where

independent of frequency, having the

value
(4)
ELLIPTIC CONCENTRIC CONFOCAL
TRANSMISSION LINES
The problem of the capacitance of the
confocal elliptical capacitor" has been
solved, and the capacitance per unit
length of such a capacitor is known.
Using relations 1 and 2 one can find the
characteristic impedance of such con-
figuration to be:
Zo= 138 loglO 1.079 A/a ohms
where 2A is the length of the side of the
outer conductor, and a is the radius of the
inside circular conductor. Curve III of
Figure 1 shows a plot of this equation.
Paper 52-75, recommended by the AlEE Special
Communications Applications Committee and ap-
proved by the AlEE Technical Program Com-
mittee for presentation at the AlEE Winter General
Meeting, New York, N. Y., January 21-25, 1952.
Manuscript submitted August 17, 1951; made
available for printing December 14, 1951.
YOUNES A. OMAR is with the Ports and Light-
houses Administration, Alexandria, Egypt, and C.
FRANK MILLER is at The Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity, Baltimore, Md.
The authors wish to express their appreciation to
Dr. Jean V. Lebacqz for valuable suggestions and
criticisms.
where
CIRCULAR CONDUCTORS IN SQUARE
TROUGHS
Sidney Frankel,
1
employing the method
of conformal transformation and the
method of images, jointly, was able to de-
duce a formula for the characteristic im-
pedance of concentric lines having cir-
cular inner conductors and square outer
ones:
hundred cycles. Figure 2 shows a plot of
the equation derived by these authors.
This equation was based on the assump-
tion of infinitely thin conductors, and thus
it can be applied to very high frequencies
where the field is confined between the
outer surface of the inner conductor and
the inner surface of the outer conductor
The characteristic impedance of such
square coaxial lines, shown in curve II of
Figure 1, was computed using relations 1
and 2 for values of L taken from Figure 2.
(3)
(1)
(2)
Rectangular
Lines
a = outside radius of the inner conductor
A =inside radius of the outer conductor
Zo= 138 lOglO A/a ohms
where
SQUARE COAXIAL LINES
Messenger and Higgins- have derived a
formula for the a-c inductance of square
tubular lines at frequencies up to several
Curve I of Figure 1 shows the graphical
representation of equation 3.
c. FRANK MILLER
MEMBER AlEE
CIRCULAR COAXIAL LINES
The characteristic impedance of cir-
cular coaxial lines" is given by
It is a property of the electromagnetic
field that, for a dissipationless line in free
space, Land C are so related that their
product is constant, and that the phase
velocity is equal to the velocity of light.
Based on these statements, the inductance
and capacitance per unit length of a trans-
mission line can be computed from a
knowledge of the characteristic imped-
ance and vice versa.
and the velocity of phase propagation is
defined by
ZO=(L/C)l
Zo=line characteristic impedance in ohms
L = series inductance per-unit length of the
line in henrys
C=shunt capacitance per unit length of the
line in farads
V= velocity of phase propagation
f =frequency
A= wave length
Impedance of
Transmission
Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial
Lines
For a low-loss radio-frequency trans-
mission line
3
, 4 the characteristic imped-
ance is a pure resistance and practically
YOUNES A. OMAR
ASSOCIATE MEMBER AlEE
E
XACT mathematical relations be-
tween the characteristic impedance
and the physical dimensions of circular
concentric and eccentric coaxial lines, as
well as of coaxial lines ha ving square
outer and circular inner conductors- have
been developed and experimentally veri-
fied. Messinger and Higgins! were able
to develop formulas for the determination
of the inductance of coaxial busses com-
posed of square tubular conductors, at
power frequencies. Their calculations
were based on finding the self and mutual
geometric mean distances of the con-
ductor cross sections.
An exact mathematical treatment of
coaxial lines composed of rectangular
inner and outer conductors is exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible, because of the
discontinuities at the conductor comers.
The purpose of this research work was
to determine experimentally the charac-
teristic impedance of several coaxial rec-
tangular transmission lines, and to estab-
lish from the results thus obtained an em-
pirical relation between the line dimen-
sions and its characteristic impedance.
The standing-wave measurement
method was found to be most suited for
this work. If a line of unknown charac-
teristic impedance is terminated by a
known impedance, one can find, by cal-
culation or by the use of the proper im-
pedance charts, the unknown charac-
teristic impedance of the line. The meas-
urements were made at approximately
430 megacycles per second.
Characteristic
Coaxial
JANUARY 1952 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines 81
Figure 1. Cher-
acteristic lmped-
ance of circular,
square, square
outer - circular,
inner and elliptic
coaxial lines
160
][
I alSZ'(d/G =0)
Dr (d/a =0.ge)
m (d/G:a0.975
m: (d/a 1.0)
Jlr8nl(d/a =O . ~
~ (diG =0.8)
m; (diG =0.9)
140 120 100 80 60 40 20
1 IIIIIISi ....._ ....._ ....._ ......._-.._-II....._ ..... ....._ ......_ ...._-... ...
o
21-------+-----
20r------------------.....---......---.---......- ...
10
9
8
7
a 6
<,
~
5
0
4
I-

a::
3
CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE ~ o
A = sernirnajor axis of the exterior ellipse
a =semimajor axis of the interior ellipse
d = distance between the center point of the
capacitor and the Iocii
If B be the semiminor axis of the ex-
terior ellipse and b be the semiminor axis
of the interior ellipse then for a confocal
ellipse we have the relation
Also, if in equation 5, d is made equal to
zero, which is the case of a circular co-
axial line, the equation reduces to equa-
tion 3. Figure 1 shows a plot of equation
5 for different values of d/a.
If in equation 5 the semiminor axis b of
the inside ellipse is very small compared
to a, then in this case d is very closely
equal to a and the equation becomes:
Zo= 1381og
1o
{A/a+ [(A/a)2-1]lh} ohms
(7)
THE DESIGN OF RECTANGULAR COAXIAL
SLOTTED TRANSMISSION LINE
Since the probleminvolves the measure-
ment of the characteristic impedance of
several rectangular lines, it was more con-
venient and economical to construct a
built-up line, that is, the outer conductor
THE DESIGN OF CIRCULAR COAXIAL
SLOTTED TRANSMISSION LINE
A circular coaxial line was built es-
pecially for this experimental work. The
line itself is 10 feet long and is composed
of a copper inner conductor of 5/s-inch
outside diameter, and a copper outer
conductor having 1
1
/
2-inch
inside diam-
eter. l\. 3-foot section of this line was
slotted to accept a traveling probe for the
measurement of the voltage standing
wave ratio. The carriage, which accom-
modates the probe, is fitted with a gear
and pinion, and moves smoothly along
two parallel lengths of gear rack, one on
each side of the slot. The two conduc-
tors, of which the line is composed, were
made concentric by using thin circular
washers made of Polystyrene and spaced
about 1 foot apart.
The characteristic impedance of such lines
can be computed, and these lines are easy
to build.
(8)
1. Circular coaxial.
2. Circular inner and square outer trans-
mission lines.
Although the purpose of this paper is to
measure the characteristic impedance of
rectangular coaxial lines, it was found
necessary to build some transmission
lines of known characteristic impedances.
This was considered to be rather impor-
tant since such lines could be used for
checking the method of measurement,
making necessary adjustments and meas-
uring the impedance and characteristics
of certain types of terminations.
The coaxial lines of known character-
istic impedances which were used in the
experimental work reported in this paper
were of two types:
Description of Equipment and
Apparatus Used
however, in this paper the voltage stand-
ing wave ratio (VSWR) is taken as 1/p.
From a knowledge of the VSWR and the
positions of voltage minima along a trans-
mission line, one can easily determine the
nature of the load impedance which ter-
minates the line.
3
-
4
I
Emax l
p=--
Emin
(6)
STANDING WAVES ON TRANSMISSION
LINES
If a transmission line is terminated with
a load different from its characteristic im-
pedance, energy is reflected back into the
line and the combination of the incident,
and reflected signals produces a standing
wave. The voltage standing wave ratio
is usually defined as:
d'J = A 2 - B2= a
2
- b
2
82 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines JANUARY 1952
07 01
\
.-

\
SHAPE I SHAPE I
,


\

SHAPE I

SHAPE 2 SHAPE I
""
SHAPE 2

--,

SCALE B

SCALE A

o
o
as
...
-I
4

6
o
e-sc 2
Figure 2. Mes-
singer and Hig-
gins formulas for
inductance of
square coaxial
busses
of which was built of four flat brass bars
joined together to give a hollow rectangu-
lar section of the required dimensions.
Figure 3 shows a detailed drawing of this
line. The inner conductor could be made
circular or rectangular, and the outer
conductor had upper and lower plates,
havinga cross section 2
1
/
2
inches by 1/8
inch. The line was about 9
3
/
4
feet long.
Aslot 1/8-inch wide and 3 feet long was
cut in the top plate to accommodate a
traveling probe. The two vertical sides
of the outer conductor were made of flat
brass bars 1/4-inch thick and of different
heights.
The width of the outer conductor could
be changed from about 3/4-inch to about
2
1
/
4
inches, and the height from about
1/2 inch to any value required. Beside
changing the dimensions of the outer con-
ductor, the inner conductor could be
changed to any rectangular section, a cir-
cular rod, square bar, or any other COD-
figuration.
The four plates composing the outer
conductor were held together by C-clamps
spaced about 4 inches apart to insure good
electrical contact. The clamps were ap-
plied in such a way that clamping pressure
was principally on the vertical sides, and
as close as possible to the inner face of
these sides. In the slotted part of the
line, since only a few clamps could be
H-I
B
0
CROSS-
SECTIONS
W-I
I"
0 I
2
0 8
H-2
B
0 I
W-2

3'-0" ,.1

9'- 6"
cAl
COMPONENTS OF RECTANGULAR OUTER CONDUCTOR
Figure 3. A
built - up rec-
tangular line
It;
I(
(8) CROSS SECTION OF LINE
eel SPACER X ) SPACER Y
JANUARY 1952 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines 83
quency within the range 150 to 600 mega-
cycles. The wave length could be ad-
justed to within 0.01 centimeter of the
desired value by means of a slow-motion
drive. For most conditions of loading, the
frequency can be relied on to be within
the accuracy limit of 2.5 per cent. The
power supply is a General Radio type
757-Pl, and is provided with a meter to
indicate grid current. The oscillator was
amplitude modulated by varying' the
plate voltage in the normal fashion for
plate modulation.
Figure 4. A built-up coaxial line together with the equipment used The Design of Loads to Terminate
the Coaxial Lines
(9)
1
R=- log, (A/a)
21ruh
where (J is the conductivity of the coating
material and h is its thickness.
By the proper choice of (J and h, this
resistance can be made equal to any value
required, and it can be made equal to the
characteristic impedance of the line.
At very high frequencies, experiments
with a concentric line-? terminated by a
disk of uniform resistive material (the
d-c resistance of which is made equal to
the line characteristic impedance) showed
a standing wave ratio different from one.
By the use of a short-circuiting plate at an
effective distance of one quarter of a
wave length beyond the graphite film, the
standing wave ratio was found to be very
close to unity. The explanation is that
radiation takes place from the graphite
film, and probably from a small length
of the inner conductor just inside the
graphite film. This effect is on]y marked
when the mean circumference of the outer
conductor is comparable with the wave
length, which is the condition that the
disk shall radiate appreciable energy.
When the line spacing is small com-
pared to the operating wave length, that
is, at relatively low frequencies, an ordi-
nary 2-terminallumped resistance can be
successfully used. At high frequencies,
however, the concept of guided waves be-
comes necessary and satisfactory results
are obtainable only if the terminations
,are distributed.
Ideally this is done for the coaxial line
by closing the end of the line by a disk
resistor as shown in Figure 6. In practice
these distributed terminations are usually
made by spraying some form of carbon
on a dielectric support such as bakelized
paper. Under certain conditions, a piece
of carbon coated paper serves as a perfect
resistance termination." Referring to
Figure 6, the resistance of the disk be-
tween the two conductors is given by
Figure 5. Radio-
fraquency probe
details
SCALE 1:(
(B> CROSS- SECTION OF
THE PROBE
THE PROBE, OSCILLATOR, AND DETECTOR
AMPLIFIER
Figure 5 shows the details of the probe
which was designed for use at frequencies
in the neighborhood of 400 megacycles.
It was built from standard connectors
with an arrangement to permit variation
of the depth of penetration of the probe in
the coaxial line.
The indicator amplifier unit was similar
to one described by Kallman? and was
operated from a regulated power sup-
ply."
The oscillator used was a type 757-A
manufactured by the General Radio
Company. It produces any desired fre-
part of the line, only spacers of shape A,
Figure 3(C), were used to avoid inter-
ference with the probe motion.
Figure 4 shows a picture of this type
of line together with the tapered section
which was used as an electrical shield and
impedance matching device between the
oscillator output and the transmission
line.
IN21
POLYSTYRENE SPACER
R. F. CABLE TO DETECTOR

tAl SCHEMATIC OF THE PROBE
used without interference with the motion
of the probe, small brass rivets were used.
These were spaced about 4 inches on
centers on both sides of the slot. Evi-
dence will be presented later to show that
perfect contact is not necessary for this
type of work.
The inner and outer conductors of this
line were made coaxial, along its entire
length, by means of 1/16-inch thick Poly-
styrene spacers arranged as shown in Fig-
ure 3 (C) and (D). The inside and out-
side dimensions of these spacers corre-
sponded to those of the inner and outer
conductors of the line. A different set of
spacers was required for every line. Ten
spacers, spaced 1 foot apart, were found
to be sufficient to insure rigidity of the
line. Instead of machining rectangular
holes in the spacers to fit the inner con-
ductor, which is a rather difficult and time
consuming operation, two spacers, at the
point of support, are used as shown in
Figure 3(B), (C), and (D) In the slotted
84 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines JANUARY
I"

SILVER
CONTACTS

(B) FOR A SQUARE OUTER- CIRCULAR INNER LINE
----lL
r
(B)
___ -2A=I"

Figure 6. Resistive disk termination
CARBON DEPOS IT
t
(A)
SILVER COATING
fA) FOR CIRCULAR COAXIAL LINE
RESISTIVE FILM
t
2A I
I t2d
-:-------- -
CHOICE OF THE RESISTIVE COATING
At this wave length, the addition of the
quarter-wave short-circuiting plate serves
to screen the disk, thus prohibiting the
radiation and making the line termination
correct.
In the problem at hand, we are not ac-
tually interested in terminating a line in
its characteristic impedance, but in ter-
minating the line by a resistive disk
whose effective resistance, at the operat-
ing frequency, is more or less equal to its
d-e resistance or bearing a certain relation
to it. Since the experimental work in-
valved in this paper was mostly done at
one frequency (430 megacycles per
second), the line dimensions are small
compared to the wave length and neg-
ligible energy is radiated from the back of
these disks, and no short-circuiting plate
is required at an effective distance of one-
quarter of a wave length behind these
washers. This statement was proved ex-
perimentally as will be shown later.
Figure 7. Two different shapes of terminations
Graphite, carbon, and metallic coating
were tried in this work. Washers made of
1/16-inch Polystyrene and other low-loss
dielectrics were cut having the shape of
the transmission line, as shown in Figure
7. The outer circumference was made to
fit the inside of the outer conductor, and
the inner to fit the outside of the inner
conductor. The electrical contact be-
tween the termination and the line was
accomplished by using a 34 per cent silver
(Number 48]7), manufactured by the
DuPont Company. The contact surfaces,
as well as about 1/16 inch of the surface
of these discs were painted with this silver
solution and baked for about 10 hours at
100 degrees centigrade.
The particular deposit used to build
an of the line terminations employed in
this work was type 3051 Rescon made by
the General Electric' Company. It is a
low-resistance surface carbon deposi t,
which when baked has a resistivity of the
order of 1,000 ohms per square. The re-
sistance depends on the baking time which
ranges from 15 hours at 100 degrees centi-
grade to 7 hours at 130 degrees centi-
grade to 3 hours at 150 degrees centi-
grade.
Graphite was also used, and experi-
mental results showed that the effective
resistance of several samples does not
change with frequency up to about 500
megacycles per second, and that it dif-
fers from the d-e values by less than about
2 per cent. But, due to the high tempera-
ture coefficient of graphite, the resistance
was found to be rather unstable and
changed pronouncedly with temperature
and aging. For this reason deposited
carbon resistors were preferred.
Samples were also made by evaporating
aluminum, under vacuum, on Polystyrene
washers to a thickness of about 10-
8
centimeter. Contact between the alu-
minum film and the transmission line
conductors was accomplished with the
silver paint. Experiments with these
samples proved them to be much superior
to the deposited carbon samples. Their
effective resistances were found to be very
close to their d-e values (within less than
1 per cent), but due to the different co-
efficient of expansion of aluminum and
silver, it was rather difficult to maintain
the electrical contact between the two
elements. This method, beside being very
costly, does not offer an easy means of
controlling the value of the resistances,
and for these reasons aluminum coated re-
sistors were not used.
Experimental Determination of the
Relation Between the D-C and
Ultra-High-Frequency Effective
Resistance of the Disc Resistors
Tests were made with a circular co-
axial line and a line having a square
outer and circular inner conductors to
measure the impedance of 30 different
termination resistances. All tests were
made at the same frequency (430 mega-
cycles per second), and the method of
measurement was the standing wave
method. In this method, the far end of
the line is shorted by a solid brass disc,
and a point of minimum voltage is located
as accurately as possible near the center
of the slotted part of the line. This mini-
mum point is taken as the reference point.
The load is made to replace the short-cir-
cuiting disk and the shift 8 in the position
of the minimum point is read from a
scale, and the ratio of the voltage mini-
mum to voltage maximum is obtained
from the probe meter. This ratio is cor-
rected11 and the corrected ratio is called
throughout this paper, the Voltage Stand-
ing Wave Ratio, or VSWR. Having de-
termined the values of 8 and the VSWR
it is then convenient to use an impedance
chart to determine the magnitude and
phase angle of the load. Such charts are
given by Meagher and Markly.P
The effective resistance of any load is
found from the relation .
(10)
where
Z, =terminating load impedance, at the
operating frequency
fh=load phase angle
Tests showed that the effective resistance
of these terminations, using this par-
ticular carbon Rescon, was always less
than their direct-current values irrespec..
tive of the shape of the line and the ratio
of the two resistances was found to be:
R
eff=O.793
Ro.c (11)
Although the above expression was de-
rived at a frequency of 430 megacycles per
second, it was checked at another fre-
JANUARY 1952 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission-Lines 85
Table I. Summary of Experimental Results Obtained with Rectangular Coaxial Lines
liThe dimensions of these sections were chosen such that the inscribed ellipses, to the inner and outer con-
ductors, are confocal.
*Test E is made on a line having a wave guide as its outer conductor.
1 0 . 892 by O. 75 1 . 784 56. 70fl
2 1.250 by 0.75 2.500 68.10
A 3 1 . 500 by O. 75 0 . 500 by 0 . 125 3 . 000 " 6.0 75.00
4 1.750 by 0.75 3.500 80.00
5 2.000 by 0.75 4.000 84.60
1 1.110 by 1.00 , 2.220 70.50#
2 1.250 by 1.00 2.500 74.20
B 3 1.500 by 1.00 0.500 by 0.125 3.000 8. O 80.36
4 1.750 by 1.00 3.500 87.00
5 2.000 by 1 .00 4.000 91. 10
1 1 . 340 by 1.25 2 . 680 83 . 50#
c 2 1 .500 by 1.25 0.500 by O. 125 3.000 10 8' . 14
3 1. 750 by 1.25 3.500 93.00
4 2.000 by 1.25 4.000 97. 70
1 1.576 by 1.50 3.152 92.0011
D 2 1 .750 by 1 .50 0.500 by O. 125 3.500 12 96.30
3 2.000by 1.50 4.000 102.5
4 2.250 by 1.50 4.500 106.4
F 1 0.900 by 0.40 0.500 by O. 125 1 .800. . . . . .. 3.2 42.04
E* 1 1.250 by 1.25 0.500 by 0.500 2.500 " 2.5 53.10
Test
Number
Section
Number
Dimensions Dimensions
of Outer of Inner
Conductor, Conductor,
(2A X 2B) in Inches (2a X 2b) in Inches Ala Bib
Zo,
Ohms
of the outer conductor was changed from
about 3/4 of an inch to 1
1
/
2
inches in steps
of 1/4 inch and its width from about 3/4
inch to 2
1
/
4
inches, also in steps of 1/4
inch. In this way it was possible to in-
vestigate the effect, on the line charac-
teristic impedance, of changing one
parameter at a time.
All tests were made at the same fre-
quency (430 megacycles per second), same
probe insertion, and same silicon crystal
detector.
One of the rectangular coaxial lines used
in this work was made of a piece of 3-
centimeter wave guide, as the outer con-
ductor, while the inner conductor is a
length of a solid rectangular bar. This
section was chosen as an additional check
on the built-up line, as will be discussed
later. Table I gives a summary of the
data for the line sections studied, as found
experimentally.
(12)
quency (350 megacycles per second), and
the results obtained agreed to within
better than 2 per cent. Expression 11 can
thus be used to determine the character-
istic impedance of any coaxial line, using
the same type of line terminations, if the
d-e resistance (Rdc) and the ratio Zi/Zo
or the ratio Reff/ Z are known. In this
work, impedance charts;'! were used and
the characteristic impedance of the line
was given by:
2
0
=RdcXO.973 Zo
cos (h Z,
The tests also showed that these disk ter-
minations are capacitive. This is partly
due to the self-capacitance of the re-
sistors and partly due to their mountings.
When examined under the microscope, the
surface appears rough and mountainous.
The self-capacitance of the resistors is be-
lieved to be due to the fact that the carbon
deposit particles are rather spherical in
shape. At the points of contact between
these particles the contact resistance is
higher than that of the particles them-
selves. Adding to that, the capacitances
between contact points, one gets a com-
bination whose effective resistance is
slightly less than the d-e resistance and
whose impedance is capacitive.
Relation 12is thus an inherent property
of the particular carbon solution used, in-
dependent of the shape of the resistor.
Having established this experimental re-
lation, one is in a position to find the char-
acteristic impedance of different shapes
and combinations of coaxial lines.
MEASUREMENTS ON RECTANGULAR CO-
AXIAL LINES
Tests were made on twenty different
rectangular coaxial lines, with a variety
of values of terminating impedance. The
outer conductor for 19 of the 20 lines was
built up of four separate elements,
clamped together as described before.
Great care was taken to insure good elec-
trical contact between the four members
of the outer conductor by increasing the
number of C-clamps. It was felt, how-
ever, that the question of good electrical
contact should be investigated experi-
mentally to remove any doubt concerning
the results to be obtained.
By using C-clamps 4 inches apart along
the line and on both sides, one can argue
about the continuity of the electrical con-
tact along the line. In the worst case, one
can assume that there is no electrical con-
tact whatsoever between the four mem-
bers of the outer conductor except, per-
haps, at the two terminals of the line
where the oscillator and the disc loads are
connected. This condition can be realized
in practice by insulating the four members
from each other, except at the two ter-
minals, by means of cellulose acetate in-
sulating adhesive tape.
Measurements of the VSWR and phase
angle with and without the insulating
tape were taken for ten different disk ter-
minations. From these results the ratio
Zl/Z0 and the loads phase angles (8
1
) were
obtained. The results obtained with the
tape gave values about 4 per cent higher
than those obtained without the tape.
This difference between the two sets of
readings is actually the accuracy of this
method of measurement. From such test
one can conclude that the method of
clamping used during this work is ade-
quate as far as standing wave ratios
measurement is concerned.
In all the following tests the inside con-
ductor was kept the same while the height
Analysis and Discussion of Results
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
One might notice from Table I that
throughout every test the dimensions a,
b, and B were kept the same while the
width of the outer conductor A was the
only variable. Thus from each one test
it is possible to obtain an idea of the
characteristic impedance of a rectangular
coaxial line as function of the dimension
A. However, the value of B was different
in each test thus providing another pos-
sible relationship between the line char-
acteristic impedance and the dimension
B. In all tests the dimensions a and b
were kept the same, that is, only one in-
side conductor was used, except for the
square coaxialline of test E.
CONFOCAL ELLIPSES
Conductors of rectangular cross section
are very difficult to treat mathematically.
The exact solution of the potential prob-
lem for a rectangular cross section can be
solved by making use of the Schwartz
Transformation, but this transformation
can hardly be used to handle a problem
such as a rectangular coaxial line. For
this reason we must be satisfied with
approximating such configuration with
another one which can be handled mathe-
matically. The best approximation of a
rectangular cross section is an elliptic sec-
tion, and the best approximation of a co-
axial rectangular section is a pair of co-
axial ellipses. But it is very difficult to
find, for example, the capacitance of a
capacitor composed of two elliptic shells
unless these two ellipses are confocal, that
is, have common focii,
Keeping this idea in mind, the first
R6 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines JANUARY 1952
THE DEVIATION FROM THE CONFOCAL
ELLIPSE SECTION
Plotting the experimental results given
by Table I, on Figure 8, one can see at
once, for every section, that by increasing
the dimension A of the outer conductor
(while keeping all other dimensions un-
changed), the characteristic impedance of
the section increases following a semi-
This equation is actually the upper limit
of equation 5, one which has the ratio
d/a =o. Also the experimental result ob-
tained in test E checks very closely the
above equation. This justifies our as-
sumption that the percentage decrease in
the characteristic impedance of rectangu-
lar coaxial lines, whose inscribed ellipses
are confocal, due to sharp comers is inde-
pendent of the line dimensions.
sions of the inside conductor. One can
see from Figure 8 that the four first sec-
tions of tests A, B, C, and D fit the curve
d/a=O.968. .
To support the statement that equa-
tion 13 represents the characteristic im-
pedance of rectangular coaxial lines whose
inscribed ellipses are confocal, we may re-
fer to curve II of Figure 1 which gives the
characteristic impedance of coaxial square
lines. The approximate equation of this
curve, as found from curve II, is:
rectangular coaxial lines of tests A, B, C
and D were chosen such that the inscribed
ellipses to the inner and outer capacitor
are confocal. These four sections allow us
to examine the relation between the char-
acteristic impedances of our sections as
measured experimentally, and those of the
inscribed confocal ellipses as computed
mathematically.
The characteristic impedance of an air-
filled confocal ellipse section was given in
equation 5 together with the condition
imposed on the semiminor and semimajor
axes of both the inner and outer ellipses
in order for the ellipses to be confocal, that
is, equation 6. From this relation we can
readily see that for every inside ellipse,
that is, for fixed a and !J, there are an in-
finite number of outer ellipses which will
satisfy equation 6, by choosing the proper
values for the dimensions A and B. But,
once we fix a value, say for dimension B,
then there is only one outer ellipse which is
confocal with the inside one. This last
case corresponds to our problem since we
used only one inside conductor for most
of the tests, and for everyone test, we
kept the dimension B unchanged.
Assuming that the four particular sec-
tions, mentioned before, are confocal el-
lipses instead of being rectangular, we can
use equation 5 to find their characteristic
impedances. This assumption is actually
equivalent to neglecting the sharp edges
of the rectangular sections. Comparing
these calculated values and the actual
characteristic impedance of the rectangu-
lar sections as measured experimentally,
it was found that the latter values are less
than those of the confocal ellipses. This
result was expected since by neglecting
the edges we have decreased the line in-
ductance. Since the ratio of the area of
a rectangle to that of the inscribed ellipse
is a constant (4/7r), we are justified in
taking an average value for the charac-
teristic impedance of a coaxial rectangular
line whose inscribed ellipses are' con-
focal. This assumption will be justified
when we consider the characteristic im-
pedance of a square coaxial line, later in
this section.
From this experiment, it was found that
the characteristic impedance of such lines
is that of the corresponding confocal el-
lipse multiplied by 0.971. Thus the char-
acteristic impedance of a rectangular co-
axial line whose inscribed ellipses are con-
focal, may be given by the following equa-
tion:
A/a+{(A/a)2- (d/a)2} 1/
2
Zo= 1341og
1o
{( / }1/
1+ 1- d a)2 2
(13)
where d
2
=A2- B2=a
2-b2

Figure 8 shows a plot of this equation

for different values of d/a including the
value 0.968 which was fixed by the dimen-
Zo= 134 IOglO A/a (14)
10
9
8
7
6
AId, =5.1
5

4
-c
3
2
6Z0=29.1..t\..
o MEASURED VALUES
TAKEN FROM MESSINGE
AND HIGGINS CURVE
REFERENCE (2)
10
Figure 8. Plot
of experimental
results
20 30 40' 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
Zo IN OHMS
PLOT OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
JANUARY 1952 Omar, Miller-s-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines 87

The characteristic impedance of a line
having a rectangular outer conductor and a
ribbon inner conductor when the inscribed
ellipses are confocal:
Here d/a=l and A' =A,
Zo= 134 loglo [A/a+ {(A/a)2-1} 112]
ohms (20F)
Equations 20 (A-F) will give the charac-
teristic impedance of any rectangular co-
axial line, rectangular outer conductor
square inner conductor line, square co-
axial line, and rectangular outer conductor
ribbon inside conductor line.
To test the "fit" of these formulas, we
shall go backward and apply them to all
the different sections used in this experi-
mental work and compare the calculated
with the measured values, as shown in
Table II. From Table II, one can see
that the calculated values of the charac-
teristic impedance of rectangular coaxial
lines, using equations 20, differ from the
experimentally measured values by less
than ::2 per cent.
In test F, as mentioned before, the line
has an outer conductor made of a piece of
3-centimeter wave guide while the inner
conductor was the same solid rectangular
bar used in most of the other tests. The
calculated value of the characteristic im-
pedance of this line checks to 1.2 per cent
of the measured value. This appears to
justify our statement that a very good
electrical contact between the four mem-
bers of the outer conductor of a built-up
rectangular line is not very necessary.
In test E, the line is a square coaxial one
and as shown in Table II, its characteris-
tic impedance agrees with the measured
value to within less than 1 per cent. This
proves that the semi empirical formula ob-
tained is valid for any rectangular coaxial
line independent of the dimensions of the
inside conductor. Moreover, the charac-
teristic impedance was measured as a
function of (A/a) and (d/a) , that is, as
ratios of the outer to the inner conductor
dimensions independent of anyone di-
mension.
In applying equations 20, it should be
remembered that they have not been
checked experimentally for the complete
range of the dimensional ratios. On the
other hand, however, there is no apparent
tendency for the experimental values to
deviate from the values calculated by the
Zo= 134 loglo (A '/a)+
80.6 loglo (A/A') ohms (20D)
The characteristic impedance of a line
having a rectangular outer conductor and
a ribbon inner conductor:
Here d/a=l and A'=(B2+a2)J/
2
,
Zo= 134 loglO[AI /a+ {(A' /a)2-1} 1/2]+
80.6 loglo (A/A ') ohms (20E)
(20C)
Figure 9. Relations be-
tween the different dimen-
sions
Zo=1341og1oA/a ohms
The characteristic impedance of a line
having a rectangular outer conductor and
a square inner conductor:
Here d/a=O and A'=B,
The characteristic impedance of a square
coaxial line:
Here d/a=O and A'=A,
The characteristic impedance of a rec-
tangular coaxial line whose inscribed
ellipses are confocal:
Here A' =A, and
A/a+ {(A/a)2- (d/a)2} 1/
2
Zo= 134log
lO
1+{1-(d/a)2} 112
ohms (20B)
Here A' = (B2+a2_b
2
f l2, and
Z= 134loglOX
[
A ' /a+ {(A' /a)2-(d/a)2} I
l l
J +
1+{1-(d/a)2} 112
80.6 loglO (A / A ') ohms (20A)
Figure 9 shows these different dimen-
sions.
Equation 19, in summary, means: To
obtain the characteristic impedance of a
rectangular coaxial line whose dimensions
A, B, a, and b are known, we use equation
15 to find a dimension A' which upon re-
placing dimension A will give two con-
focal ellipses inscribed to the coaxial rec-
tangular conductor sections. Knowing
the characteristic impedance of such lines,
we can, upon the assumption of an air-
filled lossless line, find the inductance as
well as the capacitance per unit length
of the line. In summary, we can write
equation 19 as:
The general expression for the charac-
teristic impedance of rectangular coaxial
lines:
where
A' is given by equation 15
2A = inner width of the outer conductor
2B = inner depth of the outer conductor
2a = outer width of the inside conductor
2b = thickness of the inside conductor
acteristic impedance of any coaxial rec-
tangular transmission line is:
{(A I /a)2-(d/a)2} 1/
2
+ A ' /a
Zo= 134 log 10 {1-(d/a)2} 1/2+1 +
80.6 loglO (A/A') ohms (19)
(18)
(15)
I
I
I
I
---
I
I
I
I
(A/A')
Thus the complete formula for the char-
To find the value of consider the
numerical example: At point M
Zo= 100 ohms (as found from the experi-
mental curve LK)
A/a=5.1
A' /a =2.22 (as calculated from equation
15)
In this case the first term of equation 16
contributes an amount of 70.9 ohms.
Thus the value of
ohms. This is due to an increase in the
ratio A/a equal to A/a-A'/a. The
slope of the experimental curve LK is:
IOglO (A/a)-loglO (A' fa) IOglO (A/A ')
m sz
(17)
but A/A' = 5.1/2.22 = 2.297 and 1/m be-
comes equal to 80.6 and becomes:
and is the width of the outer conductor
which is necessary to make the inscribed
ellipses (keeping all other dimensions B,
a and b constant) confocal. Thus for sec-
tions whose width A was taken sucb that
the inscribed ellipses are confocal A' is
equal to A. For such sections then equa-
tion 5 gives their characteristic imped-
ance directly. For other sections in which
A' is not equal to A, one must add a cor-
rection term to equation 5.
One way to do this is to take any point,
say point M, on one of the experimental
lines, say line LK, and calculate the value
of A ' from Equation as:
Zo= 134 IOglOX
{
A ' /a+ [(A' /a)2- (d/a)2]1/
2
}
1+[1-(d/a)2r/2 (16)
logarithmic law. For the four different
tests, A, B, C, and D, we get four straight
lines on semilogarithmic paper. These
lines were found to be very nearly paral-
lel, thus we are in a position to find an im-
perical formula for the characteristic im-
pedance of any rectangular coaxial line.
To do that we shall define a dimension
A' such as:
88 Omar, Miller-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines JANUARY 1952
Table II. Comparison Between Measured end Calculated Values of the Characteristic Impedance of Rectangular Coaxial Lines
Test Section
Number Number A B a b d A' d/a A/a A/A'
=;:0 X 100
Zo** per cent
1 0.446 3 ~ 5 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.446 0.968 1.784 1.000 56.3 56.7 -0.71
2 0.625 0.375 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.446 0.968 2.500 1.400 68.0 68.1 -0.15
A 3 0.750 0.375 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.446 O. 968 3.000 1. 680 " 74.4 75.0 -0.80
4 0.870 0.375 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.446 0.968 3.500 1.960 79.9 80.0 -0.13
5 1.000 0.375 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.446 O. 968 4.000 2.240 " 84.5 84.6 -0.12
1 0.555 0.500 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.555 0.968 2.220 1.000 70.8 70.5 +0.40
2 0.625 0.500 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.555 0.968 2.500 1.127 74.9 74.2 +0.95
B 3 0.750 0.500 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.555 0.968 3.000 1.350 81. 3 80.4 +1. 07
4 0.875 0.500 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.555 0.968 3.500 1.577 86.7 87.0 -0.35
5 1.000 0.500 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.555 0.968 4.000 1. 800 " 91.4 91.1 +0.33
1. 0.670 0.625 0.250 0.0625 0.242 O. 670 0.968 2.680 1.000 " 82.8 83.5 -0.84
C 2 0.750 0.625 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.670 0.968 3.000 1.120 86.8 87.1 -0.35
3 0.875 0.625 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.670 0.968 3.500 1.307 92.2 93.0 -0.86
4 1.000 0.625 0.250 0.0625 0.242 O. 670 O. 968 4.000 1.493 96.8 97.7 -0.92
1 0.788 0.750 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.788 0.968 3.152 1.000 92.70 92.00 +0.76
D 2 0.875 0.750 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.788 0.968 3.500 1.110 96.40 96.30 +0.11
3 1.000 0.750 0.250 0.0625 0.242 O. 788 O. 968 4.000 1.270 101.1 102.5 -1.37
4 1.125 0.750 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.788 0.968 4.500 1.430 105.2 106.4 -1.13
F 1. 0.450 0.200 0.250 0.0625 0.242 0.314 0.968 1. 800 1.433 41. 50 42.00 -1.20
E ......... 1. 0.625 0.250 0.2500. '" .0.000.. , .. 0.625 .. , .. 0.000 2.500 1.000 53.30 53.10 +0.38
z.* = Calculated characteristic impedance (ohms).
Zo** = Measured characteristic impedance (ohms).
Dimensions are in inches.
formula at the extremes of the range of the
ratios studied in this work.
Appendix I. Nomenclature
A =radius of the outer conductor of a cir-
cular coaxial line
A =half width of the outer conductor of a
rectangular coaxial line
A =semimajor axis of the outer ellipse of an
elliptical coaxial line
a = radius of the inner conductor of a cir-
cular coaxial line
a = half width of the inside conductor of a
rectangular coaxial line
a = semimajor axis of the inside ellipse of an
elliptical coaxial line
B = half depth of the outer conductor of a
coaxial rectangular line
B =semiminor axis of the outer ellipse of an
elliptical coaxial line
b=half depth of the inner conductor of a
coaxial rectangular line
b=semiminor axis of the inside ellipse of an
elliptical coaxial line
C= shunt capacitance per unit length of a
transmission line (farads)
d=distance between the center of an ellipse
and either focii
E
max
= maximum voltage
Emin = minimum voltage
f = frequency in cycles or megacycles per
second
h = thickness of a resistive coating
L = series inductance per unit length of line
(henrys)
R1 =load resistance
Reff =effective resistance
Re=D-c resistance
V = velocity of propagation of a wave along
a transmission line
VSWR=voltage standing wave ratio
Z1 = load impedance (ohms)
Zo= characteristic impedance of a transmis-
sion line (ohms)
8= phase angle of the reflection co-efficient
fh=load impedance phase angle
X= wave length
p =voltage standing wave ratio
(T = conductivity of a coating material
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JANUARY 1952
Omar, Miller-s-Characteristic Impedance of Coaxial Transmission Lines
89