LC Face Data Format

The face data format was introduced into LC version 2.8 as the output of the far field sweep grid face data option. Unlike the other far field sweep data options, this option produces two-dimensional plots, and requires a different file format.

The face data format is based on the LCPlot data format already used by LC for one-dimensional plots. The file consists of a number of data segments, each providing the data for one type of data from one grid face. Each segment begins with the same three lines as the LCPlot data format:

Title line
Independent variable (X-Axis) description
Dependent variable (Y-Axis) description

Title Header Line

For far field grid face data, the title line has a fixed format:

Grid Face facename

where facename is one of:

-X -Y -Z +X +Y +Z

Independent Variable Header Line

The independent variable description format is:

Frequency[frequency] (HERTZ)

where frequency is the frequency of interest.

Dependent Variable Header Line

The dependent variable description format is:

field[component] (units)

where field is one of:

Ex Ey Ez Hx Hy Hz

component is one of:

Magnitude Phase Real Imag

and units is one of:

V/M A/M RADIANS

Plane Geometry Header Line

In the LCPlot format, the fourth line is the number of data points in the X-Y plot. Likewise, in the face data format, the fourth line provides information about the size of the data which follows, but it has a more complicated format. Each parameter given below consists of a keyword=value pair.

PLANE dim1 dim2 coord1 min1 min2 max1 max2

where

dim1 dim2	The plane dimensions. The keyword can be one of: Xsize Ysize Zsize
coord1	The constant coordinate of the plane. The keyword can be one of: X Y Z
min1 min2	The minimum coordinates of the plane. The keyword can be one of: Xmin Ymin Zmin
max1 max2	The maximum coordinates of the plane. The keyword can be one of: Xmax Ymax Zmax

Header Lines Example

An example of the header lines is:

Grid Face +X
Frequency[3e+09] (HERTZ)
Ey[magnitude] (V/M)
PLANE Ysize=24  Zsize=25  X=35 Ymin=11 Zmin=11 Ymax=34 Zmax=35

In this case, the face is a plane at coordinate X=35, extending from (Y=11,Z=11) to (Y=34,Z=35), and containing 24x25 (600) data values.

Data Lines

The data values follow the fourth header line, one value per line. After the final data value for the plane, another plane may follow, starting with its own header.