EE340A: Electromagnetic theory

Laplace transforms in transmission lines

1 Laplace transform of transmission line equations

We assume that the reader is familiar with Laplace transforms. For a review see[Refs].
The Laplace transform of a function f (t) is denoted by F (s) and is defined as
Z ∞
F (s) = f (t)e−st dt. (1)
0

We note that in transmission line theory, voltages and currents on the TL are functions
of two variables: spatial coordinate z and time t. In order to use LT techniques, we define
the LT of line voltage or current by treating the spatial coordinate as a parameter. That
is, the Laplace transform of the line voltage v(z, t) is denoted by V (z, s) and is defined
as Z ∞
V (z, s) = v(z, t)e−st dt. (2)
0
Thus, at each point z on the line, we consider the voltage as a function of time (since z
is constant at this point) and take the Laplace transform with respect to time to obtain
V (z, s). Similar remarks apply to current i(z, t) which upon Laplace transform with
respect to time gives I(z, s).
The transmission line voltage and currents satisfy the partial differential equations:

∂v(z, t) ∂i(z, t)
= −L (3)
∂z ∂t
∂i(z, t) ∂v(z, t)
= −C (4)
∂z ∂t
Taking the Laplace transform on both sides, we obtain

dV (z, s)
= −sLI(z, s) + Li(0+ ) (5)
dz
dI(z, s)
= −sCV (z, s) + Cv(0+ ), (6)
dz
where we have used the differentiation property of Laplace transforms
 
df (t)
L.T. = sF (s) − f (0+ )
dt

1
and i(0+ ) and v(0+ ) are the initial values of current and voltage on the line. We consider
an initially uncharged line for which these initial values are zero.
Differentiating (5) with respect to z and substituting (6) in the result gives the
following second-order differential equation for V (z, s):

d2 V (z, s)
= (sL)(sC)V (z, s) = γ 2 V (z, s), (7)
dz 2
√
where γ = s LC is the propagation constant. Similarly, differentiating (6) with re-
spect to z and substituting (5) in the result gives the following second-order differential
equation for I(z, s)
d2 I(z, s)
= (sL)(sC)I(z, s) = γ 2 I(z, s). (8)
dz 2
The solutions of (7) and (8) are given by

V (z, s) = Ae−γz + Beγz (9)

0 −γz 0 γz
I(z, s) = A e +B e . (10)

The specific values of the constants A, B, A0 , and B 0 depend on the specific TL circuit
under consideration. We will revisit some of our earlier TL circuits and discuss new ones
to show the power and applicability of the Laplace transform technique. Also note that
the terms e−γz and eγz correspond to waves traveling along positive and negative z−
axis as in earlier sections.
The constants A0 and B 0 can be expressed in terms of the constants A and B.
Differentiating (9) and using (10), we get
dV (z, s)
= γ(−Ae−γz + Beγz ) = −sL(A0 e−γz + B 0 eγz ),
dz
frompwhich we have the following relations: sLA0 = γA and sLB 0 = −γB. Using
γ = s2 LC) we have
p
0 (sL)(sC) A
A = A=
sL Z0
p
(sL)(sC) B
B0 = − B=− ,
sL Z0
where we have used the definition of characteristic impedance Z0 of the transmission
line. Thus, we can write (10) as
1
Ae−γz − Beγz


I(z, s) = (11)
Z0
In summary, equations (5) and (6) are the Laplace transforms of the voltage and
current equations on a transmission line. The solutions (9) and (11) express the voltage
and current waves on the transmission line in Laplace (s−) domain. In order to proceed
further and solve for the constants A and B, we need specific TL circuit configuration.

2
1.1 Example: Application of boundary conditions to solve for transmission line voltage
Consider the transmission line circuit shown in Figure 1. The line has a characteristic
impedance of Z0 and propagation constant γ. The line is terminated in an impedance
ZL at z = `. At t = 0, the switch S closes and connects the source voltage V0 (t) and
internal impedance Zs to the line. Our goal is to find line voltage V (z, s) by solving for
the constants A and B in (9) and then inverting the Laplace transformation to obtain
v(z, t).

Figure 1: Transmission line circuit to apply Laplace transform technique.

The equivalent circuit at the time of switch closure is shown in Figure 2. Applying
KVL around the indicated loop, we obtain first of the boundary conditions that relates
line voltage and line current:

V0 (s) = Zs I(0, s) + V (0, s), (12)

where V0 (s) is the Laplace transform of the source voltage V0 (t). We obtain the second
boundary condition at the load end by noting

V (`, s) = ZL I(`, s). (13)

Figure 2: Equivalent circuit in Laplace domain.

With two equations, we can now solve for the constants A and B. Substituting (9) and

3
(11) with z = 0 in the first and second boundary conditions, we obtain

A−B
V0 (s) = Zs +A+B (14)
Z0
Ae−γ` − Beγ`
Ae−γ` + Beγ` = ZL (15)
Z0
Using the last equation and rearranging the terms, we obtain

A(1 − ZL /Z0 )e−γ` + B(1 + ZL /Z0 )eγ` = 0

=⇒ A(Z0 − ZL )e−γ` = −B(ZL + Z0 )eγ` ,

from which we obtain

ZL − Z0 −2γ`
B= Ae = ΓL Ae−2γ` ,
ZL + Z0
where we have used the definition of reflection coefficient ΓL . Substituting this into (14)
and (15), we obtain

Z0 1
A = V0 (s) (16)
Zs + Z0 1 − Γs ΓL e−2γ`
Z0 ΓL e−2γ`
B = V0 (s) , (17)
Zs + Z0 1 − Γs ΓL e−2γ`

If the source voltage V0 (t) or its transform V0 (s) is specified, along with other circuit
parameters–ZL , Z0 , and γ–we can solve for A and B and then obtain the voltage on the
transmission line from (9). Using (11), we can obtain the transmission line current. By
taking the inverse LT of (9) and (11), we obtain time-domain voltage and current on the
line at any point z.

1.2 Example: Battery connected to transmission line

Let the source be a dc voltage of amplitude V0 connected to the transmission line circuit
at time t = 0 by closing the switch S. The internal impedance of the source is taken to
be real. The load is also considered to be real. Thus, the reflection coefficients at source
and load are both real quantities.
The source voltage can be expressed in terms of unit step function as V0 u(t) whose
Laplace transform is V0 /s. The line voltage is obtained by substituting A and B into
(9) to obtain
V0 Z0 1 + ΓL e2γ(z−`) −γz
V (z, s) = e (18)
s Z0 + Zs 1 − Γs ΓL e−2γ`
The load voltage can be obtained by evaluating V (z, s) at load plane z = `:

V0 Z0 1 + ΓL
VL (s) = V (`, s) = e−γ` . (19)
s Z0 + Zs 1 − Γs ΓL e−2γ`

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In order to proceed further, we will obtain series representation of the term
1
1 − Γs ΓL e−2γ`
by long division. The result is
1
= 1 + Γs ΓL e−2γ` + (Γs ΓL )2 e−4γ` + ...
1 − Γs ΓL e−2γ`
which then gives
Z0 V0  −γ` −3γ` 2 −5γ`

VL (s) = (1 + ΓL ) e + Γs ΓL e + (Γs ΓL ) e + ... (20)
Z0 + Zs s
√
Taking inverse Laplace transform and substituting γ = s/v, where 1/v = LC is the
per unit length delay of the line with per unit length inductance and capacitance L and
C, we obtain
Z0
V0 u(t − Td ) + Γs ΓL u(t − 3Td ) + (Γs ΓL )2 u(t − 5Td ) + ...
 
v(`, t) = (1 + ΓL )
Z0 + Zs
(21)
The solution () obtained from LT techniques should be compared with the solutions
obtained from lattice diagram. We can clearly see that
Z0
(1 + ΓL ) V0 → V1+ + V1− at t = Td
Z0 + Zs
Z0
(1 + ΓL ) V0 Γs ΓL → V1+ + V1− + V2+ + V2− at t = 3Td
Z0 + Zs
and so on which matches with the load voltage obtained from lattice diagram. Thus,
Laplace transform technique provides the mathematical justification for the use of lattice
diagram in analyzing transient response of transmission line circuits.

2 Transient response with reactive termination

It is certainly easy to work with lattice diagram to obtain step and pulse response of
transmission line circuits compared to using Laplace transforms. However, our previous
examples of using lattice diagram worked due to the fact that Γs and ΓL were real
numbers as a result of source and load impedances being resistive. This has an important
implication that the reflected waves at source and load ends are simply scaled versions
of the incident voltage wave. This is no longer the case when the load is reactive such
as a lumped capacitor or an inductor1 . As the voltage across a capacitive or inductive
1
Even though source impedance can also be reactive, we are usually interested in the effect of reactive
load impedances on the voltages and currents on the line. Hence, we consider only load to be reactive
while assuming the source to have resistive impedance. In fact, to simplify the analysis we assume that
the source impedance to be equal to the characteristic impedance of the line. This is called Z0 matching
at the source end.

5
load changes with time, the reflection coefficient becomes time-varying. Lattice diagram
becomes very complicated in this case.
In this section, we consider the transmission line circuit with lumped capacitor as
terminating impedance. We assume that the capacitor is initially uncharged so that its
initial voltage is zero. The source is assumed to be Z0 matched so that Γs = 0.

Figure 3: Transmission line circuit with lumped capacitor load.

The expression for voltage V (z, s) is still given by (9). Further, since the transmission
line circuit at the source end is same as in section 1.2, equation (16) is also valid.
Furthermore, the load voltage can be obtained from (17) by substituting Γs = 0 and
Zs = Z0 :
1
VL (s) = V (`, s) = V1+ e−γ` [1 + ΓL (s)] , (22)
s
where V1+ = V0 /2 is the initial launch voltage on the transmission line. The main
difference between (20) and (17) lies in the fact that ΓL in (20) is no longer a real
number but a function of complex variable s due to the fact that

ZL − Z0 1/sC − Z0
ΓL (s) = = , (23)
ZL + Z0 1/sC + Z0

where 1/sC is the complex impedance of the capacitor in s-domain. Thus, (20) consists
of two terms:
V1+ e−γ`
s
whose inverse Laplace transform V1+ u(t − Td ) is the incident voltage arriving at the load
at t = Td . The second term is

V1+ e−γ` 1/sC − Z0

s 1/sC + Z0

whose inverse Laplace transform is

h i
v1− (`, t) = V1+ u(t − Td ) − 2e−(t−Td )/Z0 C u(t − Td ) (24)

as can be verified. This expression corresponds to the reflected voltage from the capacitor
load in response to the incident voltage V1+ . Note that the reflected voltage begins only

6
at t = Td as the incident voltage arrives at the load only at t = Td . Since we have
assumed Z0 match at the source, the voltage (22) is the only reflected voltage in the
circuit which will be absorbed by the source as it propagates backward toward the source.
The reflected voltage v1− (`, t) can be rewritten as
 
1
v1− (`, t) = 2V1+ − e−(t−Td )/Z0 C u(t − Td ). (25)
2

It is interesting to note that v1− (`, t) at t = Td is given by −V1+ . For t − Td → Z0 C,

v1− (`, t) approaches V1+ . In fact, the voltage rises exponentially from −V1+ to V1+ with
a time-constant of Z0 C. The reflected voltage at load v1− (`, t) is sketched in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Voltage at source z = 0 end. Also shown is the reflected voltage v1− (`, t).

Fgure 4 also shows a sketch of the voltage at source end z = 0. Note that at t = 2Td ,
the source effectively sees a short circuit and the voltage at z = 0 momentarily goes
to zero. However, as v1− (`, t) moves away from −V1+ for t > Td , the voltage at z = 0
also follows v1− (`, t) albeit with a delay. Note that for t → ∞, the voltage at z = 0
approaches 2V1+ = V0 which is just the battery voltage. The load capacitor has charged
to full battery voltage V0 and the effect of transmission line is removed. Thus, a lossless
transmission line simply acts as an ideal delay element with the steady-state voltage
across load being independent of the transmission line parameters. This situation is
obviously not true if the transmission line is lossy.