TransmissionLineAnalysis

20092014KevanHashemi,BrandeisUniversity,BNDHEP
Contents
Introduction
WaveEquation
CharacteristicImpedance
CommonLines
GeneralSolution
SkinEffect
SurfaceRoughness
Distortion
ReflectionCoefficient
TransmissionLineStubs
Conclusion
Introduction
Atransmissionlineisapairofelectricalconductorscarryinganelectricalsignalfromoneplaceto
another.Coaxialcableandtwistedpaircableareexamples.Thetwoconductorshaveinductance
perunitlength,whichwecancalculatefromtheirsizeandshape.Theyhavecapacitanceperunit
length,whichwecancalculatefromthedielectricconstantoftheinsulation.Intheearlydaysof
cablemaking,therewouldbecurrentleakingthroughtheinsulation,butinmoderncables,such
leakageisnegligible.Theelectricalresistanceoftheconductors,however,issignificantbecauseit
increases with frequency. The magnetic fields generated by highfrequency currents drive those
currents to the outer edge of the conductor that carries them, so the higher the frequency, the
thinnerthelayerofmetalavailabletocarrythecurrent,andthehighertheeffectiveresistanceof
thecable.Inthisdiscussion,wederiveanddemonstratetheequationsthatgovernthepropagation
of waves down a transmission line, and show how the frequencydependent resistance of these
cablesgivesrisetoattenuationanddistortionofhighfrequencysignals.
WaveEquation
Aperfecttransmissionlinewillcarryanelectricalsignalfromoneplacetoanotherinafixedtime,
regardless of the rate at which the voltage changes. If we apply a signal V(t) to one end of the
transmissionline,wheretistime,thesignalattheotherendwillbeV(t),whereisaconstant.
Wecanmodelarealtransmissionlinewithadistributedinductance,capacitance,andresistance.
We would like to calculate in terms of these distributed properties, and so determine the
circumstancesunderwhichwillbeconstant.Thefollowingdrawingshowsasmallelementofa
transmission line: an element so small that we can assume its distributed properties are lumped
intothreecomponents.

Figure:TransmissionLineElement.HerewehaveC,L,andRasthecapacitance,inductance,andresistanceperunit
lengthofline.VoltagewithdistanceandtimeisV(x,t),andcurrentisI(x,t).

Our transmission line element is a short length, x, of cable. Distance along the cable is x.
Although the capacitance, inductance, and resistance of a transmission line are distributed and
mingled with one another, we lump them into three separate components in our model of a
transmission line element. As x0, our lumped model becomes a distributed model. Consider
thevoltageacrosstheinductorandresistor,whichareinseries,andexperiencethecurrentI(x,t).

Equation1:VoltageAcrossInductiveElement.

The rate of change of voltage with x at a particular time is a function of the rate of change of
currentwithtimeandthecurrentitself.
 Equation2:CurrentIntoCapacitiveElement.

Therateofchangeofcurrentwithxataparticulartimeisproportionaltotherateofchangeof
voltagewithtime.Letusdifferentiate(1)withrespecttoxand(2)withrespecttot.Weusethe
resultingequationstoeliminatetermsinI.

Equation3:TransmissionLineEquation.

WearriveatapartialdifferentialequationinV.IfweassumeRiszero,weareleftwiththesecond
derivative in x being proportional to the second derivative in t. These are the conditions under
whichasinusoidalwavewillpropagatewithoutdistortionorattenuation.Considerasinusoideof
frequencyf=/2,asshownbelow.
 Equation4:PropagatingSineWave.

The sinusoidal wave has the unique property that its derivatives have the same shape as the
original.Thereissomescalingoftheamplitudeofthewaveformaswedifferentiate,anditisthis
scalingthatconstrainsthesolutiontoourtransmissionlineequation.Ifwesett=(LC)x,wesee
the movement of the positive zerocrossing of the sinusoid (the value of sine when its angle is
zero).Wehavedx/dt=1/(LC).Thevelocityofthesinewaveis1/(LC).ProvidedthatLandC
remainconstantwith,thevelocityofallsinewaveswillbethesame.Ifwerepresentourinput
V(0,t)asasumofsinusoidsusingaFouriertransform,allthesesinusoidswillpropagatealongthe
transmissionlineatthesamespeed,sothattheirsumwillremainundistortedasitpropagates,and
wewillhaveouridealtransmissionline:V(x,t)=V(t),with=x(LC).
CharacteristicImpedance
Considertherelationshipbetweenvoltageandcurrentattheinputofourtransmissionline.

Equation5:CharacteristicImpedanceofaTransmissionLine.

When we let R = 0, we see that V(x)/I(x) is not a function of t, nor even of x. At any x, V/I =
(L/C). So far as the source of V(0,t) is concerned, the transmission line behaves in exactly the
samewayasaresistorofvalue(L/C).Wecallthisresistancethecharacteristicimpedanceofthe
transmission line. The characteristic impedance of free space, for waves propagating through a
vacuum, is 377 . The characteristic impedance of water is 42 . Waves propagate through a
vacuumat299m/s,buttheypropagatethroughwateratonly34m/s.
CommonLines
ThefollowingtablegivesthevaluesofLandCforvariousmediums,includingfreespace.The
capacitance of free space is the same as the permittivity of free space. The inductance of free
spaceisthesameasthepermeabilityoffreespace.

Rforf1kHz
Medium C(pF/m) L(nH/m) v(m/s) Z()
(m/m)
RG58/UCoaxialCable 93.5 273 198 54 53
RG58C/UCoaxialCable 101 252 198 50 50
RG59B/UCoaxialCable 72.0 405 185 75 45
CAT5TwistedPair(Solid) 49.2 495 203 100 180
Vacuum 8.85 1260 299 377 0
Water 708 1260 34 42 0
Table:WaveVelocityandCharacteristicImpedanceofVariousMediums.Eachmediumactsasatransmissionline.
ThevelocityisvandthecharacteristicimpedanceisZ.

Thehighfrequencyresistanceofwiresisproportionalto,duetotheskineffect,whichwewill
discusslater.Fornow,thetablegivesRforf=/21kHz.WeobtainedRforthecablesby
addingtheconductorandshieldDCresistancepermeter.Inavacuum,thereisnoheatgenerating
resistance to the movement of charges so R = 0. We are not confident that we can defend our
assignation of R = 0 in water, but that's our best guess. Also in the table is the characteristic
impedanceofthemedium.
GeneralSolution
Let us now consider the case when R > 0. We have the secondorder differential equation in V
givenabove.Insteadofasimplesinusoidalsolution,weproposeasolutioninwhichthesinusoid
amplitude decreases exponentially with distance as it propagates along the cable at a fixed
velocity.Wehavegoodreasontosuggestasolutionofthisform.Nocircuitmadeofcapacitors,
inductors, and resistors can distort the shape of a sinusoid, so we are confident that a sinusoid
propagatingdownatransmissionlinewillremainasinusoid.Furthermore,ifweconsiderthecase
whenRissmall,thecablebeyondanelementoftransmissionlinebehaveslikeapureresistance,
Z. The element's resistance will divide the sinusoidal amplitude by 1/(1+Rx/Z), which implies
exponentialattenuationwithdistance.

Equation6:GeneralSolutionforR>0.Weusejfor1andusethecomplexexponentialidentityej=cos+
jsin.Inourderivationsofthegeneralsolution,weworkwithacomplexexpressionforV(t)becausedoingso
greatelyabbreviatesandclarifiesourequations.ButouractualappliedvoltageistheimaginarypartofV(t)andthe
actualcurrentsandvoltagesfartherdownthetransmissionlinearetheimaginarypartsofourcomplexvalued
solutions.

We use to denote the wavenumber of the signal propagating down the transmission line. We
have=2/,whereisthewavelength.(Theletterkisalsopopularfordenotingthewavember,
butwechose.)Theparameterbistheattenuationconstant,whichdefineshowtheamplitudeof
oursinewavedecreaseswithdistancealongtheline.InthecasewhereR=0,wewouldhaveb=
0and=(LC). With the complex exponential representation, our derivatives are simpler, as
youcanseebelow.

Equation7:DerivativesoftheGeneralSolution.
Now we substitute the Derivatives of the General Solution (7) into the Transmission Line
Equation(3).Wecomparetherealandimaginarypartsoftheresultingidentityandsoobtaintwo
equationsinband,whichwesolvefortoobtainEquation8.

Equation8:WavenumberofPropagatingSinusoidforR>0.

The wave velocity, v = /,is the speed with which a peak in the wave propagates along the
transmission line. The wavelength, = 2/, is the distance between peaks in the wave at a
particularpointintime.Thefollowingtablegives,v,andundervariousconditions.

Condition v
R=0 (LC) 1/(LC) 2/(LC)
L>>R>0 (LC) 1/(LC) 2/(LC)
(LC) 1/(LC) 2/(LC)
L=R>0 1.1(LC) 0.91/(LC) 1.8/(LC)
L<<R 0.71(RC) 0.71(/RC) 1.4/(RC)
Table:Wavenumber(),WaveVelocity(v),andWavelength()UnderVariousConditions.

As we increase from zero, the wave velocity increases from zero and approaches 1 / (LC).
Thus highfrequency waves travel more quickly than lowfrequency waves. Consider RG58/U
cableat1kHz.WehaveL=1.7m/m<<R=53m/m.Sov=25m/sat1kHz.As
wehavev200m/s.

Beforewestarttoimaginehigherfrequencywavesgettingaheadoflowfrequencywaves,letus
solvefortheattenuationconstant,b.Ifthehighfrequencywavesareattenuatedmorequicklythan
lowfrequencywaves,itwon'tmatterhowmuchthehighfrequencywavesgetaheadofthelow
frequencywaves,becausethehighfrequencywaveswillbecomevanishinglysmall.
 Equation9:AttenuationConstantofPropagatingSinusoidforR>0.

Hereweseetwofamiliartermsinthesolutionforb.Wehave(C/L)1/ZandalsoR/L. The
wave amplitude after one meter is a exp(b). The following table gives b and exp(b) under
variousconditions.

Condition b exp(b)
R=0 0 1
L>>R>0 0.50R(C/L)=0.50R/Z exp(0.50R/Z)
0.50R(C/L)=0.50R/Z exp(0.50R/Z)
L=R>0 0.45R(C/L)=0.45R/Z exp(0.45R/Z)
L<<R 0.71(RC) exp(0.71(RC))
Table:AttenuationConstantandRelativeAmplitudeAfterOneMeterUnderVariousConditions.

ConsiderRG58/Ucableat1kHz.WehaveZ=54,L=1.7m/m<<R=53m/m.Sob=
0.00012 /m and the attenuation will be 0.001 dB/m. If R did not increase with frequency, but
remainedconstantat53m/m,aswewouldhaveb0.00049/mandtheattenuationwould
be0.0043dB/m.Meanwhile,our1kHzwaveswouldmoveat25m/s(seeabove)andourhigh
frequencywaveswouldmoveat200m/s(seeabove).IfweapplyastepchangeinV,therising
edgeofthestepwilltravelalong100mofcablein0.5s,whilethe1kHzcomponentofthestep
willarriveafter4s.Neitherthehighfrequencynorthe1kHzcomponentswillbeattenuatedby
morethan5%.
SkinEffect
But the resistance of conductors in cables does increase with frequency. The skin effect is the
restrictionoftheflowofalternatingcurrenttothesurfaceofaconductor.Thisrestrictioniscaused
bythealternatingmagneticfieldthatthecurrentitselfgenerateswithintheconductor.Thehigher
thefrequencyofthealternation,thethinnerthelayerofconductorintowhichthecurrentwillbe
drivenbythesemagneticfields.Wederiveequationsforskindepth,,andskinresistance,Rs in
The Skin Effect. At sufficiently high frequencies, a cylindrical conductor of radius r will have
resistanceperunitlength,

R=(f)/(2r).

The above relationship applies to a 400m radius copper wire provided that the skin depth is
muchsmallerthanthewireradius,whichistrueforf>>27kHz.Athighenoughfrequencies,
theresistanceofanycopperwireofradiusrwillbe:

R=41f/rn/m

For the 400m radius copper wire at the center of an RG58/U coaxial cable, the resistance per
unitlengthatf=1GHzisR=3.2/m.Theattenuitionconstantisb=0.030/m(0.5R/Z,and
Z=54forRG58/U).Theattenuationof100mofthecentralconductoris26dB.Thereturn
conductoralsopresentsresistance.Itisthecoaxialcableshield.Theshieldradiusis1.8mm,butit
is made of stranded wires, so it is not clear that we can apply the above formula directly. But
supposetheshieldwereanothercylinderofradius1.8mm,thenitsresistancewouldbeR=0.72
/mat1GHzanditwouldaddanother6dBofattenuition.Thetotalattenuitionper100mwould
be32dB.Aswewillseeinthenextsection,theactualattenuationofsuchcableat1GHziscloser
to50dBfor100m.
SurfaceRoughness
When we look up the actual attenuation of RG58/U cable at 1 GHz, we find it to be anywhere
from0.3dB/mto0.5dB/m,dependinguponthemanufacturer,eventhoughallRG58/Uhasthe
samediametercopperconductorandshield.Wemeasuredtheattenuationofseveralcablesat900
MHz,asweshowhere,andourmeasurementsagreedroughlywiththemanufacturer'sdatasheets.

WecalculatedthattheattenuitionofRG58/Uat1GHzshouldbearound0.32dB/m.Theactual
attenuition is higher because of surface roughness and impurities in the copper, primarily the
former. The skin depth of 1 GHz in copper is only 2 m. In order to obtain the 0.32 dB/m
performanceofourprediction,thesurfaceofthecopperconductormustbepolishedtobetterthan
1m,orelsetheskinthroughwhichthecurrentflowswillbeanundulatingseriesofvalleysand
mountains that greatly increase the effective length of the wire. Furthermore, any surface
corrosionofthecopperwilldramaticallyreducetheconductivityofthesurfacematerial.Thusour
0.15 dB/m is the theoretical minimum resistance of a 400m radius copper conductor with
surfaceroughness100nmandnocorrosionorimpuritiesinthesurfacecopper.

ThefollowingtableshowstheperfectsurfaceattenuationforRG58/U,accountingforits400m
radiuscentralcopperconductoranditsshield,andcomparesittotheobservedattenuationatrange
offrequencies.

Frequency(MHz) Perfect(dB/100m) Measured(dB/100m)

1 1.5 1.3
10 3.7 4.0
50 7.7 10
100 10 14
200 15 20
500 23 34
1000 33 55
Table:ComparisonofCalculatedandMeasuredAttenuitioninRG58/UCable.

The perfect and measured values are in excellent agreement at 1 MHz, poor agreement at 100
MHz,andgrossdisagreementat1GHz,wherethemeasuredattenuitionis22dBhigherthanour
calculation.Thetypicalsurfaceroughnessofdrawncopperwireisaround2m(0.0001").At100
MHz,theskindepthincopperis6.6m,sosurfaceroughnesswillstarttoaffecttheresistanceof
the wire. At 1 GHz the skin depth is only 2 m, so the path of the current is dominated by
scratches and surface corrosion. To carry a 1GHz signal more than a few meters with metal
conductors, we must polish the conductor surface. Highperformance coaxial cables like these
havepolishedsilverconductorsinthecenter.
Distortion
According to our analysis, higherfrequency signals propagate more quickly down real
transmission lines than lowfrequency signals. But highfrequency signals are attenuated more
quickly.A100mlengthofRG58/Ucablewillattenuatetheamplitudeofa1GHzsignalby55
dB.A1kHzsignal,meanwhile,willbeattenuatedbyonly0.10dB.The1GHzsignalwillgetto
theendofthecablein500ns,butitwillbealmostsixhundredtimessmallerinamplitude.The1
kHzsignalwillgettotheendin4sanditwillbealmostaslargeasitstarted.Theseparationand
attenuation of different frequencies by a transmission line causes distortion of the signals it
carries.Thelongerthetransmissionline,thegreaterthedistortion.Thehigherthefrequencyofthe
input,thegreaterthedistortion.Whenweapplyastepinput,wewillfindthatthesharpedgeof
thestepproceedssharplyatfirst,butbecomesroundedoffasitmovesfartheralongthecable.

The single biggest source of distortion in electrical transmission lines is the skin effect, which
causes a dramatic increase in the effective resistance of the conductors as frequency increases.
Sometimes the rounding off of a sharp step in a cable is called dispersion, but dispersion is
distortion caused by different frequencies moving at different speeds. Most cable distortion, for
practical cables like RG58/U, is caused by attenuation of higher frequencies, not by dispersion,
and what dispersion there is works to slow down the lowfrequency signals, not the high
frequencysignals.

For a case study in the failure of digital communication because of a combination of slow low
frequencycomponentsandattenuatedhighfrequencycomponents,seehere.
ReflectionCoefficient
Suppose we have a sinusoidal wave propagating down an ideal transmission line with
characteristics impedance ZT. The transmission line ends with a load impedance ZL. In the
transmissionline,thewave'svoltageisZTtimesitscurrent.ButtheloadvoltagemustbeZLtimes
theloadcurrent.IfZT=ZL,thenthewavevoltagewillappearontheloadandallthewavecurrent
willflowthroughtheload.ButifZT ZL, the current flowing into the load will not match the
wavecurrent,andwemustaskourselveshowthisapparentconflictcanberesolvedelectrically.
The answer is that it is possible for another wave to be generated by the load, a wave that
propagates in the opposite direction, back to the source of the original wave. We will call the
originalwavetheforwardwave,andthereturningwavethereflectedwave.Becausethereflected
wavewillpropagatebackupthetransmissionline,sotheratioofitsvoltagetocurrentmustalso
beequaltoZT.

Thereflectioncoefficient,whichwedenotewiththesymbol,istheratioofthereflectedwave
amplitude to the forward wave amplitude. We derive an expression for below, in terms of ZT
andZL.Inthederivationbelow,weassumetheexistenceofareflectedwave.Thevoltageonthe
load is the sum of the forward and reflected wave voltages, but the current in the load is the
differencebetweentheforwardandreflectedwavecurrents.
 Figure:DerivationofExpressionforReflectionCoefficientinTermsofTransmissionLineandLoadImpedance.In
ourdrawing,weshowacloseupoftheloadsothatwecandrawthecurrentsandvoltagesinplace,andsowenote
thattheexposedlengthofconductorinourdrawingisfarshorterthanthelengthoftheforwardandreflectedwaves,
sothatnochangeineitherwavetakesplacebeforeitmeetstheload.

WhenZL=ZTwehave=0,andthereisnoreflection.

Theforwardwavecarriesenergy.Thevoltagesourcethatappliedthewavetothefarendofthe
transmissionlinedeliveredelectricalenergytoZT.Thedistributedinductanceandcapacitanceof
the transmission line absorb energy temporarily, but surrender it again as the wave propagates.
Theidealtransmissionlinedoesnotdissipatetheenergy.Itmerelytransportstheenergy.When
theenergyarrivesatZL,iteitherenterstheloadoritreflectsbacktothesource.IfZLisentirely
capacitiveorinductive,theloadwillnotabsorbanyenergyeither.Inthatcase,themagnitudeof
thereflectioncoefficientmustbeone,becauseallthewaveenergywillhavetotravelbacktothe
source. The same argument applies to the case when ZL is 0 (short circuit) or (open
circuit).Thefollowingcalculationconfirmsthatdoesindeedconformtothelawofconservation
ofenergy.

Figure:ReflectionCoefficientforLoadsthatDoNotAbsorbEnergy.

Weseethattheshortcircuittermination,whereZL=0,resultsin=1.Theentireforwardwave
is reflected with its voltage and current negated. Because the voltage of the reflected wave is
negated,thenetvoltageontheloadiszero.Becausethecurrentisnegated,anditwasinthefirst
place assumed to be going in the opposite direction to that of the forward wave, the current
flowingintotheloadistwicethecurrentoftheforwardwave.ForZL=theentireforwardwave
isreflectedwithitsvoltageintact.Thevoltageontheloadisdoubletheforwardwave'svoltage,
andthecurrentintotheloadiszero.
TransmissionLineStubs
Whenaforwardwavereflectsofftheloadatthefarendofatransmissionline,thereflectedwave
returnstothenearend.Whenitarrivesatthenearend,itaddstotheforwardwave,andsoalters
the ratio of voltage to current at the near end. Thus the reflection alters the impedance of the
transmissionline,asseenbyanyvoltagesourceconnectedtothenearend.Thevalueoftheload
impdance,ZL, determines the reflection coefficient, while the length, L, of the transmission line
determines the phase of the reflected wave at the near end. It turns out that we can create any
impedancewelikeatthenearendbyourchoiceofZLandL.Wecallsuchalineatransmission
linestub.

Wecanuseastubtointroduceanimpedanceintoacircuitinsteadofusingcapacitors,inductors,
and resistors. Stubs with opencircuit and shortcircuit terminations are often used in radio
frequency matching networks. In the figure below, we derive the impedance at the near end in
termsofL,ZL,andthecharacteristicsimpedanceoftheline,ZT.Inourderivation,werepresent
voltages,currents,andphaseshiftswithcomplexexponentials.
 Figure:TransmissionLineStubImpedance.

Thetermsej4L/representthephasedelayofawavetravelingfromtheneartothefarendand
back again. The numerator represents the sum of the forward and reflected voltages at the near
end,whilethedenominatorrepresentsthedifferencebetweentheforwardandreflectedcurrentsat
thenearend.Thefollowingtablegivessomeexamplestubimpedancesforvariousstublengths
andloadimpedances.
Table:ExampleStubImpedances.Thestublength,L,isinunitsofwavelength.Thecharacteristicimpedance,ZT,we
assumeisresistive.Theloadimpedance,ZL,hasarealandimaginarypart.Wecalculatetherealandimaginaryparts
ofthereflectioncoefficient,Gamma.Wecalculatetherealandimaginarypartsofthereflectioncoefficient(R.C.).We
obtainedourtablewithourstubimpedancecalculationspreadsheet,availablehere.Weuse"1e10"asanopencircuit
load.And"inf"resultmeansanopencircuitstubimpedance.

Aquarterwavelengthstubwithanopencircuitloadhasimpedance0,whilethesamestubwith
ashortcircuitloadhasinfiniteimpedance.Aoneeighthwavelengthstubwithashortcircuitload
producesaninductiveimpedanceofthesamemagnitudeasthetransmissionlineimpedance(50j
for a 50 transmission line). An opencircuit load on the same stub produces a capacitive
impedance(50j).
Conclusion
Ourdiscusionanswersthemostimportantquestionsaboutthebehavioroftransmissionlines.We
showthatitistheattenuationofhigherfrequenciesbytheskineffectthatcausesthedegredation
ofvoltagetransitionsonlongtransmissionlines,notthedispersionofhigherfrequencies.Ineed,
the dispersion alone would cause the opposite effect: higher frequencies propagate far more
quickly than lower frequencies. A 1GHz sinusoid, for example, propagates down a 100m
RG58/Ucablein500ns,whilea1kHzsinusoidtakes4s.Theamplitudeofthe1GHzsignal,
however,willbeattenuatedbyafactorofsixhundredbythetimeitgetstotheotherend,while
the1kHzsignalwillarriveatalmostthesameamplitudeasitentered.Thelatearrivalofthelow
frequencycomponentofasignalgivesrisetosettlingtimesofordermicrosecondsatthefarend
of hundredmeter cables. The attenuition of higher frequencies is dominated by the skin effect,
which serves to increase the effective resistance of the transmission line in proportion to the
square root of the frequency. Once we get above 100 MHz, the surface polish of the conductor
begins to limit the performance of a cable, which explains why the best highfrequency coaxial
cablesusepolishedsilverconductors.

Because an imprefectlyterminated transmission line causes power to be reflected back to the

source,theimpedanceseenlookingintosuchalineisnotequaltothecharacteristicimpedanceof
theline,butsomefunctionofthereflectioncoefficientatthefarend,andthelengthoftheline.If
weareworkingatoneparticularfrequency,oranarrowrangeoffrequencies,wecanuseafinite
transmission line, or stub to create any impedance we like. We can use such stubs as matching
networks.