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Network Parameters
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ELEC-483 Wiki
ELEC-483 Information
Contents ELEC-483 Notes
ELEC-483 Project
1 Outcomes
2 Motivation ELEC-483 Project FAQ
3 Z, Y, ABCD Network parameters ELEC-483 Assignments
4 Scattering Parameters - Why? CAD tool tips
4.1 S-parameter analogy
5 S-Parameters
5.1 S-Parameters-Simplified
5.2 Relating S-parameters to total voltages and currents
5.3 S-Parameters - Names and Examples
5.4 S-Parameters and Power
5.5 S-Parameters and Special Networks
5.6 Examples
6 Conversion between network parameters
7 Reference Plane Shifting
8 Measuring S-Parameters

Outcomes
Be able to define Z,Y, and S-parameters
Be able to read and use S-parameter data from product data sheets
Be able to find the S-parameters of a simple network

Motivation

A system is usually broken into small blocks that are characterized individually.

We prefer to break large complex designs, like a wireless receiver or transmitter, into smaller blocks (e.g.
amplifier, mixer, filter)
We prefer to treat linear circuits like a black box using network parameters to characterize a system from the
outside, so we can ignore details of what is inside

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Example: when designing a whole system, we

often pick amplifiers by their input and output
impedance and forward and reverse gain
(isolation), and ignore what kind of transistor and
biasing is used inside (shown on the right). We
essentially characterize them as a "black box".
Caption

Each input or output is a port - a transmission line or waveguide that passes a single mode in and out
Best way to deal with "black box" components is using network parameters
We will glance at Z, Y, and ABCD parameters, but will find that they are not the most appropriate for high
frequency measurement
Scattering parameters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scattering_parameters) , or S-parameters are the most
common for microwave/RF circuits, so we will look at how they are defined and measured, and then use them
for the rest of the course.

Z, Y, ABCD Network parameters

Z, Y-parameters are used commonly at low
frequencies, and for feedback systems
Z and Y parameters are defined as follows:

Two-port network.

We can use these definitions to determine how we can measure the Z- or Y-parameters of a network. Let's
determine how to measure Z11 of a two port network. We know that V1 = Z11I1 + Z12I2 from the definition

above. If we set I2 to zero, then , or mathematically, . Therefore, in order to

measure Z11 we find the ratio of V1 to I1 when port 2 is open circuited, which ensures that I2 = 0.

ABCD-parameters are often used when cascading multiple devices in series, as we will see later, because the
overall ABCD matrix is simply the product of the original matrices. ABCD parameters are defined as:

Scattering Parameters - Why?

Z-, Y-, and ABCD matrices are good for low frequency circuit characterization
There are problems with these parameters at high frequencies:
It is easier to measure power at microwave frequencies than voltage and current

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It is difficult to define voltages and currents at high frequencies for non-TEM transmission lines (e.g.
waveguides)
It is necessary to use open and short circuits in order to find Z- and Y-parameters (as we found above for
the case of measuring Z11), which at microwave frequencies may cause instability when active elements
are involved, as we will see later
Best to use parameters closely related to power, which can be easily measured at high frequencies - scattering
parameters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scattering_parameters) , or S-parameters
An N-port device will have N2 S-parameters that are generally complex, and defined for a range of frequencies.
E.g. the S-parameters of the NE34018 HJFET (http://www.cel.com/pdf/datasheets/ne34018.pdf) are listed (see
page 3).

S-parameter analogy

S-parameters are functions of incident,

reflected, and transmitted waves
Can be thought of as analagous to optical
systems
E.g. The S-parameters S11 and S21
correspond roughly to the reflection from port
1 and the transmission from port 1 to 2,
respectively
S-parameters can be thought of as analagous to reflected, refracted,
and transmitted waves in optical systems.

S-Parameters
For most practical purposes S-parameters
(http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Scattering_parameters) can be thought of
as reflection and transmission parameters of a
network. More accuately, they relate forward
and reverse traveling normalized voltage
waves which are directly related to power.
Define a normalized forward traveling voltage
S-parameters characterize the response of a network to incoming and
wave into port n as an
outgoing waves.

where is the magnitude of the

forward moving wave into port n, and Zon is the characteristic impedance of the transmission line at port n

Similar for reverse traveling wave (out of the port)

The normalized waves are measured at the reference plane of each port, which in practice is often a coaxial
connector or probe.
These an and bn can be thought of as equivalent to the forward and reverse voltage waves on a
transmission line, except normalized with respect to Zon
We relate these normalized waves by the scattering matrix, which for a two-port network is

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Each S-parameter can be measured by

considering its definition:

which says that Sij is the ratio of the normalized

S-parameters are measured by applying a signal to a port, measuring
voltage wave out of port i to the normalized voltage a signal at a port, and terminating all other ports in loads with the
wave into port j under the condition that there is no same impedance as the ports.
signal propagating into any port other than j.
Having requires that all ports
aside from the one being stimulated (port j) be terminated in matched loads, i.e. set ZL = Zo at each port

Most real microwave devices use 50 Ω so generally 50 Ω terminations used

Pair activity: How would we go about measuring one S-parameter, e.g. S11?

S-Parameters-Simplified

Let's use the definition for an and bn to show that we can often use a simpler definition for S-parameters
Use S21 as an example. Provided that port 2 is terminated in a matched load, we have that:

If the characteristic impedances of ports 1 and 2 are equal, then Zo1 = Zo2, and we can cancel them off, leaving

or simply the ratio of the incident voltage at port 1 to the outgoing voltage wave at port 2, provided that

port 2 is terminated in a matched load, as specified above.

The same is true for all other S-parameters. General rule: if all port impedances are the same, we can use
forward and reverse voltage waves V + and V − in calculating S-parameters instead of the normalized
voltage waves.
This is very helpful when we are trying to find S-parameters of small signal transistor models
In most cases we deal with networks that have 50 Ω ports, so we can use this simpler method.

Relating S-parameters to total voltages and currents

We usually characterize high frequency

transistors using S-parameters, but we would
still like to be able to work with small-signal
models, which use voltage and current
We can calculate S-parameters from total
voltages and currents (and visa versa) by using
the relationship between the incident, reflected,
and total voltages and currents:

S-parameters can be related to voltages and currents.

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Using the definitions for S-parameters we can show that

S-Parameters - Names and Examples

For a two-port network, Port 1 is generally

denoted the input port, while port 2 is the
output port
S11 is called the input return loss or return
loss at port 1. Each port can be considered to
have an equivalent input impedance, as shown
on the right. If we know what it is we can
calculate S11 easily as
The return loss (S11) at port 1 and forward gain S21 can be
calculated by applying a signal at port 1.

S11 is simply the input reflection coefficient when the output port is terminated in a matched load.

S22 describes the reflection at the output, and can be calculated the same way as S11 to be

S21 is the forward gain of the device, or insertion loss if it is a lossy network. It is equal to the forward
transmission coefficient when the output port is terminated in a matched load. We can calculate it using the
relationship between voltage, current, and S-parameters that we discussed previously:

since − I2Zo2 = V2 and V1 + I1Zo1 = Vs.

Note that S21 is not the same as the voltage gain of a network.

S12 measures reverse transmission, and can be calculated the same way as S21 to be when the

signal is applied to port 2.

While Γin (Γout) and S11 (S22) are similar, they are only identical if the output (input) port is terminated in a
matched load

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S-parameters are often given in dB, using Sij,dB = 20log(Sij).

S-Parameters and Power

The waves a and b are defined as they are

because is

proportional to power into port n, and

is proportional to

power out of port n (provided that V + and V −

are magnitudes, not RMS.
Power delivered to load where a is the wave
traveling into the load, and b is the wave The power delivered to a port can be easily calculated from the a and
traveling away from the load is simply b waves.

S-Parameters and Special Networks

There are certain special networks that show up frequently in microwave circuits. Some of these include:

Reciprocal networks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scattering_parameters#Reciprocity) : [S] = [S] T. For a two

port network, this means S12 = S21, and more generally, . All passive and isotropic
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotropy) (linear) networks are reciprocal, which would include RLC networks and
transmission lines.
Lossless networks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scattering_parameters#The_Loss_Free_Network) : Power in
equals power out. E.g.:
Let a1 be the only input signal, and port 2 be terminated in a matched load. Then

Assume a1 is unity, so output power is given by :

In order for network to be lossless Pin = Pout, so , so one condition for a

two-port network to be lossless is:

The same would apply if a signal were applied at port 2 rather than port 1, so the second condition for a two-port to be
lossless is that

More generally, a lossless network satisfies

[S][S] * = [I]

where [I] is the identity matrix, or expressed another way,

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Examples

For examples and more background, see Deficiencies in the Way Scattering Parameters Are Taught
(http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/13/27429/01220742.pdf) , M. Sadiku. We will see that the S-parameters of a transistor
can be calculated from the small signal model (http://bmf.ece.queensu.ca/mediawiki/images
/a/a1/Derive_S11_S21_MOSFET_ssm.pdf) , and that we can calculate reflection coefficients of terminated networks
(http://bmf.ece.queensu.ca/mediawiki/images/8/86/Derive_gamma_in_2port.pdf) .

Conversion between network parameters

Often useful to convert between
parameters, because:
S-parameters are easy to
measure
Z-parameters are good for
series feedback connections
Y-parameters are good for
shunt feedback connections
ABCD parameters good for
series cascade
Conversion tables available in Pozar
(p. 187 in Microwave Engineering, 3nd
ed.) and Gonzalez (Microwave
Amplifiers)

Reference Plane Shifting

As mentioned above, S-parameters are
measured at the reference plane of each port.
Each set of network parameters has their own advantage when dealing with
In some cases we need to shift the reference
muliple connected networks.
plane. We will not be covering this in this
course, but a discussion on Shifting
Reference Planes is available.

Measuring S-Parameters
S-parameters are usually measured using a network analyzer (http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Network_analyzer_%28electrical%29) . Agilent has written Network Analyzer Basics
(http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5965-7917E.pdf) to present the operation of network analyzers.

There is a lab on measuring S-parameters using a VNA (http://www.ece.queensu.ca/hpages/courses/elec487/Lab3.pdf)

in ELEC-487. When measuring S-parameters using a network analyzer, it is usually necessary to calibrate the network
analyzer first, to account for cable loss and non-idealities of the analyzer.

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