1.

- Useful for visualization of radio frequency and

transmission line problems
The Smith chart was created by Phillip H. Smith in 1939. Its a graphical tool designed for
electrical engineers specializing in radio frequency (RF) to solve problems related
to transmission lines and matching circuits.
Use of the Smith chart has grown over the years and its still used today, not only as a
problem solving tool, but as a graphical display to show how RF parameters behave at one
or more frequencies. he Smith chart can be used to represent many parameters including
impedances, admittances, reflection and transmission coefficients, scattering parameters...
Normalized scaling allows the Smith chart to be used for problems involving any
characteristic or system impedance which is represented by the center point of the chart.
The most commonly used normalization impedance is 50 ohms. Once an answer is obtained
through the graphical method, it is easy to convert between the normalized impedance and
the corresponding unnormalized value by multiplying by the characteristic impedance.
Reflection coefficients can be read directly from the chart.
Use of the Smith chart and the meaning of the results obtained requires a good
understanding of AC circuits and transmission line theory, both of which are needed by RF
engineers.
In the chart, there are horizontal circles that represent constant resistances; vertical circles
represent constant reactances. The complex impedance (or admittance )is normalized using
a reference, which usually is the characteristic impedance Z0.
Lets create a chart with Matlab.
% function draw_smith_chart
% Draw outer circle
t = linspace(0, 2*pi, 100);
x = cos(t);
y = sin(t);
plot(x, y, 'linewidth', 3); axis equal;
% Place title and remove ticks from axes
title(' Smith Chart ')
set(gca,'xticklabel',{[]});
set(gca,'yticklabel',{[]});
hold on
% Draw circles along horizontal axis
k = [.25 .5 .75];
for i = 1 : length(k)
x(i,:) = k(i) + (1 - k(i)) * cos(t);
y(i,:) = (1 - k(i)) * sin(t);
plot(x(i,:), y(i,:), 'k')
end

% Draw partial circles along vertical axis

kt = [2.5 pi 3.79 4.22];
k = [.5 1 2 4];
for i = 1 : length(kt)
t = linspace(kt(i), 1.5*pi, 50);
a(i,:) = 1 + k(i) * cos(t);
b(i,:) = k(i) + k(i) * sin(t);
plot(a(i,:), b(i,:),'k:', a(i,:), -b(i,:),'k:' )
end

2.- Calculate the Reflection Coefficient, VSWR and Return

Loss
Now, lets prepare some formulas to calculate typical values used in RF theory. To plot a
reflection coefficient we need a normalized impedance with magnitude and angle. Its a
good idea to deliver the angle in degrees to make it easier to visualize, and also lets
calculate the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) and the return loss.

function [m, thd, SWR, rloss] = smith_ch_calc(Z0, Zl)

% Draw appropriate chart

% Normalize given impedance

zl = Zl/Z0;
% Calculate reflection, magnitude and angle
g = (zl - 1)/(zl + 1);
m = abs(g);
th = angle(g);
% Plot appropriate point
polar(th, m, 'r*')
% Change radians to degrees
thd = th * 180/pi;
% Calculate VSWR and return loss.
% We can add epsilon to magnitude, to avoid div by 0 or log(0)
SWR = (1 + m)/(1 - m);
rloss = -20 * log10(m);

Now, lets try our functions:

clear, clc, close all, format compact
[m1, d1, VSWR1, Rloss1] = smith_ch_calc(50, 50)
[m2, d2, VSWR2, Rloss2] = smith_ch_calc(50, 100 + 50j)

[m3, d3, VSWR3, Rloss3] = smith_ch_calc(50, 30 - j*47)

and the results are:

m1 =
d1 =
VSWR1 =
Rloss1 =

0
0
1.0000
313.0712

m2 =
0.4472
d2 =
26.5651
VSWR2 = 2.6180
Rloss2 = 6.9897
m3 =
0.5505
d3 =
-82.6171
VSWR3 = 3.4494
Rloss3 = 5.1848

%
%

"RF impedance response of an RFC"

clear all; % clear all variables

close all; % close all opened graphs
figure;
% open new graph
sigma_Cu=64.5e6;
mu=4*pi*1e-7;
epsilon=8.85e-12;

% define material conductivity

% define permeability of free space
% define permittivity of free space

% define constants for this example

a=63.5e-6; % radius of wire (meters)
r=1.27e-3; % radius of coil
l=1.27e-3; % length of coil
NN=3.5;
% number of turns
% compute parameters of the equivalent circuit
L=10*pi*r^2*mu*NN^2/(9*r+10*l); % inductance of the computed coil
% using the formula for a short solenoid
C=0.3e-12;
% parasitic capacitance
R=2*pi*r*NN/(sigma_Cu*pi*a^2);
% resistance of the wire
% define frequency range
f_min=10e6;
% lower frequency limit
f_max=10e9;
% upper frequency limit
N=500;
% number of points in the graph
f=f_min*((f_max/f_min).^((0:N)/N)); % compute frequency points on log scale
w=2*pi*f;
Z=1./(j*w*C+1./(R+j*w*L)); % impedance of the coil
Z_ideal=j*w*L;
% ideal inductor impedance
loglog(f,abs(Z),f,abs(Z_ideal));
title('Impedance of a capacitor as function of frequency');
xlabel('Frequency {\itf}, Hz');
ylabel('Impedance |Z|, {\Omega}');
legend('wire-wound inductor', 'ideal inductor');

"RF impedance response of capacitor"

close all; % close all opened graphs

figure;
% open new graph
sigma_Cu=64.5e6;
mu=4*pi*1e-7;

% define material conductivity

% define permeability of free space

% define constants for this example

C=47e-12;
% capacitance in Farads
loss=1e-4;
% loss tangent
l=0.0125;
% total length of one lead in meters
a=2.032e-4; % radius of leads in meters (AWG 26)

% define frequency range

f_min=1e6;
% lower frequency limit
f_max=10e9; % upper frequency limit
N=500;
% number of points in the graph
f=f_min*((f_max/f_min).^((0:N)/N)); % compute frequency points on log scale
w=2*pi*f;
L=mu*(2*l)/(2*pi)*(log(2*(2*l)/a)-1);
Rs=2*l/(2*a)*sqrt(mu*f/(pi*sigma_Cu));
Re=1./(w*C*loss);
Z=Rs+j*w.*L+1./(j*w*C+1./Re);
Z_ideal=1./(j*w*C);

%
%
%
%
%

lead inductance
lead resistance
leackage resistance
capacitor impedance
ideal capacitor impedance

loglog(f,abs(Z),f,abs(Z_ideal));
title('Impedance of a capacitor as function of frequency');
xlabel('Frequency {\itf}, Hz');
ylabel('Impedance |Z|, {\Omega}');

"RF impedance response of metal-film resistors"

close all; % close all opened graphs

figure;
% open new graph
sigma_Cu=64.5e6;
mu=4*pi*1e-7;

% define material conductivity

% permeability of free space

% define constants for this example

R=2e3;
% resistance in Ohms
C=5e-12;
% capacitance in Farads
l=2*0.025;
% total length of leads in meters (2 leads)
a=2.032e-4; % radius of the leads in meters (AWG 26)
% define frequency range
f_min=10e3; % lower frequency limit
f_max=10e9; % upper frequency limit
N=500;
% number of points in the graph
f=f_min*((f_max/f_min).^((0:N)/N)); % compute frequency points on log scale
L=mu*l/(2*pi)*(log(2*l/a)-1);
Z=1./(j*2*pi*f*C+1/R)+j*2*pi*f.*L;

% determine inductance
% determine impedance

loglog(f,abs(Z));
title('Impedance of a 2 k{\Omega} thin-film resistor as a function of
frequency');
xlabel('Frequency {\itf}, Hz');
ylabel('Impedance |Z|, {\Omega}');