TRANSMISSION LINES 221

For a lossless line this becomes

ZL + Z0 tan βℓ
Zin = Z0 (4.167)
Z0 + ZL tan βℓ

as γ = α + β and with α = 0, tanh γℓ becomes tanh βℓ =  tan βℓ.

For a lossy transmission line it is clear that not all of the power applied
at the input will be delivered to the load. There will be a certain amount
of power lost on the line due to the finite attenuation constant that results
from loss on the line. Equations (4.168)–(4.170) are the equations of power
delivered to the load, the power incident on the line, and the power lost on
the line, respectively. So the power delivered to the load is
 + 2
1 V 
PL = R {V (0)I ∗ (0)} = 0 (1− | Γ |2 ) . (4.168)
2 2Z0
Similarly the power at the input of the line is
 + 2
1 V  
Pin = Re {V (−ℓ)I (−l)} = 0 1− | Γ |2 e−4αℓ e2αℓ
∗

(4.169)
2 2Z0
and the power lost in the line is
 + 2
V  
= Pin − PL = 0 e2αℓ − 1 + | Γ |2 1 − e−2αℓ .



Ploss (4.170)
2Z0

4.10 Microstrip Transmission Lines

Transmission lines with conductors embedded in an inhomogeneous
dielectric medium cannot support a pure TEM mode. This is the case even
if the conductors are lossless. The most important member of this class is
the microstrip transmission line (Figure 4-8(c)). Part of the field is in the air
and part in the dielectric between the strip conductor and ground. In most
practical cases, the dielectric substrate is electrically thin, that is, h ≪ λ. It can
be shown that the transverse field is dominant, |EL | ≪ |ET |, and the fields
are called quasi-TEM.

4.10.1 Microstrip Line in the Quasi-TEM Approximation

In this section it is shown that the static solutions for the transverse electric
field alone can be used to calculate the characteristics of a transmission
line. The procedure described is used in many EM computer programs to
calculate the characteristics of transmission lines.
As a first step, the potential of the conductor strip is set to V0 and Laplace’s
equation is solved for the electrostatic potential everywhere in the dielectric.
Then, the p.u.l. electric charge, Q, on the conductor is determined. Using this
222 MICROWAVE AND RF DESIGN: A SYSTEMS APPROACH

in the following relation gives the line capacitance:

Q
C= .
V0
In the next step, the process described in the step above is repeated with
ǫr = 1. This is done to calculate Cair (the capacitance of the line without a
dielectric). Since the transmission line is now a TEM structure,

LCair = µ0 ǫ0 ,

and so the velocity on a vacuum-filled line with a TEM field distribution is

√
identical to that in free space, where c = vp = 1/ µ0 ε0 . Thus
1
L= . (4.171)
c2 Cair
L is not affected by the dielectric properties of the medium.14 L calculated
above is the desired p.u.l inductance of the line with the dielectric as well as
in free space. Once L and C have been found, the characteristic impedance
can be found using r
L
Z0 = , (4.172)
C
which can be written as
1 1
Z0 = √ , (4.173)
c C Cair
and the phase velocity is given by
r
1 Cair
vp = √ =c . (4.174)
LC C
It can be seen that the field is distributed in the inhomogeneous medium
and in free space, as shown in Figure 4-27. So the effective permittivity, ǫe ,
of the microstrip line is defined by
√ c
ǫe = . (4.175)
vp

Combining Equations (4.174) and (4.175), the effective relative permittivity

is obtained:
C
ǫe = . (4.176)
Cair

14 The assumption that L is not affected by the dielectric is in general a good approximation.
However, there is a small discrepancy due to a change in the electric field orientation which
will also affect the distribution of the magnetic field, but there is negligible additional
magnetic energy storage.
TRANSMISSION LINES 223

ε0 w
εe
W
t t
εr h h

(a) (b)

Figure 4-27 Microstrip line: (a) actual crosssection; and (b) approximate equivalent structure where the
strip is embedded in a dielectric of semi-infinite extent with effective relative permittivity εe .

The effective dielectric constant can be interpreted as the dielectric constant

of a homogeneous medium that replaces the air and the dielectric regions
of the microstrip, as shown in Figure 4-27. Since some of the field is in the
dielectric and some is in air, the effective dielectric constant satisfies
1 < ǫe < ǫr . (4.177)
The wavelength on a transmission line, the guide wavelength λg , is related
√
to the free space wavelength by λg = λ0 / ǫe .

4.10.2 Effective Dielectric Constant and Characteristic

Impedance
This section presents formulas for the effective dielectric constant and
characteristic impedance of the microstrip. These formulas are fits to the
results of detailed EM simulations. Also, the form of the equations is based
on good physical understanding. First, assume that the thickness, t, is zero.
This is not a bad approximation, as in practice t ≪ w, h for most microwave
circuits (this, however, is not true with digital ICs). It is not possible to
develop useful formulas for the situation where the lines are not very thin.
Hammerstad and others provided well-accepted formulas for calculating
the effective permittivity and characteristic impedance of microstrip lines
[66–68]. Given εr , w, and h, the effective relative permittivity is
 −a·b
ǫr + 1 ǫr − 1 10h
ǫe = + 1+ , (4.178)
2 2 w
where
" #
2
u4 + {u/52}
  u 3 
1 1
a(u)|u=w/h =1+ ln + ln 1 + (4.179)
49 u4 + 0.432 18.7 18.1
and  0.053
ǫr − 0.9
b(ǫr ) = 0.564 . (4.180)
ǫr + 3
224 MICROWAVE AND RF DESIGN: A SYSTEMS APPROACH

Take some time to interpret Equation (4.178) for effective relative

permittivity. First, assume for simplicity that the dimensions of the line are
such that a·b = 1. If εr = 1, then εe = (1 + 1)/2 + 0 = 1, as expected.
If εr is not that of air then εe will be between 1 and εr , dependent on the
geometry of the line, or more specifically, the ratio w/h. For a very wide
line, w/h ≫ 1, εe = (εr + 1)/2 + (εr − 1)/2 = εr , corresponding to the
EM energy being confined to the dielectric. For a thin line, w/h ≪ 1, so
εe = (εr + 1)/2, the average of the dielectric and air regions. Commonly the
shorter-term effective permittivity is used, but nearly always the effective
relative permittivity is meant.
The characteristic impedance is given by
Z01
Z0 = √ , (4.181)
ǫe

where the characteristic impedance of the micostrip line in free space is

 s 
 2
F1 h 2h
Z01 = Z0 |(ǫr =1) = 60 ln  + 1+ , (4.182)
w w

and n o
F1 = 6 + (2π − 6) exp − (30.666h/w)0.7528 . (4.183)

The accuracy of Equation (4.178) is better than 0.2% for 0.01 ≤ w/h ≤ 100
and 1 ≤ ǫr ≤ 128. Also, the accuracy of Equation (4.182) is better than 0.1%
for w/h < 1000. Z0 (ǫr = 1) has a maximum value when w is vanishingly
small. This is not seen in Equation (4.182), as this is only valid over a range
of w.
Now consider the special case where w is vanishingly small. Then Z0 (ǫr =
√
1) is that of free space; that is, Z0 (ǫr = 1) = µ0 ε0 = 377 Ω. As well, ǫe has
its minimum value when w is vanishingly small, then
ǫr + 1
ǫe = . (4.184)
2
This leads to an approximate (and more convenient) form of Equation
(4.178):
ǫr + 1 ǫr − 1 1
ǫe = + . (4.185)
2 2
p
1 + 12h/w
This approximation has its greatest error for low and high ǫr and narrow
lines, w/h ≪ 1, where the maximum error is 1%. Again, Equation (4.181)
would be used to calculate the characteristic impedance. A comparison
of the line characteristics using the more precise formula for ǫe (Equation
(4.178)) and the slightly less accurate fit (Equation (4.185)) is given in Table
4-2.
TRANSMISSION LINES 225

Table 4-2 Comparison of two fitted equations for the effective permittivity and
characteristic impedance of a microstrip line. Equation (4.178) has an accuracy of
better than 0.2% and Equation (4.185) has an accuracy of better than 1%.

ǫr w/h ǫe Z0 ǫe Z0
Eq. (4.178), 0.2% Eq. (4.185), 1%
1 0.01 1 401.1 1 401.1
1 0.1 1 262.9 1 262.9
1 1 1 126.5 1 126.5
1 10 1 29.04 1 29.04
1 100 1 3.61 1 3.61
2 0.01 1.525 322.5 1.514 325.9
2 0.1 1.565 210.0 1.545 211.5
2 1 1.645 98.64 1.639 98.83
2 10 1.848 21.36 1.837 21.43
2 100 1.969 2.58 1.972 2.58
10 0.01 5.683 165.8 5.630 169.0
10 0.1 6.016 107.0 5.909 108.2
10 1 6.705 48.86 6.748 48.70
10 10 8.556 9.93 8.534 9.94
10 100 9.707 1.16 9.752 1.16
20 0.01 10.88 119.6 10.77 122.2
20 0.1 11.57 77.14 11.36 78.00
20 1 13.01 35.07 13.13 34.91
20 10 16.93 7.06 16.91 7.06
20 100 19.38 0.821 19.48 0.819
128 0.01 66.90 48.15 66.30 49.25
128 0.1 71.51 31.02 70.27 31.37
128 1 81.12 14.05 82.11 13.96
128 10 71.51 2.80 70.27 2.80
128 100 123.8 0.325 124.5 0.324

The more exact analysis, represented by Equation (4.178), was used to

develop Table 4-3 which can be used in the design of microstrip on a silicon
dioxide (SiO2 ) substrate and on FR-4 printed circuit board which both have
a relative permittivity of 4; on alumina with a permittivity of 10; on a silicon
(Si) substrate with a relative permittivity of 11.9; and on a gallium arsenide
(GaAs) substrate with a relative permittivity of 12.85.

EXAMPLE 4. 19 Microstrip Calculations

The strip of a microstrip has a width of 600 µm and is fabricated on a lossless substrate that
is 635 µm thick and has a relative permittivity of 4.1.

(a) What is the effective relative permittivity?

(b) What is the characteristic impedance?
(c) What is the propagation constant at 5 GHz ignoring any losses?
226 MICROWAVE AND RF DESIGN: A SYSTEMS APPROACH

Solution:
ε0 ω

εr h

Use the formulas for effective dielectric constant, characteristic impedance, and attenuation
constant from Section 4.10.2 with w = 600 µm ; h = 635 µm ; εr = 4.1; w/h = 600/635 =
0.945 .

(a)
„ «−a·b
εr + 1 εr − 1 10h
εe = + 1+
2 2 w
From Equation (4.179),

(w/h)4 + {w/(52h)}2
» – » “ w ”3 –
1 1
a=1+ ln 4 + ln 1 + = 0.991,
49 (w/h) + 0.432 18.7 18.1h

and from Equation (4.180),

» –0.053
εr − 0.9
b = 0.564 = 0.541 .
εr + 3

From Equation (4.178),

εe = 2.967 .
(b) In free space, 2 3
s „ «2
F1 · h 2h
Z0 (εr = 1) = 60 ln 4 + 1+ 5,
w w

where
Z0 (εr = 1)
F1 = 6 + (2π − 6) exp − (30.666h/ω)0.7528 ,
˘ ¯
Z0 = √
εe
√
Z0 (air) = 129.7 Ω, Z0 = Z0 (air)/ εe = 75.3 Ω
√
(c) f = 5 GHz, ω = 2πf , γ = ω µ0 ε0 εe :

γ = 180.5 m−1 .
 TRANSMISSION LINES
Table 4-3 Microstrip line normalized width u (= w/h), and effective permittivity, εe , for specified characteristic impedance Z0 . Data
derived from the analysis in Section 4.10.2 on Page 223.

Z0 εr = 4 (SiO2 , FR-4) εr = 10 (Alumina) εr = 11.9 (Si) Z0 εr = 4 (SiO2 , FR-4) εr = 10 (Alumina) εr = 11.9 (Si)
(Ω) u εe u εe u εe (Ω) u εe u εe u εe
140 0.171 2.718 0.028 5.914 0.017 6.907 110 0.378 2.781 0.089 6.025 0.062 7.032
139 0.176 2.720 0.029 5.917 0.018 6.910 109 0.389 2.783 0.093 6.031 0.065 7.038
138 0.181 2.722 0.030 5.919 0.019 6.914 108 0.399 2.786 0.097 6.036 0.068 7.044
137 0.185 2.723 0.031 5.922 0.020 6.919 107 0.410 2.789 0.100 6.040 0.071 7.050
136 0.190 2.725 0.032 5.924 0.021 6.923 106 0.421 2.791 0.104 6.046 0.074 7.055
135 0.195 2.727 0.033 5.927 0.022 6.925 105 0.432 2.794 0.109 6.052 0.077 7.061
134 0.201 2.729 0.035 5.931 0.022 6.927 104 0.444 2.797 0.113 6.057 0.080 7.066
133 0.206 2.731 0.036 5.933 0.023 6.930 103 0.456 2.800 0.117 6.062 0.084 7.073
132 0.212 2.733 0.037 5.936 0.024 6.934 102 0.468 2.803 0.122 6.069 0.087 7.079
131 0.217 2.734 0.038 5.939 0.025 6.937 101 0.481 2.806 0.127 6.075 0.091 7.085
130 0.223 2.736 0.040 5.942 0.026 6.941 100 0.494 2.809 0.132 6.081 0.095 7.092
129 0.229 2.738 0.043 5.949 0.028 6.948 99 0.507 2.812 0.137 6.087 0.099 7.099
128 0.235 2.740 0.044 5.951 0.029 6.951 98 0.521 2.815 0.143 6.094 0.103 7.105
127 0.241 2.742 0.046 5.955 0.030 6.954 97 0.535 2.819 0.148 6.100 0.108 7.113
126 0.248 2.744 0.048 5.958 0.031 6.957 96 0.550 2.822 0.154 6.106 0.112 7.120
125 0.254 2.746 0.050 5.962 0.033 6.963 95 0.565 2.825 0.160 6.113 0.117 7.127
124 0.261 2.748 0.052 5.966 0.034 6.966 94 0.580 2.829 0.167 6.121 0.122 7.135
123 0.268 2.750 0.054 5.970 0.035 6.969 93 0.596 2.832 0.173 6.127 0.128 7.144
122 0.275 2.752 0.056 5.973 0.038 6.977 92 0.612 2.836 0.180 6.134 0.133 7.151
121 0.283 2.755 0.058 5.977 0.039 6.980 91 0.629 2.839 0.187 6.142 0.139 7.159
120 0.290 2.757 0.061 5.982 0.041 6.985 90 0.646 2.843 0.195 6.150 0.145 7.168
119 0.298 2.759 0.063 5.985 0.043 6.990 89 0.664 2.847 0.202 6.157 0.151 7.176
118 0.306 2.761 0.066 5.990 0.045 6.995 87 0.701 2.855 0.219 6.173 0.164 7.193
117 0.314 2.763 0.068 5.993 0.047 6.999 86 0.721 2.859 0.228 6.182 0.171 7.203
116 0.323 2.766 0.071 5.998 0.049 7.004 85 0.740 2.863 0.237 6.190 0.179 7.213
115 0.331 2.768 0.074 6.003 0.051 7.008 84 0.761 2.867 0.246 6.198 0.187 7.223
114 0.340 2.771 0.077 6.007 0.053 7.013 83 0.782 2.872 0.256 6.208 0.195 7.233
113 0.349 2.773 0.080 6.012 0.055 7.017 82 0.804 2.876 0.266 6.216 0.203 7.242
112 0.359 2.776 0.083 6.016 0.057 7.022 81 0.826 2.881 0.277 6.226 0.212 7.253
111 0.368 2.778 0.086 6.021 0.060 7.028 80 0.849 2.885 0.288 6.235 0.221 7.263

227
 228
Table 4-3 continued.

Z0 εr = 4 (SiO2 , FR-4) εr = 10 (Alumina) εr = 11.9 (Si) Z0 εr = 4 (SiO2 , FR-4) εr = 10 (Alumina) εr = 11.9 (Si)
(Ω) u εe u εe u εe (Ω) u εe u εe u εe
79 0.873 2.890 0.299 6.245 0.230 7.274 44 2.518 3.131 1.229 6.828 1.047 7.936
78 0.898 2.895 0.311 6.255 0.240 7.285 43 2.609 3.140 1.283 6.856 1.096 7.968
77 0.923 2.900 0.324 6.265 0.251 7.297 42 2.703 3.150 1.340 6.884 1.147 8.002
76 0.949 2.905 0.337 6.276 0.262 7.309 41 2.803 3.160 1.400 6.913 1.201 8.036
75 0.976 2.910 0.350 6.286 0.273 7.321 40 2.908 3.171 1.464 6.944 1.259 8.072
74 1.003 2.915 0.364 6.297 0.285 7.333 39 3.019 3.181 1.531 6.974 1.319 8.108
73 1.032 2.921 0.379 6.309 0.297 7.345 38 3.136 3.192 1.602 7.006 1.384 8.147
72 1.062 2.926 0.394 6.320 0.310 7.359 37 3.259 3.203 1.677 7.039 1.452 8.186
71 1.092 2.932 0.410 6.332 0.323 7.371 36 3.390 3.214 1.757 7.073 1.524 8.226
70 1.123 2.937 0.426 6.344 0.338 7.386 35 3.528 3.226 1.841 7.108 1.600 8.268

MICROWAVE AND RF DESIGN: A SYSTEMS APPROACH

69 1.156 2.943 0.444 6.357 0.352 7.399 34 3.675 3.237 1.931 7.143 1.682 8.311
68 1.190 2.949 0.462 6.369 0.368 7.414 33 3.831 3.250 2.027 7.180 1.769 8.355
67 1.224 2.955 0.480 6.382 0.384 7.429 32 3.997 3.262 2.129 7.218 1.862 8.402
66 1.260 2.961 0.500 6.396 0.400 7.444 31 4.174 3.275 2.238 7.258 1.961 8.449
65 1.298 2.968 0.520 6.410 0.418 7.460 30 4.364 3.288 2.355 7.298 2.067 8.498
64 1.336 2.974 0.541 6.424 0.436 7.476 29 4.567 3.301 2.480 7.340 2.181 8.549
63 1.376 2.980 0.563 6.439 0.455 7.492 28 4.785 3.315 2.615 7.384 2.304 8.601
62 1.417 2.987 0.586 6.454 0.475 7.509 27 5.020 3.329 2.760 7.428 2.436 8.655
61 1.460 2.994 0.610 6.470 0.496 7.527 26 5.273 3.344 2.917 7.475 2.579 8.712
60 1.504 3.001 0.635 6.486 0.518 7.545 25 5.547 3.359 3.087 7.523 2.734 8.770
59 1.551 3.008 0.661 6.502 0.541 7.564 24 5.845 3.374 3.272 7.573 2.902 8.831
58 1.598 3.015 0.688 6.519 0.564 7.583 23 6.169 3.390 3.474 7.625 3.086 8.894
57 1.648 3.022 0.717 6.538 0.589 7.603 22 6.523 3.407 3.694 7.679 3.287 8.960
56 1.700 3.030 0.746 6.556 0.616 7.624 21 6.912 3.424 3.936 7.734 3.508 9.028
55 1.753 3.037 0.777 6.575 0.643 7.645 20 7.341 3.441 4.203 7.793 3.752 9.100
54 1.809 3.045 0.809 6.594 0.672 7.667 19 7.815 3.459 4.499 7.854 4.022 9.174
53 1.867 3.053 0.843 6.614 0.702 7.690 18 8.344 3.478 4.829 7.917 4.323 9.252
52 1.927 3.061 0.878 6.635 0.733 7.713 17 8.936 3.497 5.199 7.983 4.661 9.334
51 1.991 3.069 0.915 6.657 0.766 7.738 16 9.603 3.517 5.616 8.053 5.043 9.419
50 2.056 3.077 0.954 6.679 0.800 7.763 15 10.361 3.538 6.090 8.126 5.476 9.509
49 2.125 3.086 0.995 6.702 0.837 7.790 14 11.229 3.559 6.633 8.202 5.972 9.604
48 2.197 3.094 1.037 6.726 0.875 7.817 13 12.233 3.581 7.262 8.282 6.547 9.704
47 2.272 3.103 1.081 6.750 0.914 7.845 12 13.407 3.604 7.997 8.367 7.219 9.809
46 2.350 3.112 1.128 6.775 0.956 7.874 11 14.798 3.628 8.868 8.456 8.016 9.920
45 2.432 3.121 1.177 6.801 1.000 7.904 10 16.471 3.652 9.916 8.550 8.975 10.038
TRANSMISSION LINES 229

4.10.3 Microstrip Resistance

In calculating R for a microstrip line, the conductor thickness must be taken
into account. The total resistance is the sum of the resistance of the strip and
the resistance of the ground plane:

R = Rstrip + Rground , (4.186)

where [51]  
Rs 1 1 4πw
Rstrip = + 2 ln q, (4.187)
w π π t
Rs is the sheet resistance, t is the thickness of the strip, and q is the filling
factor of the line:

1, for w/h ≤ 0.5
q= 2 (4.188)
0.94 + 0.132w/h − 0.0062 (w/h) , for 0.5 ≤ w/h ≤ 10 .

The resistance of the ground plane is

Rs w/h
Rground = , for 0.1 ≤ w/h ≤ 10 . (4.189)
w w/h + 5.8 + 0.03h/w
Finally, the conductor loss, αc , from Equation (4.75), is R/2Z0 . In summary,
the conductor resistance is comprised of a strip component and a component
due to the ground plane.

EXAMPLE 4. 20 Microstrip Attenuation

If the strip in Example 4.19 has a resistance of 1 Ω · cm−1 and the ground plane resistance
can be ignored, what is the attenuation constant at 5 GHz?

Solution:
ε0 ω

εr h

For a low-loss line, α = R/(2Z0 ) (since there is no dielectric loss), R = 1 Ω · cm−1 ,

Z0 = 86.1 Ω, and so
α = 0.581 Np · m−1 .

4.11 Microstrip Design Formulas

The formulas developed in Section 4.10.2 on Page 223 enable the electrical
characteristics to be determined given the material properties and the