PTL

Series Expansion: Solution

of PDE
Example:
Poissons Equation in a Cube

Boundary condition:

Solution of the PDE, using series expansion is

Strip Transmission Line

Consider a strip conductor enclosed in a shielded box
containing homogeneous medium as shown

If TEM mode of propagation is assumed, our problem

is reduced to nd V satisfying Laplaces equation 2V=
0

 Due to symmetry, we need only consider one quartersection of the line

This quadrant can be subdivided into regions 1 and 2,

where region 1 is under the center conductor and
region 2 is not.
We now seek solutions V1 and V2 for regions 1 and 2.

 If w>>b, region 1 is similar to parallel-plate, we have

a one dimensional problem, V1 variation in y
direction, with solution

Boundary conditions are

After substituting these boundary conditions we get
For region 2, the series expansion solution of 2V2 is

 Even-numbered terms could not be included because

they do not satisfy the boundary condition
requirements about line y = 0, i.e.,

We now determine the expansion coefcient An, we

know the fact that V must be continuous at the
interface x = w/2 between regions 1 and 2, i.e.,
Substitute the value of V1 and V2

Which is similar to fourier series

 Capacitance per unit length C of the strip line, energy

stored per length is related to C

Microstrip
Microstrip line is one of the most popular types of
planar transmission lines primarily because it can be
fabricated by photolithographic processes and is easily
miniaturized and integrated with both passive and
active microwave devices.

Quasi TEM mode

Microstrip has some of its eld lines in the dielectric
region between the strip conductor and the ground
plane and some fraction in the air region above the
substrate. For this reason microstrip line cannot
support a pure TEM wave. It is usually referred to as
quasi-TEM. eld distribution

 Electric (E) and magnetic (H) distributions are

Note the abrupt change in direction of the electric

eld line as it passes through the air-substrate
interface.
These elds have been analysed by a number of
researchers using various static techniques. because

 For the majority of microstrip lines suitable for MICs,

the statically derived results are quite accurate where
the frequency is below a few gigahertz.
At higher frequencies, these static results can still be
used in conjunction with frequency-dependent
functions in closed formulas.

Quasi Static Analysis of Microstrip

Line
In Quasi Static Analysis:
The mode of wave propagation is
assumed to be pure TEM
Applicable for low frequency
Transmission characteristics are
calculated from two capacitances Ca
and C
Characteristic Impedance is then
calculated in terms of (C,Ca)

CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE Zo
For any TEM-type transmission line the
characteristic impedance at high frequencies
may be expressed

(1)

This phase velocity is also given by:

 When the substrate of the microstrip line is removed we

have an air-lled line along which the wave will travel at c
( velocity of light in free space)
The characteristic impedance of this air-lled microstrip
Z01 is given by
Z01

Where L remains unaltered by the change in dielectric

constant and C1 is the capacitance per unit length for this
structure, or we can write (?)

.(2)

 On combining eq (1) & (2), we get an expression of

Characteristic Impedance in terms of C and C1

This means that we have the required

characteristic impedance if only we can
evaluate the capacitances per unit length of the
structure, with and without the presence of the
dielectric substrate.

EFFECTIVE MICROSTRIP PERMITTIVITY

For the air-spaced microstrip line the propagation
velocity is given by

If we divide this equation by dielectric lled phase

velocity

The capacitance ratio C/C1 is termed the effective

microstrip permittivity

 Effective microstrip permittivity is given by

This result has been derived on a static basis, we will

revisit on this when phase velocity taken to be
frequency dependent.
By combining these equations between Zo, Z01, eff

Upper and lower bound of

Upper and lower bounds can be found for
static low-frequency limit.

eff

eff, in the

Consider the two case: Wide strip and narrow strip

microstrip line

 In case of wide strip nearly all of the electric eld is

conned to the substrate dielectric, the structure
resembles a parallel-plate capacitor
In the case of very narrow lines, the eld is almost
equally shared by the air and the substrate

The range of eff is therefore:

 Convenient expression of effective microstrip

permittivity is [Wheeler HA]

Where the new quantity, the lling factor q, has the

bounds

WAVELENGTH g
In free space, velocity is
In microstrip line the velocity is
Now we know the relation
We can get

Electrical Length
Let l be the physical length of a
microstrip line, which can give us the
electrical length.

is the electrical length in

radians

Physical length l

APPROXIMATE GRAPHICALLY-BASED
SYNTHESIS
[Presser]: Devised a graphical technique for the
analysis or synthesis of microstrip lines.
The method is quick and useful where errors of
a few percent can be tolerated.
Can be used when calculator is not available.
This technique is based upon the work of
Wheeler
Uses the static-TEM approach which is
applicable for frequencies up to a few gigahertz

design curves given by Presser

Notice that the width-to-height ratio w/h and filling factor q are both
plotted to a base of the air-spaced characteristic impedance

Steps
Given: Zo, r, h,

Example
Given:
Substrate:

Determine:
W
Effective permittivity
Guide wavelength
Physical length

Sol

w/h=2.225, Eeff=7.095, w=1.335mm, l=14.08mm