A Post-processing & Assessment Tool
Inspector is a useful tool for post-processing your simulation or test data. Features include:
- Combine multiple snp files
- Renormalise S-parameter data
- Signal integrity assessment against specification
Features
S-Parameter Functions
Typically, a 4 ports VNA is used to measure the S-parameters. For a large device, multiple tests are required to build the full S-matrix.
- For example, a 20-port device, such as a USB4 connector, requires at least 44 sets of measurement data, each one producing an individual .s4p file for each test.
- Then the multiple .s4p files need to be combined and arranged to form a .s20p file, which can then be processed further.
Inspector has a combine function for combining multiple Touchstone files. In addition, the Touchstone files can be re-normalised based on a new reference impedance value.
Assessing Against the Specification
Post-processing and assessing against the SI specifications can be complicated. Previously, the specifications provided a set of limit lines which set the allowable performance for a device. However at higher frequencies these are less suitable, so the analyst typically has to perform some curve fitting or additional calculations when post-processing the results.
A range of SI assessments for connectors have been implemented in Inspector to help simplify the assessment process. The user just has to provide the Touchstone file and then, using the convenient GUI to specify the port numbering, the user can run the assessment and produce a report.
- Read in the Touchstone file from simulation or testing.
- Identify the port numbering using the user interface.
- Run the assessment.
- Graphs and an assessment table are automatically compiled into a report for review.
