In electronics, a two-port network (a kind of four-terminal network or quadripole) is an electrical network (i.e. a circuit) or device with two pairs of terminals to connect to external circuits. Two terminals constitute a port if the currents applied to them satisfy the essential requirement known as the port condition: the current entering one terminal must equal the current emerging from the other terminal on the same port. The ports constitute interfaces where the network connects to other networks, the points where signals are applied or outputs are taken. In a two-port network, often port 1 is considered the input port and port 2 is considered the output port. It is commonly used in mathematical circuit analysis.
Application The two-port network model is used in mathematical circuit analysis techniques to isolate portions of larger circuits. A two-port network is regarded as a "black box" with its properties specified by a matrix of numbers. This allows the response of the network to signals applied to the ports to be calculated easily, without solving for all the internal voltages and currents in the network. It also allows similar circuits or devices to be compared easily. For example, transistors are often regarded as two-ports, characterized by their h-parameters (see below) which are listed by the manufacturer. Any linear circuit with four terminals can be regarded as a two-port network provided that it does not contain an independent source and satisfies the port conditions. Examples of circuits analyzed as two-ports are filters, matching networks, transmission lines, transformers, and small-signal models for transistors (such as the hybrid-pi model). The analysis of passive two-port networks is an outgrowth of reciprocity theorems first derived by Lorentz. In two-port mathematical models, the network is described by a 2 by 2 square matrix of complex numbers. The common models that are used are referred to as z-parameters, y-parameters, h-parameters, g-parameters, and ABCD-parameters, each described individually below. These are all limited to linear networks since an underlying assumption of their derivation is that any given circuit condition is a linear superposition of various short-circuit and open circuit conditions. They are usually expressed in matrix notation, and they establish relations between the variables
V1, voltage across port 1 I1, current into port 1 V2, voltage across port 2 I2, current into port 2 which are shown in figure 1. The difference between the various models lies in which of these variables are regarded as the independent variables. These current and voltage variables are most useful at low-to-moderate frequencies. At high frequencies (e.g., microwave frequencies), the use of power and energy variables is more appropriate, and the two-port current–voltage approach is replaced by an approach based upon scattering parameters.
General properties There are certain properties of two-ports that frequently occur in practical networks and can be used to greatly simplify the analysis. These include:
Reciprocal networks A network is said to be reciprocal if the voltage appearing at port 2 due to a current applied at port 1 is the same as the voltage appearing at port 1 when the same current is applied to port 2. Exchanging voltage and current results in an equivalent definition of reciprocity. A network that consists entirely of linear passive components (that is, resistors, capacitors and inductors) is usually reciprocal, a notable exception being passive circulators and isolators that contain magnetized materials. In general, it will not be reciprocal if it contains active components such as generators or transistors. Symmetrical networks A network is symmetrical if its input impedance is equal to its output impedance. Most often, but not necessarily, symmetrical networks are also physically symmetrical. Sometimes also antimetrical networks are of interest. These are networks where the input and output impedances are the duals of each other. Lossless network A lossless network is one which contains no resistors or other dissipative elements.
Impedance parameters (z-parameters)
[ V 1 V 2 ] = [ z 11 z 12 z 21 z 22 ] [ I 1 I 2 ] {\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}V_{1}\\V_{2}\end{bmatrix}}={\begin{bmatrix}z_{11}&z_{12}\\z_{21}&z_{22}\end{bmatrix}}{\begin{bmatrix}I_{1}\\I_{2}\end{bmatrix}}}
where
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