Impedance Matching

The main purpose of Impedance Matching is to match two different terminations (Rsource
and RLoad) through a specific pass-band, without having control over stop-band
frequencies. We may assume that component losses are negligible but parasitic effects
need to be considered.

The main role in any Impedance Matching scheme is to force a load impedance to
“look like” the complex conjugate of the source impedance, and maximum power can be
transferred to the load.
When a source termination is matched to a load with passive lossless two-port
network, the source is conjugated matched to the input of the network, and also the load
is conjugate matched
to the output of the network.
Any reactance between Rs and RL reduces the current in RL and with it the power
dissipated in RL. To restore the dissipation to the maximum that occurs when Rs = RL,
the net reactance of the loop must be zero. This occurs when the load and source are
made to be complex conjugates one of another, so they have the same real parts and
opposite type reactive parts. If the source impedance is Zs = R + jX, then its complex
conjugate would be Zs* = R - jX. Impedance Matching of a resistive source and a
complex load for maximum power transfer
Using only one series reactive element between two equal resistive terminations
creates a voltage drop that reduces the voltage across the load. Impedance Matching
can eliminate or minimize the unwanted reactance through a range of frequencies.
The matching process becomes more difficult when real parts of the terminations are
unequal, or when they have complex impedances.
Impedance matching techniques can be categorized in two broad categories i.e. Distributed Method and
Lumped Element Method as shown in Figure

DISTRIBUTED IMPEDANCE MATCHING:

In this method, antenna can be matched by doing some structural modifications through the use of
stubs, single and multi-section quarter wave transformer, tapered line, balun and active components

1. Impedance matching through Quarter-Wavelength transformer consists of

Advantage:

The main advantage of distributed impedance matching method is that there is no requirement to
modify the geometry of radiating structure. Therefore, radiation performance of the radiating structure
is independent to the matching network and results in easy design optimization.

Disadvantage:

This method increases the size of antenna and not recommended for the design of practical array
systems. Also system efficiency degrades due to the increase in spurious radiation losses from extra
circuitry of matching network. The distributed method can match the impedance in narrow band as well

LUMPED ELEMENT METHOD:

A lumped network is introduced to realize impedance matching between antenna and feed structures.
Lumped element method can be implemented either by inserting a separate network without changing
the antenna structure or by etching slots or notch in the antenna geometry
Impedance matching through Stub

a. Shunt Stub matching through open and short circuit stub

Advantage

The main advantage of placing the impedance matching network between antennas and feeding
structure is the enhancement in the impedance bandwidth.

In both approaches, extra losses are introduced in the antenna structure. In the distributed approach to
impedance matching, loss can be due to spurious loss within the dielectric material. The losses in the
lumped element approach are due to the inclusion of finite quality factor components like inductors and
capacitors.

Impedance Matching through Quarter Wavelength Transformer

Impedance transformer allows perfect matching of two different in a system. If the load in the system is
not match with the source, then due to reflection from load; standing wave pattern are generated and
complete power is not transfer to the load instead it get stored. This stored power can damage and
overheat the system when delivered back to the input source. Simple impedance transformer is the quarter
wavelength transformer which is suitable for matching two real impedances at a single frequency. The
quarter-wave transformer provides narrow-band impedance matching by giving zero reflection at the
operating frequency as shown in Figure. This problem can be solved by multi-section matching
transformer and Tapered lines. Multi-section matching transformer increases the impedance bandwidth
with the increase number of sections shown in Figure

Single Quarter Wave Transformer

Te microstrip patch antenna can be matched to feed line

Ω) as shown in Figure
For frequencies up to approximately 1 GHz, matching networks containing lumped elements (L-
networks) may be used. The circuit elements (capacitors and inductors) must be small enough relative
to wavelength so that the normal circuit equations for voltage and current are valid. This is used for
narrowband frequency impedance matching. We can obtain any value of reactance or susceptance with
the proper length of short-circuited or open-circuited transmission line, we may use these transmission
line stubs as matching networks. A single stub network suffers from the disadvantage of requiring a
variable length of t line between the load and the stub. This may not be a problem for fixed
transformation network, but would pose some difficulty if an adjustable tuning network is desired.
Short-circuited or open-circuited transmission line, we may use these transmission line stubs as
matching networks. A single stub network suffers from the disadvantage of requiring a variable length of
t line between the load and the stub. This may not be a problem for fixed transformation network, but
would pose some difficulty if an adjustable tuning network is desired. A quarter-wave transformer
(QWT) is a simple and useful circuit for matching real load impedance to a transmission line. An
additional feature is that it can be extended to multi-section design for broader bandwidth. Although
quarter-wave transformer can in theory used to match complex Impedance, it is more common to use it
to match real impedance. At the operating frequency fo, the electrical length of the matching section is
o/4. But at other frequencies the length is different, so a perfect match is no longer obtained. The
quarter wave transformer has a limited bandwidth, like other transformation methods and the
transmission line must be placed between the load and the feed line

For applications requiring more bandwidth than a single quarter wave section can provide, multi-section
transformers can be used. BINOMIAL TRANSFORMER •Impedance of consecutive 1/4 wave lines are
proportional to binomial coefficients. •Gives maximally flat pass-band characteristic. A Binomial Multi-
section matching network will have a perfect match at the frequency where the section lengths are a
quarter wavelengths! CHEBYSHEV TRANSFORMER •Wider bandwidth than Binomial Transformer for the
same number of ¼ wave sections. • Ripple over pass-band. A Chebyshev multi-section matching
transformer can provide even larger bandwidths than a binomial multisection matching transformer for
a given number of transmission line sections. The increased bandwidth of the Chebyshev transformer
comes at the cost of increased ripple over the pass-band of the matching network. However, we may
still designate some maximum allowable reflection coefficient for the design of the Chebyshev
transformer. The Chebyshev transformer exploits the characteristics of the Chebyshev polynomials

1
.
Impedance matching through Quarter-Wavelength
transformer consists of
a)
Narrow band matching through single
transformer
b)
Broadband matching through multisection
transformer consisting of chebyshev type and
binomial type depending upon the response in the
pass band.
2. Broad band Impedance matching through tapered line
uses the design equation of
a)
Exponential Taper
b)
Triangular Taper
c)
Klopfenstein Taper
3. Impedance matching through Stub
a)
Shunt Stub matching through open and short
circuit stub
b)
Series Stub matching through open and short
circuit stub
c)
Double Stub matching