RF Analysis

When you analyze an RF circuit using RF Toolbox™, your workflow may include the following tasks:

1. Select RF circuit objects to represent the components of your RF network. To learn how to create RF objects, see Create RF Objects.

2. Define component data by:

   • Specifying network parameters or physical properties (see Set Property Values).

   • Importing data from an industry-standard Touchstone file, a MathWorks^® AMP file, an Agilent^® P2D or S2D file, or the MATLAB^® workspace (see Import Property Values from Data Files).

   • Where applicable, selecting operating condition values (see Specify Operating Conditions).

3. Where applicable, perform network parameter conversions on imported file data. To understand network parameter conversion, see Process File Data for Analysis.

4. Integrate components to form a cascade, hybrid, parallel, or series network. To combine a set of RF components and existing networks to form an RF network, see Construct Networks of Specified Components.

5. Analyze the network in the frequency domain. To analyze your network, see Analyze Networks in Frequency Domain.

6. Generate plots to gain insight into network behavior.

   The following plots and charts are available in the toolbox:

   • Rectangular plots

   • Polar plots

   • Smith^® Chart

   • Budget plots (for cascaded S-parameters)

   To learn how to visualize your component and network data, see Visualize Component and Network Data.

7. Compute the network transfer function. To learn how to compute the network transfer function, see Compute Network Transfer Function.

8. Create an RF model object that describes the transfer function analytically. To analytically describe transfer function, see Fit Model Object to Circuit Object Data.

9. Plot the time-domain response of the transfer function of the RF model object. To compute and plot time-domain response of your RF model objects, see Compute and Plot Time-Domain Response.

10. Export a Verilog-A description of the network. To export Verilog-A description of the network, see Export Verilog-A Model.

You can also use RF Budget Analyzer app to:

• Build a cascade of RF elements.

• Calculate the per-stage and cascade output power, gain, noise figure, SNR, and IP3 of the system.

• Compute nonlinear effects such as output power, IP2, NF, and SNR using harmonic balance analysis.

• Plot rfbudget results across bandwidths and over stages.

• Plot S-parameters of the RF System on a Smith chart and a polar plot.

• Plot magnitude, phase and real, and imaginary parts of S-parameters of the RF System and over stages.

• Export per-stage and cascade values to the MATLAB workspace.

• Export the system design to RF Blockset™ for simulation.

• Export the system design to the RF Blockset Testbench as a device under test (DUT) subsystem and verify the results using simulation.

• Visualize budget results and S-parameters over stages and frequencies.

• Compare Friis and harmonic balance budget results.

To learn how to use RF Budget Analyzer app to build and analyze superhetrodyne receiver, see Superheterodyne Receiver Using RF Budget Analyzer App.