SIMAD University

Faculty of Engineering
RF & MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

CHAPTER 2:
TRANSMISSION LINE THEORY

Engr Burhan Omar Sheikh Ahmed

M.Eng (Electrical-Electronics and Telecommunications)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
 CHAPTER 1

TRANSMISSION LINE
THEORY
Part (1)
2
 Introduction
• Transmission line theory bridges the gap between field
analysis and basic circuit theory and therefore is of
significant importance in the analysis of microwave
circuits and devices.
• As we will see, the phenomenon of wave propagation
on transmission lines can be approached from an
extension of circuit theory or from a specialization of
Maxwell’s equations.
• Transmission Line is a medium which can transfer
power from one point to another. So we can have a
variety of structures which can efficiently transfer
power from one point to another and some of them are
like a Co-axial, Parallel Wires, Microstrip Line and3
Unbalanced Transmission Lines.
 Introduction…Cont

A transmission line connects a generator to a load

4
 Introduction…Cont
• The key difference between circuit theory and
transmission line theory is Electrical size.
• Circuit analysis assumes that the physical dimensions
of the network are much smaller than the electrical
wavelength, while transmission lines may be a
considerable fraction of a wavelength, or many
wavelengths, in size.
• Thus a transmission line is a distributed parameter
network, where voltages and currents can vary in
magnitude and phase over its length, while ordinary
circuit analysis deals with lumped elements, where
voltage and current do not vary appreciably over the
physical dimension of the elements. 5
6
 TRANSMISSION LINES
+ -
Low frequencies I

Wavelengths >> wire length.

Current (I) travels down wires easily for efficient power
transmission.

Measured voltage and current not dependent on position along
wire

High frequencies

Wavelength » or << length of transmission medium.

Need transmission lines for efficient power transmission.

Matching to characteristic impedance (Zo) is very important for low
reflection and maximum power transfer.

Measured envelope voltage dependent on position along line
7
 THE LUMPED-ELEMENT CIRCUIT MODEL
FOR A TRANSMISSION LINE
• Transmission line problems are usually solved using EM field
theory and electric circuit theory, the two major theories on
which electrical engineering is based.
• In this chapter, we start with circuit theory because it is easier to
deal with mathematically then we will begin by deriving the
transmission line parameters (R, L, G, C) in terms of the electric
and magnetic fields of the transmission line. The basic concepts
of wave propagation (such as propagation constant, reflection
coefficient, and standing wave ratio) covered in the previous
semesters apply here. 8
 Cont..

 Lumped circuits: resistors, capacitors,

inductors
neglect time delays (phase)
 Distributed circuit elements:
transmission lines
account for propagation
and time delays (phase
change)
We need transmission-line theory whenever the length
of a line is significant compared with a wavelength. 9
Distributed Parameter Representation

10
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS

• A two-conductor transmission line supports a transverse

electromagnetic [TEM] wave; that is, the electric and
magnetic fields on the line are transverse to the direction of
wave propagation. An important property of TEM waves is
that the fields E and H are uniquely related to voltage V and
current I, respectively:
V   E dl , I = H dl
i  z, t 

B x x x +++++++
----------
v  z, t 

z 11
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• In view of this, we will use circuit quantities V and I in solving
the transmission line problem instead of solving field quantities E
and H.
• Let us examine an incremental portion of length Az of a two-
conductor transmission line. We intend to find an equivalent
circuit for this line and derive the line equations.
• we expect the equivalent circuit is in terms of the line parameters
R, L, G, and C, The model is called the L-type equivalent circuit;
there are other possible types

i(z,t) RDz LDz i(z+z,t)

To generator
+ + To Load
v(z,t) GDz CDz v(z+z,t)
- -
z
12
TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• The parameters are expressed in their
respective name per unit length.
i(z,t) i(z + Δz,t)

RΔz LΔz
GΔz CΔz v(z + Δz,t)

Δz
Figure 2: Lumped-element equivalent circuit
R = series resistant per unit length, for both conductors, in Ω/m
L = series inductance per unit length, for both conductors, in H/m
G = shunt conductance per unit length, in S/m
C = shunt capacitance per unit length, in F/m 13
TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• The series L represents the total self-
inductance of the two conductors.
• The shunt capacitance C is due to close
proximity of the two conductors.
• The series resistance R represents the
resistance due to the finite conductivity of the
conductors.
• The shunt conductance G is due to dielectric
loss in the material between the conductors.
• NOTE: R and G, represent loss.
14
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
i(z,t) i(z + Δz,t)

RΔz LΔz
To Generator To Load
GΔz CΔz v(z + Δz,t)
v(z,t)
Δz
• In the model of Figure above, we assume that the wave propagates along
the +z-direction, from the generator to the load.
• By applying Kirchhoff's voltage law to the outer loop of the circuit, we
obtain
I ( z , t )
V ( z , t )  RzI ( z, t )  Lz  v( z  z , t )
t
V ( z , t )  V ( z  z , t ) I ( z , t )
 RI ( z , t )  L
z t Eq 1
V ( z  z , t )  V ( z , t ) I ( z , t )
 lim  RI ( z, t )  L
z  0
z t 15
TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• Taking the limit of eq. (1) as ∆z→0 leads to
V (z ,t ) I (z ,t )
  R I (z ,t )  L
z t
• Similarly, applying Kirchoff's current law to the main node of
the circuit in Figure gives
I (z ,t )  I (z z ,t ) I
V (z z ,t )
 I (z z ,t ) GzV (z z ,t ) C z
t
or
I (z z ,t )  I (z ,t ) V (z z ,t )
 GV (z z ,t ) C
z t
16
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS

• Taking the limit of eq as ∆z→0 leads to

I (z ,t ) V (z ,t )
  GV (z ,t )  C
z t
• If we assume harmonic time dependence so
that

V ( z , t )  Re V  z  e jt

I ( z , t )  Re  I  z  e 
 jt

17
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• where V(z) and I(z) are the phasor forms of V(z, i) and I(z, t),
respectively, so the two equations become:

dV  z  dI  z 
  R  jL I  z     G  jC  V  z 
z z

• V(z) and I(z) are coupled. To separate them, we

take the second derivative of V(z) and
substituting I(z) we obtain:

d V  z
2

  R  j L   G  j C  V  z
dz 2

18
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• Similarly, by taking the second derivative of I(z) and
substituting V(z), we obtain:

d I  z
2

  R  j L   G  j C  I  z 
dz 2

• These Equations either in the time domain form

or Phasor form of the transmission line
equations, are known as the telegrapher
equations.

19
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• the wave equation for V(z) and I(z) can be written
as:
d 2V  z  2 d 2I  z
I  z   0 [2]
2
  V  z   0 [1]
dz 2
  2

dz
where     j   R  j  L  G  j  C  [3]

 γ is the complex propagation constant, which is function of frequency.

 α is the attenuation constant in Nepers per unit length, β is the phase

constant in radians per unit length.
 An attenuation of 1 neper denotes a reduction to e-l of the original value
whereas an increase of 1 neper indicates an increase by a factor of e. Hence,
for voltages 
E e z
x

1 Np = 20 log10 e = 8.686 dB z
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• The traveling wave solution to the equation [2] and [3]
before can be found as:
V  z  V e 0
  z
V e
0
 z
[4]

I  z   I 0 e  z  I 0 e z [5]

wave in +z wave in -z
direction direction
The characteristic impedance, Z0 can be defined as:

V 0 V 0 R  j L  R  j L [6]
Z0     Z0   
I0 I0  G  jC G  jC
Note: characteristic impedance (Zo) is the ratio of voltage
to current in a forward travelling wave, assuming there is
21
no backward wave
TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• Zo determines relationship between voltage and current
waves
• Zo is a function of physical dimensions and r
• Zo is usually a real impedance (e.g. 50 or 75 ohms)
1.5

1.4 attenuation is lowest

at 77 ohms
1.3

1.2

50 ohm standard

normalized values
1.1

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7 power handling capacity

peaks at 30 ohms
0.6

0.5
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
characteristic impedance
for coaxial airlines (ohms)
22
 TRANSMISSION LINE EQUATIONS
• Voltage waveform can be expressed in time domain as:
v( z , t )  Re v  z  e jt 

v  z , t   V0 cos  t   z     e  z  V0 cos  t   z     e z [7]

The factors V0+ and V0- represent the complex quantities. The ϕ ± is
the phase angle of V0±. The quantity βz is called the electrical length
of line and is measured in radians.
Then, the wavelength of the line is:
2 [8]
 

and the phase velocity is:
[9]

v p   f
 23
 EXAMPLE 1.1
• A transmission line has the following parameters:
R = 2 Ω/m G = 0.5 mS/m f = 1 GHz
L = 8 nH/m C = 0.23 pF

Calculate:
1. The characteristic impedance.
2. The propagation constant.

24
 THE LOSSLESS LINE
• The general transmission line are including loss effect, while the
propagation constant and characteristic impedance are complex.
• On a lossless transmission line the modulus or size of the wave
complex amplitude is independent of position along the line; the
wave is neither growing not attenuating with distance and time
• In many practical cases, the loss of the line is very small and so
can be neglected. R = G = 0
• So, the propagation constant is:
[10]
    j  j LC
  0 [10a]    LC [10b]
27
 THE LOSSLESS LINE
• For the lossless case, the attenuation constant α is zero.
• Thus, the characteristic impedance of [6] reduces to:
1/2
 R  j L  L
Z0   
 G  j C  C [11]

The wavelength is:

2 2 [11a]
 
  LC
and the phase velocity is:
[11b]
 1
vp  
 LC
28
 EXAMPLE 1.2

A transmission line has the following per unit length

parameters: R = 5 Ω/m, G = 0.01 S/m, L = 0.2 μH/m
and C = 300 pF. Calculate the characteristic
impedance and propagation constant of this line at 500
MHz. Recalculate these quantities in the absence of
loss (R=G=0)

29
END