A transmission line (TL) is simply a medium that is capable of guiding or propagating electromagnetic energy. The transmission line stores the electric (E) and magnetic (M) energies and distributes them in space by alternating them between the two forms. This means that at any point along a TL, energy is stored in a mixture of E and M forms and, for an alternating signal at any point on the TL, converted from one form to the other as time progresses. Transmission line is usually modelled using lumped elements (i.e., inductors for magnetic energy, capacitors for electric energy, and resistors for modelling losses). The electrical characteristics of a TL such as the propagation constant, the attenuation constant, the characteristic impedance, and the distributed circuit parameters can only be determined from the knowledge of the fields surrounding the transmission line. This chapter gives a brief overview of various transmission lines, with more detailed discussions on the microstrip and the SIW.
