Two-port network

Figure 1: Example two-port network with symbol definitions. Notice the port condition is satisfied: the same current flows into each port as leaves that port.

A two-port network (a kind of four-terminal network or quadripole) is an electrical circuit or device with two pairs of terminals connected together internally by an electrical network. Two terminals constitute a port if they satisfy the essential requirement known as the port condition: the same current must enter [1][2] and leave a port. Examples include small-signal models for transistors (such as the hybrid-pi model), filters and matching networks. The analysis of passive two-port networks is an outgrowth of reciprocity theorems first derived by Lorentz[3]. A two-port network makes possible the isolation of either a complete circuit or part of it and replacing it by its characteristic parameters. Once this is done, the isolated part of the circuit becomes a "black box" with a set of distinctive properties, enabling us to abstract away its specific physical buildup, thus simplifying analysis. Any linear circuit with four terminals can be transformed into a two-port network provided that it does not contain an independent source and satisfies the port conditions. There are a number of alternative sets of parameters that can be used to describe a linear two-port network, the usual sets are respectively called z, y, h, g, and ABCD parameters, each described individually below. These are all limited to linear networks since an underlying assumption of their derivation is that any given circuit condition is a linear superposition of various short-circuit and open circuit conditions. They are usually expressed in matrix notation, and they establish relations between the variables

Input voltage Output voltage Input current Output current which are shown in Figure 1. These current and voltage variables are most useful at low-to-moderate frequencies. At high frequencies (e.g., microwave frequencies), the use of power and energy variables is more appropriate, and the two-port currentvoltage approach is replaced by an approach based upon scattering parameters. The terms four-terminal network and quadripole (not to be confused with quadrupole) are also used, the latter particularly in more mathematical treatments although the term is becoming archaic. However, a pair of terminals can be called a port only if the current entering one terminal is equal to the current leaving the other; this definition is called the port condition. A four-terminal network can only be properly called a two-port when the terminals are connected to the external circuitry in two pairs both meeting the port condition.[1][2]

General properties

There are certain properties of two-ports that frequently occur in practical networks and can be used to greatly simplify the analysis. These include: Reciprocal networks. A network is said to be reciprocal if the voltage appearing at port 2 due to a current applied at port 1 is the same as the voltage appearing at port 1 when the same current is applied to port 2. Exchanging voltage and current results in an equivalent definition of reciprocity. In general, a network will be reciprocal if it consists entirely of linear passive components (that is, resistors, capacitors and inductors). In general, it will not be reciprocal if it contains active components such as generators.[4] Symmetrical networks. A network is symmetrical if its input impedance is equal to its output impedance. Most often, but not necessarily, symmetrical networks are also physically symmetrical. Sometimes also antimetrical networks are of interest. These are networks where the input and output impedances are the duals of each other.[5] Lossless network. A lossless network is one which contains no resistors or other dissipative elements.[6]

Impedance parameters (z-parameters)

Figure 2: z-equivalent two port showing independent variables I1 and I2. Although resistors are shown, general impedances can be used instead.

Main article: Impedance parameters

where

Notice that all the z-parameters have dimensions of ohms. For reciprocal networks [7] the are purely imaginary. . For symmetrical networks . For lossless networks all

Example: bipolar current mirror with emitter degeneration

Figure 3: Bipolar current mirror: i1 is the reference current and i2 is the output current; lower case symbols indicate these are total currents that include the DC components

Figure 4: Small-signal bipolar current mirror: I1 is the amplitude of the small-signal reference current and I2 is the amplitude of the small-signal output current

Figure 3 shows a bipolar current mirror with emitter resistors to increase its output resistance.[nb 1] Transistor Q1 is diode connected, which is to say its collector-base voltage is zero. Figure 4 shows the small-signal circuit equivalent to Figure 3. Transistor Q1 is represented by its emitter resistance rE VT / IE (VT = thermal voltage, IE = Q-point emitter current), a simplification made possible because the dependent current source in the hybrid-pi model for Q1 draws the same current as a resistor 1 / gm connected across r . The second transistor Q2 is represented by its hybrid-pi model. Table 1 below shows the z-parameter expressions that make the z-equivalent circuit of Figure 2 electrically equivalent to the small-signal circuit of Figure 4.

Table 1

Expression

Approximation

RE

RE

The negative feedback introduced by resistors RE can be seen in these parameters. For example, when used as an active load in a differential amplifier, I1 -I2, making the output impedance of the mirror approximately R22 -R21 2 rORE /( r +2RE ) compared to only rO without feedback (that is with RE = 0 ) . At the same time, the impedance on the reference side of the mirror is approximately R11 R12

(rE + RE), only a moderate value, but still larger than rE with no feedback. In the differential amplifier application, a large output resistance increases the difference-mode gain, a good thing, and a small mirror input resistance is desirable to avoid Miller effect.

Admittance parameters (y-parameters)

Figure 5: Y-equivalent two port showing independent variables V1 and V2. Although resistors are shown, general admittances can be used instead.

Main article: Admittance parameters

where

Notice that all the Y-parameters have dimensions of siemens. For reciprocal networks the are purely imaginary.[7] . For symmetrical networks . For lossless networks all

Hybrid parameters (h-parameters)

Figure 6: H-equivalent two-port showing independent variables I1 and V2; h22 is reciprocated to make a resistor

where

This circuit is often selected when a current amplifier is wanted at the output. The resistors shown in the diagram can be general impedances instead. Notice that off-diagonal h-parameters are dimensionless, while diagonal members have dimensions the reciprocal of one another.

Example: common-base amplifier

Figure 7: Common-base amplifier with AC current source I1 as signal input and unspecified load supporting voltage V2 and a dependent current I2.

Note: Tabulated formulas in Table 2 make the h-equivalent circuit of the transistor from Figure 6 agree with its small-signal low-frequency hybrid-pi model in Figure 7. Notation: r = base resistance of transistor, rO = output resistance, and gm = transconductance. The negative sign for h21 reflects the convention that I1, I2 are positive when directed into the two-port. A non-zero value for h12 means the output voltage affects the input voltage, that is, this amplifier is bilateral. If h12 = 0, the amplifier is unilateral.

Table 2

Expression

Approximation

rE

Inverse hybrid parameters (g-parameters)

Figure 8: G-equivalent two-port showing independent variables V1 and I2; g11 is reciprocated to make a resistor

where

Often this circuit is selected when a voltage amplifier is wanted at the output. Notice that off-diagonal gparameters are dimensionless, while diagonal members have dimensions the reciprocal of one another. The resistors shown in the diagram can be general impedances instead.

Example: common-base amplifier

Figure 9: Common-base amplifier with AC voltage source V1 as signal input and unspecified load delivering current I2 at a dependent voltage V2.

Note: Tabulated formulas in Table 3 make the g-equivalent circuit of the transistor from Figure 8 agree with its small-signal low-frequency hybrid-pi model in Figure 9. Notation: r = base resistance of transistor, rO = output resistance, and gm = transconductance. The negative sign for g12 reflects the convention that I1, I2 are positive when directed into the two-port. A non-zero value for g12 means the output current affects the input current, that is, this amplifier is bilateral. If g12 = 0, the amplifier is unilateral.

Table 3

Expression

Approximation

gmrO

rO

rO

ABCD-parameters
The ABCD-parameters are known variously as chain, cascade, or transmission line parameters. There are a number of definitions given for ABCD parameters, the most common is,[8][9]

For reciprocal networks . For symmetrical networks . For networks which are reciprocal [6] and lossless, A and D are purely real while B and C are purely imaginary. This representation is preferred because when the parameters are used to represent a cascade of twoports, the matrices are written in the same order that a network diagram would be drawn, that is, left to right. However, the examples given below are based on a variant definition;

where

The negative signs in the definitions of parameters and arise because is defined with the opposite sense to , that is, . The reason for adopting this convention is so that the output current of one cascaded stage is equal to the input current of the next. Consequently, the input voltage/current matrix vector can be directly replaced with the matrix equation of the preceding cascaded stage to form a combined matrix.

The terminology of representing the parameters as a matrix of elements designated a11 etc as [10] parameters as a matrix of elements designated adopted by some authors and the inverse b11 etc is used here for both brevity and to avoid confusion with circuit elements.

There is a simple relationship between these two forms: one is the matrix inverse of the other, that is;

An ABCD matrix has been defined for Telephony four-wire Transmission Systems by P K Webb in British Post Office Research Department Report 630 in 1977.

Table of transmission parameters

The table below lists inverse ABCD parameters for some simple network elements.
Element [b] matrix Remarks

Series resistor

R = resistance

Shunt resistor

R = resistance

Series conductor

G = conductance

Shunt conductor

G = conductance

Series inductor

L = inductance s = complex angular frequency C = capacitance s = complex angular frequency

Shunt capacitor

Combinations of two-port networks

When two or more two-port networks are connected together, the two-port parameters of the combined network can be found by performing matrix algebra on the matrices of parameters for the component twoports. The matrix operation can be made particularly simple with an appropriate choice of two-port

parameters to match the form of connection of the two-ports. For instance, the z-parameters are best for series connected ports. The combination rules need to be applied with care. Some connections (when dissimilar potentials are joined) result in the port condition being invalidated and the combination rule will no longer apply. This difficulty can be overcome by placing 1:1 ideal transformers on the outputs of the problem two-ports. This does not change the parameters of the two-ports, but does ensure that they will continue to meet the port condition when interconnected. An example of this problem is shown for series-series connections in figures 11 and 12 below.[11]

Series-series connection

Fig. 10. Two two-port networks with input ports connected in series and output ports connected in series.

When two-ports are connected in a series-series configuration as shown in figure 10, the best choice of two-port parameter is the z-parameters. The z-parameters of the combined network are found by matrix addition of the two individual z-parameter matrices.[12][13]

Fig. 11. Example of an improper connection of two-ports. R1 of the lower two-port has been by-passed by a short circuit.

Fig. 12. Use of ideal transformers to restore the port condition to interconnected networks.

As mentioned above, there are some networks which will not yield directly to this analysis. A simple example is a two-port consisting of a L-network of resistors R1 and R2. The z-parameters for this network are;

[11]

Figure 11 shows two identical such networks connected in series-series. The total z-parameters predicted by matrix addition are;

However, direct analysis of the combined circuit shows that,

The discrepancy is explained by observing that R1 of the lower two-port has been by-passed by the shortcircuit between two terminals of the output ports. This results in no current flowing through one terminal in each of the input ports of the two individual networks. Consequently, the port condition is broken for both the input ports of the original networks since current is still able to flow into the other terminal. This problem can be resolved by inserting an ideal transformer in the output port of at least one of the two-port networks. While this is a common text-book approach to presenting the theory of two-ports, the practicality of using transformers is a matter to be decided for each individual design.

Parallel-parallel connection

Fig. 13. Two two-port networks with input ports connected in parallel and output ports connected in parallel.

When two-ports are connected in a parallel-parallel configuration as shown in figure 13, the best choice of two-port parameter is the y-parameters. The y-parameters of the combined network are found by matrix addition of the two individual y-parameter matrices.[14]

Series-parallel connection

Fig. 14. Two two-port networks with input ports connected in series and output ports connected in parallel.

When two-ports are connected in a series-parallel configuration as shown in figure 14, the best choice of two-port parameter is the h-parameters. The h-parameters of the combined network are found by matrix [15] addition of the two individual h-parameter matrices.

Parallel-series connection

Fig. 15. Two two-port networks with input ports connected in parallel and output ports connected in series.

When two-ports are connected in a parallel-series configuration as shown in figure 15, the best choice of two-port parameter is the g-parameters. The g-parameters of the combined network are found by matrix addition of the two individual g-parameter matrices.

Cascade connection

Fig. 16. Two two-port networks with the first's output port connected to the second's input port

When two-ports are connected with the output port of the first connected to the input port of the second (a cascade connection) as shown in figure 16, the best choice of two-port parameter is the ABCDparameters. The a-parameters of the combined network are found by matrix multiplication of the two [16] individual a-parameter matrices.

A chain of n two-ports may be combined by matrix multiplication of the n matrices. To combine a cascade of b-parameter matrices, they are again multiplied, but the multiplication must be carried out in reverse order, so that;

Example Suppose we have a two-port network consisting of a series resistor R followed by a shunt capacitor C. We can model the entire network as a cascade of two simpler networks:

The transmission matrix for the entire network matrices for the two network elements:

is simply the matrix multiplication of the transmission

Thus:

Scattering parameters (S-parameters)

Main article: Scattering parameters

Fig. 17. Terminology of waves used in S-parameter definition.

The previous parameters are all defined in terms of voltages and currents at ports. S-parameters are different, and are defined in terms of incident and reflected waves at ports. S-parameters are used primarily at UHF and microwave frequencies where it becomes difficult to measure voltages and currents directly. On the other hand, incident and reflected power are easy to measure using directional couplers. [17] The definition is,

where the are the incident waves and the are the reflected waves at port k. It is conventional to define the and in terms of the square root of power. Consequently, there is a relationship with the [18] wave voltages (see main article for details). For reciprocal networks .
[19]

. For symmetrical networks and

. For antimetrical networks .

[20]

For lossless reciprocal networks

Scattering transfer parameters (T-parameters)

See also: Scattering transfer parameters Scattering transfer parameters, like scattering parameters, are defined in terms of incident and reflected waves. The difference is that T-parameters relate the waves at port 1 to the waves at port 2 whereas Sparameters relate the reflected waves to the incident waves. In this respect T-parameters fill the same role as ABCD parameters and allow the T-parameters of cascaded networks to be calculated by matrix multiplication of the component networks. T-parameters, like ABCD parameters, can also be called transmission parameters. The definition is,[17][21]

T-parameters are not so easy to measure directly as S-parameters. However, S-parameters are easily converted to T-parameters, see main article for details.[22]

Networks with more than two ports

While two port networks are very common (e.g. amplifiers and filters), other electrical networks such as directional couplers and circulators have more than 2 ports. The following representations are also applicable to networks with an arbitrary number of ports: y Admittance (y) parameters y Impedance (z) parameters y Scattering (S) parameters For example three-port impedance parameters result in the following relationship:

However the following representations are necessarily limited to two-port devices: y y y y Hybrid (h) parameters Inverse hybrid (g) parameters Transmission (ABCD) parameters Scattering transfer (T) parameters

Collapsing a two-port to a one port

A two-port network has four variables with two of them being independent. If one of the ports is terminated by a load with no independent sources, then the load enforces a relationship between the voltage and current of that port. A degree of freedom is lost. The circuit now has only one independent parameter. The two-port becomes a one-port impedance to the remaining independent variable.

For example , consider impedance parameters

Connecting a load, ZL onto port 2 effectively adds the constraint

The negative sign is because the positive direction for I2 is directed into the two-port instead of into the load. The augmented equations become

The second equation can be easily solved for I2 as a function of I1 and that expression can replace I2 in the first equation leaving V1 ( and V2 and I2 ) as functions of I1

So, in effect, I1 sees an input impedance and the two-port's effect on the input circuit has been effectively collapsed down to a one-port i.e. a simple two terminal impedance.

See also
y y y y Admittance parameters Impedance parameters Scattering parameters Ray transfer matrix

Notes
1. ^ The emitter-leg resistors counteract any current increase by decreasing the transistor VBE. That is, the resistors RE cause negative feedback that opposes change in current. In particular, any

change in output voltage results in less change in current than without this feedback, which means the output resistance of the mirror has increased.

References
1. ^ Gray, 3.2, p. 172 a b Jaeger, 10.5 13.5 13.8 2. ^ 3. ^ Jasper J. Goedbloed, Reciprocity and EMC measurements 4. ^ Nahvi, p.311. 5. ^ Matthaei et al, pp. 7072. 6. ^ a b Matthaei et al, p.27. a b Matthaei et al, p.29. 7. ^ 8. ^ Matthaei et al, p.26. 9. ^ Ghosh, p.353. 10. ^ Farago, p.102. 11. ^ a b Farago, pp.122-127. 12. ^ Ghosh, p.371. 13. ^ Farago, p.128. 14. ^ Ghosh, p.372. 15. ^ Ghosh, p.373. 16. ^ Farago, pp.128-134. 17. ^ a b Vasileska & Goodnick, p.137 18. ^ Egan, pp.11-12 19. ^ Carlin, p.304 20. ^ Matthaei et al, p.44. 21. ^ Egan, pp.12-15 22. ^ Egan, pp.13-14
a b

Bibliography
y Carlin, HJ, Civalleri, PP, Wideband circuit design, CRC Press, 1998. ISBN 0849378974. y William F. Egan, Practical RF system design, Wiley-IEEE, 2003 ISBN 0471200239. y Farago, PS, An Introduction to Linear Network Analysis, The English Universities Press Ltd, 1961. y Gray, P.R.; Hurst, P.J.; Lewis, S.H.; Meyer, R.G. (2001). Analysis and Design of Analog th Integrated Circuits (4 ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471321680. y Ghosh, Smarajit, Network Theory: Analysis and Synthesis, Prentice Hall of India ISBN 8120326385. y Jaeger, R.C.; Blalock, T.N. (2006). Microelectronic

Scattering parameters
Scattering parameters or S-parameters (the elements of a scattering matrix or S-matrix) describe the electrical behaviors of linear electrical networks when undergoing various steady state stimuli by electrical signals. The parameters are useful for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and communication systems design. The S-parameters are members of a family of similar parameters used in electronics engineering, other [1] [2] examples being: Y-parameters, Z-parameters, H-parameters, T-parameters or ABCD-

parameters.[3][4]They differ from these, in the sense that S-parameters do not use open or short circuit conditions to characterize a linear electrical network; instead matched loads are used. These terminations are much easier to use at high signal frequencies than open-circuit and short-circuit terminations. Moreover, the quantities are measured in terms of power. Many electrical properties of networks of components (inductors, capacitors, resistors) may be expressed using S-parameters, such as gain, return loss, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), reflection coefficient and amplifier stability. The term 'scattering' is more common to optical engineering than RF engineering, referring to the effect observed when a plane electromagnetic wave is incident on an obstruction or passes across dissimilar dielectric media. In the context of S-parameters, scattering refers to the way in which the traveling currents and voltages in a transmission line are affected when they meet a discontinuity caused by the insertion of a network into the transmission line. This is equivalent to the wave meeting an impedance differing from the line's characteristic impedance. Although applicable at any frequency, S-parameters are mostly used for networks operating at radio frequency (RF) and microwave frequencies where signal power and energy considerations are more easily quantified than currents and voltages. S-parameters change with the measurement frequency so this must be included for any S-parameter measurements stated, in addition to the characteristic impedance or system impedance. S-parameters are readily represented in matrix form and obey the rules of matrix algebra.

Background
Historically, an electrical network would have comprised a 'black box' containing various interconnected basic electrical circuit components or lumped elements such as resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors. For the S-parameter definition, it is understood that a network may contain any components provided that the entire network behaves linearly with incident small signals. It may also include many typical communication system components or 'blocks' such as amplifiers, attenuators, filters, couplers and equalizers provided they are also operating under linear and defined conditions. An electrical network to be described by S-parameters may have any number of ports. Ports are the points at which electrical currents either enter or exit the network. Sometimes these are referred to as pairs of terminals[5][6] so for example a 2-port network is equivalent to a 4-terminal network, though this terminology is unusual with S-parameters, because most S-parameter measurements are made at frequencies where coaxial or waveguide connectors are more appropriate. The S-parameter matrix describing an N-port network will be square of dimension 'N' and will therefore contain elements. At the test frequency each element or S-parameter is represented by a unitless complex number that represents magnitude and angle, i.e. amplitude and phase. The complex number may either be expressed in rectangular form or, more commonly, in polar form. The S-parameter magnitude may be expressed in linear form or logarithmic form. When expressed in logarithmic form, magnitude has the "dimensionless unit" of decibels. The S-parameter angle is most frequently expressed in degrees but occasionally in radians. Any S-parameter may be displayed graphically on a polar diagram by a dot for one frequency or a locus for a range of frequencies. If it applies to one port only (being of the form ), it may be displayed on an impedance or admittance Smith Chart normalised to the system impedance. The Smith Chart allows simple conversion between the parameter, equivalent to the voltage reflection coefficient and the associated (normalised) impedance (or admittance) 'seen' at that port. The following information must be defined when specifying any S-parameter: (1) The characteristic impedance (often 50 ). (2) The allocation of port numbers.

(3) Conditions which may affect the network, such as frequency, temperature, control voltage, and bias current, where applicable.

The general S-parameter matrix

Definition
For a generic multi-port network, each of the ports is allocated an integer 'n' ranging from 1 to N, where N is the total number of ports. For port n, the associated S-parameter definition is in terms of incident and reflected 'power waves', Kurokawa
[7]

and

respectively.

defines the incident power wave for each port as

and the reflected wave for each port is defined as

where

is the diagonal matrix of the complex reference impedance for each port, , and

is the elementwise

complex conjugate of each port and

are respectively the column vectors of the voltages and currents at

Sometimes it is useful to assume that the reference impedance is the same for all ports in which case the definitions of the incident and reflected waves may be simplified to

and

For all ports the reflected power waves may be defined in terms of the S-parameter matrix and the incident power waves by the following matrix equation:

where S is an N x N matrix the elements of which can be indexed using conventional matrix (mathematics) notation.

Reciprocity
A network will be reciprocal if it is passive and it contains only reciprocal materials that influence the transmitted signal. For example, attenuators, cables, splitters and combiners are all reciprocal networks and in each case, or the S-parameter matrix will be equal to its transpose. Networks which include non-reciprocal materials in the transmission medium such as those containing magnetically biased ferrite components will be non-reciprocal. An amplifier is another example of a non-reciprocal network. An interesting property of 3-port networks, however, is that they cannot be simultaneously reciprocal, [8] loss-free, and perfectly matched.

Lossless networks
A lossless network is one which does not dissipate any power, or : . The sum of the incident powers at all ports is equal to the sum of the reflected powers at all ports. This implies that the Sparameter matrix is unitary, that is and is the identity matrix. , where is the conjugate transpose of

Lossy networks
A lossy passive network is one in which the sum of the incident powers at all ports is greater than the sum of the reflected powers at all ports. It therefore dissipates power, or : , and is positive definite. . In this case

2-Port S-Parameters

The S-parameter matrix for the 2-port network is probably the most commonly used and serves as the [9] basic building block for generating the higher order matrices for larger networks. In this case the relationship between the reflected, incident power waves and the S-parameter matrix is given by:

Expanding the matrices into equations gives:

and

Each equation gives the relationship between the reflected and incident power waves at each of the network ports, 1 and 2, in terms of the network's individual S-parameters, , , and . If one considers an incident power wave at port 1 ( ) there may result from it waves exiting from either port 1 itself ( ) or port 2 ( ). However if, according to the definition of S-parameters, port 2 is terminated in a will be load identical to the system impedance ( ) then, by the maximum power transfer theorem, totally absorbed making equal to zero. Therefore

and Similarly, if port 1 is terminated in the system impedance then becomes zero, giving

and Each 2-port S-parameter has the following generic descriptions: is the input port voltage reflection coefficient is the reverse voltage gain is the forward voltage gain is the output port voltage reflection coefficient

S-Parameter properties of 2-port networks

An amplifier operating under linear (small signal) conditions is a good example of a non-reciprocal network and a matched attenuator is an example of a reciprocal network. In the following cases we will assume that the input and output connections are to ports 1 and 2 respectively which is the most common convention. The nominal system impedance, frequency and any other factors which may influence the device, such as temperature, must also be specified.

Complex linear gain

The complex linear gain G is given by . That is simply the voltage gain as a linear ratio of the output voltage divided by the input voltage, all values expressed as complex quantities.

Scalar linear gain

The scalar linear gain (or linear gain magnitude) is given by . That is simply the scalar voltage gain as a linear ratio of the output voltage and the input voltage. As this is a scalar quantity, the phase is not relevant in this case.

Scalar logarithmic gain

The scalar logarithmic (decibel or dB) expression for gain (g) is dB. This is more commonly used than scalar linear gain and a positive quantity is normally understood as simply a 'gain'... A negative quantity can be expressed as a 'negative gain' or more usually as a 'loss' equivalent to its magnitude in dB. For example, a 10 m length of cable may have a gain of - 1 dB at 100 MHz or a loss of 1 dB at 100 MHz.

Insertion loss
In case the two measurement ports use the same reference impedance, the insertion loss (IL) is the dB expression of the transmission coefficient dB. and not, as often mistakenly thought, by: . It is thus given by[10]:

dB. It is the extra loss produced by the introduction of the DUT between the 2 reference planes of the measurement. Notice that the extra loss can be introduced by intrinsic loss in the DUT and/or mismatch. In case of extra loss the insertion loss is defined to be positive.

Input return loss

Input return loss ( ) is a scalar measure of how close the actual input impedance of the network is to the nominal system impedance value and, expressed in logarithmic magnitude, is given by dB. By definition, return loss is a positive scalar quantity implying the 2 pairs of magnitude (|) symbols. The linear part, magnitude. is equivalent to the reflected voltage magnitude divided by the incident voltage

Output return loss

The output return loss ( ) has a similar definition to the input return loss but applies to the output port (port 2) instead of the input port. It is given by dB.

Reverse gain and reverse isolation

The scalar logarithmic (decibel or dB) expression for reverse gain ( dB. Often this will be expressed as reverse isolation ( ) in which case it becomes a positive quantity equal to the magnitude of and the expression becomes: dB. ) is:

Voltage reflection coefficient

The voltage reflection coefficient at the input port ( and respectively, so and As and . and . ) or at the output port ( ) are equivalent to

are complex quantities, so are

Voltage reflection coefficients are complex quantities and may be graphically represented on polar diagrams or Smith Charts See also the Reflection Coefficient article.

Voltage standing wave ratio

The voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) at a port, represented by the lower case 's', is a similar measure of port match to return loss but is a scalar linear quantity, the ratio of the standing wave maximum voltage to the standing wave minimum voltage. It therefore relates to the magnitude of the voltage reflection coefficient and hence to the magnitude of either At the input port, the VSWR ( ) is given by for the input port or for the output port.

At the output port, the VSWR (

) is given by

4-Port S-Parameters
4 Port S Parameters are used to characterize 4 port networks. They include information regarding the reflected and incident power waves between the 4 ports of the network.

They are commonly used to analyze a pair of coupled transmission lines to determine the amount of cross-talk between them, if they are driven by two separate single ended signals, or the reflected and incident power of a differential signal driven across them. Many specifications of high speed differential signals define a communication channel in terms of the 4-Port S-Parameters, for example the 10-Gigabit Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI), SATA, PCI-X, and InfiniBand systems.

4-Port Mixed-Mode S-Parameters

4-Port mixed-Mode S-Parameters characterize a 4 port network in terms of the response of the network to common mode and differential stimulus signals. The following table displays the 4-Port Mixed-Mode SParameters.

4-Port Mixed-Mode S-Parameters

Stimulus Differential Port 1 Differential Response Common Mode Port 2 Common Mode Port 1 Port 2

Port 1 SDD11 SDD12 SDC11 SDC12 Port 2 SDD21 SDD22 SDC21 SDC22 Port 1 SCD11 SCD12 SCC11 SCC12 Port 2 SCD21 SCD22 SCC21 SCC22

Note the format of the parameter notation SXYab, where S stands for scatttering parameter or Sparameter, X is the response mode (differential or common), Y is the stimulus mode (differential or common), a is the output port and b is the input port. This is the typical nomenclature for scattering parameters. The first quadrant is defined as the upper left 4 parameters describing the differential stimulus and differential response characteristics of the device under test. This is the actual mode of operation for most high-speed differential interconnects and is the quadrant that receives the most attention. It includes input differential return loss (SDD11), input differential insertion loss (SDD21), output differential return loss (SDD22) and output differential insertion loss (SDD12). Some benefits of differential signal processing are;

y y y y y

reduced electromagnetic interference susceptibility reduction in electromagnetic radiation from balanced differential circuit even order differential distortion products transformed to common mode signals factor of two increase in voltage level relative to single-ended rejection to common mode supply and ground noise encoding onto differential signal

The second and third quadrants are the upper right and lower left 4 parameters, respectively. These are also referred to as the cross-mode quadrants. This is because they fully characterize any mode conversion occurring in the device under test, whether it is common-to-differential SDCab conversion (EMI susceptibility for an intended differential signal SDD transmission application) or differential-tocommon SCDab conversion (EMI radiation for a differential application). Understanding mode conversion is very helpful when trying to optimize the design of interconnects for gigabit data throughput. The fourth quadrant is the lower right 4 parameters and describes the performance characteristics of the common-mode signal SCCab propagating through the device under test. For a properly designed SDDab differential device there should be minimal common-mode output SCDab. However, the fourth quadrant common-mode response data is a measure of common-mode transmission response and used in a ratio with the differential transmission response to determine the network common-mode rejection. This common mode rejection is an important benefit of differential signal processing and can be reduced to one in some differential circuit implementations.[11][12]

S-parameters in amplifier design

The reverse isolation parameter determines the level of feedback from the output of an amplifier to the input and therefore influences its stability (its tendency to refrain from oscillation) together with the forward gain . An amplifier with input and output ports perfectly isolated from each other would have infinite scalar log magnitude isolation or the linear magnitude of would be zero. Such an amplifier is said to be unilateral. Most practical amplifiers though will have some finite isolation allowing the reflection coefficient 'seen' at the input to be influenced to some extent by the load connected on the output. An amplifier which is deliberately designed to have the smallest possible value of buffer amplifier. is often called a

Suppose the output port of a real (non-unilateral or bilateral) amplifier is connected to an arbitrary load with a reflection coefficient of . The actual reflection coefficient 'seen' at the input port will be given by[13]

. If the amplifier is unilateral then has no effect on the input. and or, to put it another way, the output loading

A similar property exists in the opposite direction, in this case if is the reflection coefficient seen at the output port and is the reflection coefficient of the source connected to the input port.

Port loading conditions for an amplifier to be unconditionally stable

An amplifier is unconditionally stable if a load or source of any reflection coefficient can be connected without causing instability. This condition occurs if the magnitudes of the reflection coefficients at the source, load and the amplifier's input and output ports are simultaneously less than unity. An important requirement that is often overlooked is that the amplifier be a linear network with no poles in the right half plane.[14] Instability can cause severe distortion of the amplifier's gain frequency response or, in the extreme, oscillation. To be unconditionally stable at the frequency of interest, an amplifier must satisfy the [15] following 4 equations simultaneously:

The boundary condition for when each of these values is equal to unity may be represented by a circle drawn on the polar diagram representing the (complex) reflection coefficient, one for the input port and the other for the output port. Often these will be scaled as Smith Charts. In each case coordinates of the circle centre and the associated radius are given by the following equations: values for (output stability circle)

Radius

Center values for (input stability circle)

Radius

Center where, in both cases

and the superscript star (*) indicates a complex conjugate. The circles are in complex units of reflection coefficient so may be drawn on impedance or admittance based Smith Charts normalised to the system impedance. This serves to readily show the regions of

normalised impedance (or admittance) for predicted unconditional stability. Another way of demonstrating unconditional stability is by means of the Rollet stability factor ( ), defined as

The condition of unconditional stability is achieved when

and

Scattering transfer parameters

The Scattering transfer parameters or T-parameters of a 2-port network are expressed by the Tparameter matrix and are closely related to the corresponding S-parameter matrix. The T-parameter matrix is related to the incident and reflected normalised waves at each of the ports as follows:

However, they could be defined differently, as follows :

The RF Toolbox add-on to MATLAB[16] and several books (for example "Network scattering [17] parameters" ) use this last definition, so caution is necessary. The "From S to T" and "From T to S" paragraphs in this article are based on the first definition. Adaptation to the second definition is trivial (interchanging T11 for T22, and T12 for T21). The advantage of T-parameters compared to S-parameters is that they may be used to readily determine the effect of cascading 2 or more 2-port networks by simply multiplying the associated individual T-parameter matrices. If the T-parameters of say three different 2port networks 1, 2 and 3 are cascade of all three networks ( , and respectively then the T-parameter matrix for the

) in serial order is given by:

As with S-parameters, T-parameters are complex values and there is a direct conversion between the two types. Although the cascaded T-parameters is a simple matrix multiplication of the individual Tparameters, the conversion for each network's S-parameters to the corresponding T-parameters and the conversion of the cascaded T-parameters back to the equivalent cascaded S-parameters, which are usually required, is not trivial. However once the operation is completed, the complex full wave interactions between all ports in both directions will be taken into account. The following equations will provide conversion between S and T parameters for 2-port networks.[18] From S to T:

From T to S

Where

indicates the determinant of the matrix

1-port S-parameters
The S-parameter for a 1-port network is given by a simple 1 x 1 matrix of the form where n is the allocated port number. To comply with the S-parameter definition of linearity, this would normally be a passive load of some type.

Higher-order S-parameter matrices

Higher order S-parameters for pairs of dissimilar ports ( ), where may be deduced similarly to those for 2-port networks by considering pairs of ports in turn, in each case ensuring that all of the remaining (unused) ports are loaded with an impedance identical to the system impedance. In this way the incident power wave for each of the unused ports becomes zero yielding similar expressions to those obtained for the 2-port case. S-parameters relating to single ports only ( ) require all of the remaining ports to be loaded with an impedance identical to the system impedance therefore making all of the incident power waves zero except that for the port under consideration. In general therefore we have:

and

For example, a 3-port network such as a 2-way splitter would have the following S-parameter definitions

Measurement of S-parameters

The basic parts of a vector network analyzer

Vector network analyzer

The diagram shows the essential parts of a typical 2-port vector network analyzer (VNA). The two ports of the device under test (DUT) are denoted port 1 (P1) and port 2 (P2). The test port connectors provided on the VNA itself are precision types which will normally have to be extended and connected to P1 and P2 using precision cables 1 and 2, PC1 and PC2 respectively and suitable connector adaptors A1 and A2 respectively. The test frequency is generated by a variable frequency CW source and its power level is set using a variable attenuator. The position of switch SW1 sets the direction that the test signal passes through the DUT. Initially consider that SW1 is at position 1 so that the test signal is incident on the DUT at P1 which is appropriate for measuring and . The test signal is fed by SW1 to the common port of splitter 1, one arm (the reference channel) feeding a reference receiver for P1 (RX REF1) and the other (the test channel) connecting to P1 via the directional coupler DC1, PC1 and A1. The third port of DC1 couples off the power reflected from P1 via A1 and PC1, then feeding it to test receiver 1 (RX TEST1). Similarly, signals leaving P2 pass via A2, PC2 and DC2 to RX TEST2. RX REF1, RX TEST1, RX REF2 and RXTEST2 are known as coherent receivers as they share the same reference oscillator, and they are capable of measuring the test signal's amplitude and phase at the test frequency. All of the complex receiver output signals are fed to a processor which does the mathematical processing and displays the chosen parameters and format on the phase and amplitude display. The instantaneous value of phase includes both the temporal and spatial parts, but the former is removed by virtue of using 2 test channels,

one as a reference and the other for measurement. When SW1 is set to position 2, the test signals are applied to P2, the reference is measured by RX REF2, reflections from P2 are coupled off by DC2 and measured by RX TEST2 and signals leaving P1 are coupled off by DC1 and measured by RX TEST1. This position is appropriate for measuring and .

Calibration
Prior to making a VNA S-parameter measurement, the first essential step is to perform an accurate calibration appropriate to the intended measurements. Several types of calibration are normally available on the VNA. It is only in the last few years that VNAs have had the sufficiently advanced processing capability, at realistic cost, required to accomplish the more advanced types of calibration, including corrections for systematic errors.[19] The more basic types, often called 'response' calibrations, may be performed quickly but will only provide a result with moderate uncertainty. For improved uncertainty and dynamic range of the measurement a full 2 port calibration is required prior to DUT measurement. This will effectively eliminate all sources of systematic errors inherent in the VNA measurement system.

Minimization of systematic errors

Systematic errors are those which do not vary with time during a calibration. For a set of 2 port Sparameter measurements there are a total of 12 types of systematic errors which are measured and removed mathematically as part of the full 2 port calibration procedure. They are, for each port: 1. directivity and crosstalk 2. source and load mismatches 3. frequency response errors caused by reflection and transmission tracking within the test receivers The calibration procedure requires initially setting up the VNA with all the cables, adaptors and connectors necessary to connect to the DUT but not at this stage connecting it. A calibration kit is used according to the connector types fitted to the DUT. This will normally include adaptors, nominal short circuits (SCs), open circuits (OCs) and load termination (TERM) standards of both connector sexes appropriate to the VNA and DUT connectors. Even with standards of high quality, when performing tests at the higher frequencies into the microwave range various stray capacitances and inductances will become apparent and cause uncertainty during the calibration. Data relating to the strays of the particular calibration kit used are measured at the factory traceable to national standards and the results are programmed into the VNA memory prior to performing the calibration. The calibration procedure is normally software controlled, and instructs the operator to fit various calibration standards to the ends of the DUT connecting cables as well as making a through connection. At each step the VNA processor captures data across the test frequency range and stores it. At the end of the calibration procedure, the processor uses the stored data thus obtained to apply the systematic error corrections to all subsequent measurements made. All subsequent measurements are known as 'corrected measurements. At this point the DUT is connected and a corrected measurement of its Sparameters made.

Output format of measured and corrected S-parameter data

The S-parameter test data may be provided in many alternative formats, for example: list, graphical (Smith Chart or polar diagram).

List format

In list format the measured and corrected S-parameters are tabulated against frequency. The most common list format is known as Touchstone or SNP, where N is the number of ports. Commonly text files containing this information would have the filename extension '.s2p'. An example of a Touchstone File listing for the full 2-port S-parameter data obtained for a device is shown below: ! Created Fri Jul 21 14:28:50 2005 # MHZ S DB 10.2 173.5 -30.1 9.6 -13.4 57.2 51 -15.8 103.2 63.4 52 -15.9 105.5 11.2 179.1 -35.7 9.6 -14.4 -36.6 9.6 -14.7 70.3 54 -16.6 109.3 10.6 187.8 R 50 ! SP1.SP 50 -15.4 100.2 10.7 177.4 -33.1 9.6 -12.4 66.9 53 -16.4 107.0 10.5 183.1 -38.1 9.6 -15.3 71.4

Rows beginning with an exclamation mark contains only comments. The row beginning with the hash symbol indicates that in this case frequencies are in megahertz (MHZ), S-parameters are listed (S), magnitudes are in dB log magnitude (DB) and the system impedance is 50 Ohm (R 50). There are 9 columns of data. Column 1 is the test frequency in megahertz in this case. Columns 2, 4, 6 and 8 are the magnitudes of , and , , and respectively in dB. Columns 3, 5, 7 and 9 are the angles of , respectively in degrees.

Graphical (Smith chart)

Any 2-port S-parameter may be displayed on a Smith chart using polar co-ordinates, but the most meaningful would be and since either of these may be converted directly into an equivalent normalized impedance (or admittance) using the characteristic Smith Chart impedance (or admittance) scaling appropriate to the system impedance.

Graphical (polar diagram)

Any 2-port S-parameter may be displayed on a polar diagram using polar co-ordinates. In either graphical format each S-parameter at a particular test frequency is displayed as a dot. If the measurement is a sweep across several frequencies a dot will appear for each. Many VNAs connect successive dots with straight lines for easier visibility.

Measuring S-parameters of a one-port network

The S-parameter matrix for a network with just one port will have just one element represented in the form , where n is the number allocated to the port. Most VNAs provide a simple one-port calibration capability for one port measurement to save time if that is all that is required.

Measuring S-parameters of networks with more than 2 ports

VNAs designed for the simultaneous measurement of the S-parameters of networks with more than two ports are feasible but quickly become prohibitively complex and expensive. Usually their purchase is not justified since the required measurements can be obtained using a standard 2-port calibrated VNA with extra measurements followed by the correct interpretation of the results obtained. The required Sparameter matrix can be assembled from successive two port measurements in stages, two ports at a time, on each occasion with the unused ports being terminated in high quality loads equal to the system impedance. One risk of this approach is that the return loss or VSWR of the loads themselves must be suitably specified to be as close as possible to a perfect 50 Ohms, or whatever the nominal system impedance is. For a network with many ports there may be a temptation, on grounds of cost, to

inadequately specify the VSWRs of the loads. Some analysis will be necessary to determine what the worst acceptable VSWR of the loads will be. Assuming that the extra loads are specified adequately, if necessary, two or more of the S-parameter subscripts are modified from those relating to the VNA (1 and 2 in the case considered above) to those relating to the network under test (1 to N, if N is the total number of DUT ports). For example, if the DUT has 5 ports and a two port VNA is connected with VNA port 1 to DUT port 3 and VNA port 2 to DUT port 5, the measured VNA results ( , , and ) would be equivalent to , , and respectively, assuming that DUT ports 1, 2 and 4 were terminated in adequate 50 Ohm loads . This would provide 4 of the necessary 25 S-parameters.

References
1. ^ Pozar, David M. (2005); Microwave Engineering, Third Edition (Intl. Ed.); John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; pp 170-174. ISBN 0-471-44878-8. 2. ^ Pozar, David M. (2005) (op. cit); pp 170-174. 3. ^ Pozar, David M. (2005) (op. cit);pp 183-186. 4. ^ Morton, A. H. (1985); Advanced Electrical Engineering;Pitman Publishing Ltd.; pp 33-72. ISBN 0-273-40172-6 5. ^ Pozar, David M. (2005) (op. cit);p170. 6. ^ Morton, A. H. (1985) (op. cit.); p 33 7. ^ Kurokawa, K., "Power Waves and the Scattering Matrix", IEEE Trans. Micr. Theory & Tech., Mar. 1965, pp194-202 8. ^ Pozar, David M. (2005) (op. cit); p 173. 9. ^ J Choma & WK Chen (2007). Feedback networks: theory and circuit applications. Singapore: World Scientific. Chapter 3, p. 225 ff. ISBN 981-02-2770-1. 10. ^ Collin, Robert E.; Foundations For Microwave Engineering, Second Edition 11. ^ Backplane Channels and Correlation Between Their Frequency and Time Domain Performance 12. ^ Bockelman, DE and Eisenstadt, WR "Combined differential and common-mode scattering parameteres: theory and simulation," MTT, IEEE transactions volume 43 issue 7 part 12 July 1995 pages 1530-1539 13. ^ Gonzalez, Guillermo (1997); Microwave Transistor Amplifiers Analysis and Design, Second Edition; Prentice Hall NJ; pp 212-216. ISBN 0-13-254335-4. 14. ^ J.M. Rollett, "Stability and Power-Gain Invariants of Linear Two-Ports", IRE Trans. on Circuit Theory vol. CT-9, pp. 29-32, March 1962 15. ^ Gonzalez, Guillermo (op. cit.); pp 217-222 16. ^ "RF Toolbox documentation". 17. ^ R. Mavaddat. (1996). Network scattering parameter. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 9789810223052. 18. ^ S-Parameter Design; Application Note AN 154; Agilent Technologies; p 14 19. ^ Applying Error Correction to Network Analyzer Measurements; Agilent Application Note AN 1287-3, Agilent Technologies; p6

Bibliography

Before you learn about microwave topics such as couplers and splitters, you first have to suffer through some definitions which are used in network theory, so that we can compare the functions of various three and four-port networks. We assume that you

know a little about S-parameters and maybe even some matrix algebra. Here's a clickable index to this page: Passive versus active devices Unilateral versus non-unilateral devices Reciprocal versus non-reciprocal devices Lossless networks Matched networks Special properties of three-port networks Dispersion (separate page)

Passive devices versus active devices

A passive device contains no source that could add energy to your signal, with one exception. The first law thermodynamics, conservation of energy, implies that a passive device can't oscillate. An active device is one in which an external energy source is somehow contributing to the magnitude of one or more responses. The important properties of a passive network are:
y y y

whether it is reciprocal or non-reciprocal whether it is lossy or lossless whether it is impedance matched or unmatched.

What is the exception to the "passive rule" about not adding energy? Mixers! Here the local oscillator adds energy, but because of the way that a mixer works, no signal gain is possible.

Unilateral versus non-unilateral devices

When we are discussing unilateral devices, we are talking about ideal amplifiers or other active devices. Two-port S-parameters almost always use the convention that S21 is the forward direction (the direction of gain) and S12 is the reverse-isolation direction. A unilateral device has the property that S12=0. In practice, this is impossible, but it sure makes analysis easier. One problem with non-unilateral amplifiers is that they have poor directivity.

Properties of reciprocal and non-reciprocal networks

A reciprocal network is one in which the power losses are the same between any two ports regardless of direction of propagation (scattering parameter S21=S12, S13=S31, etc.) A network is known to be reciprocal if it is passive and contains only isotropic materials. Examples of reciprocal networks include cables, attenuators, and all passive power splitters and couplers. Anisotropic materials have different electrical properties (such as relative dielectric constant) depending on which direction a signal propagates through them. One example of an anisotropic material is the class of materials known as ferrites, from which circulators and isolators are made. Two classic examples of non-reciprocal networks are RF amplifiers and isolators. In both cases, scattering parameter S21 is much different from S12. A reciprocal network always has a symmetric S-parameter matrix. That means that S21=S12, S13=S31, etc. All values along the lower-left to upper right diagonal must be equal. A two-port S-parameter matrix (at a single frequency) is represented by:

If you are measuring a network that is known to be reciprocal, checking for symmetry across the diagonal of the S-parameter matrix is one simple check to see if the data is valid. Here is an example of S-parameters of a network that is either a non-reciprocal network, or your technician has a drinking problem. (Need to add figure)

Although the data shows the part is well matched (S11 and S22 magnitudes are low), and low loss (S21 and S12 magnitudes are high). The magnitudes of S12 and S21 are equal, so what is the problem? The phase angles of S12 and S21 are significantly different. That can't be right.

Properties of lossless networks

For a network to be lossless, all of the power (or energy) that is incident at any one port has to be accounted for by summing the power output at the other ports with the power reflected at the incident port. None of the power is converted to heat or radiated within a lossless network. Note that an active device is not in the same category as a lossless part, since power is added to the network through its bias connections. Within the S-parameter matrix of a lossless network, the sum of the squares of the magnitudes of any row must total unity (unity is a fancy way of saying "one"). If any of

the rows' sum-of-the-squares is less than one, there is a lossy element within the network, or something is radiating. Why are we looking at sum of the squares instead of sum of the elements themselves? Because the S matrix is express in terms of voltage, and as we said, we are accounting for power. Power is proportional to voltage squared, get it? Guess what? You can never make a lossless network. But you can come extremely close, especially with waveguide structures. How does the sum-of-the-squares-equalsunity property of lossless networks make your life better? You can use it as a check to see if data is bullcrap. If your Grandmother hands you S-parameters of a two-port test fixture and it looks like this, you can tell her for Christsakes to re-measure it after she checks the calibration:

The "test" that it fails is that 0.8^2 + 0.7^2 =1.13, which is different from unity (1.00). Apparently this two-port device has gain. If it really did, you could file a patent and become fabulously wealthy. But it doesn't, so quit dreaming and get to the bottom of your measurement problem. A good place to start is examining your test cables for flakiness. For some stable VNA cables at a good price, check out Storm Products Company.

Properties of matched networks

A matched network is one in which all of the ports are matched to the same impedance (Z0). A desirable quality, you must agree. Looking at the scattering matrix, this means that the diagonal elements from top left to bottom right are all zero. Need to add a figure! A little more explanation of this property (still waiting for that figure...) If a network is matched to fifty ohms, its reflection coefficients have magnitude zero. This means we are at the center of the Smith chart, right at Z0. If you look at the expression for reflection coefficient: gamma=(Z-Z0)/(Z+Z0), when gamma (which in this case could be S11, S22, etc.) equals zero, Z=Z0. S-parameters are in units of volts/volt, not ohms.

A special property of three-port networks

The math behind the theory of three-port circuits such certain as couplers and splitters is not all that complicated and has a certain elegance, like a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. For those of you who enjoy some good matrix algebra derivations, we refer you to Pozar's book Microwave Engineering, which you can find on our book recommendation page. We are going to skip the math and tell you the conclusion: it is impossible for a threeport network to be reciprocal, lossless and matched all at the same time. You can only have two of these properties. Reciprocal three-port junctions are characterized by the fact that a change in the terminal conditions at one port affects the conditions at the other ports. This effect is particularly pronounced when the junction is dissipationless (loss-less) . The reason is that the insertion of a matching network at one port changes the impedance characteristics at the other two ports. This lack of isolation between ports can limit the usefulness of three-port junctions, particularly in power monitoring, combining and divider applications. If a three-port is lossless, and contains no anisotropic materials, then it will have to be reciprocal. But it cannot have all three ports matched to 50 ohms at the same time. Is this a bummer or what? Not really. This is the reason for the isolation resistor in a Wilkinson power splitter. A Wilkinson is an example of a reciprocal matched three port network. It is only lossy between ports 2 and 3, which has no effect on its efficiency as a combiner or splitter. The resistor isolates the output arms as well. This further explanation came from an antenna guy. Thanks Bob! In "a special property of three port networks" it is correctly stated that a three port device can't be reciprocal, lossless and matched all at the same time. Then a Wilkinson is referred to as a three port device that is matched, presumably because it is not lossless. However, a better explanation for a Wilkinson is that it is a four-port device -just like a magic-tee in waveguide -- except the fourth port is terminated by a matched load. Actually, the load (isolation resistor) could be removed from a Wilkinson power divider and a twin lead transmission line could be brought out of the plane of the power divider to provide the fourth port. Lossless three-port power splitters, referred to as reactive combiner networks, also have applications for microwave circuits. They are sometimes used as power dividers and combiners when the impedance of the common leg can be different from the impedance of the split legs, and isolation between the split legs is not important. That's all for now!