Unit-I PASSIVE ELEMENTS

1. Introduction:

Microwave radiations are electromagnetic radiations with a frequency range of 300 MHz –
300 GHz. The wavelength of the microwave spectrum range is between 1 mm to 30 cm.

Properties of Microwaves
• Microwaves are reflected by metal surfaces.
• They pass through glass and plastics.
• They can pass through the atmosphere. Thus, microwaves are used phenomenally in
information transmission back and forth to the satellite.
• Water absorbs a particular frequency of microwaves. This feature of microwaves is
utilized in cooking food. Microwaves are absorbed by the water content present in
food, which in turn heat the food. By heating, the atoms and molecules of water in
food start vibrating. As a result, the temperature of the food increases, and the food is
cooked.
• Microwave transmission is affected by wave effects like reflection, refraction,
diffraction, and interference.
• Microwaves are reflected by the conducting surfaces and travel in a straight line.
• They radiate electromagnetic energy with a shorter wavelength.
• The most suitable for the radar systems that are used in aircraft navigation due to their
shorter wavelength.

2. Transmission Line:
A transmission line is a connector which transmits energy from one point to another. The
study of transmission line theory is helpful in the effective usage of power and equipment.
There are basically four types of transmission lines −

• Two-wire parallel transmission lines

• Coaxial lines
• Strip type substrate transmission lines
• Waveguides
While transmitting or while receiving, the energy transfer has to be done effectively, without
the wastage of power. To achieve this, there are certain important parameters which has to be
considered.
Main Parameters of a Transmission Line
The important parameters of a transmission line are resistance, inductance, capacitance and
conductance.
Resistance and inductance together are called as transmission line impedance.
Capacitance and conductance together are called as admittance.

Resistance
The resistance offered by the material out of which the transmission lines are made, will be of
considerable amount, especially for shorter lines. As the line current increases, the ohmic
loss (I2 R loss) also increases.
The resistance R of a conductor of length "l" and cross-section "a" is represented as
𝑙
𝑅 =ρ
𝑎
Where
ρ = resistivity of the conductor material, which is constant.
Temperature and the frequency of the current are the main factors that affect the resistance of
a line. The resistance of a conductor varies linearly with the change in temperature. Whereas,
if the frequency of the current increases, the current density towards the surface of the
conductor also increases. Otherwise, the current density towards the center of the conductor
increases.
This means, more the current flows towards the surface of the conductor, it flows less
towards the center, which is known as the Skin Effect.

Inductance
In an AC transmission line, the current flows sinusoidally. This current induces a magnetic
field perpendicular to the electric field, which also varies sinusoidally. This is well known as
Faraday's law. The fields are depicted in the following figure.
This varying magnetic field induces some EMF into the conductor. Now this induced voltage
or EMF flows in the opposite direction to the current flowing initially. This EMF flowing in
the opposite direction is equivalently shown by a parameter known as Inductance, which is
the property to oppose the shift in the current.
It is denoted by "L". The unit of measurement is "henry (H)".

Conductance
There will be a leakage current between the transmission line and the ground, and also
between the phase conductors. This small amount of leakage current generally flows through
the surface of the insulator. Inverse of this leakage current is termed as Conductance. It is
denoted by "G".

Capacitance
The voltage difference between the Phase conductors gives rise to an electric field between
the conductors. The two conductors are just like parallel plates and the air in between them
becomes dielectric. This pattern gives rise to the capacitance effect between the conductors.

Characteristic Impedance
If a uniform lossless transmission line is considered, for a wave travelling in one direction,
the ratio of the amplitudes of voltage and current along that line, which has no reflections, is
called as Characteristic impedance.
It is denoted by Z0
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
𝑍0 = √
𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑅 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿
𝑍0 = √
𝐺 + 𝑗𝜔𝐶

Reflection Co-efficient
The parameter that expresses the amount of reflected energy due to impedance mismatch in a
transmission line is called as Reflection coefficient. It is indicated by ρ (rho).
It can be defined as "the ratio of reflected voltage to the incident voltage at the load
terminals".
reflectedvoltage Vr
ρ= =
incidentvoltage Vi
If the impedance between the device and the transmission line don't match with each other,
then the energy gets reflected. The higher the energy gets reflected, the greater will be the
value of ρ reflection coefficient.
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)
The standing wave is formed when the incident wave gets reflected. The standing wave
which is formed, contains some voltage. The magnitude of standing waves can be measured
in terms of standing wave ratios.
The ratio of maximum voltage to the minimum voltage in a standing wave can be defined as
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio VSWR. It is denoted by "S".
|Vmax|
𝑆 =
|Vmin|
1≤S≤∞
VSWR describes the voltage standing wave pattern that is present in the transmission line due
to phase addition and subtraction of the incident and reflected waves.
Hence, it can also be written as
1+ρ
𝑆 =
1−ρ
The larger the impedance mismatch, the higher will be the amplitude of the standing wave.
Therefore, if the impedance is matched perfectly,
Vmax:Vmin = 1:1
Hence, the value for VSWR is unity, which means the transmission is perfect.

Efficiency of Transmission Lines

The efficiency of transmission lines is defined as the ratio of the output power to the input
power.
Power delivered at reception
% efficiencyoftransmissionline η = 𝑋 100
Power sent from the transmission end

Losses due to Impedance Mismatch

The transmission line, if not terminated with a matched load, occurs in losses. These losses
are many types such as attenuation loss, reflection loss, transmission loss, return loss,
insertion loss, etc.

1. Attenuation Loss
The loss that occurs due to the absorption of the signal in the transmission line is termed as
Attenuation loss, which is represented as
𝐸𝑖 − 𝐸𝑟
Attenuation loss(dB) = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔10 [ ]
𝐸𝑡
Where
• Ei = the input energy
• Er = the reflected energy from the load to the input
• Et = the transmitted energy to the load
 2. Reflection Loss
The loss that occurs due to the reflection of the signal due to impedance mismatch of the
transmission line is termed as Reflection loss, which is represented as
𝐸𝑖
Reflection tion loss(dB) = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔10 [ ]
𝐸𝑖 − 𝐸𝑟
Where
• Ei = the input energy
• Er = the reflected energy from the load
The loss that occurs due to the reflection of the signal due to impedance mismatch
of the transmission line is termed as Reflection loss, which is represented as

3. Transmission Loss
The loss that occurs while transmission through the transmission line is termed as
Transmission loss, which is represented as
𝐸𝑖
Transmition loss(dB) = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔10 [ ]
𝐸𝑡
Where
• Ei = the input energy
• Et = the transmitted energy

4. Return Loss
The measure of the power reflected by the transmission line is termed as Return loss, which
is represented as
𝐸𝑖
Return loss(dB) = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔10 [ ]
𝐸𝑟
Where
• Ei = the input energy
• Er = the reflected energy

5. Insertion Loss
The loss that occurs due to the energy transfer using a transmission line compared to energy
transfer without a transmission line is termed as Insertion loss, which is represented as
𝐸1
Return loss(dB) = 10𝑙𝑜𝑔10 [ ]
𝐸2
Where
• E1 = the energy received by the load when directly connected to the source,
without a transmission line.
 • E2 = the energy received by the load when the transmission line is connected
between the load and the source.

Transmission Line Theory