High Speed Communication Circuits and Systems Lecture 3 S-Parameters and Impedance Transformers

Michael H. Perrott
February 9, 2004 Copyright 2004 by Michael H. Perrott All rights reserved.

M.H. Perrott

What Happens When the Wave Hits a Boundary?

Reflections can occur

Incident Wave

ZL

Ex

x y Reflected Wave z Hy

ZL

Hy

Ex

M.H. Perrott

What Happens When the Wave Hits a Boundary?

At boundary

- Orientation of H-field flips with respect to E-field

Current reverses direction with respect to voltage
Incident Wave I

ZL

Ex

x y I Reflected Wave I Hy

ZL

Hy

Ex

M.H. Perrott

What Happens At The Load Location?

Voltage and currents at load are ratioed according to the load impedance
Incident Wave

Ii

Voltage at Load
ZL

Vi

Current at Load

x y Reflected Wave z

Ii Ir ZL

Ratio at Load

Vr

M.H. Perrott

Ir

Relate to Characteristic Impedance

From previous slide

Voltage and current ratio in transmission line set by it characteristic impedance

Substituting:

M.H. Perrott

Define Reflection Coefficient

Definition:

- No reflection if

=0

Relation to load and characteristic impedances

Alternate expression

- No reflection if Z
M.H. Perrott

= Zo

Parameterization of High Speed Circuits/Passives

Circuits or passive structures are often connected to transmission lines at high frequencies

- How do you describe their behavior?

Linear Network

Transmission Line 1

Transmission Line 2

M.H. Perrott

Calculate Response to Input Voltage Sources

Assume source impedances match their respective transmission lines

Same value by definition

Linear Network

Same value by definition

Z1 Z1 Vin1 Transmission Line 1

Z2 Z2 Vin2 Transmission Line 2

M.H. Perrott

Calculate Response to Input Voltage Sources

Sources create incident waves on their respective transmission line Circuit/passive network causes

- Reflections on same transmission line - Feedthrough to other transmission line

Vi1 Z1 Z1 Vin1 Vr1 Vr2
Linear Network

Vi2 Z2 Z2 Vin2

M.H. Perrott

Calculate Response to Input Voltage Sources

Reflections on same transmission line are parameterized by L

- Note that

is generally different on each side of the circuit/passive network

L

L1
Vi1 Z1 Z1 Vin1 Vr1
Linear Network

L2
Vi2 Z2 Z2 Vr2 Vin2

How do we parameterize feedthrough to the other transmission line?

M.H. Perrott
10

S-Parameters Definition

Model circuit/passive network using 2-port techniques

- Similar idea to Thevenin/Norton modeling

L1
Vi1 Z1 Z1 Vin1 Vr1 Vr2
Linear Network

L2
Vi2 Z2 Z2 Vin2

Defining equations:

M.H. Perrott

11

S-Parameters Calculation/Measurement
L1
Vi1 Z1 Z1 Vin1 Vr1 Vr2
Linear Network

L2
Vi2 Z2 Z2 Vin2

M.H. Perrott

12

Note: Alternate Form for S21 and S12

L1
Vi1 Z1 Z1 Vin1 Vr1 Vr2
Linear Network

L2
Vi2 Z2 Z2 Vin2

M.H. Perrott

13

Block Diagram of S-Parameter 2-Port Model

S-Parameter Two-Port Model Vi1 Z1 S11 Vr1 Z2 S21 Z1 Z1 S12 Z2 S22 Vr2 Vi2 Z2

Key issue two-port is parameterized with respect to the left and right side load impedances (Z1 and Z2)

- Need to recalculate S , S , etc. if Z or Z changes - Typical assumption is that Z = Z = 50 Ohms

11 21 1 2 1 2

M.H. Perrott

14

Macro-modeling for Distributed, Linear Networks

Z1 Zs Vs length = d1
Linear Circuits & Passives (1)

Z2 length = d2

Linear Circuits & Passives (2)

Z3 length = d3

ZL Vout

Key parameters for a transmission line

- Characteristic impedance (only impacts S-parameter calculations) - Delay (function of length and ) - Loss (ignore for now) - S-parameters

Key parameters for circuits/passives

We would like an overall macro-model for simulation

M.H. Perrott
15

Macro-modeling for Distributed, Linear Networks

Z1 Zs Vs length = d1 d1 velocity = LC d1 = d1
Linear Circuits & Passives (1)

Z2 length = d2 d2

Linear Circuits & Passives (2)

Z3 length = d3 d3

ZL Vout

delay1 =

delay2 =

delay3 =

Model transmission line as a delay element

function of its length)

- If lossy, could also add an attenuation factor (which is a

Model circuits/passives with S-parameter 2-ports Model source and load with custom blocks

M.H. Perrott

16

Macro-modeling for Distributed, Linear Networks

Z1 Zs Vs length = d1 d1 velocity = LC d1 = d1
Linear Circuits & Passives (1)

Z2 length = d2 d2

Linear Circuits & Passives (2)

Z3 length = d3 d3

ZL Vout

delay1 =

delay2 =

delay3 =

ZL=Z1 ZR=Z2

ZL=Z2 ZR=Z3

Vs

Z1 Z1+Zs Zs-Z1 Zs+Z1

delay1

Vi1

Vr2

delay2

Vi1

Vr2

delay3 ZL-Z3 ZL+Z3 delay3

Vout

S-param. 2-port (1) delay1 Vr1 Vi2 delay2

S-param. 2-port (2) Vr1 Vi2

M.H. Perrott

17

Note for CppSim Simulations

ZL=Z1 ZR=Z2 ZL=Z2 ZR=Z3

Vs

Z1 Z1+Zs Zs-Z1 Zs+Z1

delay1

Vi1

Vr2

delay2

Vi1

Vr2

delay3 ZL-Z3 ZL+Z3 delay3

Vout

S-param. 2-port (1) delay1 Vr1 Vi2 delay2

S-param. 2-port (2) Vr1 Vi2

CppSim does block-by-block computation Prevent artificial delays by

- Feedback introduces artificial delays in simulation - Ordering blocks according to input-to-output signal flow - Creating an additional signal in CppSim modules to pass previous sample values - Note: both are already done for you in Homework #1
18

M.H. Perrott

S-Parameter Calculations Example 1

Vi1 Z1
Transmission Line Junction

Vi2 Z2

Vr1
Derive S-Parameter 2-Port

Vr2

Set Vi2 = 0

Set Vi1 = 0

M.H. Perrott

19

S-Parameter Calculations Example 2

Vi1
Transmission Line Junction with Capacitor

Vi2

Z1
C

Z2

Vr1

Vr2

Derive S-Parameter 2-Port

Same as before:

But now:

M.H. Perrott

20

S-Parameter Calculations Example 3

Vi1 Z1
C1 L1 C2

Vi2 Z2

Vr1

Vr2

Derive S-Parameter 2-Port

The S-parameter calculations are now more involved

- Network now has more than one node

This is a homework problem

M.H. Perrott

21

Impedance Transformers

M.H. Perrott

22

Matching for Voltage versus Power Transfer

Consider the voltage divider network

RS I

Vs

RL

Vout

For maximum voltage transfer

For maximum power transfer

Which one do we want?

M.H. Perrott
23

Note: Maximum Power Transfer Derivation

RS I

Vs

RL

Vout

Formulation

Take the derivative and set it to zero

M.H. Perrott

24

Voltage Versus Power

For most communication circuits, voltage (or current) is the key signal for detection

- Phase information is important - Power is ambiguous with respect to phase information

Example:
Voltage Power

For high speed circuits with transmission lines, achieving maximum power transfer is important
reflections (i.e., L = 0)

- Maximum power transfer coincides with having zero

Can we ever win on both issues?

M.H. Perrott

25

Broadband Impedance Transformers

Consider placing an ideal transformer between source Iin Iout and load R
S

Vs

Rin

Vin

RL

Vout

1:N

Transformer basics (passive, zero loss)

Transformer input impedance

M.H. Perrott

26

What Value of N Maximizes Voltage Transfer?

Derive formula for Vout versus Vin for given N value

Take the derivative and set it to zero

M.H. Perrott

27

What is the Input Impedance for Max Voltage Transfer?

We know from basic transformer theory that input impedance into transformer is

We just learned that, to maximize voltage transfer, we must set the transformer turns ratio to

Put them together

So, N should be set for max power transfer into transformer to achieve the maximum voltage transfer at the load!
M.H. Perrott
28

Benefit of Impedance Matching with Transformers

Transformers allow maximum voltage and power transfer relationship to coincide

RS Iin Iout

Vs

Rin

Vin

RL

Vout

1:N

Turns ratio for max power/voltage transfer

Resulting voltage gain (can exceed one!)

M.H. Perrott

29

The Catch

Its hard to realize a transformer with good performance over a wide frequency range

- Magnetic materials have limited frequency response - Inductors have self-resonant frequencies, losses, and

mediocre coupling to other inductors without magnetic material

For wireless applications, we only need transformers that operate over a small frequency range

- Can we take advantage of this?

M.H. Perrott

30

Consider Resonant Circuits (Chap. 4 of Lees Book)

Series Resonant Circuit Cs Zin Ls Zin Parallel Resonant Circuit

Rs

Cp

Lp

Rp

Key insight: resonance allows Zin to be purely real despite the presence of reactive elements
31

M.H. Perrott

Comparison of Series and Parallel RL Circuits

Series RL Circuit Ls Zin Rs Zin Lp Rp Parallel RL Circuit

Equate real and imaginary parts of the left and right expressions (so that Zin is the same for both)

- Also equate Q values

M.H. Perrott

32

Comparison of Series and Parallel RC Circuits

Series RC Circuit Cs Zin Parallel RC Circuit

Rs

Zin

Cp

Rp

Equate real and imaginary parts of the left and right expressions (so that Zin is the same for both)

- Also equate Q values

M.H. Perrott

33

A Narrowband Transformer: The L Match

Zin

Assume Q >> 1
Ls

Series to Parallel Transformation

Rs Zin C Lp Rp

So, at resonance

Transformer steps up impedance!

M.H. Perrott

34

Alternate Implementation of L Match

Assume Q >> 1
L

Parallel to Series Transformation

Cp Rp Zin

Cs

Zin

Rs

So, at resonance

Transformer steps down impedance!

M.H. Perrott

35

The Match

Combines two L sections

L L1 + L2 = L L1 L2 C2 R Zin C1 C2 R

Zin

C1

Steps Up Impedance

Steps Down Impedance

Provides an extra degree of freedom for choosing component values for a desired transformation ratio

M.H. Perrott

36

The T Match

Also combines two L sections

L1 L2 C R Zin C1 + C2 = C L1 C1 L2 C2 R

Zin

Steps Down Impedance

Steps Up Impedance

Again, benefit is in providing an extra degree of freedom in choosing component values

M.H. Perrott

37

Tapped Capacitor as a Transformer

C1 Zin L C2 RL

To first order:

Useful in VCO design See Chapter 4 of Tom Lees book for analysis

M.H. Perrott

38