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Lecture-4

ECE321/521

Date: 14.08.2014

Review Lecture 3
Terminated Lossless Transmission Line
TL Input Impedance
Solved Examples

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Review Lecture 3
()

IL

IL

V ( z)
Z0

IL

IL

ZL

z=-l

z =0

For a terminated lossless transmission line, the current and voltage along
the line is:

V ( z ) V e

j z

0e

j z

V0 j z
e
I ( z)
0e j z
Z0

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Special Termination Conditions

Let us consider a generic TL terminated in arbitrary impedance ZL
0

Zin
I(z)

V(z)

z = -l

Z0

ZL

z=0

Its interesting to note that the load ZL enforces a boundary

condition that explicitly determines neither V(z) nor I(z)but
completely specifies line impedance Z(z)!

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

We define the generalized impedance at any point on the line as:

V ( z)
Z ( z)
I ( z)

This is the impedance we would measure

if we cut the line at z and measured its
impedance there.
0

Zin
I(z)

V ( z)

Z0

ZL

z = -l

Z ( z)

z=0

j z
1 0 e j (2 z )

V ( z) V e
Z ( z)
j z
I ( z) V e
1 0 e j (2 z )

Z0

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

e j z 0e j z
Z L cos( z ) jZ 0 sin( z )
Z ( z ) Z 0 j z
Z0
j z
e
0e
Z 0 cos( z ) jZ L sin( z )
Likewise, the load boundary condition leaves + () and ()
undetermined, but completely determines reflection coefficient function
()!

V ( z)
Z L Z0 j 2 z
j 2 z
( z )
0e

e
V ( z)
Z L Z0
Lets look at some specific values of load impedance = +
and see what functions () and () result!

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

=

the load impedance equals the

characteristic impedance of the TL

Matched Line
0

For a lossless TL: RL Z0

Z0

XL 0

ZL=Z0

Purely Real

z = -l
The load reflection coefficient:

The impedance at position z:

means no reflected
wave V(z)

z=0
Z L Z0
0
0
Z L Z0
Z ( z) Z0

reflection coefficient
is zero at all points
along the line

The line impedance equals Z0

matched condition

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

=

Short-Circuited Line

RL 0 X L 0

Z0

z =-l

l
Z ( z ) jZ 0 tan( z )

A device with no load is

called short circuit

Short-circuit
entails setting
this impedance
to zero
ZL =0

0 Z0
1
0 Z0

z=0
Alternatively

2 z
Z ( z ) jZ 0 tan

Note that this impedance is purely reactive. This means that the current and
voltage on the transmission line will be everywhere 90 out of phase.

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Short-Circuited Line
The current and voltage along the TL is:

V ( z ) V0 e j z e j z j 2V0 sin( z )

2V0
I ( z)
cos( z )
Z0

Finally, the reflection coefficient function is:

V ( z ) V0 e j z
( z )
j z e j 2 z
V ( z ) V0 e

() = 1

V ( z) V ( z)

In other words, the magnitude of each wave on the transmission line

is the samethe reflected wave is just as big as the incident wave!

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Z (l ) jZ 0 tan( l )

Short-Circuited Line
Zin

inductive
0
/2

3/2

5/2

capacitive

3
4

5
4

It can be observed:
At -l=0, the impedance is zero
(short-circuit condition)
Increase in -l leads to inductive
behavior
l At -l=/4, the impedance equals
infinity (open-circuit condition)
Further increase in -l leads to
capacitive behavior
At -l=/2, the impedance
becomes zero (short-circuit
d
condition)
The entire periodic sequence
repeats for -l>/2 and so on

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Z (l ) jZ 0 tan( l )

Short-Circuited Line

At low frequency:

L
Z (l ) jZ 0 l
LC l j Ll
C

L*l
C*l

Z (l ) j Ll

Extremely useful
result for RF Circuit
Design

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Example 1
For a short-circuited TL of l = 10 cm, compute the magnitude of the input
impedance when the frequency is swept from f = 1 GHz to 4 GHz. Assume the
line parameters L = 209.4 nH/m and C = 119.5 pF/m.
Solution:

Z 0 L / C (209.4 * 0.1) / (119.5* 0.5) 41.86

1
1
vp

1.99 *108 m / s
LC
(209.4 * 0.1) * (119.5* 0.5) 41.86
2 f
Z ( z l ) jZ 0 tan( l ) jZ 0 tan
v
p

Set l = 10 cm and then write a MATLAB program to obtain the Zin curve
Compare the MATLAB results to that obtained from ADS simulation

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Open-Circuited Line

RL X L

Z(-l)

Z0

z = -l

l
Z (l ) jZ 0 cot( l )

A device with infinite

load is called open-circuit
Open-circuit entails
setting this impedance
to infinite

ZL

Z L Z0
0
1
Z L Z0

z=0
Alternatively

2 l
Z (l ) jZ 0 cot

Again note that this impedance is purely reactive. current and voltage on
the transmission line are 90 out of phase.

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Open-Circuited Line
The current and voltage along the TL is:

2V0
I ( z) j
sin( z )
Z0

V ( z ) V0 e j z e j z 2V0 cos( z )
At the load, = 0, therefore: V (0) 2V
0

I (0) 0

As expected, the current is zero at the end of the transmission line (i.e. the
current through the open). Likewise, the voltage at the end of the line (i.e., the
voltage across the open) is at a maximum!

Finally, the reflection coefficient function is:

V ( z ) V0 e j z
( z )
j z e j 2 z
V ( z ) V0 e

() = 1

V ( z) V ( z)

In other words, the magnitude of each wave on the transmission line

is the samethe reflected wave is just as big as the incident wave!

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Open-Circuited Line

Z (l ) jZ 0 cot( l )

Zin

inductive
0

capacitive

3
4

5
4

It can be observed:
At l=0, the impedance is infinite
(open-circuit condition)
Increase in -l leads to capacitive
behavior
At -l = /4, the impedance equals
zero (short-circuit condition)
Further increase in -l leads to
inductive behavior
At -l=/2, the impedance
becomes infinite (open-circuit
condition)
The entire periodic sequence
repeats for -l >/2 and so on

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Open-Circuited Line

Z (l ) jZ 0 cot( l )

L
1/ LC l 1
At low frequency: Z (l ) jZ 0 / l j
j Cl
C
L*l

C*l

Z (l ) 1/ j Cl

Extremely useful
result for RF Circuit
Design

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Load impedance is purely reactive: ZL = jXL

Z L Z 0 jX L Z 0
0

Z L Z 0 jX L Z 0

Z0

ZL=jXL

z = -l
0 1
2

z=0

Z0 is real for a lossless TL, therefore

this reflection coefficient is
generally some complex number

magnitude is 1 and therefore we can write

0 e

2Z 0 X L
Where, tan 2
2
X

Z
0
L
1

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Load impedance is purely reactive: ZL = jXL

We can write voltage and current as:

V ( z) V

j z

j j z

V0 j z j j z
I ( z)
e
e e

Z0

V ( z ) 2V0 e

cos z
2

2V0 j 2

I ( z) j
e
sin z
Z0
2

Therefore the line impedance is:

V ( z)

Z ( z)
jZ 0 cot z
I ( z)
2

Purely Reactive

Again note that this impedance is purely reactive. current and voltage on
the transmission line are 90 out of phase.

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Load impedance is purely reactive: ZL = jXL

At the load end of the line:

V ( z 0)

Z ( z 0) Z L
jZ 0 cot
I ( z 0)
2

with a little trigonometry, we can show (trust

me!) that:

X L
cot
2 Z0

Z ( z 0) Z L jZ 0 cot jX L
2

j 2 z
The reflection
V ( z)
2

(
z
)

e
coefficient is:
V ( z)

( z ) 1

Expected!

V ( z) V ( z)

The magnitude of forward and backward waves on TL is same a reactive

load leads to results very similar to that of an open or short circuit

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Load impedance is purely resistive: ZL = RL 50

Z L Z 0 RL Z 0
0

Z L Z 0 RL Z 0

A real value considering

that 0 is real valued.

The current, voltage, and thus the line impedance

are complex in this case and expressions cant be
simplified any further.
Q: Why is that? When the load was purely imaginary (reactive), we were
able to simplify our general expressions, and likewise deduce all sorts of
interesting results!

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Load impedance is purely resistive: ZL = RL 50

A: True! And heres why. Remember, a lossless transmission line has series
inductance and shunt capacitance only. In other words, a length of lossless
transmission line is a purely reactive device (it absorbs no energy!).
If we attach a purely reactive load at the end of the transmission line, we
still have a completely reactive system (load and transmission line).
Because this system has no resistive (i.e., real) component, the general
expressions for line impedance, line voltage, etc. can be significantly
simplified.
However, if we attach a purely real load to our reactive transmission line,
we now have a complex system, with both real and imaginary (i.e.,
resistive and reactive) components.
This complex case is exactly what our general expressions already
describesno further simplification is possible!

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Special Termination Conditions (contd.)

Load impedance is complex (the general case): = +

Q: Havent we already determined all the general expressions (e.g.,

0 , , , () for this general case? Is there anything else left to be
determined?
A: There is one last thing we need to discuss. It seems trivial, but its
ramifications are very important!
For you see, the general case is not, in reality, quite so general.
Although the reactive component of the load can be either positive or
negative ( < < ), the resistive component of a passive load
must be positive ( > 0)theres no such thing as a (passive)
negative resistor!
This leads to one very important and useful result.
You can find out from expression of reflection coefficient that
conservation of energy is satisfiedthe reflected wave from a passive
load cannot be larger than the wave incident on it.

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Transmission Line Input Impedance

Q: Just what do you mean by input impedance?
A: The input impedance is simply the line impedance seen at the beginning
( = ) of the transmission line, i.e.:

V ( z l )
Z in Z ( z l )
I ( z l )
Note equal to neither the load impedance nor the characteristic
impedance 0 !

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Transmission Line Input Impedance (contd.)

We know the line impedance of a

lossless TL loaded with an
arbitrary load impedance is:

Z L cos( z ) jZ 0 sin( z )
Z ( z) Z0
Z 0 cos( z ) jZ L sin( z )
0

Z L jZ 0 tan( l )
Z in Z 0
Z 0 jZ L tan( l )

Z in Z ( z l )

z =-l

ZL

Z0

Length = l

z=0

This input impedance can be radically different from load

impedance (ZL) definitely regulated by , Z0 and length of
the line (l)

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases

Now let us look at the input impedances for some important load
impedances and line lengths

You should commit these

results to memory

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases

1. length of the line is l = m(/2)
2
Z L jZ 0 tan
.
2Z
Z in Z ( z / 2) Z 0
L
2
Z 0 jZ L tan
.
2

For a transmission line of half wavelength long the input impedance equals
the load impedance irrespective of the characteristic impedance of the line
It means it is possible to design a circuit segment where the transmission
lines characteristic impedance plays no role (obviously the length of line
segment has to equal half wavelength at the operating frequency)

Zin Z L

, Z0

l = /2

ZL

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

2. length of the line is l = /4 or /4 + m(/2)
2
Z L jZ 0 tan
.
4 Z 02

Z in Z (l / 4) Z 0

ZL
Z 0 jZ L tan
.
4

This result implies that a transmission line segment can be used to

synthesize matching of any desired real input impedance (Zin) to the
specified real load impedance (ZL)
Z L Given
Zin Desired

Z0 Z L Zin

/4

ZL

This is known as
quarter-wave
impedance
transformer

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

2. length of the line is l = /4 or /4 + m(/2)
Z 02
Z in
ZL

input impedance of a quarter-wave line is inversely

proportional to the load impedance

Think about what this means! Say the

load impedance is a short circuit then:

Z 02 Z 02
Z in

ZL
0

Zin = ! This is an open circuit ! The quarter wave TL transforms a

short-circuit into open-circuit and vice-versa

Zin

, Z0

l = /4

ZL=0

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Example 2
Consider a load resistance = 100 to be matched to a 50 line with a
quarter-wave transformer. Find the characteristic impedance of the
matching section and plot the magnitude of the reflection coefficient
versus normalized frequency, 0 , where 0 is the frequency at which the
line is /4 long.
the necessary characteristic impedance is:

Z 0 Z L Z in

Z 0 Z L Z in 50 100 70.71

The reflection coefficient magnitude is given as

Z 0 Z in
Z 0 Z in

is dependent on frequency

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Example 2 (contd.)
Z in Z (l / 4) Z 0

Z L jZ 0 tan l
Z 0 jZ L tan l

2 0 2 f
l
4 v p

vp f

4 f0 2 f0

For higher frequencies the matching section looks electrically

longer, and for lower frequencies it looks shorter.

Plot the magnitude of the reflection coefficient

versus 0 using these two equations
HW # 0

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

the load is numerically equal to the characteristic
impedance of the transmission line (a real value).

3. ZL = Z0

Z in Z 0

Z 0 jZ 0 tan( l )
Z0
Z 0 jZ 0 tan( l )

In other words, if the load impedance (ZL) is equal to the TL characteristic

impedance (Z0), the input impedance (Zin) likewise will be equal to
characteristic impedance (Z0) of the TL irrespective of its length

Zin Z0

, Z0
l

ZL=Z0

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

the load is purely reactive (i.e., the resistive
component is zero)

4. ZL = jXL

jX L jZ 0 tan( l )
X L Z 0 tan( l )
Z in Z ( z l ) Z 0
jZ 0
Z 0 X L tan( l )
Z 0 X L tan( l )

Purely
Reactive

In other words, if the load impedance (ZL) is purely reactive then the input
impedance likewise will be purely reactive irrespective of the line length (l)

Zin jX L

, Z0

ZL=jXL

Note that the opposite is not true: even if the load is purely resistive (ZL = R), the
input impedance will be complex (both resistive and reactive components).

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

4. ZL = jXL
Note that the opposite is not true: even if the load is purely
resistive ( = ), the input impedance will be complex (both
resistive and reactive components).

Q: Why is this?
A: ??

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

5. l <<

the transmission line is electrically small

If length is small with respect to signal l 2 l 2 l 0

wavelength then:
Therefore:

cos( l ) 1

s in( l ) 0

Thus the input impedance is:

Z L cos( l ) jZ 0 sin( l )
Z L (1) jZ 0 (0)
Z in Z 0
Z0
Z0
Z 0 cos( l ) jZ L sin( l )
Z 0 (1) jZ L (0)
In other words, if the transmission line length is much smaller than a
wavelength, the input impedance will always be equal to the load
impedance .

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Transmission Line Input Impedance Special Cases (contd.)

5. l <<

the transmission line is electrically small

This is the assumption we used in all previous circuits courses (e.g., Linear
Circuits, Digital Circuits, Integrated Electronics, Analog Circuit Design etc.)!
In those courses, we assumed that the signal frequency is relatively low,
such that the signal wavelength is very large ( ).
Note also for this case (the electrically short transmission line), the
voltage and current at each end of the transmission line are
approximately the same!
V ( z l ) V ( z 0)

I ( z l ) I ( z 0)

If , our wire behaves exactly as it did in Linear Circuits course!

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Example 3
Determine the input impedance of the following circuit:

Zin ??

Z0 1.0

j3

l /2

Z0 1.5

Z0 2.0

l /4

l /8

ZL= 1 + j2

How about the following solution?

Zin ??

j3

ZL= 1 + j2

j3* (2 1 j 2)
Zin
2.7 j 2.1
j3 (2 1 j 2)
Where are the contributions of
the TL??

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Example 3 (contd.)

Z1

Z0 2.0
l /8

ZL= 1 + j2

Let us define Z1 as the input impedance of the last section as:

Then the impedance Z1 is:

Z1 Z 0

Z L jZ 0 tan( d )
Z 0 jZ L tan( d )

Where: d

Therefore:

(1 j 2) j 2 tan( / 4)
Z1 2

j
(1

j
2)
tan(

/
4)

Z1 8 j 2

1 j4
Z1 2

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Example 3 (contd.)

Series

The problem simplifies to:

Z0 1.0
l /2

j3

Z1= 8 j2

Zin ??

2
Z0 1.5
l /4

Z 2 10 j 2

Zin ??

Z0 1.0
l /2

j3

Z0 1.5
l /4

Z2= 10 j2

Simplification of
the problem

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Example 3 (contd.)

Z0 1.5

Z3

l /4

Z2= 10 j2

Now let us define the input impedance of the middle TL as Z3:

This is a quarter-wave TL one of the
special cases we considered earlier
where the input impedance is:

Z 02
Z3
Z2

(1.5)2
Therefore: Z3
10 j 2

Z3 0.21 j 0.043

Then the problem simplifies to:

Z3= 0.21 + j0.043

Zin ??

Z0 1.0
l /2

j3

Parallel Combination

Z4= 0.22 + j0.028

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Example 3 (contd.)
Finally the simplified problem is:

Zin ??

Z0 1.0

Z4= 0.22 + j0.028

l /2
TL is a half wavelength special case we
discussed earlier input impedance
equals the load impedance

Zin Z4 0.22 j 0.028

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Example 4

Va
Va

For the following circuit determine:

Va ( z )

, Z0

Va ( z )

Vb ( z )

Z0/2

Vb
Va

Vb
Va

Vb ( z )

, Z0

Z0/2

l =/4
z = -l

z=0

Given:

V ( z ) Va ( z ) Va ( z ) Va e j z Vae j z

For z < -l

V ( z ) Vb ( z ) Vb ( z ) Vb e j z Vbe j z

For l < z < 0