Transmission Lines

Basic Principles and Operation

Transmission Lines

 A transmission line is the material medium or

structure that forms all or part of a path for directing
the transmission of energy from a source to a load.
 The two primary requirements of a transmission line
and its connectors are that:
1.the line introduce minimum attenuation to the
signal
2.the line not radiate any of the signal as radio
energy
Classification of Transmission Lines

 Balanced Transmission Lines

 Unbalanced Transmission Lines
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Balanced Transmission Lines
Signal high
side

Amplifier 1 Differential Signal Amplifier 2

Voltage

Signal low
side
Common-mode Voltage
(noise)
Earth ground
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Balanced Transmission Lines
 Principle: With two-wire balanced lines, both
conductors carry current; however, one conductor
carries the signal, and the other conductor is the
return path. This type of transmission is called
differential or balanced signal transmission.
The signal propagating down the wire is measured
as the potential difference between the two wires.
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Balanced Transmission Lines
 Operation: Both conductors in a balanced line
carry signal currents. The two currents are equal
in magnitude with respect to electrical ground but
travel in opposite direction.
 Currents that flow in opposite direction in a
balanced pair are called metallic circuit
currents.
 Currents that flow in the same direction in a
balanced pair are called longitudinal currents.
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Balanced Transmission Lines
 A balanced wire pair has the advantage that most
noise interference (or common-mode voltage/noise)
is induced equally in both wires, producing longitudinal
currents that cancel in the load. The cancellation of
common mode signals is called common-mode
rejection. Common-mode rejection ratios of 40 dB to
70 dB are common in balanced transmission lines.
 Any pair of wires can operate in balanced mode,
provided that neither wire is at ground potential.
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Unbalanced Transmission Lines

Amplifier Circuit 1 Signal Amplifier

1 Wire 2

Signal 1 Voltage

Amplifier Circuit 2 Signal Amplifier

3 Wire 4

Signal 2 Voltage

Ground
Reference
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Unbalanced Transmission Lines
 Principle: With an unbalanced transmission line,
one wire is at ground potential, whereas the other
wire is at signal potential. This type of
transmission is called single-ended or
unbalanced signal transmission. With this, the
ground wire may also be the reference for other
signal-carrying wires. If this the case, the ground
wire must go wherever any of the signal wires go.
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Unbalanced Transmission Lines
 Unbalanced transmission lines have the
advantage of requiring only one wire for each
signal, and only one ground line is required no
matter how many signals are grouped into one
conductor. The primary disadvantage of
unbalanced transmission lines is reduced
immunity to common-mode signals, such as noise
and other interference.
Classification of Transmission Lines
→ Unbalanced Transmission Lines
 Operation: The potential difference on each
signal wire is measured from that wire to a
common ground reference. Balanced transmission
lines can be connected to unbalanced lines and
vice versa with special transformers called baluns.
 Balun is a circuit device used to connect a
balanced transmission line to an unbalanced
transmission load, or an unbalanced transmission
line to a balanced transmission load.
Common Types of Transmission Lines

 Parallel-Wire Lines
a. Open-wire
b. Twin Lead
c. Twisted-pair
 Coaxial Cable
 Waveguides
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines
 Parallel-wire transmission lines are comprised of
two or more metallic conductors separated by a
nonconductive insulating material called dielectric.
Common dielectric materials include air, rubber,
polyethylene, paper, mica, glass, and Teflon.
 Three Types
1. Open-wire
2. Twin Lead
3. Twisted-pair
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Open-wire
 Open-wire transmission lines are consisted of
two wires that are closely spaced from 2 to 6
inches apart by insulating spacers. The dielectric
is simply the air between and around the two
conductors in which the transverse
electromagnetic wave propagates.
 Uses: Power lines, rural telephone lines, and
telegraph lines
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Open-wire
 Advantage: Simple construction
 Disadvantages: No shielding, high radiation losses,
crosstalk due to mutual induction
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twin Lead
 Twin lead transmission lines are essentially the
same as open-wire transmission lines except that
uniform spacing is assured by embedding the two
wires in a solid low-loss dielectric, usually
polyethylene. Since the wires are embedded in the
thin ribbon of polyethylene, the dielectric space is
partly air and partly polyethylene. The distance
between the wire is about 5/16 inch.
 It is an example of a balanced transmission line.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twin Lead
 Use: Connecting a receiving rooftop antenna to a
home television set
 Advantage: Its losses are an order of magnitude
smaller than that of coaxial cable.
 Disadvantage: It is more vulnerable to
interference, and must be kept away from metal
objects which can cause power losses.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twin Lead
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twisted-pair
 Twisted-pair transmission lines are consisted
of two insulated wires twisted together to form a
flexible line without the use of spacers. It is not
used for transmitting high frequency because of
the high dielectric losses that occur in the rubber
insulation. When the line is wet, the losses
increase greatly.
 Uses: Telephone networks, building cabling
systems, medium for local rea networks (LAN)
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twisted-pair
 Advantages: Simple to install, relatively
inexpensive compared to coaxial and optical fiber
cables, reduced crosstalk, available for both
analog and digital signal
 Two Types
1. 100-ohm unshielded twisted pair
2. 120-ohm shielded twisted pair
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twisted-pair
 Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable are
consisted of two copper wires where each wire is
separately encapsulated in polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) insulation. The wires are twisted two or
more times at varying lengths to reduce crosstalk
and interference. The minimum number of twists
for UTP cable is two per foot (2/ft.).
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twisted-pair
 Shielded twisted-pair (STP) cable are two
parallel wires separated by a solid dielectric
material and enclosed in a conductive metal
braid, which is connected to ground and hence
acts as a shield. The braid also prevents signals
from radiating beyond its boundaries. It also stops
electromagnetic noise and radio interference from
reaching the wires.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twisted-pair

Unshielded Twisted-pair
Cable

Shielded Twisted-pair
Cable
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Parallel-Wire Lines → Twisted-pair
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial cable is an unbalanced transmission
line. It is consisted of a center conductor
surrounded by a dielectric material, then a
concentric (uniform distance from the center)
shielding, and finally a rubber environmental
protection outer jacket.
 Shielding refers to the woven or stranded mesh
(or braid) that surrounds some types of coaxial
cable.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 The center conductor of a coaxial cable is the
signal wire and the braider outer conductor is the
signal return (ground). The center conductor is
separated from the shield by a solid dielectric
material or insulated spacers when air is used for
the dielectric. For relatively high bit rates, the
braided outer conductor provides excellent
shielding against external resistance.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 Uses: Coaxial cable is seeing less and less use in
computer networks but still popular in
transmission line for analog systems, such as
cable television distribution networks.
 Two Types
1. Rigid (air) coaxial line
2. Flexible (solid) coaxial line
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 Rigid coaxial lines are consisted of a central,
insulated wire (inner conductor) mounted inside a
tubular outer conductor. In some applications, the
inner conductor is also tubular. The inner conductor
is insulated from the outer conductor by insulating
spacers or beads at regular intervals. The spacers
are made of pyrex, polystyrene, or some other
material that has good insulating characteristics
and low dielectric losses at high frequencies.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 The chief advantage of the rigid coaxial line
is its ability to minimize radiation losses.
The electric and magnetic fields in a two-wire
parallel line extend into space for relatively great
distances and radiation losses occur. However, in
a coaxial line no electric or magnetic fields extend
outside of the outer conductor. The fields are
confined to the space between the two
conductors, resulting in a perfectly shielded
coaxial line. Another advantage is that
interference from other lines is reduced.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 Disadvantages:
1. it is expensive to construct
2. it must be kept dry to prevent excessive leakage
between the two conductors
3. although high-frequency losses are somewhat less
than in previously mentioned lines, they are still
excessive enough to limit the practical length of
the line
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable

Rigid Coaxial Line

Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 Flexible coaxial lines are made with an inner
conductor that consists of flexible wire insulated
from the outer conductor by a solid, continuous
insulating material. The outer conductor is made
of metal braid, which gives the line flexibility.
Early attempts at gaining flexibility involved using
rubber insulators between the two conductors.
However, the rubber insulators caused excessive
losses at high frequencies.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable
 Because of the high-frequency losses associated with
rubber insulators, polyethylene plastic was developed to
replace rubber and eliminate these losses. Polyethylene
plastic is a solid substance that remains flexible over a wide
range of temperatures. It is unaffected by seawater,
gasoline, oil, and most other liquids that may be found
aboard ship. The use of polyethylene as an insulator
results in greater high-frequency losses than the use
of air as an insulator. However, these losses are still
lower than the losses associated with most other
solid dielectric materials.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Coaxial Cable

Flexible Coaxial Line

Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Waveguides
 The term waveguide can be applied to all types of
transmission lines in the sense that they are all used
to guide energy from one point to another. However,
usage has generally limited the term to mean a
hollow metal tube or a dielectric transmission line.
 It is interesting to note that the transmission of
electromagnetic energy along a waveguide travels
at a velocity somewhat slower than electromagnetic
energy traveling through free space.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Waveguides
 A waveguide may be classified according to its
cross section (rectangular, elliptical, or circular),
or according to the material used in its
construction (metallic or dielectric). Dielectric
waveguides are seldom used because the
dielectric losses for all known dielectric materials
are too great to transfer the electric and magnetic
fields efficiently.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Waveguides
 The installation of a complete waveguide
transmission system is somewhat more difficult than
the installation of other types of transmission lines.
The radius of bends in the waveguide must measure
greater than two wavelengths at the operating
frequency of the equipment to avoid excessive
attenuation. The cross section must remain uniform
around the bend. These requirements hamper
installation in confined spaces.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Waveguides
 If the waveguide is dented, or if solder is permitted
to run inside the joints, the attenuation of the line
is greatly increased. Dents and obstructions in the
waveguide also reduce its breakdown voltage,
thus limiting the waveguide's power-handling
capability because of possible arc over. Great care
must be exercised during installation; one or two
carelessly made joints can seriously inhibit the
advantage of using the waveguide.
Common Types of Transmission Lines
→ Waveguides

Waveguides
Sources

 Books
 Electronics Communications Systems 5th Edition by Wayne Tomasi (2004)
 Principles of Electronic Communication Systems 4th Edition by Louis E. Frenzel
Jr. (2016)
 Websites
 images.google.com
 http://www.tpub.com/neets/book10/41a.htm
 https://slideplayer.com/slide/5319943/
 https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Fibre-Optic-Cable-Cat6-Shielded-
Twisted_60558421193.html