S-plane


In mathematics and engineering, the s-plane is the complex plane on which Laplace transforms are graphed. It is a mathematical domain where, instead of viewing processes in the time domain modeled with time-based functions, they are viewed as equations in the frequency domain. It is used as a graphical analysis tool in engineering and physics.
A real function in time is translated into the s-plane by taking the integral of the function multiplied by from to where s is a complex number with the form.
This transformation from the t-domain into the s-domain is known as a Laplace transform and the function is called the Laplace transform of .
One way to understand what this equation is doing is to remember how Fourier analysis works. In Fourier analysis, harmonic sine and cosine waves are multiplied into the signal, and the resultant integration provides indication of a signal present at that frequency. The Laplace transform does the same thing, but more generally. The not only captures the frequency response via its imaginary component, but also decay effects via its real component. For instance, a damped sine wave can be modeled correctly using Laplace transforms.
A function in the s-plane can be translated back into a function of time using the inverse Laplace transform
where the real number is chosen so the integration path is within the region of convergence of. However rather than use this complicated integral, most functions of interest are translated using tables of Laplace transform pairs, and the Cauchy residue theorem.
Analysing the complex roots of an s-plane equation and plotting them on an Argand diagram can reveal information about the frequency response and stability of a real time system. This process is called root locus analysis.