A Matlab-based teaching of the two-stub smith chart application for electromagnetics class

This paper specifically presents a Matlab-based teaching approach to the two-stub Smith chart problem that is typically covered in an undergraduate course on electromagnetic fields. Matlab provides a powerful computation and display platform by means of which fundamental and advanced concepts relating to transmission lines can be understood and implemented. The paper restates the solving techniques of a two-stub Smith chart problem in terms of a process consisting of steps. These steps can be implemented as modules written in Matlab scripts. This modular approach using Matlab enhances the studentspsila understanding of the Smith chart technique as a solution process with the specific objectives of each module clearly identified. Furthermore, the computations are more accurate and the results can be displayed and interpreted in a more effective manner. The students taking the course completed an on-line survey to rate the effectiveness of the Matlab tool in solving the two-stub transmission line problem. The responses to the survey reaffirmed the belief that solutions to problems involving concepts that can be challenging to grasp are learned more effectively when the steps of the solution are associated with processing modules comprising clearly defined input-output relationships.