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Review of Clayton R. Paul Studies on

Multiconductor Transmission Lines
ARTICLE in IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY AUGUST 2013
Impact Factor: 1.3 DOI: 10.1109/TEMC.2013.2265038

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3 AUTHORS:
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Antonio Orlandi

Universit degli Studi dell'Aquila

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Sergio Amedeo Pignari

Politecnico di Milano
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Retrieved on: 03 October 2015

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 55, NO. 4, AUGUST 2013

639

Review of Clayton R. Paul Studies on

Multiconductor Transmission Lines
Giulio Antonini, Senior Member, IEEE, Antonio Orlandi, Fellow, IEEE, and Sergio A. Pignari, Fellow, IEEE

AbstractThis paper describes the main scientific contributions

of the Prof. C. R. Paul on multiconductor transmission lines in
frequency and time domains. Some innovative contributions are
also presented stemming from Prof. Pauls work.
Index TermsFrequency-domain analysis, multiconductor
transmission lines (MTLs), time-domain analysis.

I. INTRODUCTION
HE use of parallel conductors to guide electrical signals
from one point to another has a long history dating back
to the early days of the telegraph [1][11]. The mathematical
model of such a system, widely known as transmission line (TL)
model, has been studied and used in a large variety of fields of
electrical engineering, ranging from the transmission of electric
power to the propagation of undesired electromagnetic effects
such as crosstalk in high-density high-speed electronic systems.
Prof. C. R. Paul had the vision to develop a systematic approach and a unitary view of the TL model and to its generalization, the multiconductor transmission line (MTL) model [12].
Looking back at his scientific and didactic career, it is clear
that the logical and well thought-out form of his concepts, since
the beginning, has made the readers learning process much
easier [13].
Starting from the general properties of the transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode of propagation, he derived the TL equations using several approaches that show his mastery of integral
equation techniques, of matrix algebra, and of the properties
of the linear and nonlinear systems applied to electromagnetic
theory [14]. His derivation makes easy an objective classification of MTLs based on the medium in which they are placed
along with the restrictions on the use of the TEM model [15].
He provided the derivation of the MTL equations along with
the general properties of the per-unit-length (p.u.l.) parameters
in those equations [16], [17]. He discussed the derivation of
the p.u.l. parameters of inductance, capacitance, resistance, and
conductance for MTL [18], [19]. His approach was either analytic (when the problem allows a closed-form solution) or based

on numerical methods for the determination of these important

p.u.l. parameters [20]. The solution of the MTL equations has
been extensively studied by Prof. Paul in the frequency and time
domains. He provides useful methods for the time-domain analysis of a linear MTL having linear terminations by computing
the frequency-domain transfer function, decomposing the periodic or nonperiodic input signal into its Fourier spectral components, passing those through the system, and recombining in
time at the output. This allows a straightforward incorporation
of frequency-dependent losses of the conductors and the surrounding medium. An added value of the research activities of
Prof. Paul is his extensive discussion of methods for achieving
signal integrity in high-speed digital interconnects taking into
account the frequency-dependent losses. His detailed discussions of recursive convolution, model order reduction methods
such as the generalized method of characteristics, Pade methods, asymptotic waveform expansion, complex frequency hopping, and vector fitting when applied to MTLs problems give
a significant contribution to the understanding of the physical
phenomena [21][23]. His comprehensive investigation of the
physical phenomena governing crosstalk, as well as his rigorous
and detailed solution of the field-to-wire coupling problem in
MTLs, both in frequency and time domains, represent a contribution of paramount importance that has fostered also new
results and developments.
An important contribution has been given by Paul on the
analysis of interconnected multiconductor TL networks such as
branched cables [24][26].
The structure of this paper is the following: In Section II,
we give a review of Pauls approach to MTLs in the frequency
domain. Section III contains the fundamentals of Pauls method
for time-domain analysis. Pauls approach has also inspired a
new technique, known as the Greens function based approach
for MTLs, that also allows a time-domain solution for voltages
and currents along a TL. The field-to-wire coupling problem is
described in Section IV along with the contribution by Paul to
the analysis of twisted wire pairs. Finally, some conclusions are
drawn in Section V.
II. FREQUENCY-DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF MTLS

Manuscript received February 3, 2013; revised May 1, 2013; accepted May

2, 2013. Date of publication June 4, 2013; date of current version July 22, 2013.
G. Antonini and A. Orlandi are with the UAq Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of
LAquila, 67100 LAquila, Italy (e-mail: giulio.antonini@univaq.it; antonio.
orlandi@univaq.it).
S. A. Pignari is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Politecnico
di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy (e-mail: sergio.pignari@polimi.it).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TEMC.2013.2265038

To begin our discussion, it is appropriate to review the TL

equations for a multiconductor line consisting of n + 1 conductors of total length L. The general case of an MTL is shown in
Fig. 1. The n + 1 conductors are parallel to each other and the
z-axis. Terminal networks at the source (at z = 0) and at the
load (at z = L) are illustrated as generalized Thevenin equivalent representations that contain lumped excitation sources. An

0018-9375/$31.00 2013 IEEE

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 55, NO. 4, AUGUST 2013

Fig. 2.
Fig. 1.

Per-unit-length equivalent circuit.

MTL with terminations and an incident field.

become [12]
arbitrary incident field, such that generated by a nearby lightning
strike or a radar pulse, is also included as a possible excitation
source. The MTL equations are obtained by assuming the TEM
mode of propagation of the fields, associated with the induced
voltage and currents on the line, where the electric and magnetic
field vectors lie in the transverse xy plane that is perpendicular
to the lines z-axis. In other words, there are no components of
the electric and magnetic fields that are directed along the lines
z-axis.
Under this assumption of a TEM field structure, the line voltages can be uniquely defined as the line integral in the transverse
plane of the transverse electric field intensity vector Et from one
conductor to the other [12] as

E t (x, y, z) dl
(1)
Vi (z, t) =
c i (x,y )

where ci (x, y) is a contour or path in the transverse xy plane

from the reference or zeroth conductor to the ith conductor. The
line currents can be defined as the line integral of the transverse
magnetic field intensity vector H t in the transverse plane around
each conductor [2], [12]

H t (x, y, z) dl
(2)
Ii (z, t) =
c i (x,y )

where ci (x, y) is a closed contour in the transverse xy plane encircling the ith conductor. Other higher order non-TEM mode
field structures can exist if the line cross section is electrically
large, i.e., a significant portion of a wavelength [12]. Hence,
the following TL model requires the existence of only the
TEM mode, and therefore, the cross-sectional dimensions of
the line such as wire separations must be electrically small, i.e.,
much less than a wavelength, = v/f [12]. Under the TEM assumption, a z length of the line is characterized by the p.u.l.
equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 2 in which the external voltage
and current generators are not considered. The MTL equations

V (z, t) = RI(z, t) L I(z, t)

z
t

I(z, t) = GV (z, t) C
V (z, t).
z
t

(3a)
(3b)

The n 1 vectors V and I contain the n line voltages as

[V (z, t)]i = Vi (z, t) and the n line currents as [I(z, t)]i =
Ii (z, t), where the entry in the ith row of a vector V is denoted
as [V ]i and t denotes time. The n line voltages are with respect
to the (arbitrarily chosen) reference conductor that is denoted as
the zeroth conductor. The entries in the p.u.l. resistance matrix
R, p.u.l. conductance matrix G, p.u.l. inductance matrix L, and
p.u.l. capacitance matrix C are given by [12].
We assume the sinusoidal steady-state or phasor solution
where the excitation is a single-frequency sinusoid and has been
applied for a sufficiently long time that the line is in steady state.
The MTL equations in frequency domain are

jLI(z)

V (z) = RI(z)
(4)
z

I (z) = GV (z) jC V (z)
(5)
z
where the n n p.u.l. impedance and admittance matrices are
= R + jL
Z

(6a)

Y = G + jC.

(6b)

denotes the
Here, the carat over a quantity, e.g., V and I,
complex-valued frequency-domain phasor quantities, and =
2f.
When considering lossy lines in inhomogeneous medium surrounding the conductors, the solution of the MTL (3) becomes
challenging when frequency-dependent effects, like the skineffect and polarization losses in dielectrics, need to be modeled.
Conductor losses at higher
frequencies are functions of the
square root of frequency f due to the skin effect [12].
Frequency-dependent losses are easily represented in the frequency domain. The frequency-domain MTL equations in (6)

ANTONINI et al.: REVIEW OF CLAYTON R. PAUL STUDIES ON MULTICONDUCTOR TRANSMISSION LINES

become

641

change of variables (12), the MTL equations become

int (f ) I(z)
jLI(z)

V (z) = Z
z

(f ) V (z) j C(f
)V (z).
I (z) = G
z

(7a)

d2

V m = T1
V ZY T V V m
dz 2

(13a)

(7b)

d2

I m = T1
I Y ZT I Im .
dz 2

(13b)

It is well known that, as frequency increases, the currents

concentrate to the outside of the conductors and are eventually
located primarily in a thickness on the order of a skin depth
1
.
=
f

(8)

The internal conductor impedance can be, in general, modeled

as
int (f ) = R (f ) + jLint (f ) .
Z

(9)

For isolated circular conductors in

a homogeneous medium,
the resistance increasesat a rate f , while the internal inductance decreases as f . In all the other cases, of noncircular cross sections and inhomogeneous medium, numerical
techniques are needed, like the method of moments [22]. The
polarization losses of dielectrics are related to dipole moment
resonances and the corresponding losses can be described by
Y dl (f ) = G (f ) + jC (f ) .

(10)

Their solution in the frequency domain is trivial since it only

int (f ) and Y dl (f ) at each
requires computing the values Z
frequency sample and solving the equations in (7).
The solution of the MTL equations (7) in the time domain,
int (f ) and
when including frequency-dependent losses in Z

Y dl (f ), becomes more problematic because frequency-domain

products become convolution integrals which are typically timeconsuming to compute. A solution based on a recursive convolution is described in Section III.
An important contribution by Prof. Paul was in clarifying
some of the problems associated with the decoupling of the
phasor MTL equations [18]. It is well known that the secondorder phasor MTL equations read
d2
Y V (z)
V (z) = Z
dz 2

(11a)

d
I (z) .
I (z) = Y Z
dz 2

(11b)

The difficulty in the solution of (11) is related to the fact that,

Y and Y Z
are dense, the 2n differential
because the matrices Z
equations are coupled.
In [18], Prof. Paul proposed a method of solving the
frequency-domain MTL equations which is based on a decoupling technique using a change of variables. New modal quantities are defined so that
V = TV V m

(12a)

I = TI Im

(12b)

where TV and TI are n n matrices. The n 1 vectors V m

and Im are the mode voltages and currents. Assuming the

Decoupling (13) requires identifying matrices TV and TI

such that

1
T1
2
V ZY T V = T I Y ZT I =

(14)

where 2 is an n n diagonal matrix containing the eigenvalues

Y and Y Z,
which, although different, share the
of matrices Z
same eigenvalues. The resulting equations in (13) are then decoupled and can be easily solved in the form of n two-conductor
lines. The solutions are
Vm i (z) = Vm+i e i z + Vmi e i z , i = 1, . . . , n
(15)
Im i (z) = I+ e i z + I e i z , i = 1, . . . , n
mi

mi

where Vm+i , Vmi , Im

i , and Im i are constants to be determined
with the boundary conditions. The superscript + in Vm+i and
+
Im
i denotes forward-traveling waves, i.e., voltage and current
waves traveling in the +z-direction, whereas the superscript

in Vmi and Im
i denotes backward-traveling waves, i.e., waves
traveling in the z-direction. The physical voltage and current
spatial distribution can be recovered through (12) as



z
z

(16a)
e
+
V
e
V (z) = TV V +
m
m



z
z
I (z) = TI I+
.
(16b)
+ I
me
me

Actually, of the 4n expressions only 2n are really independent. Indeed, the voltage spatial distribution can be recovered
from the current distribution through the second Telegraphers
+

equation. The remaining 2n constants Im

i and Im i can be identified by enforcing the terminal constraints. The generalized
Thevenin equivalent of terminations reads
S I (0)
V (0) = V S Z

(17a)

L I (L) .
V (L) = V L + Z

(17b)

Substituting (17) into the MTL equations yields 2n equations

in 2n unknowns I+
m and I m .
III. TIME-DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF MTLS
One of the nonideal aspects that was negligible in the past
in slower speed systems is the skin-effect impedance of the
interconnect conductors of the system. This is manifested as an
increase in the resistance of those conductors as the square root
of frequency as the current concentrates closer to the conductor
surfaces. In addition, a portion of the magnetic flux internal to
the conductors gives rise to an internal inductance that decreases
as the square root of frequency. The effective conductivity of the
dielectric surrounding the conductors also exhibits a frequency
dependence, which is primarily due to polarization loss. This
adds another loss factor which, depending on the dielectric and
the frequency range, may or may not be negligible. A large

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 55, NO. 4, AUGUST 2013

class of materials have loss tangents that are several orders of

magnitude less than unity up to the lower gigahertz range.
In these cases, the dielectric loss produces minor effects on
the waveshape of the signals on the line. Hence, the primary
loss mechanism is through the resistance of the conductors.
Prof. Paul contributed to both the time-domain modeling of
conductor and polarization dielectric losses.

as
Zint (s) I (z, s) Zint (t) I (z, t) .
Thus, substituting the approximation into (20) gives


1
Zint (s) I (z, s) = AI (z, s) + B sI (z, s)
s


A. Skin-Effect Modeling

Zint (t) I (z, t) = AI (z, t)


 t
1
1

I (z, t ) d .
+ B

(t )
0

When conductor losses need to accurately model the skineffect, the MTL equations in the Laplace domain are given by

V (z, s) = Z int (z, s) I(z, s) sLI(z, s) (18a)

z

I (z, s) = GV (z, s) sCV (z, s).

(18b)
z
The internal impedance contains both resistance and internal
inductance (due to the magnetic flux internal to the conductors)
as
Z int (s) = R (s) + sLint (s) .

(19)

The impedances of conductors are, in general, nonlinear functions of frequency. Conductors of a circularcylindrical cross
section (wires) can be characterized exactly in the frequency
domain if a symmetric current distribution over the cross section is assumed, i.e., proximity effects of nearby conductors
are ignored [12]. At low frequencies, the current is uniformly
distributed over the conductor cross section. This gives rise to
a dc p.u.l. resistance rdc and a portion of the p.u.l. inductance
due to magnetic flux internal to the conductor, li,dc . At higher
frequencies, the current crowds to the conductor surface and
asymptotically approaches a value equivalent to the current being uniformly distributed over an annulus at the surface of thickness equal to a skin depth, = 1f . Thus, the high-frequency

resistance
increases as f and the internal inductance decreases
as 1/ f . A commonly used approximation of the skin-effect

f frequency dependence of the conductor internal impedance

is

Z int (s) = A + B s.
(20)
The corresponding frequency-domain result is obtained by
substituting s j giving


Z int (j) = A + B j = A + B f (1 + j) . (21)
Hence, we may interpret this approximation as

1
A = Rdc , B f = Rhf , Li,hf = B.
2 f

(24)

(22)

The approximation of the conductor internal impedance given

in (20) provides for a simple
time-domain result. This is due to
the fact that the reciprocal of s has a simple inverse transform
in the time domain which is
1
1 1
.
(23)
s
t
The product of the internal impedance and the current in the
MTL equations translates, in the time domain, to a convolution

(25)

In order to discretize these TL equations, we divide the line

axis into NDZ sections each of length z. Similarly, the total
solution time is subdivided into NDT segments of length t.
The convolution in (25) is approximated in the following
manner where the function F (t) (which represents the derivative of the line current in the MTL equations) is approximated
as constant over the t segments:
  (n +1) t
 t
1
1
F (t ) d
F [(n + 1) t ] d
=

0
0
 (m +1) t
n

1
n +1m

d
F
=

mt
m =0
=

n


F n +1m Z0 (m)

(26)

m =0

where


(m +1)

Z0 (m) =
m

1
d.

(27)

Discretizing the derivatives in the MTL equations using

second-order central differences and substituting (26), after
some manipulation, gives


z
z
z
n +3/2
Z0 (0) B Ik
L+
A+
t
2
t


z
z
z
n +1/2
Z0 (0) B Ik
L
A+
=
t
2
t
n


z
n +3/2m
n +1/2m

Z0 (m) Ik
Ik
B
t m =1

 n +1
(28a)
Vk +1 Vkn +1


t 1 n +1/2
n +1/2
Vkn +1 = Vkn
Ik
.
(28b)
C
Ik 1
z
These are then solved in a leap frog fashion.
Unfortunately, the convolution in (28) requires storage of
all past values of the currents. Pronys method can be used to
approximate Z0 (m) as


(m +1)

Z0 (m) =
m


1
ai eb i m .
d
=

i=1
p

(29)

ANTONINI et al.: REVIEW OF CLAYTON R. PAUL STUDIES ON MULTICONDUCTOR TRANSMISSION LINES

Substituting (29) into (28a) yields



z
z
n +3/2
1 z
Z0 (0) B
L
A+
Ik
=F
t
2
t
n +1/2

Ik

p

z
F 1 B

ni
t
i=1

for k = 1, . . . , N DZ, where


1
z
z
z
1
Z0 (0) B
L+
A+
F =
t
2
t

n +1/2
n 1/2
+ eb i ni 1
Ik
ni = ai eb i Ik

(30)

= GV (z, 0, s) (Z (s) I S (0, s))

(31a)
(31b)

V1 (t) = VS (t) RS IS (t)

(32a)

VN D Z +1 (t) = VL (t) RL IL (t)

(32b)

where the source and load constraints may be of any general

form
IS (t) = f [V1 (t)]

(33a)

IL (t) = f [VN D Z +1 (t)] .

(33b)

B. Polarization Dielectric Losses

In the presence of a sinusoidally varying field, the permanent dipoles of a dielectric material tend to rotate to align with
the changing directions of the field. As the frequency of the
applied field increases, there is a tendency for these dipoles to
lag behind the changes in direction of the sinusoidal field. This
loss phenomenon, strictly due to the bounded charges, is taken
into account by ascribing a complex permittivity () to the
material and this causes the p.u.l. conductance and capacitance
matrices to be frequency dependent, as in (10)
(34)

A rational macromodel of Y dl (f ) in the Laplace variable

can be obtained by means of the vector fitting algorithm [23].
Then, the Laplace inverse transform is computed giving
Y dl (t) =

Np


Rn ep n t + d (t)

identifying Greens function of the problem at hand. Indeed, the

general solution for the voltage at abscissa z of the MTL due to
currents I S (z  , s) is obtained in [30] and briefly reported here
for completeness:
 L
V (z, s) =
GV (z, z  , s) (Z (s) I S (z  , s))dz 
0

and p denotes the number of terms in the Prony expansion.

The expansion coefficients ai and bi are given in [21]. The ni
vectors are updated via the recursion relationship in (31b) before
evaluating (31a) so that only currents at the previous time step
need be retained.
Equations (28b) and (30) are completed with terminal conditions. For illustration, we will assume resistive terminations in
the form of generalized Thevenin equivalents, such as

Y dl (f ) = G (f ) + jC (f ) .

643

(35)

n =1

where (t) is the Diracs delta function.

C. Greens Function-Based Approach
As seen above, Prof. Paul approached the time-domain analysis of MTLs by discretizing the line along the length and using
the leap-frog scheme to solve the MTL equations. A possible
alternative is represented by using global basis functions and

+ GV (z, L, s) (Z (s) I S (L, s))

(36)

where GV (z, z  , s) is the dyadic Greens function for the MTL

problem which reads
GV (z, z  ) =

n (s)A2n n (z) n (z  )

(37)

n =0

with
(38)
2 (s) = Z (s) Y (s)


1
 n 2
n (s) = 2 (s) +
U
(39)
L
 n 
z
(40)
n (z) = cos
L


and A0 = 1/L, An = 2/L, n = 1, . . . , .
Finally, the spectral representation of the impedance matrix

Z(s)
is generated as

 
 


V (0, s)
Z
I (0, s)
Z
= 11 12
(41)
V (L, s)
I (L, s)
Z 21 Z 22
where
22 =
11 = Z
Z




2 (s) +

n =0

12 = Z
21 =
Z




n =0

2 (s) +

 n 2
L
 n 2
L

1
U
1
U

A2n Z (s)

(42a)

(1)n A2n Z (s).

(42b)

Equations in (42) represent the spectral representation of the

impedance matrix form [30].
1) MTLs With Frequency-Independent Per-Unit-Length Parameters: The poles of the MTL can be evaluated as the zeros
of the function of the complex variable s at the denominator of
Greens function (37):

 n 2 
U =0
(43)
Pn (s) = det 2 (s) +
L
where 2 (s) = Z (s) Y (s) = (R + sL) (G + sC).
The polynomial structure of 2 (s) leads to a rational form of
each term of Greens function (37) and, thus, of the impedance
matrix entries (42).
2) MTLs With Frequency-Dependent Per-Unit-Length Parameters: When frequency-dependent phenomena, such as skin
effect, proximity effect, and dielectric polarization losses, are
taken into account, p.u.l. parameters are computed at discrete frequency samples sk = jk , k = 2fk , k = 1, . . . , Nf ,
by means of 2-D solvers [22]. In order to easily incorporate

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 55, NO. 4, AUGUST 2013

frequency-dependent p.u.l. parameters, the p.u.l. longitudinal

impedance Z (sk ) and transversal admittance Y (sk ) need to
be written in a rational form of the complex variable s. This
can be efficiently obtained through the use of the vector fitting
technique [23] which allows us to estimate poles and residues of
the p.u.l. longitudinal impedance and transversal admittance as

solving low order algebraic (43), for each mode independently

from the others, while Pade look for all of them at the same time.
The literature devoted to the analysis of TLs is huge [12].
Among the others, for completeness, it deserves to be mentioned
the method of characteristics which was developed first for lossless lines [12] and then generalized to lossy lines [39][45].

PZ

RZ
Z (s) = R0 + sL0 +
s
pZ
q =1

IV. FIELD-TO-WIRE COUPLING

Y (s) = G0 + sC 0 +

PY

q =1

RY
s pY

(44a)

(44b)

where pZ and pY represent the number of poles used in the

rational approximation. A reduced number of poles (13) is
ordinarily sufficient to capture the frequency behavior of Z(s)
and Y (s).
The rational polynomial form of (44) allows a quite straightfoward computation of roots of (43) also in the case of
frequency-dependent p.u.l. parameters.
Finally, by properly selecting the dominant poles, the
impedance
matrix Z (s) can be rewritten in a pole/residue form
np
Rk
as Z(s) = k =1
sp k , where np is the number of selected
poles. The rational representation of Z (s) is well suited for
both circuit synthesis [28] and realization [29]. The equivalent
circuit can be analyzed by means of SPICE-like solvers [27];
the state-space equivalent form can be written as
x (t) = Ax (t) + Bi (t)

(45a)

v (t) = Cx (t) + Di (t)

(45b)

where A
pp , B
pq , C
q p , D
q q , p is the
number of states, and q is the number of ports. In the case under
analysis, the impedance matrix representation is used, and thus,
the input and output vectors correspond to port currents i (t) and
port voltages v (t) respectively; such matrices can be directly
obtained by the knowledge of poles and residues according to
standard realization techniques [28].
Greens function approach has also allowed development of
the sensitivity analysis of MTLs in presence of nonlinear terminations in both the time [31] and frequency domains [32] as well
as the plane-wave-coupling to multiconductor transmission lines
[33]. It has been adopted to generate parametric macromodels
of lossy and dispersive MTLs and their sensitivity [34], [36],
and to obtain a macromodel of nonuniform TLs [35].
Another method which allows us to identify a rational model
of the impulse response of a linear system and, in particular,
of a TL, is the Pade method. Such a technique tries to match
the measured or simulated frequency-domain data to a transfer
function H (s) in a rational form [37]. An important problem
with the Pade method is the expansion of H (s) about s = 0
to generate its moments. The accuracy of the obtained H (s)
representation decreases as we go away further from s = 0 in
the s = + j plane. Other expansion points can be added to
improve the accuracy [38]. It is to be pointed out that, at least for
the case of TL, the method based on Greens function permits to
compute the poles more carefully because they are identified by

Field-to-wire coupling is another physical phenomenon of

great importance in electromagnetic compatibility which was
deeply investigated by C. Paul. In this research area, beyond the
well-known analytical solution of the MTL equations with external sources, modeling the effect of plane-wave incident field
illumination [46], he concentrated on crosstalk, a more complex
near-field coupling phenomenon which can strongly degrade the
performance of signal transmission on wired interconnections.
The results he obtained on this subject are of paramount importance in terms of both physical interpretation of the coupling
phenomenon and development of equivalent circuit models.
Among the many contributions Prof. Paul provided, understanding and prediction of crosstalk in twisted-wire pairs
(TWPs) represents a milestone of his research work [47], [48].
Concerning these wiring structures, he mainly focused on
simplified circuit modeling and interpretation of crosstalk
and related effects. However, he also addressed numerical
simulation (both circuit and electromagnetic) of the coupling
phenomenon and his reflections on the outcomes of these
analyses have provided fundamental hints to the scientific community for understanding the radiated immunity characteristics
of TWPs [49], [50]. In particular, the need to account for the
not parallel local geometry of the wires in a TWP in order to
obtain a physically based field-to-wire coupling description
was originally pointed out by him, and has recently allowed
prediction of the behavior of a TWP running above ground
and exposed to an external plane-wave field [51]. Particularly,
by following his line of thought, the variation of the line p.u.l.
parameter matrices can be neglected and the wiring structure
can be represented as a uniform three-conductor line, whose
p.u.l. parameters are obtained by averaging those of the original
TWP over a twisting period, i.e.,
= 1
L
2
= 1
C
2

L( )d( )

(46a)

C( )d( )

(46b)

where L( ) and C( ) are the position-dependent p.u.l.

inductance and capacitance matrices, respectively, of the original TWP with respect to ground. With these ingredients, the
Agrawal formulation of the field-to-wire coupling problem [52]
leads to the following approximate equations:


 1 ( ) l1 ( )
dVs ( )
E

+ j L I( ) = 
d
E2 ( ) l2 ( )
 
dI( )
Vs ( ) = 0
+ j C
0
d

(47a)
(47b)

ANTONINI et al.: REVIEW OF CLAYTON R. PAUL STUDIES ON MULTICONDUCTOR TRANSMISSION LINES

Fig. 3. Equivalent circuit of a TWP running above ground and exposed to an

external plane-wave field.

where Vs ( ) and I( ) are column vectors of the scattered

voltages and currents, respectively. The source term on the
right-hand side of (47a) is due to the longitudinal component of
the incident electric field along the wire paths. Such a quantity
can be obtained by the scalar product between the electric field
evaluated along the wire paths (not parallel) and unit vectors
tangent to the wires.
Solution of (46a) and (46b) and circuit interpretation of the
results leads to the equivalent circuit in Fig. 3, where the block
in the middle represents the passive part of the model [characterized in terms of chain parameter matrix (L )], whereas the
open-end voltage sources at the ports account for the effects due
to field-to-wire coupling and take the form


VS L ,1
(l)
(v )
(48a)
= VSL + VSL
VSL =
VS L ,2


VS R ,1
(l)
(v )
(48b)
VSR =
= VSR + VSR .
VS R ,2
In (48a) and (48b), the terms denoted by superscript l result
from the longitudinal component of the incident electric field
along the wire paths and are given by


 L
 1 ( ) l1 ( )
sin[0 ( L )] E
(l)
VSL =
 2 ( ) l2 ( ) d (49a)
sin(0 L )
E
0


 L
 1 ( ) l1 ( )
sin(0 ) E
(l)
VSR =
d .
(49b)


0 sin(0 L ) E2 ( ) l2 ( )
Differently, the terms denoted by superscript v are associated with the vertical component of the incident electric field at
the line ends and can be expressed as

 h+s/2
Ex (x, 0, 0)dx

(v )
0

(50a)
VSL =


hs/2
Ex (x, 0, 0)dx
0


s
Ex x, sin(L ) , Lz dx

2
0

=



hcos( L )s/2
s
Ex x, sin(L ) , Lz dx
2
0


(v )

VSR

h+cos( L )s/2

(50b)
In (46)(50), L is the length of the wires in the TWP, Lz =
pL /(2) < L is the total distance the TWP extends along the

645

longitudinal axis, is the helix rotation angle in the transverse

plane, and s is the wire separation. It is worth noting that the
aforementioned equations merely extend to TWPs the original
formulation and relevant analytical solution originally derived
by Paul for a uniform MTL illuminated by an external planewave field. In addition, this analytical approach to the prediction
of the radiated susceptibility of TWPs which, to a certain extent,
stems from the corresponding Pauls work on crosstalk, is also at
the basis of the statistical characterization of radiated immunity
in TWPs with random nonuniform twisting [53][55].
V. CONCLUSION
The significant contributions of Prof. C. R. Paul to the area
of MTLs have been briefly reviewed pointing out its distinctive rigorous derivation, systematic approach, and the readers
learning process. Some innovative techniques that follow from
his research have been outlined and briefly discussed.
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on IEEE Trans. Electromagn. Compat.

Giulio Antonini (M94SM05) received the Laurea

degree (summa cum laude) in electrical engineering
from the Universit`a degli Studi dellAquila, LAquila,
Italy, in 1994, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Rome La Sapienza,
Rome, Italy, in 1998.
Since 1998, he has been with the UAq EMC Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of LAquila, where he is currently Associate
Professor. His research interests focus on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) analysis and modeling,
and in the field of signal integrity for high-speed digital systems. He has authored or coauthored more than 170 technical papers and two book chapters.
Dr. Antonini has given keynote lectures and chaired several special sessions at international conferences. He received the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY Best Paper Award in 1997, the Technical
Achievement Award from the IEEE EMC Society for innovative contributions
to computational electromagnetic on the Partial Element Equivalent Circuit
technique for EMC applications in 2006 and the Institution of Engineering and
TechnologyScience, Measurement & Technology Best Paper Award in 2008.

ANTONINI et al.: REVIEW OF CLAYTON R. PAUL STUDIES ON MULTICONDUCTOR TRANSMISSION LINES

Antonio Orlandi (M90SM97F07) received the

Laurea degree in electrical engineering from the University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, in 1988,
and the Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering from
the University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, in 2012.
Since 1990, he has been with the Department
of Electrical Engineering, University of LAquila,
LAquila, Italy, where he is currently a Full Professor and Chair of the UAq EMC Laboratory. He
learned many things from Prof. C. R. Paul and in
particular the pleasure and the art of flying. His current research interests are in the field of numerical methods and modeling
techniques to approach signal/power integrity, and electromagnetic compatibility/electromagnetic interference issues in high-speed digital systems.

647

Sergio A. Pignari (M01SM07F12) received the

Laurea (M.S.) and Ph.D. degrees in electronic engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy, in
1988 and 1993, respectively.
From 1991 to 1998, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics, Politecnico
di Torino. In 1998, he joined Politecnico di Milano,
Milan, Italy, where he is currently a Full Professor of
Circuit Theory and Electromagnetic Compatibility
(EMC) with the EMC Group, Department of Electrical Engineering. He is the author or coauthor of more
than 120 papers published in international journals and conference proceedings.
His research activity is mainly related to aerospace, automotive, and railway
industry sectors. His research interests are in the field of EMC and include fieldto-wire coupling and crosstalk in multiwire structures, statistical techniques for
EMC, experimental procedures and setups for EMC testing.
Dr. Pignari received the IEEE EMC Society 2004 Transactions Prize Paper
Award. In 2011, he received the Technical Achievement Award from the IEEE
EMC Society. He is currently an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS
ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY. From 2007 to 2009, he served as the
Chair of the IEEE Italy Section EMC Society Chapter and is currently serving
as the IEEE EMC Society Chapter Coordinator.