulat ion Efficient ly analyzes circuit s
and feedback loops in t he presence of modulat ed or t ransient
high-frequency signals.
Circuit Envelope Simulation
The wavef orm above
t ypi f i es t he modul at ed
and t ransi ent si gnal s t hat
can be ef f i ci ent l y anal yzed
usi ng ci rcui t envel ope
si mul at or sof t ware. Ci rcui t
envel ope si mul at i on i s
orders of magni t ude f ast er
t han t radi t i onal SPICE
si mul at i on sof t ware i f t he
envel ope bandwi dt h of t he
RF carri er f requency i s
much smal l er t han t he
carri er f requency i t sel f .
Thi s i s t he case i n many
communi cat i ons, and radar
ci rcui t s and subsyst ems.

71
C
CAE tools for High-
Frequency Design
H
Test & Measurement
Time -domain analys is A CAE t ool t hat is especially
useful for simulat ing t he response of digit al syst ems at
high clock rat es.
Planar e le ct romagne t ic analys is This simulat or
accurat ely comput es t he s-, y-, or z-paramet ers of arbit rarily
shaped, mult ilayer planar st ruct ures such as st riplines.
3D e le ct romagne t ic analys is This CAE t ool accurat ely
comput es t he s-paramet ers for passive, t hree-dimensional,
mult iport st ruct ures.
Sys t e m analys is Syst em and board-level simulat ors offer
discret e-t ime and frequency-domain capabilit ies; can analyze
and opt imize complicat ed syst em t opologies; handle complex
waveforms; and perform physical layout design.
Mode ling s ys t e ms Hardware and soft ware are combined t o
ext ract paramet ers needed for accurat e act ive device modeling.
http://www.hp.com/go/hpeesof
Visit t he HP EEsof websit e for t he lat est in
CAE news, product s, soft ware, and solut ions.
High Flying Software
The pat t ern of a horn
ant enna, di spl ayed usi ng
HP Hi gh-Frequency
St ruct ure Si mul at or
3D el ect romagnet i c
vi sual i zat i on sof t ware,
shows beam shapes
i n bot h azi mut h and
el evat i on i n a si ngl e pl ot .
Relevant Products
Features of HP 8720D VNAs
Bui l t -i n synt hesi zed source
wi t h 1 Hz resol ut i on
Al l ows measuri ng al l f our
s-paramet ers wi t h a
si ngl e connect i on
Cont i nuous updat es f or
t wo-port error correct i on
http:/ / w w w.hp.com/ go/ tmdatasheets
H
Test & Measurement
Vector netw ork anal yzers w i th bui l t- i n synthesi zed
sources cover 50 M Hz to up to 40 GHz
The HP 8720D vect or net work analyzer family
charact erizes RF and microwave component s
from 50 MHz up t o 40 GHz. They combine a
fast synt hesized source, t uned receiver, and
S-paramet er t est set in a single inst rument .
The devices have t he performance and
flexibilit y t o solve difficult measurement
problems and cut t est t imes, all at an
at t ract ive cost . Use t hem t o quickly and
accurat ely measure magnit ude and phase of
all four s-paramet ers, as well as group delay,
plus t he absolut e out put power of microwave
component s.
Product ivit y is enhanced wit h pass/fail t est ing, direct print er/
plot t er out put of result s, advanced marker funct ions, save/
recall of t est configurat ions t o int ernal memory or a built -in
floppy disk drive, and t est sequencing for aut omat ion. Opt ions
allow high-power t est s, frequency offset mixer t est ing, and
high-accuracy noncoaxial and on-wafer measurement s.
HP 8720D Seri es Vector Netw ork Anal yzers
M i crow ave netw ork anal yzers
w i th coverage up to 110 GHz
The HP 8510C microwave vect or net work analyzer family
provide complet e solut ions for charact erizing t he linear
behavior of eit her act ive or passive net works over t he
45 MHz t o 110 GHz range. A complet e syst em consist s of
t he HP 8510C net work analyzer, an s-paramet er t est set ,
and a compat ible RF source. Also available are fully
int egrat ed syst ems, t est ed and verified prior t o shipment .
The HP 8510C displays measurement result s in log/linear
magnit ude, phase, or group delay format on a large, color CRT
wit h t wo independent , yet ident ical, channels. The impact of
syst emat ic errors is removed by virt ually real-t ime error
correct ion, so a t est device can be adjust ed while it s being
measured. Effect ive direct ivit y and source mat ch can be improved
t o as much as 60 dB. The HP 85161B soft ware leads t he operat or
one st ep at a t ime, from set up and calibrat ion t o hardcopy result s.
Visit t he HP Test & Measurement websit e and find more t han
1,000 up t o dat e product dat asheet s. ( Adobe Acrobat users wit h
t he Weblink plug-in may click direct ly on t he URL below.)
Relevant Products
HP 8510C Microwave Network Analyzers
Features of the HP 8510C
45 MHz to 110 GHz
frequency range
Real -t i me error-correct ed
measurement s
60 dB ef f ect i ve di rect i vi t y
and source mat ch
Up t o 100 dB dynami c
range
0.001 dB, 0.01 degree,
0.01 ns resol ut i on
Opt i onal t i me domai n
and pul sed RF
measurement capabi l i t y
http://www.hp.com/go/tmdatasheets
H
Test & Measurement

Relevant Products
http:/ / w w w.hp.com/ go/ tmdatasheets
H
Test & Measurement
RF netw ork anal yzer w i th i ntegrated s- parameter test set
performs characteri zati ons from 30 kHz to 6 GHz
The HP 8753D RF vect or net work analyzer will
simplify and speed your device, component , or
net work measurement s in t he 30 kHz t o 6 GHz
range. A 1-Hz resolut ion swept synt hesized source,
s-paramet er t est set , and sensit ive receiver are
int egrat ed int o t his compact inst rument , which is
simple t o set up and use in t he lab or on t he
product ion line. The HP 8573D provides magnit ude
and phase informat ion, offers up t o 110 dB dynamic
range, makes group delay and t ime domain
measurement s, and uses vect or accuracy
enhancement t o minimize measurement uncert aint y.
To increase your t hroughput in product ion, t he HP 8753D offers
feat ures such as t he t est sequence funct ion, which allows you t o
make a measurement once from t he front panel and aut omat ically
save t he keyst rokes wit hout an ext ernal comput er. The analyzers
fast CPU clock rat e, LIF and DOS format s for out put t o t he
built -in disk drive or an ext ernal disk drive, and a 512 KB
nonvolat ile memory also help improve your product ivit y.
HP 8753D RF Netw ork Anal yzer

Features of the HP 8753D
Bui l t-i n s-parameter test
set, synthesi zed source
Opti onal ti me-domai n
and swept-harmoni c
measurements
Up to 110 dB dynami c range
Superb accuracy, wi th
comprehensi ve cal i brati on
Save/recal l to bui l t-i n
di sk dri ve
Time t o market is crit ical t o product success in t odays compet it ive

environment . CAE t ools from Hewlet t -Packards EEsof Division
give companies a compet it ive edge by simplifying and expedit ing
t he development of RF and microwave circuit s and syst ems. For
cost savings and
manufact uring
yield improve-
ment s, designs
can be accurat ely
modeled, simu-
lat ed, and opt i-
mized before
t hey are act ually
produced.
A comprehensive
set of CAE t ools
from HP EEsof includes high-frequency circuit , elect ro-magnet ic,
and syst em simulat ors, layout t ools, device modeling syst ems and
libraries, and links t o inst rument at ion and t hird-part y design
soft ware. Visit t he HP EEsof websit e for a cont inuously updat ed
list of news, product s, soft ware, and solut ions.
Relevant Products
CAE sol uti ons for RF and mi crow ave desi gn
http://www.hp.com/go/hpeesof
ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION (EDA)
SOLUTIONS FROM HP EEsof
HIGH-FREQUENCY
H
Test & Measurement

http:/ / w w w.hp.com/ go/ hpeesof
Fast, accurate el ectromagneti c si mul ati on of 3D
hi gh- frequency structures saves desi gn ti me
Wit h t odays comput er t echnology, t he best met hod
for designing high frequency circuit s and machined st ruct ures
is t o comput e t heir behavior wit h 3D elect romagnet ic ( EM)
simulat or soft ware, making improvement s t hrough successive
simulat ions, t hen building designs t o t he refined specificat ions.
This approach is more cost effect ive and t akes less t ime t han
building and t est ing prot ot ype aft er prot ot ype in t he lab.
The HP High Frequency St ruct ure Simulat or ( HP HFSS) ,

Release 5.0, models arbit rarily-shaped, passive 3D st ruct ures
such as ant ennas, machined component s, and RF and digit al
circuit s. Using accuracy-driven adapt ive solut ion refinement ,
t he soft ware produces accurat e result s t en t imes fast er, using
half t he memory of previous releases. It s drawing environment
and part s library simplify specifying complex st ruct ures.
For comprehensive evaluat ions, animat ed EM fields, surface
current s, vect or plot s, ant enna polar pat t erns and t abular,
generalized s-paramet ers and Smit h chart s can be viewed.
Relevant Products
95-1
Features of the HP 85180A
Reduces "cut and try"
prototypi ng, for l ower
devel opment costs and a
qui cker ti me to market
Yi el ds accurate resul ts ten
ti mes faster, usi ng hal f the
memory of previ ous rel eases
Requi res mi ni mal user
knowl edge of EM fi el d theory
For PC and UNIX pl atforms
H
HP 85180A Hi gh Frequency Structure Si mul ator
Test & Measurement
Applicat ion Not e

HP offers an ext ensive curriculum of educat ion services at
locat ions worldwide. To help high-frequency design
engineers learn how t o use CAE t ools quickly, we provide
t raining courses t aught by t he expert s from HPs EEsof
Division. Advanced RF/microwave CAE courses are also
conduct ed t o help ext end t he capabilit ies and hone t he
skills of experienced CAE users.
HP educat ion classes are scheduled
regularly. The curriculum can be t ailored
t o a companys special needs, and t raining
sessions can be conduct ed at it s sit e.
Visit HPs World Wide Websit e for t he complet e and
cont inuously updat ed list of Test & Measurement class
schedules and locat ions around t he world. Click
on t he URL below or t ype t he address in your
browser. Regist er direct ly online!
http://www.hp.com/go/tmeducation
Relevant Services
RF and mi crow ave educati on and trai ni ng
H
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Worldwide Contacts
Hewlett-Packard Test & Measurement offices
As ia-Pacific
Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Ltd.
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1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay
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Visit HPs Wor ld Wide Websit e for t he complet e and up
t o dat e list ing of Test & Measur ement sales office
addr esses and call cent er phone number s. Click on t he
URL below or t ype t he addr ess in your br owser.
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H
Test & Measurement
Copyrights and Credits

Authors, contri butors and producers
H
Test & Measurement
Aut hors
Dick Anderson original author
of this application note.
Lee Smith S-parameter guru,
mathematical programming,
technical illustrations, updated &
revised content, and animations.
Jeff Gruszynski expert domain
consultant, content perspectives,
side-bars text, and source images.
Cont ribut ors
Walt Patstone technical
content and side-bar editing.
Chuck McGuire, Mike
Cdebaca new s-parameter
measurements & device output.
Graphic &
Int e ract ion De s ign
Ev Shafrir original concept,
art direction, interaction design,
digital publishing & production,
content supervision, overall
direction, & project management.
Christina Bangle free-style
illustrations.and graphic reviews.
Kathy Cunningham page
layout design and Quark guru.
Leann Scully source images.
Bus ine s s Manage r
Nyna Casey funding, support,
excitement, and encouragement.
Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company 1996-1997 All Rights Reserved.
Adaptation, reproduction, translation, extraction, dissemination or dis-
assembly without prior written permission is prohibited except as allowed
under the copyright laws. S-Parameter Techniques for Faster, More
Accurate Network Design is electronically published as part of the HP
Test & Measurement Digital Application Note Library for the World Wide
Web, November 1996. Original printed publication Number 5952-1130.
Richard W. Anderson
Hol ds a 1959 BSEE degree
f rom Ut ah St at e Uni versi t y
and a 1963 MSEE degree
f rom St anf ord Uni versi t y.
Duri ng hi s 37 years wi t h HP
Di ck has cont ri but ed t o t he
devel opment of numerous
mi crowave and ot her T&M
i nst rument s. Current l y, he
i s HP Vi ce Presi dent , and
General Manager of t he
T&M Mi crowave and
Communi cat i ons Group.

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Applicat ion Not e

S-Par amet er Techniques

February 1967 HP Journal

A NEW MICROWAVE INSTRUMENT SWEEP

MEASURES GAIN, PHASE IMPEDANCE

This applicat ion not e is based on an art icle writ t en for t he

We cont inuously apply our capabilit ies in measurement ,

( output short circuited)

Power reflected from the output port of the network.

Power reflected from the input port of the network.

Power incident on the output of the network.

Power incident on the input of the network

Power delivered to a Z load

Power reflected from the network output

Power reflected from the network input

To go from t he first phase curve of Fig. 5e t o t he second phase

Aft er removal of t he const ant -delay, or linear-phase,

are reflection amplifiers or some other kind. There is a convenient

HP 8753D RF Netw ork Anal yzer

Time t o market is crit ical t o product success in t odays compet it ive

The HP High Frequency St ruct ure Simulat or ( HP HFSS) ,

Copyrights and Credits

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