Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)

The standing wave is formed when the incident wave gets reflected. The standing wave which is formed, contains some voltage. The magnitude of standing waves can be measured in terms of standing wave ratios.

The ratio of maximum voltage to the minimum voltage in a standing wave can be defined as Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR). It is denoted by "SS".

VSWR describes the voltage standing wave pattern that is present in the transmission line due to phase addition and subtraction of the incident and reflected waves.

Hence, it can also be written as

The larger the impedance mismatch, the higher will be the amplitude of the standing wave. Therefore, if the impedance is matched perfectly,

Hence, the value for VSWR is unity, which means the transmission is perfect.