Conventional Transmission lines

A transmission line is a two-conductor cable that can carry RF energy to other end. The
transmission line is used to connect transmitter to antenna or from antenna to transmitter.
There are two type of transmission line.
Balance line (parallel wire):
The balance line is a two parallel conductor separated by a continuous plastic insulate as shown in
Fig_1.1. In the wire line equal current flows in each conductor (wire) with respect to ground, but the
direction of current in two wires are out of phase with each other. No wire is connected to ground

Fig_1.1
Unbalance line (coaxial cable):
Unbalance line is called the coaxial line because there are two concentric conductors, the inner
conductor with diameter [d] and an outer conductor with diameter [D], the inner and outer conductor
are insulated as shown in fig_1.2. In unbalance line, the two conductor are at different potential where
the outer normally at ground potential.

Fig_1.2
Parameters of transmission line
There are some characteristic or parameters that must be known for the transmission line some are
- Velocity factor: Velocity factor is defined as a ratio of transmission speed in transmission line to
transmission in free space. It is denoted by VF
vl
VF=
vs
Where
vl =Transmission speed in transmission line; vs =Transmission speed in free space

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

The velocity factor in a line can be computed with the expression
1
VF=
√∈
Where, ϵ is the dielectric constant of the insulating material.
Example:
Find the transmission speed on a coaxial transmission line if the dielectric in a coaxial is Teflon with
dielectric constant equals 2.1.
Solution
1 1
VF= = =0.69
√ ϵ 1.45
That is, the speed of the signal in the coaxial is 0.69 times the speed of light, or
0.69x 300,000,000 = 207,000,000 m/s

- Characteristic impedance: When the length of the transmission line is longer than several
wavelengths at the signal frequency, the two parallel conductors appear as complex impedance known
as a characteristic impedance [ Z0], and the line appear as a distributed low pass filter shown in fig_1.3

Fig_1.3
The impedance can calculated with the expression
L
Z 0=
√ C
Ω

Where
L= inductance of transmission line in given length
C= capacitance of transmission line for the same length
The inductance and capacitance of the line depend on the physical characteristic of the line, so
practically the characteristic impedance is calculated from the dimensions of the transmission line

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

The expression for characteristic impedance of a parallel two wire transmission line is
2d
Z 0=276 log Ω
D
The expression for characteristic impedance of a coaxial line is
d
Z 0=138 log Ω
D
- Cable attenuation: Attenuation is the amount of power loss over the cable. The attenuation is
directly proportion to cable length and it is farther increase with frequency. The attenuation α in dB is
given by
Po
∝=10 log dB
Pi
Note: the loss always negative dB value
The following figure shows the Attenuation versus frequency for common coaxial cables.

- Standing wave Ratio: For proper operation and to be obtain maximum power at output,
transmission line must be matched terminated. Means, if the load impedance and characteristic
impedance matched maximum power transfer take place. Fig_1.4 shows a matched terminated 50Ω

Fig_1.4

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

When the load line is not perfectly matched with characteristic impedance of the line, all the
transmitted power will not be absorbed by the load, some part of the power will be reflected back. The
net output power is the algebraic sum of the forward and reflected signals and these signals form a
wave called standing wave. The standing wave is defined as a unique distribution of voltage and
current among a transmission line which is not terminated by the characteristic impedance
The magnitude of the standing wave is dependent on the maximum and minimum values of current or
voltage and is measured as standing wave ratio (SWR) given by
I max V max
SWR= =
I min V min
 When open circuit and short circuited transmission line, the current and voltage minimum
value are zero i.e. Imin=Vmin=0 there for SWR is infinity
 With proper termination line, there are no standing waves. The voltage and current are
constant SWR is unity
SWR can be calculated if the transmission line impedance and the load impedance are known, and
given by

ZL Z
SWR= ; if Z L > Z o ,else SWR= o
Zo ZL
Since the standing wave is really the composite of the original incident wave added to the reflected
wave, the SWR can also be defined in terms of those waves. The ratio of the reflected voltage wave Vr
to the incident voltage wave Vi is called the reflection coefficient (ᴦ)
Vr
Γ=
Vi
- If a line is terminated in its characteristic impedance, then there is no reflected
voltage, so Vr =0 and Γ= 0.
- If the line is open or shorted, then total reflection occurs. This means that Vr and Vi
are the same, so Γ= 1.
If the load is not matched and also not an open or short, the line will have voltage minima and maxima,
as described previously. These can be used to obtain the reflection coefficient by using the formula

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

 V max−V min SWR−1 Z L−Z o
Γ= = =
V max +V min SWR +1 Z L + Z o
Example:
An RG-11/U foam coaxial cable has a maximum voltage standing wave of 52 V and
a minimum voltage of 17 V. Find
(a) the SWR
(b) the reflection coefficient
(c) the value of a resistive load.
solution

It is possible to compute reflected power Pr if given the SWR and the incident power Pi.
Since
Pr SWR−1 2
2
Γ =
Pi
= (
SWR +1 )
Example:
Find the ratio Pr/Pi for a transmission line of SWR=1.5
Solution

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

P r 1.5−1 2
Pi
=(1.5+1 )2
=0.2 =0.4=4 %

Knowing the SWR, you can compute Γ and then find Pi. The figure below shows the Percentage of
reflected power on a transmission line for different SWR values.

For SWR values of 2 or less, the reflected power is less than 10 percent, which means that 90 percent
gets to the load. For most applications this is acceptable. For SWR values higher than 2, the percentage
of reflected power increases dramatically, and measures must be taken to reduce the SWR to prevent
potential damage. The most common approach to reducing the SWR is to produce an impedance
match.
One of the best and most practical ways to compute the SWR is to measure the incident power Pi and
reflected power Pr and then use the formula
1+ √ Pr / Pi
SWR=
1√ P /P
r i

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

Impedance matching
Impedance matching circuit is inserted between the transmitter and the transmission line as shown in
Fig_1.5.

Fig_1.5
The matching circuit will make the transmitter behave properly. Common used impedance matching
circuits are: LC-network, L-network, T-network, π-network and transformers. Fig_1.6 shows L-Network
impedance matching circuits

Fig_1.6
To calculate the inductance and capacitance value the following formulas can be used
X L =√ R S R L−R2L ; R L<¿R else X L= √ R S R L− R2S ¿
S

RS RL
XC =
XL

Microwave Eng Lecture-2

Example
Match a 6 ohm transistor amplifier to a 50 ohm antenna load at 155 MHz.
Solution
RS<RL , So
X L =√ R s R L −R2s= √6 ( 50 ) −62= √246=16.25 ohm
R S R L 6 (50)
XC = = =18.46 ohm
XL 16.25
To find the values of inductor (L) and capacitor (C) at 155 MHz
1
X L =2 πfL , X C =
2 πfC

Microwave Eng Lecture-2