2.transmission Line Theory PDF

11/7/2009 2.1 The Lumped-Elements Circuit Model of a Transmission Line 2.
1(S)/1
2.1 The Lumped-Element

Circuit Model of a
Transmission Line
Transmission Lines
The most important fact about microwave devices is that they
are connected together using transmission lines.
What is a transmission line?

It is a passive, linear, two port device that allows bounded EM
energy to flow from one device to another; (a type of an
“electromagnetic pipe”)
So, is it simply a conducting wire?
NO, at high frequencies, things get much more complicated!
The Telegraphers Equations
Q: What complex functions I(z) and V(z) do satisfy both

telegrapher equations?
A: The solutions to the transmission line wave equations!
Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

11/7/2009 2.1 The Lumped-Elements Circuit Model of a Transmission Line 2.1(S)/1
The Transmission Line Wave Equations
Q: Are the solutions for I(z) and V(z) completely independent,

or are they related in any way ?
A: The two solutions are related by the transmission line

characteristic impedance.
The Transmission Line Characteristic Impedance
Q: What is the significance of the complex constant γ?
A: It describes the propagation of each wave along the

transmission line.
The COMPLEX PROPAGATION CONSTANT
Q: Now, you said earlier that characteristic impedance Z0 is

a complex value. But I recall engineers referring to a
transmission line as simply a “50 Ohm line”, or a “300 Ohm
line”. But these are real values; are they not referring to
characteristic impedance Z0 ??
A: These real values are in fact some standard Z0 values.

They are real values because the transmission line is lossless
(or nearly so).
The LOSSLESS Transmission Lines

11/7/2009 2.1 The Lumped-Elements Circuit Model of a Transmission Line 2.1(S)/1
Q: Is characteristic impedance Z0 the same as the concept of

impedance we learned about in circuit theory?
A: NO! The Z0 is wave impedance. However, we can also define

line impedance, which is the same as that used in circuits.
The Line Impedance
Q: These wave functions V + (z ) and V − (z ) seem to be

important. How are they related?
A: They are in fact very important! They are related by a

function called the reflection coefficient.
The Reflection Coefficient
Q: Does this mean I can describe transmission line activity in

terms of (complex) voltage, current, and impedance, or
alternatively in terms of an incident wave, reflected wave, and
reflection coefficient?
A: Yes! A microwave engineer has a choice to make when

describing transmission line activity.

11/7/2009 2.1 The Lumped-Elements Circuit Model of a Transmission Line 2.1/1
2.1 The Lumped-

Element Circuit Model of a
Transmission Line
Pozar [1]: pp. 49-52
The Telegrapher Equations
Consider a section of “wire”:
The structure above actually exhibits some non-zero value of

inductance, capacitance, conductance, and admittance! A more
accurate transmission line model is therefore:


These coupled differential equations are quite famous. They are

known as the telegrapher’s equations, and are essentially the
Maxwell’s equations of transmission lines.
The Transmission Line Wave Equation
Let’s assume that v (z,t) and i (z,t ) each have the time-
harmonic form:
v (z ,t ) = Re{V (z )e j ωt }
and
i (z ,t ) = Re{I(z ) e j ωt }
The time-derivative of these functions are:

Inserting these results into the telegrapher’s equations,

we find:
Simplifying, we have the complex form of telegrapher’s

equations:
Note that these complex differential equations are not a

function of time t !

* The functions I(z ) and V (z ) are complex, where the

magnitude and phase of the complex functions describe the
magnitude and phase of the sinusoidal time function e jωt .
* Thus, I(z ) and V (z ) describe the current and voltage along

the transmission line, as a function as position z.
* Remember, not just any function I(z ) and V (z ) can exist on

a transmission line, but rather only those functions that satisfy
the telegraphers equations.
First, take the derivative with respect to z of the first

telegrapher equation:

Combining these two equations, we get an equation involving

V (z ) only:
We can simplify this equation by defining the complex value γ:
So that:
In a similar manner (i.e., begin by taking the derivative of the

second telegrapher equation), we can derive the differential
equation:
We have decoupled the telegrapher’s equations, such that we

now have two equations involving one function only:

These are known as the transmission line wave equations.
Note that value γ is complex, and is determined

by taking the square-root of a complex value.
The general solution to these complex wave equations, (and thus

the telegrapher equations), are
where V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0− are complex constants.
It means that the functions V (z ) and I (z ) , describing the

current and voltage at all points z along a transmission line, can

always be completely specified with just four complex
constants (V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0−)
We can alternatively write these solutions as:
The two terms in each solution describe two waves propagating

in the transmission line, one wave (V +(z ) or I +(z)) propagating
in one direction (+z ) and the other wave (V −(z ) or I −(z) )
propagating in the opposite direction (−z ).

What are the complex values V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0−
Consider the wave solutions at one specific point on the

transmission line—the point z = 0. For example, we find that:
In other words, V0+, is simply the complex value of the wave

function V +(z ) at the point z = 0 on the transmission line!
Likewise, we find:
Again, the four complex values V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0− are all that
is needed to determine the voltage and current at any and all
points on the transmission line.
More specifically, each of these four complex constants

completely specifies one of the four transmission line wave
functions V +(z ) , I +(z) , V −(z ) or I −(z).

What determines these wave functions? How do we find the

values of constants V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0−?
As you might expect, the voltage and current on a transmission

line is determined by the devices connected to it on either end
(e.g., active sources and/or passive loads).
Therefore the precise values of V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0− are
determined by satisfying the boundary conditions applied at
each end of the transmission line.
The Characteristic Impedance of a Transmission Line

From the telegrapher’s differential equations, we know that the
complex current I(z ) and voltage V (z ) must have the form:
Let’s insert the expression for V (z ) into the first telegrapher’s

equation,

A. Both expressions for current are equal to each other.

Now, we note that since:
We find that:
Thus, we come to the conclusion that:
Note that although the magnitude and phase of each

propagating wave is a function of transmission line position z
(e.g., V + (z ) and I + (z )), the ratio of the voltage and current of
each wave is independent of position; constant with respect to
position z .
Although V0 ± and I0 ± are determined by boundary conditions

(i.e., what’s connected to either end of the transmission line),
the ratio V0 ± and I0 ± is determined by the parameters of the
transmission line only (R, L, G, C ).

This ratio is an important characteristic of a transmission line,

called its Characteristic Impedance Z0.
We can therefore describe the current and voltage along a

transmission line as:
or equivalently:

Note that instead of characterizing a transmission line with real

parameters R, G, L, and C, we can (and usually do) describe a
transmission line using complex parameters Z0 and γ.
The Complex Propagation Constant γ
Let us describe the activity along a transmission line can be

expressed in terms of two functions, functions that we have
described as wave functions:
where γ is a complex constant that describe the properties of

a transmission line. Since γ is complex, we can consider both its
real and imaginary components.

It is evident that e − αz alone determines the magnitude of wave

γ
V + (z) = V0 + e − z as a function of position z.
Therefore, α expresses the attenuation of the signal due to the

loss in the transmission line. The larger the value of α, the
greater the exponential attenuation.
The phase constant β is defined as
Then:

This wave velocity (vp ) is the velocity of the propagating

wave.
The Lossless Transmission Line

Assume a transmission line is lossless (i.e.,R = G = 0); the
transmission line equations are then significantly simplified.

Characteristic Impedance
Note the characteristic impedance of a lossless transmission

line is purely real (i.e., Im {Z0} =0)!
Propagation Constant
The wave propagation constant is purely imaginary!
In other words, for a lossless transmission line:

Note that since α = 0, the propagating wave is not attenuated

as it travels down the line—a wave at the end of the line is as
large as it was at the beginning!
Wave attenuation occurs when energy is extracted from the

propagating wave and changed into heat. This can only occur if
resistance and/or conductance are present in the line. If
R = G = 0, then no attenuation occurs—that why we call the line
lossless.
Voltage and Current
The complex functions describing the magnitude and phase of

the voltage/current at every location z along a transmission line
are for a lossless line are:
Wavelength and Phase Velocity
We can now explicitly write the wavelength and propagation

velocity of the two transmission line waves in terms of
transmission line parameters L and C:
However, a low-loss line is possible—in fact, it is typical! If

R ‹‹ ωL and G ‹‹ ωC, we find that the lossless transmission line
equations are excellent approximations!
Unless otherwise indicated, we will use the lossless equations

to approximate the behavior of a low-loss transmission line.

Line Impedance
Now let’s define line impedance Z (z ) , a complex function

which is simply the ratio of the complex line voltage and
complex line current:
NOTE: The line impedance Z(z ) is (generally speaking) NOT

the transmission line characteristic impedance Z0 !!!
To see why, recall that:
V (z) = V + (z ) + V - (z )

Or, more specifically, we can write:
The Reflection Coefficient

We know that the transmission line voltage V (z ) and the
transmission line current I (z ) can be related by the line
impedance Z (z ):
or equivalently:

However, let us look closer at the expression for each of these

quantities:
It is evident that we can alternatively express all “activity” on

the transmission line in terms of the two transmission line
waves V + (z ) and V - (z ).
NOTE: Similar to line impedance, we can define a new

parameter— the reflection coefficient Γ(z )—as the ratio of
the two quantities:

We define this value as Γ0 , where:
Note then that we can alternatively write Γ(z ) as:

So now we have two different but equivalent ways to describe

transmission line activity!
We can use (total) voltage and current, related by line

impedance:
Or, we can use the two propagating voltage waves, related by

the reflection coefficient:
V,I,Z or V+,V-,Γ ?
Remember, the two relationships are equivalent. There is no

explicitly wrong or right choice—both will provide you with
precisely the same correct answer.
For example, we know that the total voltage and current can be
determined from knowledge wave representation:

More importantly, we find that line impedance Z (z ) =V (z ) I(z)

can be expressed as:

We find likewise that the wave functions can be determined

from V (z ), I (z ) and Z(z ) :

From this result we easily find that the reflection coefficient

Γ(z )can likewise be written directly in terms of line impedance:
Thus, the values Γ(z ) and Z (z ) are equivalent parameters— if

we know one, then we can directly determine the other.

11/7/2009 2.2 Field Analysis of Transmission Lines 2/1
2.2 Field Analysis of

Transmission Lines
Pozar [1]: pp. 52-57
To be prepared later..

11/7/2009 2.3 The Terminated, Lossless Transmission Line 2.3(S)/1
Transmission Lines
The Terminated,
Lossless Transmission Line
Pozar [1]: pp. 57-64
We now know that a lossless transmission line is completely

characterized by real constants Z0 and β.
Likewise, the 2 waves propagating on a transmission line are

completely characterized by complex constants V0 + and V0 −.
Q: Z0 and β are determined from L, C, and ω . How do we find

V0 + and V0 − ?
A: Every transmission line has 2 “boundaries”
Typically, there is a source at one end of the line, and a load
at the other.
The Terminated, Lossless Transmission Line
Special Cases of Load Impedance
Transmission Line Input Impedance
The Reflection Coefficient Transformation
Return Loss

11/7/2009 2.3 The Terminated, Lossless Transmission Line 2.3(S)/1
VSWR
Q: What happens if the transmission line is terminated by

something other than a load? Is the transmission line theory
still valid?
A: As long as a transmission line is connected to linear devices

the transmission line theory is valid. However, we must be
careful to properly apply the boundary conditions associated
with each linear device.

11/7/2009 2.3 The Terminated, Lossless Transmission Line 2.3/1
2.3 The Terminated, Lossless

Transmission Line
Pozar [1]: pp. 57-64
Now let’s attach something to our transmission line. Consider a
lossless line, length l, terminated with a load ZL.
Q: What is the current and voltage at each and every point on

the transmission line?
A: To find out, we must apply boundary conditions.

In other words, at the end of the transmission line, where
the load is attached—we have many requirements that all must
be satisfied.
1. To begin with, the voltage and current (I (z =z L) and

V (z =z L ) must be consistent with a valid transmission line

solution:
2. The load voltage and current must be related by Ohm’s law:
VL = Z L I L
3. Most importantly, we recognize that the values I (z = zL) ,

V (z = zL) and I L, VL are not independent, but in fact are
strictly related by Kirchoff’s Laws.

From KVL and KCL we find these requirements:
V (z = zL) = VL
I (z = zL) = I L
These are the boundary conditions for this particular problem.
Careful! Different transmission line problems lead to

different boundary conditions—you must access each
problem individually and independently!
Combining these equations and boundary conditions, we find

that:
Rearranging, we can conclude:

This value is of fundamental importance for the terminated

transmission line problem, so we provide it with its own special
symbol (Γ L ) .
Special Values of Load Impedance

Let’s look at some specific values of load impedance
Z L =R L +j X L and see what happens on our transmission line.
In this case, the load impedance is numerically equal to the

characteristic impedance of the transmission line. Assuming the
line is lossless, then Z o is real, and thus:
RL = Zo and XL = 0
It is evident that the resulting load reflection coefficient is

zero:

A device with no impedance is called a short circuit, i.e.:
RL = 0 and XL = 0
For a short, the resulting load reflection coefficient is

therefore:
As a result, the total voltage and current along the

transmission line is simply:
This means that the line impedance can be written in terms of a

trigonometric function as:

A device with infinite impedance is called an open circuit!

i.e.:
RL = ∞ and / or XL = ∞
For an open, the resulting load reflection coefficient is:
As a result, the total voltage and current along the

transmission line is simply:
This means that the line impedance can be written in terms of

trigonometric function as:

For this case, the load impedance is purely reactive (e.g. a

capacitor of inductor):
ZL = j X L
The resulting load reflection coefficient is:
We can rewrite this value explicitly in terms of its real and

imaginary part as:
Let’s instead write this complex value ΓL in terms of its

magnitude and phase. For magnitude we find a much more
straightforward result.

Its magnitude is one! Thus, we find that for reactive loads, the
reflection coefficient can be simply expressed as:
where
For this case, the load impedance is purely real (e.g. a resistor):
VL = V (z = zL) ≠ 0
I L = I (z = zL) ≠ 0
The resulting load reflection coefficient is:
Given that Z L is real (i.e., the line is lossless), we find that this
load reflection coefficient must be a purely real value!

Now, let’s look at the general case, where the load has both a
real (resistive) and imaginary (reactive) component.
This leads to one very important and useful result. Consider the
load reflection coefficient:
Now let’s look at the magnitude of this value:

It is apparent that since both RL and Z0 are positive, the

numerator of the above expression must be less than (or equal
to) the denominator of the above expression.
In other words, the magnitude of the load reflection

coefficient is always less than or equal to one!
Transmission Line Input Impedance

Consider a lossless line, length l, terminated with a load ZL.
Let’s determine the input impedance of this line.
The input impedance is simply the line impedance seen at the

beginning (z = − l ) of the transmission line, i.e.:

Note Zin equal to neither the load impedance ZL nor the

characteristic impedance Z0 .
Z in ≠ Z L and Z in ≠ Z0
To determine exactly what Z in is, we first must determine the

voltage and current at the beginning of the transmission line
(z = − l ).
Therefore:
We can write in Z in terms of load Z L using the previously

determined relationship:
Combining these two expressions, we get:

Now, recall Euler’s equations:
Using Euler’s relationships, we can likewise write the input

impedance without the complex exponentials:
Note that the input impedance Zin depends on the values

of β, Z0 and l. It is radically different from the load
impedance ZL.

Special Cases
Now let’s look at the Zin for some important load impedances
and line lengths.
If the length of the transmission line is exactly one-half

wavelength ( l = λ / 2), we find that:
and therefore:

In other words, if the transmission line is precisely one-half

wavelength long, the input impedance is equal to the load
impedance, regardless of Z0 or β.
If the length of the transmission line is exactly one-quarter

wavelength ( l = λ / 4), we find that:
and therefore:

In other words, if the transmission line is precisely one-quarter

wavelength long, the input impedance is inversely proportional
to the load impedance.
Think about what this means? If the load impedance is a short

circuit, such that Z L = 0. The input impedance at beginning of
the λ / 4 transmission line is therefore:
This is an open circuit! The quarter-wave transmission line

transforms a short circuit into an open-circuit—and vice versa!

If the load is numerically equal to the characteristic

impedance of the transmission line (a real value), we find that
the input impedance becomes:
This means, if the load impedance is equal to the transmission

line characteristic impedance, the input impedance will be equal
to Z0 regardless of the transmission line length l.

If the load is purely reactive (i.e., the resistive component is

zero), the input impedance is:
Hence, if the load is purely reactive, then the input impedance

will be purely reactive, regardless of the line length l.
Note that the opposite is not true: even if the load is purely
resistive (ZL = R ), the input impedance will be complex (both
resistive and reactive components).

If the transmission line is electrically small—its length l is small

with respect to signal wavelength λ , we find that:
so that the input impedance is:
In other words, if the transmission line length is much smaller

than a wavelength, the input impedance Zin will always be equal
to the load impedance ZL.

Return Loss and VSWR
Return Loss
The ratio of the reflected power from a load, to the incident
power on that load, is known as return loss. Typically, return
loss is expressed in dB:
Thus, a larger numeric value for return loss actually indicates

less lost power. An ideal return loss would be ∞ dB, whereas a
return loss of 0 dB indicates that |ΓL| = 1 → the load is
reactive.
For example, if the return loss is 10dB, then 10% of the

incident power is reflected at the load, with the remaining 90%
being absorbed by the load—we “lose” 10% of the incident
power.
And if the return loss is 30dB, then 0.1 % of the incident

power is reflected at the load, with the remaining 99.9% being
absorbed by the load—we “lose” 0.1% of the incident power.
Return loss is helpful, as it provides a real-valued measure of

load match (as opposed to the complex values Z L and ΓL).
VSWR
Another traditional real-valued measure of load match is
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR). Consider again the
voltage along a terminated transmission line, as a function of
position z
Let’s look at the magnitude only:
It can be shown that the largest value of |V (z )| occurs at the

location z where:
while the smallest value of |V (z )| occurs at the location z

where:
As a result we can conclude that:
The ratio of |V (z )|max to |V (z )|min is known as the Voltage

Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR):
Note if |ΓL| = 0 (i.e., Z L =Z 0 ), then VSWR = 1.

if |ΓL| = 0 (i.e., Z L = jX ), then VSWR = ∞ .
As with return loss, VSWR is dependent on the magnitude of ΓL

(i.e, |ΓL|) only.


11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1
The Smith Chart

Pozar [1]: pp. 57-64
Since impedance Z is a complex value, we can indicate specific
impedance values as point on a two dimensional complex plane:
We can define a complex Γ plane in the same manner that we

defined a complex impedance plane. We will find that there are
many advantages to plotting on the complex Γ plane.

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1
Note that the horizontal axis indicates the real component of Γ

(Re{Γ}), while the vertical axis indicates the imaginary
component of Γ (Im{Γ}).
The use of the complex Γ pane as a graphical tool becomes

apparent only when we represent a complex reflection
coefficient in terms of its magnitude ( |Γ| ) and phase (θΓ):
In other words, we express Γ using polar coordinates:
Note then that a circle is formed by the locus of all points

whose magnitude |Γ| equal to, (for example), 0.7. Likewise, a
radial line is formed by the locus of all points whose phase θΓ is
equal to 135º.

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1
Recall that we found that for Re{Z } > 0 (i.e., positive

resistance), the magnitude of the reflection coefficient was
limited:
Therefore, the validity region for the complex |Γ| plane

consists of all points inside the circle Γ = 1.

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1
Note that we can plot all valid impedances (i.e. R > 0) within this
finite region
Transformations on the Complex Γ Plane
The usefulness of the complex Γ plane is apparent when we

consider again the terminated, lossless transmission line:

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1
Recall that the reflection coefficient function for any location

z along the transmission line can be expressed as (since zL = 0 ):
And thus, as we would expect:
Recall this result “says” that adding a transmission line of length

l to a load results in a phase shift in θΓ by (− 2β l ) radians,
while the magnitude |Γ| remains unchanged.

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1
The Complete Smith Chart
We perform a few of these mappings and see where these

circles lie on the complex Γ plane:

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1

11/7/2009 2.4 The Smith Chart 2.4/1

The Complete Smith Chart
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ORIGIN
11/2/2009 Smith Chart 2/1
Zin Calculations using

the Smith Chart
Example:
A 50 Ω transmission line has been terminated with a load
impedance of Z L = 30 ― j 70. If the length of this line is of
0.307λ, input impedance of the line.
Solution:
1. Calculate z L ′ (the normalized load impedance)

2. Convert z L ′ to Γ L
3. Convert Γ L to Γ in
4. Convert in Γ in to z in ′
5. Calculate Z in from z in ′
1. Calculate z L ′ (the normalized load impedance)

zL′ = ZL / Z0
z L ′ = 0.6 ― j 1.4
2. Convert z L ′ to Γ L
Find on the Smith Chart the circle for r = 0.6 and the
circle for x = ― 1.4. The intersection of these two circles
is the point on the complex Γ plane corresponding to
normalized impedance z L ′ = 0.6 ― j 1.4.
This point is a distance of 0.685 units from the origin, and
is located at angle of –65 degrees. Thus the value of Γ L is:

11/2/2009 Smith Chart 2/1
Γ L = 0.685e –j 65º
3. Convert Γ L to Γ in
Rotate the point (Γ L ) clockwise around a circle (Γ=0.685)
by an angle 2β l . When we stop, we are located at the
point on the complex Γ plane where in Γ = Γ in .
Since l = 0.307λ , we should rotate around the Smith

Chart a total of 2β l = 1.228π (radians), or 221º. We are
now at the point on the complex Γ plane:
Γ = 0.685e +j 74º
This is the value of Γ in .
4. Convert in Γ in to z in ′
Determine directly from the Smith Chart that the point
Γ in = 0.685e +j 74º is located at the intersection of circles r
= 0.5 and x =1.2. In other words:
z in ′ = 0.5 + j 1.2
5. Calculate Z in from z in ′
Z in = Z 0 z in ′
= 50 (0.5 + j 1.2 )
= 25 + j 60

2/8/2005 Zin Calculations using the Smith Chart.doc 5/7
Step 1
Γ = 0.685
ΓL = 0.685 e − j 65
D
θ Γ = −65D
Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

Step 2
A 2 = 0.147 λ
Γin = 0.685 e − j 74
D
Γ = 0.685
ΓL = 0.685 e − j 65
D
A 1 = 0.16λ
A = A 1 + A 2 = 0.160λ + 0.147 λ = 0.307 λ
2β A = 221D

Step 3
zin′ = 0.5 + j 1.2

11/8/2009 2.5 The Quarter Wave Transformer 2.5/1
2.5 The Quarter-Wave Transformer

Pozar [1]: pp. 73-76
We’ve noticed that a quarter-wave length of

transmission line (l = λ 4 , 2β l = π ) appears often in
microwave engineering problems.
Assume that the end of a transmission line with characteristic

impedance Z0 is terminated with a resistive (i.e., real) load.
We typically would like all power traveling down the line to be

absorbed by the load RL.
But if RL ≠ Z0, the line is unmatched and some of the incident

power will be reflected.
Q: Can all incident power be delivered to a resistive load if

RL ≠ Z0 ?
A: Yes! We can insert a matching network between the

transmission line and the load.
Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE

A matching network is a lossless, 2-port device. Its job is to

transform the load RL (or even ZL) to a value Z0.
In other words, we want the input impedance of the matching

network to be Zin = Z0, so that Γin = 0 (no reflection)
Q: How do we build these matching networks?
A: There are many methods and ways, but perhaps the easiest
is the quarter-wave transformer.
First, insert a transmission line with characteristic impedance

Z1 and length l = λ 4 (i.e., a quarter-wave line) between the
load and the Z0 transmission line.
The λ 4 line is the matching network.

Q: what is the characteristic impedance Z1 ?
A: Remember, the quarter wavelength case is one of the special

cases that we studied. We know that the input impedance of
the quarter wavelength line is:
Thus, if we wish for Zin to be numerically equal to Z0, we find:
Solving for Z1, we find its required value to be:
In other words, the characteristic impedance of the quarter

wave line is the geometric average Z0 and RL.

Therefore, a λ 4 line with characteristic impedance

Z1 = SQRT(Z0 RL ) will match a transmission line with
characteristic impedance Z0 to a resistive load RL.
Thus, all power is delivered to load RL.
Important Note: We find that in Zin = Z0 only if the

transmission line has exactly one-quarter wavelength in length
(l = λ 4 ).
Multiple Reflection Viewpoint

The quarter-wave transformer brings up an interesting
question in μ-wave engineering.

First, let's define a few terms:
Γ2 = partial reflection coefficient of a wave incident on the

z = − l interface from the Z1 line:

Γ3 = partial reflection coefficient of a wave incident on the

z = 0 interface from the Z1 line:
T1 = partial transmission coefficient of a wave incident on the

T2 = partial transmission coefficient of a wave incident on the

Q. What physically happens when the incident voltage wave

reaches the interface at z = − l ?

1. At z = − l, the characteristic impedance of the transmission

line changes from Z0 to Z1. This mismatch creates a reflected
wave:
where V1 r = Γ1 V1 i.
2. However, a portion of the incident wave is transmitted (T1)

across the interface at z = − l, this wave travels a distance of
β l = 90º to the load at z = 0, where a portion of it is reflected
(Γ3 ). This wave travels back β l = 90º to the interface at
z = − l, where a portion is again transmitted (T2 ) into the Z0
transmission line → another reflected wave (V2 r )!
where we have found that traveling 2β l = 180º has produced a

minus sign in our result:

3. a portion of this second wave is also reflected (Γ2 ) back

into the Z1 transmission line at z = − l, where it again travels to
β l = 90º the load, is partially reflected (Γ3 ), travels
β l = 90º back to z = − l, and is partially transmitted into Z0
(T2 )— this is the third reflected wave!
where:
Q: But, why is Γ = 0 ?
A: Each reflected wave Vn r is a coherent wave. That is, they all

oscillate at same frequency ω ; the reflected waves differ only
in terms of their magnitude and phase.
Therefore, to determine the total reflected wave, we must

perform a coherent summation of each reflected wave—an
operation easily performed since we have expressed our waves
with complex notation:

It can be shown that this infinite series converges, with the

result:
Thus, the total reflection coefficient is:
Using the previous definitions, it can likewise be shown that the

numerator of the above expression is:
NOTE that the numerator (and therefore Γ ) will be zero if:
Physically, this results insures that all the reflected waves add
coherently together to produce a zero value!

11/8/2009 2.6 Generator and Load Mismathes 2.6/1
2.6 – Generator and Load Mismatches

Pozar [1]: pp. 77-79
A Transmission Line Connecting Source & Load
We can think of a transmission line as a conduit that allows

power to flow from an output of one device/network to an input
of another.
To simplify our analysis, we can model the input of the device

receiving the power with it input impedance (e.g., ZL), while we
can model the device output delivering the power with its
Thevenin’s or Norton’s equivalent circuit.
Ii Ii
Zg
+ +
+
Vg Vi Ig Zg Vi
-
- -
Vg =Vi + Z g Ii Vi
Ig = + Ii
Zg

Typically, the power source is modeled with its Thevenin’s

equivalent; however, we will find that the Norton’s equivalent
circuit is useful if we express the remainder of the circuit in
terms of its admittance values (e.g., Y0 , YL , Y (z ) ).
Ii
Zg +
Vg +
Vi Z0 ZL
-
-
z = −l z = 0
Recall from the telegrapher’s equations that the current and

voltage along the transmission line are:
V ( z ) = V0+ e − j β z + V0− e + j β z
V0+ − j β z V0− + j β z
I( z ) = e − e
Z0 Z0
At z = 0 , we enforced the boundary condition resulting from

Ohm’s Law:
ZL =
VL
=
V ( z = 0)
=
(
V0+ + V0− )
IL I ( z = 0) ⎛V0+ V0− ⎞
⎜ −
Z
⎝ 0 Z 0 ⎟⎠

which resulted in:
V0− ZL − Z0
= ΓL
V0+ ZL + Z0
So therefore:
V ( z ) = V0+ ⎡⎣e − j β z + Γ L e + j β z ⎤⎦
V0+ − j β z
I( z ) = ⎡⎣e − Γ L e + j β z ⎤⎦
Z0
We are left with the question: just what is the value of complex
constant V0+ ?!?
This constant depends on the signal source! To determine its

exact value, we must now apply boundary conditions at z = −l .
We know that at the beginning of the transmission line:
V ( z = −l ) = V0+ ⎡⎣e + j β l + Γ L e − j β l ⎤⎦
V0+ + j β l
I ( z = −l ) = ⎡⎣e − Γ L e − j β l ⎤⎦
Z0
Likewise, we know that the source must satisfy:
Vg =Vi + Z g Ii

To relate these three expressions, we need to apply boundary

conditions at z = −l :
Ii I ( z = −l )
Zg + +
Vg +
Vi V ( z = −l ) Z0 ZL
-
− −
z = −l z = 0
From KVL we find:

Vi = V ( z = −l )
And from KCL:

Ii = I ( z = −l )
Combining these equations, we find:
Vg =Vi + Z g Ii
V0+ + j β l
Vg =V0 ⎡⎣e
+ +j βl
+ ΓL e −j βl
⎤⎦ + Z g ⎡⎣e − ΓL e − j β l ⎤⎦
Z0
One equation Æ one unknown (V0+ )!!
Solving, we find the value of V0+ :

Z0
V0+ =Vg e − j β l
Z 0 (1 + Γin ) + Z g (1 − Γin )
where:
Γin = Γ ( z = −l ) = ΓL e − j 2 β l
Note this result looks different than the equation in your

textbook (eq. 2.71):
Z0 e −j βl
V =Vg
+
Z 0 + Z g (1 − Γ L Γ g e − j 2 β l )
0
where:
Z g − Z0
Γg
Z g + Z0
Although the two equations are equivalent, my expression is

explicitly written in terms of Γin = Γ ( z = −l ) (a very useful,
precise, and unambiguous value), while the book’s expression is
written in terms of this so-called “source reflection
coefficient” Γ g (a misleading, confusing, ambiguous, and mostly
useless value).
Specifically, we might be tempted to equate Γ g with the value

Γ ( z = −l ) = Γin , but it is not ( Γ g ≠ Γ ( z = −l ) )!

There is one very important point that must be made about the
result:
Z0
V0+ =Vg e − j β l
Z 0 (1 + Γin ) + Z g (1 − Γin )
And that is—the wave V0+ ( z ) incident on the load ZL is actually

dependent on the value of load ZL .
Remember:
Γin = Γ ( z = −l ) = ΓL e − j 2 β l
We tend to think of the incident wave V0+ ( z ) being “caused” by

the source, and it is certainly true that V0+ ( z ) depends on the
source—after all, V0+ ( z ) = 0 if Vg = 0 . However, we find from
the equation above that it likewise depends on the value of the
load!
Remember, this solution is a steady-state solution. Just like

the multiple reflection viewpoint for a λ 4 transformer, we can
(sort of) view the waves on this transmission line as “bouncing”
back and forth until the boundary conditions are satisfied at
both ends.
Thus we cannot—in general—consider the incident wave to be

the “cause” and the reflected wave the “effect”. Instead, each
wave must obtain the proper amplitude (e.g., V0+ ,V0− ) so that the
boundary conditions are satisfied at both the beginning and end
of the transmission line.

11/8/2009 2.7 Lossy Transmission Lines 2.7/1
2.7 – Lossy Transmission Lines

Pozar [1]: pp. 79-82
The Lossless lines
Recall that we have been approximating low-loss transmission
lines as lossless (R = G = 0):
The low-loss lines

But, long low-loss lines require a better approximation:
The long transmission lines

Now, if we have really long transmission lines (e.g., long
distance communications), we can apply no approximations at all:
For these very long transmission lines, we find that β =Im {γ} is
a function of signal frequency ω . This results in an extremely
serious problem—signal dispersion.

The Distortionless Line

The phase velocity vp (i.e., propagation velocity) of a wave in a
transmission line is:
where:
Thus, for a lossy line, the phase velocity vp is a function of

frequency ω (i.e., vp (ω ))—This is a problem.
Any signal that carries significant information must has some

non-zero bandwidth. In other words, the signal energy (as well
as the information it carries) is spread across many
frequencies.
If the different frequencies that comprise a signal travel at

different velocities, that signal will arrive at the end of a
transmission line distorted. This phenomenon is called signal
dispersion.
Remember that for lossless lines, however, the phase velocity

is independent of frequency—no dispersion will occur.

The perfectly lossless line is impossible, but we find phase

velocity is approximately constant if the line is low-loss.
in the 19th Century, Oliver Heaviside

found that a transmission line would be
distortionless (i.e., no dispersion) if the
line parameters exhibited the following
ratio:

To know the reason why this works, note that the complex
propagation constant γ can be expressed as:
Then IF:
We find:
Thus:
The propagation velocity of the wave is thus:

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11/7/2009 2.1 The Lumped-Elements Circuit Model of a Transmission Line 2.

2.1 The Lumped-Element

What is a transmission line?

So, is it simply a conducting wire?

NO, at high frequencies, things get much more complicated!

The Telegraphers Equations

Q: What complex functions I(z) and V(z) do satisfy both

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

The Transmission Line Wave Equations

Q: Are the solutions for I(z) and V(z) completely independent,

A: The two solutions are related by the transmission line

The Transmission Line Characteristic Impedance

Q: What is the significance of the complex constant γ?

A: It describes the propagation of each wave along the

The COMPLEX PROPAGATION CONSTANT

Q: Now, you said earlier that characteristic impedance Z0 is

A: These real values are in fact some standard Z0 values.

The LOSSLESS Transmission Lines

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

Q: Is characteristic impedance Z0 the same as the concept of

A: NO! The Z0 is wave impedance. However, we can also define

The Line Impedance

Q: These wave functions V + (z ) and V − (z ) seem to be

A: They are in fact very important! They are related by a

The Reflection Coefficient

Q: Does this mean I can describe transmission line activity in

A: Yes! A microwave engineer has a choice to make when

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

2.1 The Lumped-

The structure above actually exhibits some non-zero value of

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

These coupled differential equations are quite famous. They are

The Transmission Line Wave Equation

The time-derivative of these functions are:

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

Inserting these results into the telegrapher’s equations,

Simplifying, we have the complex form of telegrapher’s

Note that these complex differential equations are not a

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

* The functions I(z ) and V (z ) are complex, where the

* Thus, I(z ) and V (z ) describe the current and voltage along

* Remember, not just any function I(z ) and V (z ) can exist on

First, take the derivative with respect to z of the first

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

Combining these two equations, we get an equation involving

We can simplify this equation by defining the complex value γ:

In a similar manner (i.e., begin by taking the derivative of the

We have decoupled the telegrapher’s equations, such that we

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

These are known as the transmission line wave equations.

Note that value γ is complex, and is determined

The general solution to these complex wave equations, (and thus

where V0+, V0−, I0+, and I0− are complex constants.

It means that the functions V (z ) and I (z ) , describing the

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

current and voltage at all points z along a transmission line, can

We can alternatively write these solutions as:

The two terms in each solution describe two waves propagating

Assist Prof Jawad K. Ali University of Technology Dept. of EE ENG

Consider the wave solutions at one specific point on the

In other words, V0+, is simply the complex value of the wave

More specifically, each of these four complex constants