Touchstone file: Difference between revisions

Touchstone File
Filename extension	.s1p, .s2p, .s3p, .s4p, .snp, .ts
Developed by	IBIS Open Forum, Agilent Technologies Inc
Initial release	2009; 16 years ago
Latest release	2.1; Jan 2024; 12 months ago
Type of format	Document file format
Standard	Touchstone
Website	IBIS

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 10:17, 7 January 2025

A Touchstone file was originally a proprietary file format for the eponymous frequency-domain linear circuit simulator^[1] from EEsof, launched in 1984 and acquired by HP. The simulator has been called HP/EEsof, then its engine has been successively included in the jOmega and ADS software suites and it is now owned by Keysight.

The Touchstone simulator has long since been superseded,^[2] but its file format lives on.

A Touchstone file (also known as an SnP file after its set of file extensions^[3]) is an ASCII text file used for documenting the n-port network parameter data and noise data of linear active devices, passive filters, passive devices, or interconnect networks. An example of the format of the S-parameter section is given in the article about S-parameters. In addition to S-parameters, other representations such as Y-parameters and Z-parameters can be recorded.

It later became a de facto industry-standard file format not only for circuit simulators but also for measurement equipment (e.g. vector network analyzers, or VNAs), then later still an EIA standard as part of the Input/output Buffer Information Specification (IBIS) project.^[4] On April 24, 2009, the IBIS Open Forum ratified version 2.0,^[5] superseding Version 1.1.^[6] Version 2.0 adds IBIS-style keywords such as [Reference], which permits per-port definition of the reference environment. More recently on January 26, 2024 the IBIS Open Forum released version 2.1 which clarified the filename extension, introduced more flexible definitions for reference values of the network, and made corrections to several examples. ^[7]

Several further enhancements to the file format that allow description of the non-linear behavior of the component have been developed under the P2D and S2D pair of formats,^[8] but these two have been superseded by the X-parameters functionality.

Notes

^ "History of EEsof and Touchstone at Microwaves 101".
^ "W2200 Advanced Design System (ADS) Core".
^ .S1P for one-port (e.g. termination), .S2P for two-port (e.g. transmission line), .S3P for three-port (e.g. a balun), .S4P for four-port (e.g. a differential transmission line) and so on.
^ "IBIS (I/O Buffer Information Specification)".
^ "Touchstone File Format Specification Version 2.0" (PDF).
^ "Touchstone File Format Specification Rev 1.1" (PDF).
^ "Touchstone File Format Specification Version 2.1" (PDF).
^ "E8854A RF System, now part of W2200 Advanced Design System (ADS) Core".

[1] "History of EEsof and Touchstone at Microwaves 101".

[2] "W2200 Advanced Design System (ADS) Core".

[3] .S1P for one-port (e.g. termination), .S2P for two-port (e.g. transmission line), .S3P for three-port (e.g. a balun), .S4P for four-port (e.g. a differential transmission line) and so on.

[4] "IBIS (I/O Buffer Information Specification)".

[5] "Touchstone File Format Specification Version 2.0" (PDF).

[6] "Touchstone File Format Specification Rev 1.1" (PDF).

[7] "Touchstone File Format Specification Version 2.1" (PDF).

[8] "E8854A RF System, now part of W2200 Advanced Design System (ADS) Core".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Infobox file format
+| name                   = Touchstone File
+| icon                   =
+| logo sg                =
+| screenshot             =
+| caption                =
+| extension              = .s1p, .s2p, .s3p, .s4p, .snp, .ts
+| mime                   =
+| type code              =
+| uniform type           =
+| magic                  =
+| owner                  = [[Input/output Buffer Information Specification|IBIS]] Open Forum, [[Agilent Technologies Inc]]
+| released               = {{Start date and age|2009}}
+| latest release version = 2.1
+| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|Jan 2024}}
+| genre                  = [[Document file format]]
+| container for          =
+| contained by           =
+| extended from          =
+| extended to            =
+| standard               = Touchstone
+| url                    = [https://ibis.org/touchstone_ver2.1/ IBIS]}}
 A '''Touchstone file''' was originally a proprietary file format for the eponymous frequency-domain linear [[circuit simulator]]<ref>{{cite web
  | url  = http://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedia/historyCAD.cfm#touchstone
  | title = History of EEsof and Touchstone at Microwaves 101
-}}</ref> from [[EEsof]], launched in 1984 and now owned by [[Agilent Technologies]].
+}}</ref> from [[EEsof]], launched in 1984 and acquired by HP. The simulator has been called HP/EEsof, then its engine has been successively included in the jOmega and ADS software suites and it is now owned by [[Keysight]].
 The Touchstone simulator has long since been superseded,<ref>{{cite web
- | url = http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/redirector.jspx?action=ref&cname=PRODUCT&ckey=1385381&cc=US&lc=eng
+ | url = http://www.keysight.com/en/pd-1385381-pn-W2200BP/advanced-design-system-ads-core
  | title = W2200 Advanced Design System (ADS) Core
 }}</ref> but its file format lives on.
-A Touchstone file (also known as an SnP file after its set of file extensions<ref>.S1P for one-port (e.g. termination), .S2P for two-port (e.g. transmission line), .S3P for three-port (e.g. a mixer), .S4P for four-port (e.g. a differential transmission line) and so on.</ref>) is an [[ASCII]] text file used for documenting the n-port [[Scattering parameters|network parameter]] data of linear active devices, passive filters, passive devices, or interconnect networks. An example of the format of the S-parameter section is given in the article about [[S-parameter]]s. In addition to S-parameters, other representations such as [[Y-parameter]]s and [[Z-parameter]]s can be recorded.
+A Touchstone file (also known as an S''n''P file after its set of file extensions<ref>.S1P for one-port (e.g. termination), .S2P for two-port (e.g. transmission line), .S3P for three-port (e.g. a balun), .S4P for four-port (e.g. a differential transmission line) and so on.</ref>) is an [[ASCII]] text file used for documenting the ''n''-port [[Scattering parameters|network parameter]] data and noise data of linear active devices, passive filters, passive devices, or interconnect networks. An example of the format of the S-parameter section is given in the article about [[S-parameter]]s. In addition to S-parameters, other representations such as [[Y-parameter]]s and [[Z-parameter]]s can be recorded.
-It later became a [[De_facto#Standards|de facto industry-standard]] file format not only for circuit simulators but also for measurement equipment (e.g. [[Network analyzer (electrical)|vector network analyzers]], or VNAs), then later still an [[Electronic Industries Alliance|EIA]] standard as part of the [[Input/output Buffer Information Specification]] (IBIS) project.<ref>{{cite web
+It later became a [[De facto standard|''de facto'' industry-standard]] file format not only for circuit simulators but also for measurement equipment (e.g. [[Network analyzer (electrical)|vector network analyzers]], or VNAs), then later still an [[Electronic Industries Alliance|EIA]] standard as part of the [[Input/output Buffer Information Specification]] (IBIS) project.<ref>{{cite web
- | url = http://www.eda.org/ibis/
+ | url = http://www.ibis.org/
  | title = IBIS (I/O Buffer Information Specification)
 }}</ref> On April 24, 2009, the IBIS Open Forum ratified version 2.0,<ref>{{cite web
- | url = http://www.eda.org/ibis/touchstone_ver2.0/touchstone_ver2_0.pdf
+ | url = http://www.ibis.org/touchstone_ver2.0/touchstone_ver2_0.pdf
  | title = Touchstone File Format Specification Version 2.0
  | format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]]
 }}</ref> superseding Version 1.1.<ref>{{cite web
- | url = http://www.eda.org/pub/ibis/connector/touchstone_spec11.pdf
+ | url = http://www.ibis.org/connector/touchstone_spec11.pdf
  | title = Touchstone File Format Specification Rev 1.1
  | format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]]
-}}</ref> Version 2.0 adds IBIS-style keywords such as <code>[Reference]</code>, which permits per-port definition of the reference environment.
+}}</ref> Version 2.0 adds IBIS-style keywords such as <code>[Reference]</code>, which permits per-port definition of the reference environment. More recently on January 26, 2024 the IBIS Open Forum released version 2.1 which clarified the filename extension, introduced more flexible definitions for reference values of the network, and made corrections to several examples. <ref>{{cite web
+ | url = https://ibis.org/touchstone_ver2.1/touchstone_ver2_1.pdf
+ | title = Touchstone File Format Specification Version 2.1
+ | format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]]
+}}</ref>
 Several further enhancements to the file format that allow description of the non-linear behavior of the component have been developed under the P2D and S2D pair of formats,<ref>{{cite web
- | url = http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/redirector.jspx?action=ref&cname=PRODUCT&ckey=1375687&cc=US&lc=eng
+ | url = http://www.keysight.com/en/pd-1385381-pn-W2200BP/advanced-design-system-ads-core
  | title = E8854A RF System, now part of W2200 Advanced Design System (ADS) Core
-}}</ref> but these too have been superseded by the [[X-parameters]] functionality.
+}}</ref> but these two have been superseded by the [[X-parameters]] functionality.
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 34: / Line 61: @@
 [[Category:Electronic design automation]]
 [[Category:EDA file formats]]
-[[it:Touchstone]]