The Components Properties dialog box exposes all properties for the currently selected component. The spreadsheet control at the center of the dialog contains those parameters that are common to all components. While each parameter has a primary value, tolerance specifications and temperature coefficients may be optionally defined. The dialog will display additional properties for various components as explained below.
The Parameters page of the Component Properties dialog box displays all the parameters of the selected or current component. The parameters are shown in the first column. An enable/disable check box accompanies each parameter. When checked, the corresponding component parameter value is utilized in system calculations; when cleared, the parameter is considered ideal, and hence, ignored. Several of the parameters shown are mutually exclusive (cannot be simultaneously enabled) as indicated below.
Mutually Exclusive Parameters
IIPx and OIPx (Input and output intercept parameters)
IP1dB and OP1dB (Input and output compression parameters)
IPsat and OPsat (Input and output compression parameters)
NF and Te (Noise parameter equivalents)
When one of the mutually exclusive pairs is enabled, its counter-part becomes cleared. The gain parameter cannot be disabled.
Basic component parameters are entered in the column labeled Value. Even though a parameter has an associated value, the parameter will only be used if it is enabled. Some parameters have limits on their range. For instance, a negative value will not be accepted for NF. A description of each of the parameters is listed below.
BackOff
the Backoff in dB below OP1dB. SysCalc will warn the
user if the component's output power exceeds OP1dB - Backoff.
Gain
the component’s power gain in dB. This parameter cannot
be disabled.
IDC
the component's current consumption. The total DC power
used by the project is summarized in the Standard
Report. Units for the current can be selected using the combo box
provided on the dialog box. Each
report print out further breaks down the power consumption
by voltage.
IIP2 (2nd
Order Input Intercept Point)
the component’s 2nd
order input intercept point in dBm. The input and output intercept parameters
are mutually exclusive and related by the gain of the component. Disabling
both causes the component to have no contribution to the overall system
intermodulation characteristics.
IIP3 (3rd
Order Input Intercept Point)
the component’s 3rd
order input intercept point in dBm. The input and output intercept parameters
are mutually exclusive and related by the gain of the component. Enabling
one disables the other. Disabling both causes the component to have no
contribution to the overall system intermodulation characteristics.
IP1dB (Input
1 dB Compression Point)
the component’s 1 dB input
compression point in dBm, and defined as the input level that produces
an output 1 dB lower than it should be for linear operation. The input
and output compression parameters are mutually exclusive and related by
the gain of the component. Disabling both causes the component to have
no contribution to the overall system compression characteristics (See
Mathematical Definitions).
IP1dB = OP1dB – Gain + 1
IPsat — the component's input power saturation level in dBm. The permissible range for this parameter is 1.5 to 9 dB higher than IP1dB:
Requirement: IP1dB + 1.5 <= IPsat <= IP1dB + 9
NF (Noise
Figure)
the component’s noise figure (assumed to
be measured at 290
K) in dB. Noise Figure and Effective
Noise Temperature are mutually exclusive; therefore, enabling the Noise
Figure parameter will disable the Effective Noise Temperature parameter.
The Noise Figure is set to a default value for some component and disabled
for others. For filter and attenuator components, NF tracks the gain value
by default. Requirement: NF
0.
Note — The specified Noise Figure (or Effective Noise Temperature) is considered to be SSB for mixers (See Mixer Specifications).
OIP2 (2nd
Order Output Intercept Point)
the component’s 2nd
order output intercept point in dBm. The output and input intercept parameters
are mutually exclusive and related by the gain of the component. Disabling
both causes the component to have no contribution to the overall system
intermodulation characteristics.
OIP3 (3rd
Order Output Intercept Point)
the component’s 3rd
order output intercept point in dBm. The output and input intercept parameters
are mutually exclusive and related by the gain of the component. Disabling
both causes the component to have no contribution to the overall system
intermodulation characteristics.
OP1dB (Output
1 dB Compression Point)
the component’s 1 dB output
compression point in dBm, and defined as the output level that is 1 dB
lower than it should be for a corresponding input level in linear operation.
The output and input compression parameters are mutually exclusive and
related by the gain of the component. Disabling both causes the component
to have no contribution to the overall system compression characteristics.
OP1dB = IP1dB + Gain – 1
OPsat — the component's output power saturation level in dBm. The permissible range for this parameter is 1.5 to 9 dB higher than OP1dB:
Requirement: OP1dB + 1.5 <= OPsat <= OP1dB + 9
Te (Effective
Noise Temperature)
the component’s effective noise
temperature in degrees Kelvin (K). Effective Noise Temperature and Noise
Figure are mutually exclusive; therefore, enabling the Effective Noise
Temperature parameter will disable the Noise Figure parameter. Disabling
both causes the component to have no contribution to the overall system
noise. Requirement: Te
0.
Note — The specified Effective Noise Temperature (or Noise Figure) is considered to be SSB for mixers (See Mixer Specifications).
VDC
the component's operating voltage. The component's voltage and current parameters define
its power consumption. The total system power consumption is summarized
in the Standard Report. Each
report print out further breaks down the power consumption
by voltage.
DC Units — the units for the component's DC current parameter (See VDC above).
Special Properties
Parallel Amps (Only available for gain blocks)
The number of parallel amplifiers can be set for Gain blocks. Parallel devices provide a convenient way of modeling power amps. By default, the value this field is one, but can be set to any value desired. The parameter values in the list control should reflect the performance of a single device. By paralleling devices, the xP1dB, xPsat and xIPx (x=I or O) parameters are increased by
dB increase = 10*log( Number of Devices )
NF Tracks Gain (Only available for filters and attenuators)
For filter and attenuator components, NF tracks the gain value by default. This is the normal case for passive blocks such as filters and pads (See Component Modeling ). The tracking feature eliminates the need for changing the NF parameter each time the loss is changed. It also ensures accuracy when the gain changes under program control, such as during a yield analysis. When tracking is disabled the component is noiseless unless the NF parameter is explicitly enabled. The tracking feature can be disable by clearing the check box, NF=abs(Gain).
AGC parameters (Only available for AGC controlled blocks)
AGC Low
(AGC component only)
the minimum gain for the
gain/attenuator part of an AGC-controlled component. The gain is in dB.
This parameter cannot be disabled.
AGC High
(AGC component only)
the maximum gain for the
gain/attenuator part of an AGC-controlled component. The gain is in dB.
This parameter cannot be disabled.
Other AGC parameters can be modified on the AGC Model Page of the Component Properties dialog box.
SysCalc permits user-specified tolerance data for each parameter. This information is only utilized in the Yield Report. To display the fields where this information is entered, the Tolerance check box must be selected on the Parameters page. Two columns, Tol- and Tol+, define the numerical data, and the Method column defines the distribution method used with the data.
Normal Method
A gaussian distribution is used when this method is selected.
The number entered into both the Tol- and Tol+ fields should be the same
and positive. The number has the same units as the Value field and represents
one standard deviation (1σ) of the corresponding parameter.
Uniform
Method
A uniform distribution is used when this
method is selected. The numbers entered into the Tol- and Tol+ fields
represent the lower and upper limit of the distribution respectively,
and have the same units as the Value field. The numbers should be positive
in both fields.
SysCalc permits user-specified temperature
coefficients, Change/C for each parameter, where Change
has the same units as the parameter. The Temp
Coeff check box must be selected on the Parameters page to display
the fields where this information is entered. The Parameters page is shown
below. The data entered in the Value field is assumed to be at 290 K. If the component is placed on a System page that changes
from 290, the parameter’s value will linearly change by
where
PT is the parameter value at System page temperature
P0
is the parameter value at 290 K
Coeff is the parameter’s temperature coefficient
Temp is the actual system temperature
The temperature of a system page can be changed directly from the System Properties dialog box or indirectly through a Graph Report using a temperature sweep.
The input and output impedance can be defined for each component. By default, the impedances are 50 ohms. SysCalc assumes that perfect matching exists between components, and therefore, lossless power transfer. In other words, the power out of the previous component is exactly the power into the subsequent component. Since the impedance can be specified at the input and output ports of each component, the voltage at those ports can be calculated based on the power present at the port. For instance, if the output power and impedance of stage1 is 10 dBm and 50 ohms respectively, and if the input impedance of the stage2 is 100 ohms, then the output voltage at stage1 is 70.7 mVrms and the input voltage at stage2 is 100 mVrms.
An additional tab, AGC Model, becomes available in the Component Properties dialog box for AGC blocks and detectors as shown below. The model used for each controlled block is independently selectable as Gain or Attenuator. The gain control emulates an ideal gain block by default. Non-ideal characteristics such as NF and OIP3 can be explicitly defined, if desired, on the Parameter page of the dialog box. The attenuator control is modeled as variable resistive pad. The NF of the attenuator control automatically tracks the loss by default.
The detector target level can be specified by power (dBm) or by voltage and impedance parameters. The Gain/Attenuator controls are automatically adjusted to maintain the specified Detector Target Level. When the signal level at the detector is within its control range, a bar on each control indicates the gain/attenuation used to maintain the level. If the level at the detector is outside of its control range, a red dot on the controls and detector indicate the out of range condition.
When the detector manages multiple controls, you can specify the tracking method:
| Ganged - | All controls adjust together proportionally to maintain the target level. | |
| Sequenced (1 to N) - | The controls are adjusted in sequence from the 1st to the Nth to maintain the target level. When the 1st control's range is exhausted, the 2nd control begins to track, etc. You can rearrange the order of the controls in the system to achieve different possibilities. |
See Components and Component Properties for a more complete overview.