Transmission line analysis is used when

The frequency of operation is high

The length of the transmission line is long
The length of the line is an appreciable
fraction of the signal wavelength


In general, a line is considered as a transmission line if its
length exceeds one sixteenth (1/16) of a wavelength.
A transmission line is a metallic conductor
system that is used to transfer electrical
energy from one point to another.

Electrical power propagates along
transmission lines in the form of TEM waves.

Signal transfer
Pulse generator
Filters and tuned circuits
Provides phase shift and time delay
Impedance matching
The velocity of a wave depends on the type
of wave and the medium of propagation.
In free space, electromagnetic waves travel
at the speed of light.



The velocity of any wave is given by


c = 299 792 458 m/s
v = f

c = 3 10
8
m/s

BALANCED LINE
Both conductors carry current; e.g. twin-lead
The current in the two conductors are equal in
magnitude but travels in opposite direction

UNBALANCED LINE
One conductor carries the signal while the other
is at a ground potential; e.g. coaxial cable

Balanced lines can be connected to
unbalanced lines and vice versa using
special transformers called BALUNS.
BALANCED LINE
Balance is defined in terms of the impedances
of the two signal conductors with respect to a
reference, which is usually "ground".
UNBALANCED LINE
An UNBALANCED input or output connects
one of its signal conductors to ground and has a
non-zero impedance at the other signal
conductor.
very popular in consumer electronics,
electronic musical instruments, and low cost
(often called "semi-pro") audio equipment.
Parallel open-wire line
Twin lead
Twisted pair
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Shielded pair
Coaxial lines
Balanced/unbalanced lines
characterized by high
radiation losses and is
susceptible to noise

conductor distance is
between 2 to 6 in.

it is normally
operated in the
balanced mode
Also known as the ribbon cable
The typical conductor separation is 5/16 inch.
Commonly used insulators are Teflon and PE.
Common applications include TV and antennas.
Typical input impedance is 300 ohms.
Two insulated wires are twisted to form a
flexible line without the use of spacers.
It is not used for high frequencies.
The conductors are twisted together to
reduce interference.
computer networking cable capable of
handling a 100 MHz bandwidth
Most often used in LANs
Transmits data up to 100 Mbps for a length
of 100 m
consists of four color-coded pairs of 22 or 24
gauge wires terminated with an RJ-45
connector
consists of parallel conductors separated
and surrounded by a solid dielectric
The copper braid isolates the inner
conductor from interference and noise.
The conductors
are balanced to
ground.
consists of two concentric conductors
separated by a dielectric
outer conductor copper or aluminum tube
or wire braid
inner conductor wire or small tube
The dielectric may be air, plastic or ceramic
Coaxial cables are used extensively for high
frequency applications
Limited to unbalanced applications
Rigid or air-filled coaxial line
Flexible or solid coaxial line
Both are relatively immune to external radiation and can
propagate at higher frequencies than parallel wire line.
The amount of loss in the signal strength
as it propagates throughout a
transmission line is called

A. Return loss
B. SWR
C. Attenuation
D. Fading
The unwanted coupling caused by
overlapping electric and magnetic fields

A. Cross talk
B. EMI
C. Coupling loss
D. Noise
A measure of the ratio of power
transmitted into a cable to the amount of
power returned or reflected.

A. Reflection coefficient
B. SWR
C. attenuation
D. Return loss
The characteristics of a transmission line are
determined by

Electrical properties
Conductivity of the conductor
Dielectric constant of the insulator

Physical properties
Wire diameter
Conductor separation
Primary Electrical Constants
Series dc resistance (R) Shunt capacitance (C)
Series inductance (L) Shunt conductance (G)
These are the secondary constants of a
transmission line which are determined from
primary constants.

Characteristic impedance, Z
0
also called surge impedance
Propagation constant,
It expresses the attenuation and the phase
shift per unit length of a transmission line.
It is the ratio of the voltage to current at any
point in an infinitely long transmission line.





the input impedance of a finite transmission
line whose terminals are shorted.
E
Z
I
=
0
If the line is of infinite length, then
there would be no reflection and
the impedance is purely resistive.
In terms of physical
characteristics
log
r
s
Z
d

=
0
276 2
ln
r
s
Z
d

=
0
120 2
s
d

r
Z = R + jL

Y = G + jC

R jL
Z
G jC
+
=
+
0
Lossy Line
R
Z
G
=
0
Lossless Line
L
Z
C
=
0
Characteristic
Impedance
ln
s
L
d
=
2
ln

C
s
d
=
2
ln

G
s
d
=
2
.
f
R
r

=
8
8 34 10
s = conductor separation
d = conductor diameter
= permeability
= permittivity
= conductivity
A transmission line has 2.5 pF of capacitance
per foot and 100 nH of inductance per foot.
Calculate its characteristic impedance.
Ans: Z
0
= 200 ohms
An open-wire line uses wire with a diameter of
2 mm. What should the wire spacing be for an
impedance of 150 ?
Ans: 3.5 mm
In terms of physical
characteristics
log
r
D
Z
d

=
0
138
ln
r
D
Z
d

=
0
60
ln
D
L
d
=
2
ln

C
D
d
=
2
ln

G
D
d
=
2
. R f
d D

| |
= +
|
\ .
8
1 1
8 34 10
D = outer conductor dia.
d = inner conductor dia.
= permeability
= permittivity
= conductivity
ratio of the speed of an electromagnetic
wave in a medium to its speed in vacuum.
f
v
v
c
= f
r
v
c
=
1

r
= relative permittivity or dielectric constant

r
of air = 1.0006

r
of materials commonly used for translines : 1.2 2.8
the velocity at which the signal propagates
in a medium
v
LC
=
1
r
c
f

c
=
v = f
The characteristic impedance of a cable

A. Increases with length
B. Increases with frequency
C. Increases with voltage
D. None of the above
The velocity factor of a cable depends
mostly on:

A. the wire resistance
B. the dielectric constant
C. The inductance per foot
D. All of the above
If a coaxial cable uses plastic insulation with a
dielectric constant
r
= 2.6 , what is the
velocity factor for the cable?
Ans: v
f
= 0.62
If a cable has a velocity factor of 0.8, how long
would it take a signal to travel 3000 kilometers
along the cable?
Ans: t = 12.5 ms
ZY =
j = + o |
= propagation constant
= attenuation coefficient (Np/L)
= phase shift coefficient (rad/L)
1 Np = 8.686 dB
R
Z
o =
0
2
LC
v
e t
| e

= = =
2
Compared to a 300-ohm line, the loss of a
50-ohm cable carrying the same power:

A. Would be less
B. Would be more
C. Would be the same
D. Cannot be compared
A line terminated with a resistive load equal
to its characteristic impedance is called a
nonresonant line, matched line or a flat line.


All the energy travelling down the line is
absorbed by the load.
The incident current and voltage in a
matched line are always in-phase.
An infinitely long line is also nonresonant.

Z
L
= Z
0
A transmission line terminated with a load
not equal to its characteristic impedance.
Reflection occurs in a resonant line.
Reflected power is the portion of the
incident power that is not absorbed by the
load.


A shorted and open lines are both resonant
line.
P
r
P
i

There are two travelling waves in a
transmission line.
From source to load: incident waves
From the load to source: reflected waves
The interaction between the incident and
the reflected waves due to reflection in a
mismatched line creates a pattern of waves
that appears to be stationary. This is called
standing wave.
Voltage
Current
/4 /2
No phase reversal for reflected voltage
180 phase reversal for reflected current.
The voltage and current repeats /2.
The impedance is max. at the open end
Impedance inversion occurs /4
The sum of E
i
and E
r
is max. at the open
end and min. at /4 from the open end.
/4 /2
180 phase reversal for reflected voltage.
No phase reversal for reflected current
The voltage and current repeats every /2.
The impedance is min. at the shorted end.
Impedance inversion occurs /4.
The sum of I
i
and I
r
is max. at the shorted
end and min. at /4 from the shorted end.
Voltage
Current
A voltage maximum occurs

A. At the end of a shorted line
B. Quarter wavelength from the end of a
shorted line
C. Half wavelength from the end of a short line
D. Quarter wavelength from the end of an
open line



It is a vector quantity that represents the
ratio of the reflected wave to the incident
wave.




The maximum (worst case) value is 1.
The minimum (ideal condition) value is 0.

r
i
E
E
=
L
L
Z Z
Z Z

=
+
0
0
Condition Z
L
Description
open 1
total reflection w/o phase shift
short 0 1
total reflection with phase shift
matched Z
0
0
no reflection
mismatch Z
0
(0, 1)
partial reflection
A negative reflection coefficient means

A. The load is greater than the line impedance
B. The incident and reflected voltages are in
phase at the load
C. The terminal of the line is always shorted
D. None of the above



SWR is a measure of mismatch between the
load and the characteristic impedance.
max
min
i r
i r
E E E
SWR
E E E
+
= =

SWR
+
=

1
1
When the load is
purely resistive
L
L
Z Z
SWR or
Z Z
=
0
0
A cable has a VSWR of 10. If the minimum
voltage along the cable is 20 volts, what is the
maximum voltage along the cable?
Ans: v = 200 V
A lossless line has a characteristic impedance
of 50 ohms, but is terminated with a 75-ohm
resistive load. What SWR do you expect to
measure?
Ans: SWR = 1.5
If a cable has an SWR of 1.5, what will be the
absolute value of its voltage coefficient of
reflection?
Ans: = 0.2
The reflected power as a function of the
incident power is given by the equation

so that
r
i
r
i
P
P
P
P
SWR
+
=

1
1
condition SWR
ideal 0 1
worst case 1
r
P
i
P =
2
r
P

i
P
=
This is the difference between the incident
and the reflected power.
( )
P
L i
P =
2
1
( )
P
L i
SWR
P
SWR
=
+
2
4
1
100 percent of the source power does not
reach the load
Corona can be produced due to excessive
dielectric heating caused by a high value
SWR.
Reflection and subsequent reflections cause
more power loss.
Reflection causes ghost image and
interference.
A generator matched to a line with a voltage
coefficient of reflection equal to 0.2 transmits
100 watts into the line. How much power is
actually absorbed by the load?
Ans: P
L
= 96 W
For lossless lines
tanh
tanh
L
in
L
Z Z l
Z Z
Z Z l

+
=
+
0
0
0
in
L
Z
Z
Z
=
2
0
If Z
L
= Z
0
,
then Z
in
= Z
0

For lossless lines
whose l = /4
tanh
tanh
L
in
L
Z jZ l
Z Z
Z jZ l
|
|
+
=
+
0
0
0
Length
Input
Impedance
Equivalent
circuit
Description
Phase shift
in degrees
L < /4 capacitive, decreases with length 90
L = /4 minimum
series
resonant
purely
resistive
0
L > /4 Inductive, Increases with length 90
Length
Input
Impedance
Equivalent
circuit
Description
Phase shift
in degrees
L < /4 inductive, increases with length 90
L = /4 maximum
parallel
resonant
purely
resistive
0
L > /4 capacitive, decreases with length 90
Length OPEN CIRCUIT SHORT CIRCUIT
L < /4
capacitive
C decreases with length
inductive
L increases with length
L = /4
series LC
Z
i
is resistive & minimum
parallel LC
Z
i
is resistive & maximum
L > /4
inductive
L increases with length
capacitive
C decreases with length
The length of a transmission line in
wavelengths as opposed to its actual
physical length.
Lines whose length is not equal to a
wavelength produces a phase delay equal to
L
|

=
360
If a cable has a velocity factor of 0.8, what
length of cable is required for a 90 phase shift
at 100 MHz?
Ans: l = 0.6 m
Major transmission line losses:

Conductor or copper loss
Radiation loss
Dielectric loss
Coupling loss



when a signal passes through a conductor,
some energy is lost in the form of heat. This
loss is called conductor loss.
This is proportional to the square root of the
line length and inversely proportional to the
impedance.
Conductor loss is frequency dependent
At high frequencies, I
2
R loss is generally
due to skin effect.
A phenomenon that occurs at high
frequencies where the current flows on the
surface of the conductor.
This is because of the higher reactance of
the conductor at its center.
skin effect increases with frequency

The electromagnetic field and the
electrostatic field cause the conductors to
act like an antenna and radiate energy.
Radiation loss is directly proportional to the
frequency.
Can be minimized by properly shielding the
cable
The potential difference between the
conductors in a transmission line causes
dielectric heating.
This loss is called dielectric loss and is
proportional to the voltage across the
dielectric.
This loss is negligible for air dielectrics and it
increases with frequency.

How do you call the luminous discharge that
occurs between the conductors of a
transmission line when the potential
difference between them exceeds the
breakdown voltage?

A. Arcing
B. Spark
C. Corona
D. Photodielectric effect
This occurs in transmission lines that are
connected together
Discontinuities tend to heat up, radiate
energy and dissipate power.
Whenever there is a mismatch, standing waves
are created on the line.
A higher value of SWR means a greater degree
of mismatch and hence, greater loss.
To minimize reflection and losses on the line,
the load and the line impedance should be
matched. This is called impedance matching.
This can be done in two ways:
Quarter wavelength transformer
Stub matching
Used to match a line to a purely resistive load
Z
0
Z
L




A quarter wavelength transformer is a quarter
wavelength section of transmission line that
acts like a transformer.
Z
0
R
L
Z

/4
Z
in
Z
0
Z
L
L
Z Z R =
0
Used when the load is purely reactive or a
complex impedance.
A transmission line stub is an additional
transmission line connected in parallel with
the line used to cancel the susceptance of
the load.
Open or short stubs can be used but shorted
stubs are preferred. Half wavelength lines or
shorter are used.
A Smith Chart is used to calculate

A. Transmission line impedances
B. SWR and reflection coefficient
C. Optimum length of a transmission line
D. Transmission line losses

Using a Smith Chart to analyze a 50-ohm
cable, what would be the normalized value of
an impedance equal to 200 + j50 ohms?
Ans: 4 + j