ELEC477-BucknellUniversity.docVIP

ELEC 477L Topics in Wireless System Design Lab Spring 2008 Lab #4: Single-Stub Impedance Matching Introduction There are many ways to accomplish the important task of impedance matching in wireless systems. At relatively low frequencies (around 1 GHz and below) and low power levels (below a few kW) the usual method is to employ LC networks. At microwave frequencies, however, the effects of parasitic impedances generally preclude the use of this technique, and at high power levels the large voltages and currents involved can cause lumped capacitors and inductors to fail. As an alternative, the impedance transformation properties of transmission lines are often exploited. Quarter-wave matching sections are sometimes used, but they usually require lines with nonstandard characteristic impedances. Another approach is shown in Figure 1. Here a “stub” made from a line with a standard characteristic impedance is connected in parallel to the main transmission line at an appropriate distance from the mismatched load. Although a shorted stub is shown, an open-circuited stub or a stub with a purely reactive load could also be used. If the stub’s length and location are properly chosen, the input impedance Zin seen at the junction of the stub and the main line can be made to match exactly the system impedance Zo. In this lab exercise you will design and construct a single-stub matching system. Figure 1. A single-stub matching system. Theoretical Background The input impedance Zin of a lossless, terminated transmission line is given by , where Zo is the characteristic impedance of the line; ZL is the terminating impedance; ? is the phase constant (equal to 2?/?l, where ?l is the wavelength along the line); and l is the physical distance along the line from the load. The variation of the input impedance with line length is cyclical; an impedance measured at a given distance from the load is repeated every half-wavelength further away from the load.