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Signal propagation on transmission lines 61

• 140 Ω – This type of cable is used extensively by the telephone industry. The comments
relating to the different types of 50 Ω lines also apply to 140 Ω lines.
• 300 Ω – This type of cable is favoured by both the radio and television industry because
it provides a close match for the impedance (292.5 Ω) of a very popular antenna (folded
dipole antenna) which is used extensively for VHF-FM reception. The comments relat-
ing to the different types of 50 Ω lines also apply to 300 Ω lines.
• 600 Ω – This type of cable is used extensively by the telephone industry and many of
their instruments are matched to this impedance. The comments relating to the different
types of 50 Ω lines also apply to 600 Ω lines.

2.8 Signal propagation on transmission lines

2.8.1 Pulse propagation on an infinitely long or matched transmission
line
We are now going to use some of the ideas introduced in the previous sections, particularly
Section 2.2.2, to describe qualitatively the propagation of signals along an infinitely long
transmission line. In this description we will only make two assumptions:

• the transmission line is perfectly uniform, that is its electrical properties are identical all
along its length;
• the line extends infinitely in one direction or is perfectly terminated.

To keep the explanation simple, we will initially only consider the propagation of a
single electrical pulse along the line9 shown in Figure 2.11. At the beginning of the line
(top left hand corner) a voltage source (Vs) produces the single pulse shown in Figure 2.11.
The waveforms shown at various planes (plane 1, plane 2, plane 3) on the line illustrate
three of the main properties of signal propagation along a transmission line:

• propagation delay – the pulse appears at each successive point on the line later than at
the preceding point;
• attenuation – the peak value of the pulse is attenuated progressively;
• waveform distortion and frequency dispersion – its shape differs from its original
shape at successive points.

2.8.2 Propagation delay

The pulse appears later and later at successive points on the line because it takes time to
travel over any distance, i.e. there is a propagation delay. As the line is uniform throughout

9 The behaviour of a pulse travelling along an infinitely long transmission line is very similar to the example
you were given in Section 2.2.2 concerning sound travelling down an infinitely long tunnel except that this time
instead of voice sounds, consider the sound to originate from a single drum beat or pulse. You will no doubt
remember from earlier work that a pulse is a waveform which is made up from a fundamental sinusoid and its
harmonics combined together in a precise amplitude, phase and time relationship.
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62 Transmission lines

Fig. 2.11 Pulse propagation in a transmission line

its length, the amount of delay at any point is proportional to distance between that point
and the source of the pulse. These time delays are shown as t1, t 2, and t 3 in Figure 2.11.
Another way of describing this is to say that the pulse propagates along the line with a
uniform velocity.

2.8.3 Attenuation
The amplitude of the pulse is attenuated as it propagates down the line because of resis-
tive losses in the wires. The amount of attenuation per unit length is uniform throughout
the line because the line cross-section is uniform throughout the line length. Uniform
attenuation means that the fractional reduction in pulse amplitude is the same on any line
section of a given length. This is more easily understood by referring to Figure 2.11,
where the pulse amplitude at plane 1 has been reduced by a factor of 0.8. At plane 2,
which is twice as far from the source as plane 1, the pulse height has been reduced by a
further factor of 0.8, i.e. a total of 0.82 or 0.64 of its original amplitude. At plane 3, which
is three times as far from the source as plane 1, the reduction is 0.83 or 0.512 of the orig-
inal amplitude.
More generally, at a distance equal to l times the distance from the source to plane 1,
the height is reduced by (0.8)l. Because l is the exponent in this expression this type of
amplitude variation is called exponential. It can also be expressed in the form (eα)l or eαl,
where ea represents the loss per unit length and is 0.8 in this particular example. In fact a
is the natural logarithm of the amplitude reduction per unit length. Its unit is called the
neper and loss (dB) = 8.686 nepers.10

Example 2.6
A transmission has a loss of two nepers per kilometre. What is the loss in dB for a length
of 10 kilometres?
Given: Attenuation constant (α) = 2 nepers per km.
Required: Loss in dB for a length of 10 km.

10 This is because dB = 20 Log (Ratio) = 20 Log (ea) = 20 × a × Log (e) = 20 × a × 0.4343 = 8.686a.
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Waveform distortion and frequency dispersion 63

Solution. If 1 km represents a loss of 2 nepers, then 10 km = 10 × 2 = 20 nepers. There-

fore
loss = 8.686 × 20
= 173.72 dB

2.9 Waveform distortion and frequency dispersion

2.9.1 Amplitude distortion
The waveform of the pulse in Figure 2.11 alters as it travels along the line. This shape
alteration is caused by the line constants (inductance, capacitance, resistance and conduc-
tance of the line) affecting each sinusoidal component of the waveform in a different
manner. The high frequency components, which predominate on the edges of the pulse
waveform, suffer greater attenuation because of increased reactive effects; the lower
frequency components, which predominate on the flat portion of the waveform, suffer less
attenuation. The variation of attenuation with frequency is described by the frequency
response of the line.

2.9.2 Frequency distortion

In addition to attenuation, there are also time constants associated with the line compo-
nents (inductance, capacitance, resistance and conductance). These cause high frequency
components to travel at a different velocity from low frequency components. The variation
of velocity with frequency is called the frequency dispersion of the line.

2.9.3 Phase and group velocities

As a pulse consists of sinusoidal components of different frequencies, each component
will therefore be altered differently. Distinction must be made between the velocities
of the sinusoidal components which are called phase velocities, up. The phase velocity
(b) is defined as the change in radians over a wavelength and since there is a phase
change of 2π radians in every wavelength, it follows that b = 2π radians/wavelength (l)
or

2π
b = —— (2.22)
l

The velocity of the complete waveform is called the group velocity, ug. The apparent
velocity of the pulse in Figure 2.11 is called its group velocity.
It is important to realise that if the line velocity and line attenuation of all the compo-
nent sinusoids which make up a pulse waveform are not identical then deterioration in
pulse waveform shape will occur. Pulse distortion is particularly critical in high speed data
transmission where a series of distorted pulses can easily merge into one another and cause
pulse detection errors.
If distortion occurs and if it is desired to know how and why a particular waveform
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64 Transmission lines

has changed its shape, it will be necessary to examine the propagation of the constituent
sinusoids of the waveform itself and to instigate methods, such as frequency and phase
equalisation, to ensure minimal waveform change during signal propagation through the
line.

2.10 Transmission lines of finite length

2.10.1 Introduction
In Section 2.8.1, we discussed waveforms travelling down infinitely long lines. In practice,
infinitely long lines do not exist but finite lines can be made to behave like infinitely long
lines if they are terminated with the characteristic impedance of the line.11

2.10.2 Matched and unmatched lines

A transmission line which is terminated by its own characteristic impedance, Z 0, is said to
be matched or properly terminated. A line which is terminated in any impedance other
than Z 0 is said to be unmatched or improperly terminated. To prevent reflections it is
usual for a transmission line to be properly terminated and so it is a common condition for
a transmission line to behave electrically as though it was of infinite length.
If a transmission line is to be used for signals with a wide range of frequency compo-
nents, it may be difficult to terminate it properly. In general, the characteristic impedance
of a transmission line will vary with frequency and if the matching load fails to match the
line at all frequencies, then the line will not be properly terminated and reflections will
occur.12
In practice, it is usual to properly terminate both ends of a transmission line, i.e. both
at the sending end and the receiving end; otherwise any signal reflected from the receiv-
ing end and travelling back towards the sending end will be re-reflected again down the
line to cause further reflections. The sending end can be properly terminated either by
using a source generator with an impedance equal to the characteristic impedance of the
line or by using a matching network to make a source generator present a matched imped-
ance to the transmission line.

2.11 Reflection transmission coefficients and VSWR

2.11.1 Introduction
Reflection coefficients are based on concepts introduced in your childhood. Consider the
case when you throw a ball at a vertical stone wall. The ball with its incident power will

11 This argument is similar to the case mentioned in Section 2.2.2 where it was shown that if our finite tunnel
was terminated with material with the same properties as an infinitely long tunnel which absorbed all the inci-
dent energy then it would also behave like an infinitely long tunnel.
12 You see this reflection effect as multiple images on your television screen when the TV input signal is not
properly terminated by the TV system. TV engineers call this effect ‘ghosting’.