Reflection coefficient and return loss are two key parameters that determine the impedance mismatch in any RF signal transmission. As both these parameters are similar, they can be interconverted. By entering the return loss, the reflection coefficient can be computed using this calculator.
Return Loss to Reflection Coefficient Calculator
What is the reflection coefficient?
The reflection coefficient is an electrical parameter that represents the amount of electromagnetic waves reflected due to the impedance discontinuity/mismatch in a transmission path. Definition of the reflection coefficient is the ratio of the amplitude of the reflected wave to the amplitude of the incident wave, with each expressed as phasors, and the symbol of this coefficient is Γ (capital gamma). Return loss is described as the ratio of incident power to reflected power.
For an ideal system, there is no impedance mismatch between the transmission line & load, thus the reflection coefficient will be 0.
But for a practical transmission system with load, there will be a small impedance mismatch that will lead to a small amount of incident power reflected back to the source.
The Reflection Coefficient can be calculated from return loss by using the following formula.
Where,
RL = Return loss in dB
Γ = Reflection coefficient