pSemi offering free beta software for viewing S-parameters to assist 5G and RF measurements

Murata company pSemi Corp of San Diego, CA, USA (formerly Peregrine Semiconductor Corp) – a fabless provider of radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) – says it is offering the industry sNpViewer as free beta software for in-depth graphical viewing of S-parameters. This comprehensive viewer includes Smith, polar, magnitude, phase and phase versus amplitude charting. Time-domain analysis is also available.

S-parameters (scattering parameters) describe the input-output relationships between ports in a linear RF system. Specifically, at high frequency it becomes essential to describe a given network in terms of phase and amplitude of a wave rather than voltage or current.

“As the inventors of RFSOI, we have been dealing with the challenges of S-parameters for years,” says Colin Hunt, VP of sales. “In RF, it is easiest to use S-parameters for analysis because an RF signal is a complex waveform,” he adds. “5G developments have massively increased the number of S-parameter files needed to be analyzed. We developed the sNpViewer to assist us with the analysis of the large number of measurements. We are now offering it as our gift to the industry.”

As an example of 5G complexity, in order to select the best combination of phase and amplitude settings for a given RF channel in a multi-element array, an engineer must analyze thousands of distinct S-parameter data sets to ensure the best performance. To do this over multiple frequencies makes it even more laborious. Trying to visualize the results is complicated, says pSemi. Trying to isolate the best setting is even more demanding. The sNpViewer allows this search to be performed through thousands of S-parameter files to determine and record optimal performance.

pSemi says that this LUT feature can be especially useful for 5G beam-forming or for any other device where a phase and/or amplitude LUT is required.

Tags: Peregrine CMOS SOI Murata

Visit: www.psemi.com