1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.

doc 1/9

Transmission Line
Input Impedance
Consider a lossless line, length A , terminated with a load ZL.

I ( z ) = I +( z ) + I −(z ) IL

+ +
V (z ) =V + ( z ) +V −( z ) ZL
VL
− −

A
z = −A z = 0

Let’s determine the input impedance of this line!

Q: Just what do you mean by input impedance?

A: The input impedance is simply the line impedance seen at

the beginning ( z = −A ) of the transmission line, i.e.:

V ( z = −A )
Zin = Z ( z = −A ) =
I ( z = −A )

Note Zin equal to neither the load impedance ZL nor the

characteristic impedance Z0 !

Zin ≠ Z L and Zin ≠ Z 0

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 2/9

To determine exactly what Zin is, we first must determine the

voltage and current at the beginning of the transmission line
( z = −A ).
V ( z = −A ) = V0+ ⎡⎣e + j β A + Γ 0 e − j β A ⎤⎦

V0+ + j β A
I ( z = −A ) = ⎡⎣e − Γ 0 e − j β A ⎤⎦
Z0
Therefore:

V ( z = −A ) ⎛ e + j β A + Γ0 e − j β A ⎞
Zin = = Z0 ⎜ + j βA −j βA ⎟
I ( z = −A ) ⎝ e − Γ 0 e ⎠

We can explicitly write Zin in terms of load ZL using the

previously determined relationship:

ZL − Z0
ΓL = = Γ0
ZL + Z0

Combining these two expressions, we get:

Zin = Z0
( ZL + Z 0 ) e + j β A + (ZL − Z 0 ) e − j βA
(ZL + Z 0 ) e + j βA − (ZL − Z 0 ) e − j βA
⎛ Z L (e + j β A + e − j β A ) + Z 0 (e + j β A − e − j β A ) ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ ⎟
⎜ Z L (e + j β A + e − j β A ) − Z 0 (e + j β A − e − j β A ) ⎟
⎝ ⎠

Now, recall Euler’s equations:

e + j β A = cos β A + j sin β A
e − j β A = cos β A − j sin β A
Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS
1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 3/9

Using Euler’s relationships, we can likewise write the input

impedance without the complex exponentials:

⎛ Z L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
Zin = Z 0 ⎜ ⎟
⎝ Z 0
cos β A + j Z L sin β A ⎠
⎛ Z + j Z 0 tan β A ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ L ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 + j Z L tan β A ⎠

Note that depending on the values of β , Z 0 and A , the input

impedance can be radically different from the load impedance
ZL !

Special Cases

Now let’s look at the Zin for some important load impedances
and line lengths.

Æ You should commit these results to memory!

1. A = λ
2

If the length of the transmission line is exactly one-half

wavelength ( A = λ 2 ), we find that:

2π λ
βA = =π
λ 2
meaning that:

cos β A = cos π = −1 and sin β A = sin π = 0

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 4/9

and therefore:
⎛ Z L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
Zin = Z 0 ⎜ ⎟
⎝ Z 0 cos β A + j Z L sin β A ⎠
⎛ Z ( − 1) + j Z L (0) ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ L ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 ( − 1) + j Z L (0) ⎠
= ZL

In other words, if the transmission line is precisely one-half

wavelength long, the input impedance is equal to the load
impedance, regardless of Z0 or β.

Zin = Z L Z0 , β ZL

A = λ
2

2. A = λ
4

If the length of the transmission line is exactly one-quarter

wavelength ( A = λ 4 ), we find that:

2π λ π
βA = =
λ 4 2
meaning that:

cos β A = cos π 2 = 0 and sin β A = sin π 2 = 1

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 5/9

and therefore:

⎛ Z L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
Zin = Z 0 ⎜ ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 cos β A + j Z L sin β A ⎠
⎛ Z (0) + j Z 0 (1) ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ L ⎟
⎝ Z 0
(0) + j Z L (1) ⎠
(Z )
2
0
=
ZL

In other words, if the transmission line is precisely one-quarter

wavelength long, the input impedance is inversely proportional to
the load impedance.

Think about what this means! Say the load impedance is a short
circuit, such that Z L = 0 . The input impedance at beginning of
the λ 4 transmission line is therefore:

( Z ) ( Z )
2 2

Zin = 0
= 0
=∞
ZL 0

Zin = ∞ ! This is an open circuit! The quarter-wave transmission

line transforms a short-circuit into an open-circuit—and vice
versa!

Zin = ∞ Z0, β ZL=0

A = λ
4
Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS
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3. Z L = Z 0

If the load is numerically equal to the characteristic impedance

of the transmission line (a real value), we find that the input
impedance becomes:

⎛ Z L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
Zin = Z 0 ⎜ ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 cos β A + j Z L sin β A ⎠
⎛ Z cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ 0 ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 cos β A + j Z 0
sin β A ⎠
= Z0

In other words, if the load impedance is equal to the

transmission line characteristic impedance, the input impedance
will be likewise be equal to Z0 regardless of the transmission
line length A .

Z0 , β ZL=Z0
Zin = Z 0

4. Z L = j X L

If the load is purely reactive (i.e., the resistive component is

zero), the input impedance is:

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 7/9

⎛ Z L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
Zin = Z 0 ⎜ ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 cos β A + j Z L sin β A ⎠
⎛ j X L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ ⎟
⎝ Z 0 cos β A + j X L sin β A ⎠
2

⎛ X cos β A + Z 0 sin β A ⎞
= j Z0 ⎜ L ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 cos β A − X L sin β A ⎠

In other words, if the load is purely reactive, then the input

impedance will likewise be purely reactive, regardless of the
line length A .

Z in = j X in Z0 , β ZL=jXL

Note that the opposite is not true: even if the load is purely
resistive (ZL = R), the input impedance will be complex (both
resistive and reactive components).

Q: Why is this?

A:

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 8/9

5. A  λ

If the transmission line is electrically small—its length A is

small with respect to signal wavelength λ --we find that:

2π A
βA = A = 2π ≈0
λ λ
and thus:

cos β A = cos 0 = 1 and sin β A = sin 0 = 0

so that the input impedance is:

⎛ Z L cos β A + j Z 0 sin β A ⎞
Zin = Z 0 ⎜ ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 cos β A + j Z L sin β A ⎠
⎛ Z (1) + j Z L (0) ⎞
= Z0 ⎜ L ⎟
Z
⎝ 0 (1) + j Z L (0) ⎠
= ZL

In other words, if the transmission line length is much smaller

than a wavelength, the input impedance Zin will always be equal
to the load impedance Z L .

This is the assumption we used in all previous circuits courses

(e.g., EECS 211, 212, 312, 412)! In those courses, we assumed
that the signal frequency ω is relatively low, such that the
signal wavelength λ is very large ( λ  A ).

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

1/29/2009 Transmission Line Input Impedance.doc 9/9

Note also for this case ( the electrically short transmission

line), the voltage and current at each end of the transmission
line are approximately the same!

V (z = −A) ≈ V (z = 0) and I(z = −A) ≈ I (z = 0) if A  λ

If A  λ , our “wire” behaves exactly as it did in EECS 211 !

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS