Transmission-Line Parameter Extraction via Discontinuity Detection

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for extracting transmission-line parameters from scattering parameters are either computationally inefficient or introduce artificial discontinuities, leading to inaccurate results, especially when dealing with numerical artifacts and singularities.

Innovation Solution

A simulator that uses discontinuity-detection-based phase unwrapping without introducing artificial discontinuities, analyzing the network-parameter representation to determine if reliable phase unwrapping can be applied, and employing eigenvalue position preservation and sign correction to extract accurate transmission-line parameters.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If discontinuity-detection-based phase unwrapping is used, then computational efficiency is improved, but artificial discontinuities are introduced leading to measurement precision degradation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomputational efficiencyVSAvoidaccuracy of transmission-line parameters

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing eigenvalue position preservation before phase unwrapping. The method tracks and preserves the position of eigenvalues across frequency points, ensuring that the phase unwrapping process starts with correctly ordered data. This preliminary ordering prevents artificial discontinuities from being introduced during the subsequent phase unwrapping operation, thereby maintaining both computational efficiency and measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary step between data acquisition and phase unwrapping: the eigenvalue decomposition and position tracking. This intermediary process acts as a mediator that prepares the data in a form suitable for discontinuity-detection-based phase unwrapping without introducing artifacts. By inserting this intermediate processing stage, the method enables the use of efficient algorithms while preventing the introduction of artificial discontinuities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If alternative phase-unwrapping algorithms are used, then artificial discontinuities are avoided, but computational complexity increases exponentially

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of transmission-line parametersVSAvoidcomputational complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing eigenvalue position preservation before phase unwrapping. The method tracks and preserves the position of eigenvalues across frequency points, ensuring that the phase unwrapping process starts with correctly ordered data. This preliminary ordering prevents artificial discontinuities from being introduced during the subsequent phase unwrapping operation, thereby maintaining both computational efficiency and measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If discontinuity-detection-based phase unwrapping is applied without eigenvalue position preservation, then computational efficiency is maintained, but numerical reliability deteriorates due to artificial discontinuities

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomputational efficiencyVSAvoidnumerical reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing eigenvalue position preservation before phase unwrapping. The method tracks and preserves the position of eigenvalues across frequency points, ensuring that the phase unwrapping process starts with correctly ordered data. This preliminary ordering prevents artificial discontinuities from being introduced during the subsequent phase unwrapping operation, thereby maintaining both computational efficiency and measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8892414B1Transmission-line simulators and methods

Publication Date: 2014.11.18 ANSYS INC

AI summary

In various embodiment, a simulator includes an analysis module for extracting transmission-line parameters of a transmission-line system from a network-parameter representation thereof, using discontinuity-detection-based phase unwrapping without introducing artificial discontinuities, and a simulator module for simulating the response of the transmission-line system to an input based on the extracted transmission-line parameters.