SmithAxis Block

The SmithAxis is a layoutable visual block built on top of Makie.jl using the @Block macro. It provides an intuitive and familiar interface for plotting complex reflection and impedance data on a Smith chart.

It behaves like any other axis block (such as Axis, PolarAxis, or LScene) in Makie. You can place it inside a GridLayout, style it, and compose it freely with other visual components.

Usage

To use a SmithAxis, simply add it in a figure layout:

using SmithChart
using CairoMakie

fig = Figure()
sc = SmithAxis(fig[1, 1]; cutgrid = true, type = :Z)
fig

This creates a Smith chart axis. You can then use functions like smithplot! or smithscatter! to draw data onto it.

Keyword Options

You can explore all keyword arguments by calling:

?SmithAxis

Here are some of the most commonly used:

Keyword	Description	Default
`cutgrid`	Whether to cut the Smith grid at ±90° for a clearer display	`false`
`type`	The Smith chart type: `:Z` (impedance) or `:Y` (admittance)	`:Z`
`tickalign`	Alignment of tick marks	`(:center, :center)`
`tickbox`	Show bounding boxes behind tick labels	`true`
`zoomupdate`	Dynamically adjust grid resolution based on zoom level	`false`
`textupdate`	Enables dynamic hover annotations on plotted data (experimental)	`false`
`spinewidth`	Linewidth of the exterior circumference.	`2.2`
`spinehorizontalwidth`	Linewidth of the spine horizontal line .	`1.7`

Full List of SmithAxis fields and keywords

Below is a comprehensive list of the fields and keywords available for the SmithAxis block. Note that some fields are intentionally omitted because they are not intended for direct user manipulation and are used internally to control specific implementation details.

Also, some keywords related to the scene or internal aspects of Makie may have no visible effect. These were included preventively during the development of the block in case they might be needed later, even if they are not currently used.

Smith Chart Settings
Scene Settings
Background and Clipping
Limits and Transformations
Title and Subtitle
Spine Settings
Grid Settings
Tick Settings

Smith Chart Settings

type::Symbol = :Z Smith Chart type. Valid values are :Z, :Y, and :ZY.
cutgrid::Bool = true Controls the cut of the lines.
cutgridalg::Int = 2 Select cutgrid algorithm (1 or 2).
subgrid::Bool = false Controls if there is a subgrid drawn in the image.
zoomupdate::Bool = false Controls the interactive subgrid update while zooming.
textupdate::Bool = false Controls if there are interactive text annotations while moving and zooming.
ntextvals::Int = 7 Controls the maximum number of text labels.
threshold = (100, 100) Threshold controling the cut of the grid

Scene Settings

height = nothing The height setting of the scene.
width = nothing The width setting of the scene.
tellwidth::Bool = true Controls if the parent layout can adjust to this element's width.
tellheight::Bool = true Controls if the parent layout can adjust to this element's height.
halign = :center The horizontal alignment of the scene in its suggested bounding box.
valign = :center The vertical alignment of the scene in its suggested bounding box.
alignmode = Inside() The alignment mode of the scene in its suggested bounding box.
xreversed::Bool = false Controls if the x axis goes rightwards (false) or leftwards (true) in default camera orientation.
yreversed::Bool = false Controls if the y axis goes leftwards (false) or rightwards (true) in default camera orientation.

Background and Clipping

sample_density::Int = 361 The density at which curved lines are sampled (grid lines, spine lines, clip).
backgroundcolor The background color of the axis.
backgroundcolorint The internal background color of the axis.
clip::Bool = true Controls whether to activate the nonlinear clip feature.
clipcolor Sets the color of the clip polygon (mainly for debugging).
innerclipz::Float32 = -100.0 Sets the z value of inner clip.
outerclipz::Float32 = 100.0 Sets the z value of outer clip.

Limits and Transformations

limits = ((-1., 1.), (-1., 1.)) Define axis limits.
aspect::Float32 = 1.0 Controls the forced aspect ratio of the Smith Chart.
vlimit::Float32 = 1.0 Radial limit of the Smith Chart.
xautolimitmargin::Tuple{Float64, Float64} = (0.05, 0.05) Relative margins added to the autolimits in x direction.
yautolimitmargin::Tuple{Float64, Float64} = (0.05, 0.05) Relative margins added to the autolimits in y direction.

Title and Subtitle

title = "" The title of the plot.
titlegap::Float32 = 4.0 The gap between the title and the top of the axis.
titlealign = :center The alignment of the title (:center, :left, or :right).
titlesize::Float32 = 16.0 The fontsize of the title.
titlefont = :bold The font of the title.
titlecolor = :black The color of the title.
titlevisible::Bool = true Controls if the title is visible.
subtitle = "" The content of the axis subtitle.
subtitlefont = :regular The font family of the subtitle.
subtitlesize::Float64 = 16.0 The subtitle's font size.
subtitlegap::Float64 = 0 The gap between subtitle and title.
subtitlevisible::Bool = true Controls if the subtitle is visible.
subtitlecolor::RGBAf = :black The color of the subtitle.
subtitlelineheight::Float64 = 1 The axis subtitle line height multiplier.

Spine Settings

spinez::Float32 = 9000 Sets the z value of the exterior circumference. To place the grid above plots set a value > 1.
spinecolor = :black Color of the exterior circumference.
spinewidth::Float32 = 2.2 Linewidth of the exterior circumference.
spinehorizontalwidth::Float32 = 1.7 Linewidth of the horizontal line.
spinestyle Linestyle of the exterior circumference.
spinevisible::Bool = true Controls if the exterior circumference is visible.

Grid Settings

General Grid

gridcolor = nothing Controls the color of ALL the grid. This has preference over other color keywords.
zgridcolor = nothing Controls the color of Z smith chart grid. This has preference over rgridcolor and xgridcolor when is not equal to nothing.
ygridcolor = nothing Controls the color of Y smith chart grid. This has preference over bgridcolor and ggridcolor when is not equal to nothing.
splitgrid = (1, 1, 3) Controls the number of times the grid is split for each zoom level.

Resistance Grid

rvals::Vector{Float64} = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 20.0] Resistance grid positions.
rgridz::Float32 = -50 Sets the z value of the Resistance arcs grid.
rgridcolor = :black Color of the Resistance grid.
rgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Resistance grid.
rgridstyle Linestyle of the Resistance grid.
rgridvisible::Bool = true Controls if the Resistance grid is visible.
rsubgridstyle = :dash Resistance subgrid style.
rsubgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Resistance subgrid.
rsubgridcolor = :black Color of the Resistance subgrid.

Reactance Grid

xvals::Vector{Float64} = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 20.0] Reactance grid positions.
xgridz::Float32 = -50 Sets the z value of the Reactance arcs grid.
xgridcolor = :black Color of the Reactance grid.
xgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Reactance grid.
xgridstyle Linestyle of the Reactance grid.
xgridvisible::Bool = true Controls if the Reactance grid is visible.
xsubgridstyle = :dash Reactance subgrid style.
xsubgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Reactance subgrid.
xsubgridcolor = :black Color of the Reactance subgrid.

Conductance Grid

gvals::Vector{Float64} = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 20.0] Conductance grid positions.
ggridz::Float32 = -50 Sets the z value of the Conductance arcs grid.
ggridcolor = :black Color of the Conductance grid.
ggridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Conductance grid.
ggridstyle Linestyle of the Conductance grid.
ggridvisible::Bool = true Controls if the Conductance grid is visible.
gsubgridstyle = :dash Conductance subgrid style.
gsubgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Conductance subgrid.
gsubgridcolor = :black Color of the Conductance subgrid.

Susceptance Grid

bvals::Vector{Float64} = [0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 20.0] Susceptance grid positions.
bgridz::Float32 = -50 Sets the Susceptance value of the arcs grid.
bgridcolor = :black Color of the Susceptance grid.
bgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Susceptance grid.
bgridstyle Linestyle of the Susceptance grid.
bgridvisible::Bool = true Controls if the Susceptance grid is visible.
bsubgridstyle = :dash Susceptance subgrid style.
bsubgridwidth::Float32 = 0.7 Linewidth of the Susceptance subgrid.
bsubgridcolor = :black Color of the Susceptance subgrid.

Tick Settings

tickalign = (:center, :center) Align of the R ticks
tickbox::Bool = true Controls if we draw a box behind the text

Reactance Ticks

xtickvisible::Bool = true Controls if the exterior circunference ticks are visible
xtickformat = Makie.automatic The formatter for the exterior ticks.
xticklabelsize::Float32 = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelsize), inherit(scene, :fontsize, 16)) The fontsize of the exterior tick labels.
xticklabelfont = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :yticklabelfont), inherit(scene, :font, Makie.defaultfont())) The font of the exterior tick labels.
xticklabelcolor = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :yticklabelcolor), inherit(scene, :textcolor, :black)) The color of the exterior tick labels.
xticklabelpad::Float32 = 4.5f0 Padding of the exterior ticks label.
xticklabelstrokewidth::Float32 = 0.0 The width of the outline of exterior ticks. Setting this to 0 will remove the outline.
xticklabelstrokecolor = automatic The color of the outline of exterior ticks. By default this uses the background color.

Resistance Ticks

rtickformat = Makie.automatic The formatter for the r ticks
rticklabelsize::Float32 = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :yticklabelsize), inherit(scene, :fontsize, 16)) The fontsize of the RESISTANCE tick labels.
rticklabelfont = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelfont), inherit(scene, :font, Makie.defaultfont())) The font of the r tick labels.
rticklabelcolor = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelcolor), inherit(scene, :textcolor, :black)) The color of the r tick labels.
rticklabelstrokewidth::Float32 = 0.0 The width of the outline of r ticks. Setting this to 0 will remove the outline.
rticklabelstrokecolor = automatic The color of the outline of r ticks. By default this uses the background color.
rticklabelpad::Float32 = 4f0 Padding of the r ticks label.
rtickvisible::Bool = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelsvisible), true) Controls if the r ticks are visible.
rtickangle::Float32 = 0.0 The angle in radians along which the r ticks are printed.

Susceptance Ticks

btickvisible::Bool = true Controls if the exterior circunference ticks are visible
btickformat = Makie.automatic The formatter for the exterior ticks.
bticklabelsize::Float32 = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelsize), inherit(scene, :fontsize, 16)) The fontsize of the exterior tick labels.
bticklabelfont = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :yticklabelfont), inherit(scene, :font, Makie.defaultfont())) The font of the exterior tick labels.
bticklabelcolor = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :yticklabelcolor), inherit(scene, :textcolor, :black)) The color of the exterior tick labels.
bticklabelpad::Float32 = 4f0 Padding of the exterior ticks label.
bticklabelstrokewidth::Float32 = 0.0 The width of the outline of exterior ticks. Setting this to 0 will remove the outline.
bticklabelstrokecolor = automatic The color of the outline of exterior ticks. By default this uses the background color.

Conductance Ticks

gtickformat = Makie.automatic The formatter for the Conductance ticks.
gticklabelsize::Float32 = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :yticklabelsize), inherit(scene, :fontsize, 16)) The fontsize of the Conductance btick labels.
gticklabelfont = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelfont), inherit(scene, :font, Makie.defaultfont())) The font of the Conductance tick labels.
gticklabelcolor = inherit(scene, (:Axis, :xticklabelcolor), inherit(scene, :textcolor, :black)) The color of the Conductance tick labels.
gticklabelstrokewidth::Float32 = 0.0 The width of the outline of Conductance ticks. Setting this to 0 will remove the outline.
gticklabelstrokecolor = automatic The color of the outline of Conductance ticks. By default this uses the background color.
gticklabelpad::Float32 = 4f0 Padding of the Conductance ticks label.
gtickvisible::Bool = true Controls if the Conductance ticks are visible.
gtickangle::Float32 = 0.0 The angle in radians along which the Conductance ticks are printed.

Example

using SmithChart
using CairoMakie

fig = Figure(size = (800, 600))
sc = SmithAxis(fig[1, 1], cutgrid = true)
r = 0.6 .+ 0.15 * cis.(range(0, 2π; length = 300))
smithplot!(sc, r; color = :dodgerblue, linewidth = 2)
fig