Lecture 4 - The Smith Chart

Microwave Active Circuit Analysis and Design

Clive Poole and Izzat Darwazeh

Academic Press Inc.

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 Intended Learning Outcomes

I Knowledge
I Understand the derivation of the Smith Chart based on a bilinear transformation.
I Understand the benefits of the Smith Chart as a circuit design tool.
I Be aware of the significance of various regions on the Smith Chart in terms of
resistance/reactance categories.
I Understand the meaning and application of constant Q contours on the Smith Chart.
I Be familiar with variants of the Smith Chart, such as the Compressed Smith Chart, and
their applications.
I Skills
I Be able to plot an impedance or admittance on the Smith Chart and convert to reflection
coefficient (and vice versa).
I Be able to use the Smith Chart to determine the input resistance of a transmission line at
a certain distance from a load.
I Be able to draw constant Q contours on the Smith Chart and apply them in circuit design.

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Table of Contents

Smith Chart derivation

Building the complete Smith Chart

Using the Smith Chart

Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

Smith Chart Variants

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 The Smith Chart

I In the days before electronic calculators, engineers resorted to a variety of

graphical calculation devices, or nomograms, to solve complex engineering
problems quickly and with an acceptable degree of accuracy (typically up to 3
decimal places).
I The Smith Chart is an example of such a nomogram invented in 1939 by Phillip H.
Smith whilst he was working for The Bell Telephone Laboratories.
I The Smith chart is a graphical representation of equation relating impedance and
reflection coefficient :

Z − Zo
Γ= (1)
Z + Zo

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 Circles of constant resistance

x Γi

Bilinear
Transformation

z−1 r=1
Γ=
z+1 r=0
r Γr
r=0.5 r=2

r=0.5 r=2.0

r=0 r=1.0

Figure 1 : Constant resistance contours Figure 2 : Constant resistance contours in the Γ

in the Z plane plane

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 Circles of constant reactance

Γi
x x=1.0
x=0.5

x=2.0
Bilinear
Transformation x=2.0
x=1.0
z−1
x=0.5 Γ=
z+1 x=0 Γr
x=0 r
x=-0.5
x=-2.0
x=-1.0

x=-2.0 x=-0.5
x=-1.0

Figure 3 : Constant resistance contours

in the Z plane Figure 4 : Constant reactance contours in the Γ
plane

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Table of Contents

Smith Chart derivation

Building the complete Smith Chart

Using the Smith Chart

Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

Smith Chart Variants

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 Building the complete Smith Chart
Re(ΓL )

x=2.0

x=0.5
x=1.0

We can now proceed to r=0

r=1.0
construct the complete r=2.0

r=0.5
Smith Chart, by
combining a set of Im(ΓL )

constant resistance
circles and another set of
constant reactance circles
together on the same Γ
plane axis, as illustrated x=-1.0

in figure opposite. x=-0.5

x=-2.0

Figure 5 : Combined constant resistance and reactance contours in

the Γ plane

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 Complete Smith Chart

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0 .6

1.5
5
0.

2
4
0.

0.3 3

0.2 4
5

0.1

10

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 1 1.5 2 3 4 5 10 20 20

−20
−0.1
−10

−0
.2
−5

.3 −4
−0
4 −3
0.
−
.5
−0

−2
.6
−0

−0.7

.5
−0.8

−1
−0.9

−1

Figure 6 : Smith Chart

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 Smith Chart regions
1. The upper half of the chart, above the
horizontal axis, represents all
impedances with a positive reactive
part (i.e. inductive impedances). Pure inductance

2. The lower half of the chart represents

all impedances with a negative
reactive part (i.e. capacitive
Positive reactances : Z=R+jX
impedances).
3. The horizontal axis represents all pure
resistances.
4. The outer perimeter of the Smith Chart Z =0 Pure resistances : Z=R+j0 Z =∞

represents all purely reactive

impedances (i.e. zero resistance).
These are pure inductances on the
Negative reactances : Z=R-jX
upper semicircle and pure
capacitances on the lower semicircle.
5. The rightmost point on the horizontal
axis represents infinite impedance (a Pure capacitance

perfect open circuit).

6. The leftmost point on the horizontal Figure 7 : Smith Chart regions
axis represents zero impedance (a
perfect short circuit).

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Table of Contents

Smith Chart derivation

Building the complete Smith Chart

Using the Smith Chart

Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

Smith Chart Variants

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 Conversion between immittance and reflection coefficient

Consider the load impedance

(ZL = 25 − j50Ω.) which can be
normalised as follows:

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
(25 − j50)

1.5
0.6
zL = = 0.5 − j

0.5

2
50 0.
4
yl

0.3 3

The point yL represents the normalised 4

admittance of the load. We can determine

0.2
5

or
its value by reading off the constant

Generat
0.1

10

conductance and constant susceptance 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 1 1.5 2 3 4 5 10 20
20

circles that this point lies on. This gives us

a normalised admittance of :
−20

Load
−0.1 277o −10

−0
.2
−5

yL = 0.4 + j0.8 −0
.3 −4

−3
We can denormalise this to get the ohmic
4
0. zl
−

load admittance YL as :

.5
−0

−2
.6
−0

.5
−0.7

−1
−0.8

−0.9

−1
(0.4 + j0.8)
YL = = 0.008+j0.016 siemens
50 Figure 8 : Immitance / reflection coefficient
conversion

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 Impedance at any point on a transmission line
I Circles of various radii on the Smith
Chart, with centres at the origin,
represent a constant SWR, which is
equivalent to a constant magnitude of

1
0.9
0.8
0.7

1.5
VSWR=8.0, |Γ| = 0.78

0.6
reflection coefficient.

5
0.

2
Figure 9 illustrates this for VSWR=3.0,
4
0.
I

VSWR=8.0 and VSWR=1.5.

VSWR=3.0, |Γ| = 0.5
0 .3 3

4
I The radius of any such circle 0.2
5

determines the magnitude of the 0.1

VSWR=1.5, |Γ| = 0.2

reflection coefficient, which lies in the 10

range 0 to 1 in the case of a standard 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 1 1.5 2 3 4 5 10 20
20

(not compressed) Smith Chart. This −20

−0.1
encompasses all possible passive −10

values of impedance (or admittance). −0

.2
−5
I Any point on one of these circles, −0
.3 −4

therefore, represents a point on a 0.

4 −3

lossless transmission line at some

−

5 .
−0
distance from the load, since, as we

−2
.6
−0

.5
−0.7
travel away from the load on a lossless

−1
−0.8

−0.9

−1
line, the reflection coefficient
magnitude remains constant but the Figure 9 : Constant VSWR circles
angle of the reflection coefficient
changes.

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Table of Contents

Smith Chart derivation

Building the complete Smith Chart

Using the Smith Chart

Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

Smith Chart Variants

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 Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

1
0.9
0.8
0.7

1.5
0 .6
5
0.
Q=5

2
4
0.

0.3 3
Q=2

0.2 4
Q=1 5

0.1
Q = 0.5 10

20
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 1 1.5 2 3 4 5 10 20

−20
−0.1
−10

−0
.2
−5

.3 −4
−0

4 −3
0.
−
5 .
−0

−2
.6
−0

.5
−0.7

−1
−0.8

−0.9

−1

Figure 10 : Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

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Table of Contents

Smith Chart derivation

Building the complete Smith Chart

Using the Smith Chart

Constant Q contours on the Smith Chart

Smith Chart Variants

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 Combined Smith Chart

I That is to say, a mapping of

admittances onto the reflection
coefficient plane can be obtained by
rotating the mapping of impedances
onto the reflection coefficient plane
(i.e. the conventional Smith chart) by
180o .
I It is sometimes convenient, although
somewhat cluttered, to display both of
these Smith charts simultaneously, as
shown in figure ??.

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 Compressed Smith Chart

I In some cases,
where active
microwave devices
are involved, we
need to represent
values of negative
resistance on the
Smith Chart, which
implies a reflection
coefficient magnitude
greater than unity.
I Negative resistance
is simply a way of
representing the fact
that the power wave
reflected from a
given termination is
greater in magnitude
than the incident
power wave.
Figure 11 : Compressed Smith Chart used to plot negative resistance
behaviour of a MHG9000 MESFET

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 References

P H Smith.
Electronic Applications of the Smith Chart.
Noble Publishing Corporation, October 2000.

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