Analysis Panel
The analysis panel shows the results of the cascade analysis for the current chain. It auto-refreshes whenever parameters or the system spec change.
At the top of the panel is the current operating mode (TX / RX / unset), which you can click to cycle through. The panel also displays the timestamp of the last analysis run.
System Totals
The top section of the analysis panel shows system totals.
Shown metrics:
| Field | TX mode | RX mode | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gain | ✓ | ✓ | Sum of all stage gains (dB) |
| Output power | ✓ | ✓ | Signal power at the chain output (dBm); requires Input Power |
| NF | ✓ | ✓ | System noise figure via Friis (dB) |
| OIP3 / OIP2 / OP1dB | ✓ | — | Output-referred intercept and compression (dBm) |
| IIP3 / IIP2 / IP1dB | — | ✓ | Input-referred intercept and compression (dBm) |
| NSD Out | ✓ | ✓ | Noise spectral density at chain output (dBm/Hz) |
| Noise Floor | ✓ | ✓ | Output noise floor over RF bandwidth (dBm) |
| SFDR | ✓ | ✓ | Spurious-free dynamic range (dB) |
Each value shows a compute state badge:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ✓ COMPUTED | All inputs present; value is reliable |
| ~ PARTIAL | Some inputs missing; best-effort estimate |
| ? UNKNOWN | Critical input missing; cannot compute |
Stage table
Below the summary is a transposed table where blocks are columns and metrics are rows. Click a block column to select and highlight that block on the canvas.
The table has two collapsible sections:
Cascade Performance (always shown)
- Metrics accumulated from the signal input through each stage:
- Pout
- Gain
- NF
- OIP3
- OP1dB
- IIP3
- IP1dB
Per-Stage Details (collapsed by default)
- Per-block metrics:
- Role (Block/stage type)
- Block Gain
- Input Power
- NF (Block's own noise figure)
- IIP3, OIP3, OP1dB (Block's own intercept and compression points)
- P1dB Headroom (output power margin before 1 dB compression)
- Psat Headroom (saturation margin)
- Max Input Headroom (margin relative to the block declared max input)
- Status (indicator of whether the stage is operating within margins)
Color coding:
- Emerald — headroom is greater than the P1dB Headroom threshold
- Amber — headroom is between 0 and the margin; approaching compression
- Red — output power exceeds P1dB compression; block is overdriven
A ⚠ warning appears when output power exceeds the next stage's max input headroom.
Output Metrics
The Output Metrics section shows metrics for both TX and RX modes. Use the column visibility selector to show or hide individual metrics.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| V_RMS | RMS output voltage into system impedance (mV) |
| V_PP | Peak-to-peak output voltage (mVpp) |
| NSD Out | Output noise spectral density (dBm/Hz) |
| Noise Floor | Output noise floor over RF bandwidth (dBm) |
| SNR | Signal-to-noise ratio at the output (dB) |
| IMD3 | Third-order intermodulation distortion (dBc) |
| IMD2 | Second-order intermodulation distortion (dBc) |
| 3rd Harmonic Est | Third harmonic power estimate (dBc) |
| 2nd Harmonic Est | Second harmonic power estimate (dBc) |
| SFDR | Spurious-free dynamic range (dB) |
Bottlenecks, Warnings & Frequency Notes
The findings section combines three types of alerts:
- Bottlenecks — stages with UNKNOWN compute state, listing which parameter is missing. Fix the listed parameters to resolve the UNKNOWN state downstream.
- Headroom Warnings — stages where output power exceeds a block's compression threshold (P1dB or Psat).
- Frequency Notes — alerts about frequency band coverage or potential band violations.
Frequency Spectrum Diagram
When a mixer is present and RF, IF, and LO centers are all defined, a Mixer Frequency Spectrum diagram appears showing:
- RF and IF bands — colored regions with center and bandwidth indicators
- LO center — marked with LO frequency and sideband (high-side or low-side)
- Image frequency — computed as 2×LO − RF, displayed as a separate marker
- Harmonic markers — 2×LO and 3×LO for reference
Click Expand to view the diagram in full-screen mode. The spectrum helps visualize frequency relationships and identify potential issues like image interference within the RF band.
See Bottlenecks for a detailed breakdown by parameter type.
When analysis auto-refreshes
The analysis re-runs automatically after any of these events:
- A block parameter is changed in the workbench
- A system spec value is updated
- A block is added, removed, or reconnected
There is no manual "run analysis" button — results are always current.