Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 6.
Fast Prototyping of a Butler Matrix Beamforming
Network
This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 6.1.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
A Butler matrix is a passive beamforming feed network. It is a cost-effective feed network
for phased array antennas because the circuit can be fabricated in the form of microstrip
lines and it is viable to perform beam scanning without deploying expensive active devices.
This example guides how to design such a circuit efficiently using the Transmission Line
physics interface. The results show the logarithmic voltage on the Butler matrix
beamforming circuit at 30 GHz and the arithmetic phase progression at each output port.
Port 5
0.48 wavelengths
90 degree hybrid
Port 1
45 degree delay line Port 6
Port 2
Crossover
Port 3
Port 7
Port 4 0.25 wavelengths
Phase matching to crossover
Port 8
Figure 1: A microstrip 4×4 Butler matrix beamforming network for a phased array antenna
Model Definition
The butler matrix beamforming network consists of a few subsections: 90 degree hybrid,
45 degree delay line, crossover, transition matching the output phase to that of crossover,
and inner and outer front-ends. Since these subsections are repeatedly used in the entire
structure, the geometry building process can be simplified by adding these subsections as
the Geometry Parts under Global Definition node and reusing them as necessary.
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Port 1 (in)
Port 2 (out)
λg/4
λg/4
Port 3 (out)
Port 4 (in)
Figure 2: The part geometry of a 90 degree hybrid (branch-line coupler)
The geometry of a 90 degree hybrid, also known as a branch-line coupler is shown in
Figure 2. Ref. 1 discusses the design characteristics and its S-parameters calculated using
even-odd model analysis. A full 3D COMSOL model is available in Ref. 2. The 90 degree
hybrid splits the input power equally into two output ports (-3 dB) with a 90 degree phase
difference. Because the geometry is symmetric, the response of the circuit is reciprocal
regardless of the input port configuration. In this example, the input ports are located on
the left side and there is no coupled power between the input ports that is also described
by its S-parameter matrix:
0 j 1 0
– 1 j 0 0 1
S = -------
2 10 0 j
01 j 0
Figure 3 describes a delay line geometry providing a 45 degrees phase lag than the output
phase of the crossover. Figure 4 shows a transition part that matches the output phase to
that of the crossover.
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3λg/16
3λg/4
Figure 3: The part geometry of a 45 degree delay line that is 0.125 wavelengths longer than
the crossover part.
λg/8
3λg/4
Figure 4: The part geometry of a transition structure. The electrical length is same as that in
the input signal path of the crossover part.
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Port 1 (in)
Port 2 (out)
λg/4 λg/4
λg/4
Port 3 (out)
Port 4 (in)
Figure 5: The part geometry of a crossover structure. The port definition is only for the
subsection analysis.
The geometry of a crossover in Figure 5 is analogous of a two-section cascaded branch-
line coupler, but it consists of only 50 Ω lines. Its behavior can be analyzed with the same
even-odd analysis method (Ref. 1) used for the branch-line coupler characterization. The
even-odd analysis transforms the four-port network into two decoupled two-port
networks. After the transformation, each cascaded two-port network can be described via
ABCD parameters.
If the circuit is normalized by the 50 Ω reference impedance, the ABCD parameters for
each section are
A B = 10
CD open, shunt j 1
A B = 1 0
CD short, shunt –j 1
A B = 0 j
λ
CD 50Ω, --- line j 0
4
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A B = 1 0 0 j 1 0 0 j 1 0 = 0 –j
C D even j 1 j 0 j 1 j 0 j 1 –j 0
A B = 1 0 0 j 1 0 0 j 1 0 = 0 j
CD odd –j 1 j 0 –j 1 j 0 –j 1 j 0
The reflection and transmission coefficients from ABCD are defined as
A+B–C–D
Γ = ------------------------------------
A+B+C+D
2
T = ------------------------------------
A+B+C+D
The wave amplitude at each port is
B 1 = ( Γ even + Γ odd ) ⁄ 2 = 0
B 2 = ( T even + T odd ) ⁄ 2 = 0
B 3 = ( T even – T odd ) ⁄ 2 = j
B 4 = ( Γ even – Γ odd ) ⁄ 2 = 0
Because it is a passive and reciprocal network, the S-parameters are
0 0 j 0
0 0 0 j
S =
j 0 0 0
0 j 0 0
The two input ports are isolated from each other. The input signal from the upper left side
flows to the output at the lower right side while the input signal from the lower left side
flows to the output at the upper right side. The ladder-shape crossover structure works like
X-shape crossover lines.
Figure 6 and Figure 7 show the geometry of front-end parts that adjust the distance
between output ports from a quarter-wavelength to 0.48 wavelengths without distorting
the output phase relation. The higher gain of an antenna array can be realized by
increasing the distance between antenna elements, but this will result in an undesirable
6 | FAST PROTOTYPING OF A BUTLER MATRIX BEAMFORMING NETWORK
higher sidelobe level and a grating lobe. The given spacing configuration for antenna array
elements provides the antenna radiation pattern with a reasonable gain and sidelobe level.
Figure 6: The part geometry of an outer front-end structure.
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Figure 7: The part geometry of an inner front-end structure.
Port 5 (out)
Port 1 (in)
Port 6 (out)
Port 2 (in)
Port 3 (in)
Port 7 (out)
Port 4 (in)
Port 8 (out)
Figure 8: The finalized geometry of a butler matrix beamforming network.
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By combining four 90 degree hybrids (branch-line couplers), two 45 degree delay lines,
two phase matching transitions, two inner front ends, and two outer front ends, the
geometry for the butler matrix beamforming network is completed (Figure 8).
All transmission line distributed element parameters except for a few branch-lines are set
based on a 50 Ω microstrip line built on a 20 mil lossless substrate with permittivity
εr = 3.38 and 1 oz copper. The accurate values can be calculated accurately from Ref. 3.
TABLE 1: CALCULATED TRANSMISSION LINE PARAMETERS OF A 50 Ω MICROSTRIP LINE.
R L G C
12.41 Ω/m 272.9 nH/m 0 S/m 107.1 pF/m
The contribution of the distributed resistance on the insertion loss with the given substrate
properties is less than 0.05 dB. To make the modeling steps simpler in this example, the
approximated parameter values in Table 2 are used for a 50 Ω microstrip line.
TABLE 2: SIMPLIFIED TRANSMISSION LINE PARAMETERS OF A 50 Ω MICROSTRIP LINE.
R L G C
0 Ω/m 250 nH/m 0 S/m 100 pF/m
The transmission line parameters with a different characteristic impedance value, Z0/√2 for
the branch-lines, are adjusted using the normalized impedance. The distributed
inductance is proportionally scaled and the distributed capacitance is inversely scaled by
the normalized impedance of the microstrip line.
In order to excite ports one by one, the port sweep option in the transmission line physics
interface is activated and combined with a parametric sweep in the study steps. Each port
is terminated by a lumped port with 50 Ω reference characteristic impedance.
Results and Discussion
The default plot show the real value of the voltage on the transmission lines. The default
input expression is changed to plot the logarithmic value of the voltage (Figure 9). The
9 | FAST PROTOTYPING OF A BUTLER MATRIX BEAMFORMING NETWORK
plot shows that port 1, port 2, and port 3 have no coupled power (below −100 dB) from
the excited port 4.
Figure 9: The dB-scaled voltage on the transmission lines when port 4 is excited. Port1, port 2
and port 3 are isolated below -100 dB.
In Figure 10, the minimum range of the dB-scaled voltage plot is set to −10 dB to get a
closer look at the level of each output port. The input voltage is equally distributed to all
four output ports (−6 dB).
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Figure 10: The range of the dB-scaled voltage plot is adjusted to see the output voltage level.
Table 3 shows the evaluated phase at each output port.
TABLE 3: THE EVALUATED PHASE OF VOLTAGE AT EACH PORT.
PORT 5 PORT 6 PORT 7 PORT 8
PORT 1 EXCITED -90° -135° -180° 135°
PORT 2 EXCITED -180° -45° 90° -135°
PORT 3 EXCITED -135° 90° -45° -180°
PORT 4 EXCITED 135° -180° -135° -90°
By adjusting some of the evaluated angles, the phase at each port can be configured in an
arithmetic order and the resulted phase progression is summarized in Table 4. If the butler
matrix beamforming network is excited in the order of port 3 (−135 degrees), port 1
(−45 degrees), port 4 (45 degrees), and port 2 (135 degrees), and connected to a 4×1
antenna array, the antenna radiation pattern will be steered from one side to the other side
(Figure 11). Note that the antenna array model in Figure 11 is not included in this
example.
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TABLE 4: THE EVALUATED PHASE OF VOLTAGE AT EACH PORT (PHASE ADJUSTED).
PORT 5 PORT 6 PORT 7 PORT 8 PHASE
PROGRESSION
PORT 1 EXCITED -90° -135° -180° -225° -45°
PORT 2 EXCITED -180° -45° 90° 225° 135°
PORT 3 EXCITED 225° 90° -45° 180° -135°
PORT 4 EXCITED -225° -180° -135° -90° 45°
Port 3 excited Port 1 excited
Port 4 excited Port 2 excited
Figure 11: The far-field radiation pattern of a 4×1 microstrip patch antenna array connected
to the butler matrix beamforming network. The antenna model is not included in this
example.
References
1. D.M. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
2. COMSOL Application Gallery, “Branch-Line Coupler”, https://www.comsol.com/
model/branch-line-coupler-11727
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3. COMSOL Application Gallery, “Transmission Line Parameter Calculator”, https://
www.comsol.com/model/transmission-line-parameter-calculator-22351
Application Library path: RF_Module/Couplers_and_Power_Dividers/
transmission_line_butler
Model Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.
NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.
MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 2D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Radio Frequency>Transmission Line (tl).
3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.
5 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Frequency Domain.
6 Click Done.
GLOBAL DEFINITIONS
Parameters 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 Click Load from File.
4 Browse to the model’s Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
transmission_line_butler_parameters.txt.
Here, c_const in the imported table is a predefined COMSOL constant for the speed
of light in vacuum.
The 4x4 Butler matrix beamforming network in this example consists of a few parts that
are repeatedly shown in the geometry. To make the modeling process more efficient,
define these as Geometry Parts and reuse them as necessary.
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90 DEGREE HYBRID
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Global Definitions and choose Geometry Parts>
2D Part.
2 In the Settings window for Part, type 90 Degree Hybrid in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Units section. From the Length unit list, choose mm.
Line Segment 1 (ls1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click More Primitives and choose Line Segment.
2 In the Settings window for Line Segment, locate the Starting Point section.
3 From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
4 Locate the Endpoint section. From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
5 In the x text field, type ul*2.
Line Segment 2 (ls2)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click More Primitives and choose Line Segment.
2 In the Settings window for Line Segment, locate the Starting Point section.
3 From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
4 Locate the Endpoint section. From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
5 Locate the Starting Point section. In the x text field, type ul/2.
6 Locate the Endpoint section. In the x text field, type ul/2.
7 In the y text field, type ul.
Rotate 1 (rot1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Transforms and choose Rotate.
2 Click the Select All button in the Graphics toolbar.
3 In the Settings window for Rotate, locate the Rotation section.
4 In the Angle text field, type 0 180.
5 Locate the Center of Rotation section. In the x text field, type ul.
6 In the y text field, type ul/2.
7 Click Build Selected.
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8 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
45 DEGREE DELAY
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions right-click Geometry Parts and
choose 2D Part.
2 In the Settings window for Part, type 45 Degree Delay in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Units section. From the Length unit list, choose mm.
Polygon 1 (pol1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Polygon.
2 In the Settings window for Polygon, locate the Object Type section.
3 From the Type list, choose Open curve.
4 Locate the Coordinates section. From the Data source list, choose Vectors.
5 In the x text field, type 0 ul ul ul ul ul*2 ul*2 ul*2 ul*2 ul*3.
6 In the y text field, type 0 0 0 ul*0.75 ul*0.75 ul*0.75 ul*0.75 0 0 0.
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7 Click Build Selected.
TRANSITION
1 Right-click Geometry Parts and choose 2D Part.
2 In the Settings window for Part, type Transition in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Units section. From the Length unit list, choose mm.
4 In the Geometry toolbar, click Polygon.
Polygon 1 (pol1)
1 In the Settings window for Polygon, locate the Object Type section.
2 From the Type list, choose Open curve.
3 Locate the Coordinates section. From the Data source list, choose Vectors.
4 In the x text field, type 0 ul ul ul ul ul*2 ul*2 ul*2 ul*2 ul*3.
5 In the y text field, type 0 0 0 ul/2 ul/2 ul/2 ul/2 0 0 0.
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6 Click Build Selected.
CROSSOVER
1 Right-click Geometry Parts and choose 2D Part.
2 In the Settings window for Part, type Crossover in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Units section. From the Length unit list, choose mm.
Line Segment 1 (ls1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click More Primitives and choose Line Segment.
2 In the Settings window for Line Segment, locate the Starting Point section.
3 From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
4 Locate the Endpoint section. From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
5 In the x text field, type ul*3.
Line Segment 2 (ls2)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click More Primitives and choose Line Segment.
2 In the Settings window for Line Segment, locate the Starting Point section.
3 From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
4 Locate the Endpoint section. From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
5 Locate the Starting Point section. In the y text field, type ul.
6 Locate the Endpoint section. In the x text field, type ul*3.
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7 In the y text field, type ul.
Line Segment 3 (ls3)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click More Primitives and choose Line Segment.
2 In the Settings window for Line Segment, locate the Starting Point section.
3 From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
4 Locate the Endpoint section. From the Specify list, choose Coordinates.
5 Locate the Starting Point section. In the x text field, type ul/2.
6 Locate the Endpoint section. In the x text field, type ul/2.
7 In the y text field, type ul.
Array 1 (arr1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Transforms and choose Array.
2 Select the object ls3 only.
3 In the Settings window for Array, locate the Size section.
4 In the x size text field, type 3.
5 Locate the Displacement section. In the x text field, type ul.
6 Click Build Selected.
FRONT-END, OUTER
1 Right-click Geometry Parts and choose 2D Part.
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2 In the Settings window for Part, type Front-end, outer in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Units section. From the Length unit list, choose mm.
Polygon 1 (pol1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Polygon.
2 In the Settings window for Polygon, locate the Object Type section.
3 From the Type list, choose Open curve.
4 Locate the Coordinates section. From the Data source list, choose Vectors.
5 In the x text field, type 0 0 0 -1.5*array_d+ul*6.
6 In the y text field, type 0 -1.5*(array_d-ul) -1.5*(array_d-ul) -1.5*
(array_d-ul).
7 Click Build Selected.
FRONT-END, INNER
1 Right-click Geometry Parts and choose 2D Part.
2 In the Settings window for Part, type Front-end, inner in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Units section. From the Length unit list, choose mm.
4 In the Geometry toolbar, click Polygon.
Polygon 1 (pol1)
1 In the Settings window for Polygon, locate the Object Type section.
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2 From the Type list, choose Open curve.
3 Locate the Coordinates section. From the Data source list, choose Vectors.
4 In the x text field, type 0 ul*0.25 ul*0.25 ul*0.25 ul*0.25 ul*0.5 ul*0.5 ul*
0.5 ul*0.5 ul*0.75 ul*0.75 ul*0.75 ul*0.75 -1.5*array_d+ul*6.
5 In the y text field, type 0 0 0 -(array_d-ul)/2 -(array_d-ul)/2 -(array_d-
ul)/2 -(array_d-ul)/2 0 0 0 0 -(array_d-ul)/2 -(array_d-ul)/2 -
(array_d-ul)/2.
6 Click Build Selected.
GEOMETRY 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Geometry 1.
2 In the Settings window for Geometry, locate the Units section.
3 From the Length unit list, choose mm.
90 Degree Hybrid 1 (pi1)
In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose 90 Degree Hybrid.
90 Degree Hybrid 2 (pi2)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose 90 Degree Hybrid.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
20 | FAST PROTOTYPING OF A BUTLER MATRIX BEAMFORMING NETWORK
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*5.
4 Click Build Selected.
5 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
45 Degree Delay 1 (pi3)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose 45 Degree Delay.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*2.
Transition 1 (pi4)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose Transition.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*7.
4 Click Build Selected.
5 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
Front-end, outer 1 (pi5)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose Front-end, outer.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*10.
4 Click Build Selected.
5 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
Front-end, inner 1 (pi6)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose Front-end, inner.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*10.
4 In the y-displacement text field, type ul.
5 Click Build Selected.
Mirror 1 (mir1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Transforms and choose Mirror.
2 Click the Select All button in the Graphics toolbar.
21 | FAST PROTOTYPING OF A BUTLER MATRIX BEAMFORMING NETWORK
3 In the Settings window for Mirror, locate the Input section.
4 Select the Keep input objects check box.
5 Locate the Point on Line of Reflection section. In the y text field, type ul*1.5.
6 Locate the Normal Vector to Line of Reflection section. In the x text field, type 0.
7 In the y text field, type 1.
8 Click Build Selected.
9 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
Crossover 1 (pi7)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose Crossover.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*2.
4 In the y-displacement text field, type ul.
Crossover 2 (pi8)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Parts and choose Crossover.
2 In the Settings window for Part Instance, locate the Position and Orientation of Output
section.
3 In the x-displacement text field, type ul*7.
4 In the y-displacement text field, type ul.
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5 Click Build All Objects.
TRANSMISSION LINE (TL)
Transmission Line Equation 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Transmission Line (tl) click
Transmission Line Equation 1.
2 In the Settings window for Transmission Line Equation, locate the
Transmission Line Equation section.
3 In the L text field, type L0.
4 In the C text field, type C0.
Transmission Line Equation 2
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Transmission Line Equation.
23 | FAST PROTOTYPING OF A BUTLER MATRIX BEAMFORMING NETWORK
2 Select Boundaries 6, 7, 9, 10, 43, 44, 46, and 47 only.
Set the impedance of the selected transmission lines (branch-lines in the 90 degree
hybrid) to Z0/sqrt(2) by adjusting the distributed inductance and capacitance values.
3 In the Settings window for Transmission Line Equation, locate the
Transmission Line Equation section.
4 In the L text field, type L0*z1.
5 In the C text field, type C0/z1.
Lumped Port 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 4 only.
See Figure 8 to confirm the lumped port configuration.
Lumped Port 2
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 3 only.
Lumped Port 3
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 2 only.
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Lumped Port 4
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 1 only.
Lumped Port 5
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 82 only.
Lumped Port 6
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 81 only.
Lumped Port 7
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 80 only.
Lumped Port 8
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Lumped Port.
2 Select Point 79 only.
3 In the Model Builder window, click Transmission Line (tl).
4 In the Settings window for Transmission Line, locate the Port Sweep Settings section.
5 Select the Use manual port sweep check box.
6 Click Configure Sweep Settings. By clicking the Configure Sweep Settings button, all
necessary port sweep settings such as sweep parameter and parametric study step will be
automatically added.
MESH 1
Size
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Mesh 1 and choose
Edit Physics-Induced Sequence.
2 In the Settings window for Size, locate the Element Size section.
3 Click the Custom button.
4 Locate the Element Size Parameters section. In the Maximum element size text field, type
ul/15.
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5 Click Build All.
STUDY 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Study 1.
2 In the Settings window for Study, locate the Study Settings section.
3 Clear the Generate default plots check box.
Step 1: Frequency Domain
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Frequency Domain.
2 In the Settings window for Frequency Domain, locate the Study Settings section.
3 In the Frequencies text field, type f0.
Parametric Sweep
1 In the Model Builder window, click Parametric Sweep.
2 In the Settings window for Parametric Sweep, locate the Study Settings section.
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3 In the table, enter the following settings:
Parameter name Parameter value list Parameter unit
PortName (Port name 1 2 3 4
parameter for sweep)
Sweep only four input ports.
4 In the Home toolbar, click Compute.
RESULTS
2D Plot Group 1
In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 2D Plot Group.
Line 1
1 Right-click 2D Plot Group 1 and choose Line.
2 In the Settings window for Line, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type 20*log10(abs(V)).
4 In the 2D Plot Group 1 toolbar, click Plot.
Other input ports (port 1, port2 and port 3) are fully isolated from the excited port 4.
See Figure 9.
5 Click to expand the Range section. Select the Manual color range check box.
6 In the Minimum text field, type -10.
7 In the Maximum text field, type 0.
8 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Line type list, choose Tube.
9 In the 2D Plot Group 1 toolbar, click Plot.
Figure 10 shows that the input power to port 4 is equally split into all output ports (-6
dB).
Global Evaluation 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click Global Evaluation.
2 In the Settings window for Global Evaluation, locate the Expressions section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:
Expression Unit Description
arg(tl.Vport_5) deg Port 5 phase
arg(tl.Vport_6) deg Port 6 phase
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Expression Unit Description
arg(tl.Vport_7) deg Port 7 phase
arg(tl.Vport_8) deg Port 8 phase
4 Click Evaluate.
TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
Compare the evaluated values to those in Table 3.
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