• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Test & Measurement Tips

Oscilloscopes, electronics engineering industry news, how-to EE articles and electronics resources

  • Oscilloscopes
    • Analog Oscilloscope
    • Digital Oscilloscope
    • Handheld Oscilloscope
    • Mixed-signal Oscilloscope
    • PC-based Oscilloscopes – PCO
  • Design
  • Calibration
  • Meters & Testers
  • Test Equipment
  • Suppliers
  • Video
  • EE Learning Center
    • Design Guides
      • WiFi & the IOT Design Guide
      • Microcontrollers Design Guide
      • State of the Art Inductors Design Guide
      • Power Electronics & Programmable Power
  • FAQs
You are here: Home / Featured / Understanding the basics: What is characteristic impedance?

Understanding the basics: What is characteristic impedance?

September 2, 2014 By David Herres 3 Comments

We speak of 50- or 75-Ω coaxial cable. The novice wonders if these numbers apply to a given length, say 100 ft. Could you connect an ohmmeter to one end of the cable and expect to get that reading with or without the conductors shunted at the far end? The answer is absolutely not.

The characteristic impedance of coaxial cable or any type of transmission line is constant, regardless of its length. This metric is expressed in ohms but cannot be measured by an ohmmeter. The measurement takes a time domain reflectometer, some models costing thousands of dollars. An oscilloscope can also be used to ascertain this value. But it’s usually unnecessary to make this measurement on short lengths of coaxial cable; coax is manufactured to exacting specifications and labeled accordingly.

The discussion that follows presupposes the reader understands that impedance is composed of resistance and capacitive or inductive reactance, calculated vectorially. It also presupposes the reader understands that there’s a maximum transfer of power when the source and load match, i.e. their impedances are the same.

distributed C-L model
An L-C model of an infinite transmission line.

To understand characteristic impedance, we must visualize a transmission line of infinite length. As apparent in the accompanying diagram, the transmission line may be modeled as consisting of an infinite number of capacitances. This is entirely realistic because in coaxial cable the two conductors are the plates of a capacitor and the dielectric layer is the insulating material separating them. Similarly, conductors have a certain specific inductance per unit length. In this thought experiment we shall disregard the dc resistance of the wires, imagining they are cooled to close to absolute zero and have become superconductors.

When voltage is applied at the input of this infinitely long transmission line, the capacitors charge, a process that progresses down the line close to the speed of light. Each parallel-connected capacitor charges, dropping the applied voltage by a slight amount during the charging process. On an infinitely long cable, there are an infinite number of capacitors to charge down the line. Simultaneously, the series-connected inductors representing the cable diminish the current as they establish magnetic fields about them. As each magnetic field becomes fully established, the inductance no longer opposes the flow of current, but there are always more inductors downstream on an infinitely long cable.

Recall from Ohm’s law , R= E/I where R = resistance, Ω; E = electromotive force, V; I = current, A. In this infinitely long idealized transmission line, the ratio of E over I remains constant for any particular uniform cable. R also remains constant, and this is the characteristic impedance.

Novices sometimes find it difficult to understand what this infinite transmission line has to do with anything in the real world. We have had to stipulate that the line is infinitely long so there are no reflections from a non-existent end. Such reflections would bounce back to the source and change the cable impedance so it would not be uniform. Suppose there is a load at the far end of the cable whose impedance matches the characteristic impedance of the transmission line. Then regardless of the transmission line length, there will be no reflections. Without reflections, the source has no way to know that the line is not infinite.

Characteristic impedance becomes important at high frequencies. It must be considered in the design of point-to-point wiring, printed circuit board traces, and even inside semiconductor devices including microchips.

Now consider a probe connected to a particular oscilloscope channel. The probe constitutes a transmission line, and the scope input channel is the load. That is why the probe must be compensated to the channel. An impedance mismatch shows up as distortion in the very fast rise and fall times of a square wave, even at moderate frequencies.

You may also like:

  • static electricity
    Measuring and using static electricity
  • coax myths
    Coaxial cable myths and misunderstandings
  • featured
    Difference between a waveguide and transmission line
  • amplifiers
    Choosing the right amplifier

  • Single-sideband modulation and its measurement

Filed Under: Design, FAQ, Featured Tagged With: FAQ

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. freddy sanchez sanchez says

    June 30, 2015 at 11:04 am

    very good thanks

    Log in to Reply
  2. Mike says

    December 28, 2018 at 10:26 am

    I’ve been searching the web for a comprehensible explanation of characteristic impedance of coaxial cables, and this is the only useful and clear explanation I’ve found. Thank you!

    Log in to Reply
  3. shine says

    March 28, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    But how to explain that the characteristic impedance should become sqrt(L/C),not (L/C)

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Current Digital Issue

A frequency you can count on There are few constants in life, but what few there are might include death, taxes, and a U.S. grid frequency that doesn’t vary by more than ±0.5 Hz. However, the certainty of the grid frequency is coming into question, thanks to the rising percentage of renewable energy sources that…

Digital Edition Back Issues

Oscilloscopes Finder

Search Millions of Parts from Thousands of Suppliers.

Search Now!
design fast globle

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe to test and measurement industry news, new oscilloscope product innovations and more.

Subscribe Today

EE TRAINING CENTER CLASSROOMS

EE Classrooms

RSS Current EDABoard.com discussions

  • Timer Counter in ATMEGA328PU is not working
  • Why don't 2 flip-flop synchronizers have a reset?
  • Regarding Induction Heating From Low Voltage DC
  • Help designing 1.6KW Isolated AC/DC with Constant Current Output
  • Rail-to-Rail Operational Amplifier

RSS Current Electro-Tech-Online.com Discussions

  • Christmas Village Control System, Using ESP32
  • LM3914 Loading down the reference voltage
  • Circuit Problem
  • Beam Break Sensor
  • Drill speed controller fault

Footer

EE World Online Network

  • DesignFast
  • EE World Online
  • EDABoard
  • Electro-Tech Online
  • Analog IC Tips
  • Microcontroller Tips
  • Power Electronic Tips
  • Sensor Tips
  • Connector Tips
  • Wire and Cable Tips
  • 5G Technology World

Test & Measurement Tips

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us
  • About us
Follow us on TwitterAdd us on FacebookFollow us on YouTube Follow us on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy