RF Toolbox

Double-Stub Tuner

A double-stub tuner matches a load using two shunt stubs at a fixed spacing — the arrangement used in adjustable lab tuners, where the stub positions can't move but their lengths can. This tool finds both solutions for the two stub lengths, flags the "forbidden region" (loads whose conductance is too high to match at the chosen spacing), and confirms the design by transforming the load through the network to an input VSWR of 1. The first stub sits at the load; the second is one spacing away.

Equations & Parameters ▸
\(t=\tan\beta d,\quad B_1=-B_L+\dfrac{Y_0\pm\sqrt{(1+t^2)G_L Y_0-G_L^2 t^2}}{t}\)
\(B_2=\dfrac{\pm Y_0\sqrt{(1+t^2)G_L Y_0-G_L^2 t^2}+G_L Y_0}{G_L\,t}\)
solutions exist only if \(G_L\le Y_0\,\dfrac{1+t^2}{t^2}=\dfrac{Y_0}{\sin^2\beta d}\)
RL, XLLoad resistance and reactance (Ω).
Z0Line / stub characteristic impedance (Ω).
dStub spacing (λ). Common values: 0.125 (λ/8) or 0.375 (3λ/8).
StubOpen- or short-circuited shunt stubs.
Reference: D. M. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, 4th ed., §5.3 (double-stub tuning).
Inputs
Ω
Real part
Ω
Imag part
Ω
Reference
λ
Fixed
Shunt stubs
Results

Solution 1

Stub 1 length ℓ₁
Stub 2 length ℓ₂
Resulting VSWR

Solution 2

Stub 1 length ℓ₁
Stub 2 length ℓ₂
Resulting VSWR

Matchability

Load conductance GL
Max GL at this spacing
Diagram