1 Last updated on 29

th
August 2014
EXPERIMENT G1: IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENT AND MATCHING

Related course: KEET4208 (Antenna and Propagation)

OBJECTIVES:
1. To measure the impedance of an unknown device
2. To perform impedance matching using a slide-screw tuner

EQUIPMENT:
Klystron tube, directional coupler, source alternator, slot-line detector, RC-oscillator,
transition adaptor, cavity wavemeter, crystal detector

PRECAUTIONS:
1. The RF power level in this experiment is not harmful, but a human eye may be
damaged by low level of radiation. Do not look into the waveguide at any time when
the equipment is on.
2. Klystron gets extremely hot when in use and must not be handled by hand.

REFERENCE(S):
Refer to the main references of KEET4208 (Antenna and Propagation)

INTRODUCTION:

The ratio between the electric and the magnetic fields is defined as the impedance
measured at a particular point along a waveguide. It may be denoted Z = E / H = R + jX. If
there is' no reflected wave, this ratio is the same at all points along the line. The VSWR will
be unity. In this case, the load absorbs all the incident energy and is said to be matched to
the characteristic impedance Z
o
of the waveguide. In a system with no loss, Z
o
is a pure
resistance. If a reflected wave is present, causing a standing wave, then the impedance will
vary periodically with distance along the transmission path. It is therefore necessary to
specify the plane to which the impedance is related when measuring an unknown
impedance.
It can be shown that the relationship between VSWR, reflection coefficient , and the
impedance Z at any point on the line is as follows:

Smith chart is usually used to analyse the values of R and X at any distances along
the transmission line. The scale on the outer edge represents distance towards the
generator, measured in waveguide wavelength. It may sometimes be more convenient to
use the scale inside the outer circle, which specifies the distance towards the load.
Impedance values are normalised with respect to the characteristic impedance Z
o
. The
circles which touch the outer circle at the right-side of Figure l are curves of constant
resistance R/Z
o
. Another family of circles cut at right angles to the former circles represents
a particular value of reactance jX/Z
o
. Thus every point in the diagram specifies a normalised
impedance Z/Z
o
=(R +jX)/Z
o
. The impedances at various points along the waveguide lie on a
circle with its center at the center of the Smith Chart. This circle is often called the circle of
constant mismatch. When the load is equal to Z
o
, there is no mismatch and the radius of this
circle will shrink to zero. The impedances at various distances from a point (where the
impedance is known) can be established by moving around the circle through the
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August 2014
appropriate angle. The point where the circle crosses the horizontal axis on the right-side of
Smith Chart (i.e. R/Zo + j0) corresponds to a point of maximum electric field in the standing
wave pattern. It also gives the VSWR, since at this point the normalised resistance value is
equal to the VSWR (ie. R/Z
o
= VSWR). The point at the opposite end along the diameter (on
the left-side of Smith Chart) corresponds to a point of minimum electric field and is
equivalent to Z=(1/VSWR) + j0.

To measure an unknown impedance, the VSWR=S
o
of the device connected to a
slotted-line waveguide and the position of one minimal point Xo is determined (see Figure 2).
A circle corresponds to R +j0 where R =S
o
is drawn on the Smith Chart. After that, the
unknown device is substituted by a short circuit plate. Two successive minimal, x
1
and x
2
,
are noted. Twice the distance between them is the guide wavelength
g
. One of the minimal
is used as reference. Let d = (x
o
- x
l
) /
g
. The impedance at the input terminal of the
unknown device can be found on the constant mismatch circle at a distance d from the point
of minimum electric field towards load if d > 0; otherwise towards generator. It should be
noted that the impedance along the line is equal to the load impedance at any integrlU
number of half-wavelengths from the load.

When the load doesn't match the transmission line impedance, the reflected energy
is usually lost as heat and, in some cases, may destroy the source amplifier. It may also
cause a wide variation in performance when the condition is disturbed by, for example,
temperature change or signal frequency drift. Therefore, it is usually desirable that the load
accepts all the RF energy or additional impedance matching network can be incorporated to
the line in order to minimize the amount of energy reflected to the generator. In the case of
waveguide, a slide-screw tuner which consists of a slotted waveguide section and a movable
probe penetrating through the slot, may be used for this purpose. A variable capacitive
susceptance is introduced in parallel to the transmission line by varying the probe depth.

A convenient feature of Smith Chart is that, if the normalised impedance is
represented by one point Z, then the normalised admittance (reciprocal of impedance) is
found by simply moving to the opposite end of the diameter through Z on the constant
mismatch circle. The admittance Y = G + jB changes along the waveguide according to the
values represented by the circle. A point Y
l
can be found where the conductance G becomes
equal to the characteristic admittance Y
o
. If the susceptance at this point has a negative
value (i.e. -jB), the tuner probe can be used to add a susceptance +jB in parallel with Y so
that the combined susceptance will be zero and the resulting admittance Y' will simply
become Y
o
. There may occur a standing wave in the waveguide section between the tuner
and the load but, as far as the source generator is concerned, no part of the incident wave is
reflected.

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August 2014

Figure 1: Example of Impedance analysis and matching using Smith chart

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August 2014

Figure 2: Illustration to Impedance Measurement


TEST 1

1. Set up the equipment as shown in Figure 3.




Figure 3: Experimental setup

2. Set the klystron repeller control knob to center position.
3. Set the source attenuator to 0 dB.
4. Connect the SWR-meter to the slotted-line detector.
5. Switch on the RC-oscillator (1kHz, 1 V nns) and the klystron power supply. Allow 3 to
5 minutes for the klystron tube to warm-up.
6. Slowly adjust the klystron repeller knob to get a peak reading on the SWR-meter.
7. Move the detector along the slotted-line waveguide to get a maximum deflection.
8. Adjust the SWR-meter gain until the meter indicates 1.0 (40 dB-range) on the "SWR"
scale. Adjust the detector probe depth if necessary.
9. Move the detector to a minimal point. Read the "SWR" scale.
10. Record the SWR and the position of the minimal point X
0
.
11. Draw a circle of constant mismatch on the Smith chart using the S WR result.
12. Substitute the load by a short circuit plate.
13. Record the position of two successive minimal points, X
1
and X
2
. Twice of the
distance between them is the waveguide wavelength
g
.
14. Calculate d = (x
o
x
1
) /
g

Klystron
tube
Directional
coupler
Source
attenuator
Slotted-line
detector
Load
(horn)
Matched
termination
Crystal
detector
Cavity
wavemeter
Transition
adaptor
RC
oscillation
d
x2
Minimum with
short, x1
Minimum with
load, Emin
2

Emax
2

Plane of
load
g/2
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August 2014
15. Starting from the position corresponding to Z = 0 + j0 on the Smith chart, move round
the outside scale 'toward load' to locate the distance d if d > 0; otherwise 'toward
generator'. Join this point to the center with a straight line. At the point where this line
intersects the constant mismatch circle, read the normalised impedance from the R
and X curves.
16. Find the normalised admittance Y = (G + jB) from the opposite end of the diameter
through Z.
17. Extend this diameter line to the outer scale of the Smith chart. Record the distance d
1

on the 'toward generator' scale.
18. Determine the point Y
1
where the constant mismatch circle intersects with the unity
constant resistance circle. Draw a line from the center of the Smith chart, through Y
1
,
to the outer scale. Record the distance d
2
on the 'toward generator' scale.
19. Calculate the required distance d = (d
2
d
1
) x
g
from the load terminal towards
generator where the conductance G will becomes equal to the characteristic
admittance Y
o
.
20. Add an integral number of half-wavelengths to tid in order to determine a practical
position to insert a tuner probe. Record this distance D
o
.
21. Establish a slide-screw tuner in between the slotted-line detector and the load.
22. Position the tuner probe at the distance D
o
from the load terminal.
23. Increase the tuner probe penetration depth incrementally in an attempt to achieve the
lowest VSWR. By moving the slotted-line detector, check that the adjustments have
reduced the VSWR.
24. Make a fine adjustment to the tuner probe position along the waveguide to further
reduce the VSWR.
25. Repeat step-32 and -34 if necessary to obtain a VSWR closest to 1.00.
26. Record the final VSWR = S
1
achieved, the best position D
l
of the tuner probe, and
the penetration depth .



6 Last updated on 29
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August 2014
IMPEDANCE OR ADMITTANCE COORDINATES (SMITH CHART)







END OF EXPERIMENT