Open a new workbook in Excel.

Click the "File/Open..." menu selection and locate the S-parameter file to be plotted (in this
case, 23212725.s2p). Set the window to display "All Files (*.*)," since the S-parameter
file will most likely not end in an Excel extension.

The Text Import Wizard will open. Select the "Delimited" option, then click "Next."

Unclick the "Tab" checkbox and select "Space." Scroll down into the data area and verify that
the data is separated by vertical lines at the appropriate points (lined up in columns), then
click "Next."

Click "Finish." You will now have all the data imported into a worksheet. Now would be a good
time to save the workbook under a new name (be sure to save it as an Excel worksheet).

The data column labels might need to be shifted to line up with the data (results will not be
affected if left as is). The data cannot be plotted as imported and must be translated into
equivalent circular coordinates (very simple).

Click the "Insert/Worksheet" menu selections.

Refer to the example spreadsheet as a suggested format for the plotting data.

In the "Freq (MHz)" column, use the equation ="Freq"/1e6, where "Freq" is referenced from
the S-parameter import worksheet. This column is not plotted, but is provided as a reference
for the S-parameter.

In the "S11x" column, use the equation ="|S11|"*cos(" S11"*PI()/180), where "|S11|" is
the magnitude and "<S11" is the angle (usually stored in degrees) as referenced from the
S-parameter import worksheet.

In the "S11y" column, use the equation ="|S11|"*sin(" S11"*PI()/180).

In the "S22x" column, use the equation ="|S22|"*cos(" S22"*PI()/180).

In the "S22y" column, use the equation ="|S22|"*sin(" S22"*PI()/180).

That creates the first row of equations. Now, highlight all five cells and grab the "handle at the
lower right corner of the highlighted area and drag it down by the number of rows of
imported data (201 in this case). You can cut out whatever data you do not want to plot.

Use the "Format/Cells..." menu selection to format the numbers to your preference.

Highlight the entire group of S-parameter data (201rows by 4 columns), then click the
"Insert/Chart..." menu selection. Click the "XY (Scatter)" chart type and then select the
"Scatter with data points connected by lines." picture in the lower left. Do not worry that the
preview looks meaningless at this point. Click "Next."
 Select the "Series" tab. Highlight "Series 1" in the list, then place the cursor in the "Name"
edit box and type in S11. The name in the list will change to "S11."

Click "Series 2" in the list and then click the "Remove" button.

Click "Series 3" in the list and rename it to S22. In the "X Values" edit box, change the "$B" to
"$D" on both sides of the colon, then click "Next."

Click the "Gridlines" tab and uncheck everything, then click the "Legend" tab and select the
"Corner" option. Click "Next," then "Finish."

Move the chart to a convenient place on the worksheet, and reshape it to as close to a square
as possible. Not being a perfect square will not affect the accuracy of the plotted points, but
will make a nasty looking Smith Chart.

Click an open area of the graph (the "Plot Area") and use the "handles" to resize the graph to
fill the graph window (it will not go all the way to the edge).

LOADING THE SMITH CHART IMAGE

Right-click in the Plot Area and select the "Format Plot Area..." menu selection, then click the
"Fill Effects..." button. Next, click the "Picture" tab and click the "Select Picture..." button.

Navigate to where your favorite Smith Chart image is located and select it. The one used in
this example can be downloaded from the RF Cafe web site. If you are creating your own
version, the best results can be had using a vector image creator (such as Visio) and then
saving it in WMF or EMF format. Doing so preserves the sharpness of lines when resizing. It
is also necessary to provide white space around the edge of the image to allow for the Excel
plot area not being able to extend all the way to the edges. Click Insert. Click the "OK"
buttons to close all the formatting windows.

CALIBRATING THE SCALES

Somewhere on the worksheet enter the numbers -1, 0, and 1 in separate cells. These will be
used to set the scale to correspond with the outer circle.

Right-click in the Plot Area and choose the "Source Data..." menu selection, then click the
"Series" tab.

Click the "Add" button and type "-1+j0" in the "Name" edit area. Place the cursor in the "X
Values" edit area and select the cell with the "-1" in it. Place the cursor in the "Y Values" edit
area and select the cell with the "0" in it. Note that any default values in the edited areas
must be overwritten.

Click the "Add" button and type "1+j0" in the "Name" edit area. Place the cursor in the "X
Values" edit area and select the cell with the "1" in it. Place the cursor in the "Y Values" edit
area and select the cell with the "0" in it.
 Click the "Add" button and type "0+j1" in the "Name" edit area. Place the cursor in the "X
Values" edit area and select the cell with the "0" in it. Place the cursor in the "Y Values" edit
area and select the cell with the "1" in it.

Click the "Add" button and type "0-j1" in the "Name" edit area. Place the cursor in the "X
Values" edit area and select the cell with the "-1" in it. Place the cursor in the "Y Values" edit
area and select the cell with the "0" in it. Click "OK."

Right-click the y-axis and select the "Format Axis..." menu selection, then click the "Scale"
tab.

Set the "Minimum" value to -1.02, the "Maximum" value to 1.02, and the "Major unit" and
"Minor unit" values to 5. Click OK."

Right-click the x-axis and select the "Format Axis..." menu selection, then click the "Scale"
tab.

Set the "Minimum" value to -1.02, the "Maximum" value to 1.02, and the "Major unit" and
"Minor unit" values to 5. Click "OK."

If the calibration marks do not line up with the unit circle of your Smith Chart, go back and
adjust the scales until they do. After calibration, the marks and axis lines and labels can be
removed to eliminate clutter.