Transmission Lines

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Contents

• Introduction
• Types of transmission lines
• Tx line equations
• Special case: Lossless line, Distortion less line
• Terminated transmission lines: Input impedance, reflection coefficient, and
power

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Introduction

• Device used to guide energy from one point to another (from a source to a
load).
• Transmission lines can consist of a set of conductors, dielectrics or
combination
• Using Maxwell’s equations, energy can be transmitted in the form of an
unguided wave (plane wave) though space.
• In a similar manner, Maxwell’s equations show that we can transmit energy
in the form of a guided wave on a transmission line.

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Types of Transmission lines

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Definitions and Mode classifications

• Uniform transmission line - conductors and dielectrics maintain the same

cross-sectional geometry along the transmission line in the direction of
wave propagation.
• Transverse electromagnetic (TEM) modes - the electric and magnetic fields
are transverse to the direction of wave propagation with no longitudinal
components [Ez = Hz = 0].
• TEM modes cannot exist on single conductor guiding structures.
• TEM modes are sometimes called transmission line modes since they are the
dominant modes on transmission lines.

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Tx line parameters: Lumped vs Distributed

• R: Resistance of both conductors per unit length (Ω/m)

• L: Inductance of both conductors per unit length (H/m)
• G: Conductance of the insulation medium per unit length (S/m)
• C: Capacitance of the two conductors per unit length (F/m)

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Transmission Line equation

• The equivalent circuit of a short segment Δz of the two-wire transmission

line may be represented by simple lumped-element equivalent circuit.

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KVL

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KCL

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• For time-harmonic signals, the instantaneous voltage and current may be
defined in terms of phasors

• The derivatives of the voltage and current with respect to time yield jω
times the respective phasor which gives

• By taking derivative on both sides with ‘z’

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• After inserting the first derivatives of the voltage and current

• The phasor voltage and current wave equations may be written as

• where is the complex propagation constant of the wave on the transmission

line given by

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• The general solutions to the voltage and current wave equations are

• inserted into the phasor transmission line equations given by

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• The ratio of voltage to current for the forward and reverse traveling waves
defines the characteristic impedance of the transmission line

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• The transmission line characteristic impedance is, in general, complex and
can be defined by

• The voltage and current wave equations can be written in terms of the
voltage coefficients and the characteristic impedance (rather than the
voltage and current coefficients) using the relationships

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Special Case : Lossless line

• A lossless transmission line is defined by perfect conductors and a perfect

insulator between the conductors. Thus, the ideal transmission line
conductors have zero resistance (σ = ∞, R = 0) while the ideal transmission
line insulating medium has infinite resistance (σ = 0, G = 0).

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• The propagation constant on the lossless transmission line reduces to

• Given the purely imaginary propagation constant, the transmission line

equations for the lossless line are

• The characteristic impedance of the lossless transmission line is purely real

and given by

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Special Case: Distortion less line

• On a lossless transmission line, the propagation constant is purely imaginary

• Note that the phase velocity is a constant (independent of frequency) so

that all frequencies propagate along the lossless transmission line at the
same velocity.

• Many applications involving transmission lines require that a band of

frequencies be transmitted (modulation, digital signals, etc.) as opposed to a
single frequency.

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• From Fourier theory, we know that any time-domain signal may be
represented as a weighted sum of sinusoids. A single rectangular pulse
contains energy over a band of frequencies.

• For the pulse to be transmitted down the transmission line without

distortion, all of the frequency components must propagate at the same
velocity. This is the case on a lossless transmission line since the velocity of
propagation is a constant.

• The velocity of propagation on the typical non-ideal transmission line is a

function of frequency so that signals are distorted as different components of
the signal arrive at the load at different times. This effect is called dispersion.

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• For a low-loss transmission line, on which the velocity of propagation is near
constant, dispersion may or may not be a problem, depending on the length
of the line.
• The small variations in the velocity of propagation on a low-loss line may
produce significant distortion if the line is very long.
• There is a special case of lossy line with the linear phase constant that
produces a distortionless line.

• A transmission line can be made distortionless (linear phase constant) by

designing the line such that the per-unit-length parameters satisfy

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• Inserting the per-unit-length parameter relationship into the general equation for the
propagation constant on a lossy line gives

• Although the shape of the signal is not distorted, the signal will suffer attenuation as the wave
propagates along the line since the distortionless line is a lossy transmission line.
• Note that the attenuation constant for a distortionless transmission line is independent of
frequency.

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• Example: An “air” line has a characteristic impedance of 70 Ω and a phase
constant of 3 rad/m at 100 MHz. Calculate the inductance per meter and the
capacitance per meter of the line.

• Example: A distortionless line has Zo = 60 Ω, α = 20 mNP/m, u = 0.6c, where

c is the velocity of light in vacuum. Find R, L, G, C, and λ at 100 MHz.

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