matching

matching

(impedance matching) Arranging electrical impedances so that maximum power is transferred from one device to another. This occurs when the input impedance of one device equals the output impedance of the other to which it is connected. See also feeder.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

Matching

Used to describe the arrangement of timber veneers, such as book-matching, slip-matching and quarter-matching.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

matching

[′mach·iŋ]

(computer science)

A computer problem-solving method in which the current situation is represented as a schema to be mapped into the desired situation by putting the two in correspondence.

(electricity)

Connecting two circuits or parts together with a coupling device in such a way that the maximum transfer of energy occurs between the two circuits, and the impedance of either circuit will be terminated in its image.

(mathematics)

A set of edges in a graph, no two of which have a vertex in common. Also known as independent edge set.

(navigation)

The bringing of two or more signals or indications into suitable position or condition preliminary to making a measurement, as on a loran indicator or a sky compass.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

matching

matching, 2

A system of matchboards, or of sheets of wood veneer, arranged to emphasize grain pattern, as in book matching or herringbone matching.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Matching

 

in electrical circuit design, the practice that ensures the transmission of electromagnetic energy and signals with the lowest possible reflection factor, signal loss, and distortion. Matching consists in the proper choice of impedances for the source, transmission line, and load. Line and load are ideally matched when the characteristic impedance of the transmission line p is equal to the impedance of the load Z_l = R_l + jX_l or when R_l = ρ and X_l = 0, where R_l is the active part of the impedance and X_l is the reactive part. Under these circumstances, traveling waves characterized by a standing-wave ratio of unity are established in the transmission line.

For lines with negligibly small electrical losses, matching—and, consequently, the maximum effective transfer of energy from the source to the load—is achieved when the impedance of the source Z_s and the load Z, are complex conjugates, that is, when or R_s = ρ = R_l and X_s = – X_l. In this case, the reactive impedance of the circuit is zero, and the conditions for resonance are satisfied. Such conditions enable electrical systems to operate with better efficiency, for example, with improved use of frequency ranges, better interference rejection, and reduced frequency distortion of radio signals.

Matching is especially important in microwave engineering, where it can be achieved by means of the following: impedance-matching transformers, such as stubs or dielectric sleeves inserted in the transmission line or sections of transmission lines with specially chosen characteristic impedances and lengths; various matching devices that compensate the reactive components of the impedance, such as stubs, phase shifters, and irises, placed in the transmission line; absorbing loads; directional couplers; and various devices for converting from one mode of transmission to another, such as coaxial-waveguide couplers, baluns, and flexible and rotating connections.

The degree of matching can be assessed by measuring the reflection factor and the standing-wave ratio. In practice, matching is considered optimum when the standing-wave ratio in the chosen frequency range does not exceed 1.2 or 1.3 (1.05 for measuring instruments). In some cases, the response of source parameters, such as frequency, power, and noise level, to changes in load, the occurrence of electrical breakdowns in the line, and heating in some sections of the line can serve as indirect indicators of matching.

REFERENCES

Fizicheskie osnovy elektrotekhniki. Edited by K. M. Polivanov. Moscow-Leningrad, 1950.
Valitov, R. A., and V. N. Sretenskii. Radiotekhnicheskie izmereniia. Moscow, 1970.
Lebedev, I. V. Tekhnika i pribory SVCh, 2nd ed., vol. 1. Moscow, 1970.
Gonorovskii, I. S. Radiotekhnicheskie tsepi i signaly, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1971.

V. N. SRETENSKII

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.