Concepts and features
R&S
®
ZNA
117
User Manual 1178.6462.02 ─ 20
In a diagram, the grid lines overlaid to a "Smith" trace correspond to points of equal
resistance R and reactance X:
●
Points with the same resistance are located on circles.
●
Points with the same reactance produce arcs.
The following example shows a Smith chart with a marker used to display the stimulus
value, the complex impedance Z = R + j X and the equivalent inductance L.
Smith chart construction
In a Smith chart, the impedance plane is reshaped so that the area with positive resist-
ance is mapped into a unit circle.
The basic properties of the Smith chart follow from this construction:
●
The central horizontal axis corresponds to zero reactance (real impedance). The
center of the diagram represents Z/Z
0
= 1 which is the reference impedance of the
system (zero reflection). At the left and right intersection points between the hori-
zontal axis and the outer circle, the impedance is zero (short) and infinity (open).
●
The outer circle corresponds to zero resistance (purely imaginary impedance).
Points outside the outer circle indicate an active component.
●
The upper and lower half of the diagram correspond to positive (inductive) and
negative (capacitive) reactive components of the impedance, respectively.
Screen elements
