Transmission Lines

UHF Lines as Circuit Elements

When a line is connected to a load, the load may be:
• ZL = 0 (short circuit or shorted load)
• ZL =  (open circuit or open load)
• ZL = Z0 (matched load)

A. Shorted Line (ZL = 0)

Z L + jZ0 tan l
Z SC = Zin |Z L =0 = Z0 |Z =0 = jZ0 tan l
Z0 + jZ L tan l L

ZL − Z0 1+ |  L |
L = = −1 = 11800 S= =
ZL + Z0 1− | L |

Notice that Zin is a pure reactance, which could be inductive or capacitive depending on the
value of l (electrical length) or on the value of l at a particular frequency.

The variation of Zin with l or l is shown in Figure.

B. Open-Circuited Line (ZL = )

Z L + jZ0 tan l Z0
ZOC = Zin |Z L → = Z0 |Z L = = = − jZ0 cot l
Z0 + jZ L tan l j tan l

ZL − Z0 1+ |  L |
L = = 1 = 100 S= =
ZL + Z0 1− | L |

Notice that Zin is a pure reactance, which could be capacitive or inductive depending on the
value of l (electrical length) or on the value of l at a particular frequency.

The variation of Zin with l or l is shown in Figure.

Class Note by Santanu Das 1

 Transmission Lines

C. Matched Line (ZL = Z0)

This is the most desired case from the practical point of view. For this case,

Z L + jZ0 tan l
Zin |Z L =Z0 = Z0 |Z =Z = Z0
Z0 + jZ L tan l L 0

ZL − Z0 1+ | L |
L = =0 S= =1
ZL + Z0 1− | L |

There is no reflection, the whole wave is transmitted.

The incident power is fully absorbed by the load. Thus, Maximum Power Transfer is
possible when a transmission line is matched to the load.

Applications of Transmission Line

• Transfer of energy from one point to another
• At ultrahigh frequencies & above, sections of lines are used as pure circuit elements.

Above 150 MHz the ordinary lumped-circuit elements become difficult to construct (ordinary
elements become comparable to the wavelength in it, behave as a section of a transmission line,
and elements will not be pure, will act as complex impedance).
But, the required physical size of sections of transmission lines has become small
enough to justify their use as circuit elements.

Some line sections and their low-frequency equivalents are shown in Fig.

Class Note by Santanu Das 2

 Transmission Lines

• ZL = 0 for the shorted section

• ZL =  for the open sections
Z L + jZ0 tan l
Zin |Z L =0 = Z0 |Z =0 = jZ0 tan l
Z0 + jZ L tan l L

Z L + jZ0 tan l Z0
Zin |Z L → = Z0 |Z L = = = − jZ0 cot l
Z0 + jZ L tan l j tan l

❖ For line lengths less than a quarter of a wavelength (l < /4),

• Shorted section (ZL = 0) is equivalent to an inductance

(tan l = +ve , Zin = +ve)
• Open section (ZL = ) equivalent to a capacitance
(cot l = +ve, Zin = –ve)
Class Note by Santanu Das 3
 Transmission Lines

❖ For a length of line between a quarter and a half wavelength (/4 < l < /2)

• Shorted section (ZL = 0) is capacitive (tan l = –ve, Zin = –ve)

• Open section (ZL = ) is inductive (cot l = –ve, Zin = +ve)

❖ Quarter-wave (l = /4) and Half-wave Sections (l = /2)

• Shorted (ZL = 0) quarter-wave line (l = /4)

• Open (ZL = ) half-wave line (l = /2)

The input Impedance (reactance +jZ0 tan l and –jZ0 cot l) goes to infinity (Zin → ),
hence the resistive component of the input impedance must be taken into account.

This case corresponds to conditions in the parallel-resonant circuit (the low-frequency ana-
logue, Zin = L/(CR) at resonant frequency), which has an infinite impedance if resistance is
neglected.

In both cases (quarter-wave line and half-wave line) the actual input impedance is a pure
resistance of very high value when the series resistance is not neglected.

2Z 02
Actual input impedance Rar =
Rl

Rar → input resistance of the line at a resonant length

R → series resistance per unit length of the line (resistance parameter)
l = length of the resonant section, which will be
an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength [l = (2n+1) /4] for a shorted (ZL = 0) line,
an even multiple of one-quarter wavelength (l = 2n /4) (i.e. a multiple of a half-wave
long, l = n/2) for an open (ZL = ) line.
n = 0, 1, 2, ……, an integer.

Class Note by Santanu Das 4

 Transmission Lines

2Z 02
• Derivation of Rar = (when actual line loss is not neglected)
Rl
for a Shorted line (ZL = 0) :

Z L + Z0 tanh l
From Zin = Z0 , Zin = Z0 tanh l
Z0 + Z L tanh l

sinh ( + j) l sinh l cos l + j cosh l sin l

Zin = Z 0 tanh l = Z 0 = Z0
cosh ( + j) l cosh l cos l + j sinh l sin l

[ Formula : sinh (x  jy) = sinh x cos y  j cosh x sin y

cosh (x  jy) = cosh x cos y  j sinh x sin y ]

For line lengths that are an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength [l = (2n+1) /4],

sin l =  1 and cos l = 0.

cosh l Z0
Therefore, Zin = Z0 =
sinh l tanh l

If l is very small, as is generally true for small sections of low-loss line,

cosh l  1, sinh l  l, tanh l  l

Z0
Z in =
l

For low-loss high-frequency lines, L >> R and C >> G

1 C L R GZ0
 =  R +G  = +
2 L C  2Z0 2

For the air-dielectric lines commonly used the losses due to the conductance G are negligible
as for air  = 0 and G = 0.
1 C R
 = R = as Z0 = L / C
2 L 2Z0

Thus, the input impedance of a short-circuited line, whose length is an odd multiple of a
quarter wavelength is
Z 2Z 2
Zin = 0 = 0
l Rl

An identical expression is obtained for an open-ended section (ZL = ) that is a multiple of a

half-wave long (l = n/2), n = 1, 2, 3, ….

Class Note by Santanu Das 5