64 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO.

1, JANUARY 2005

Design of a Bidirectional Impedance-Adapting

Transformer Coupling Circuit for Low-Voltage
Power-Line Communications
Petrus A. Janse van Rensburg and Hendrik C. Ferreira, Member, IEEE

Abstract—In this paper, the design of an impedance-adapting
bidirectional transformer coupling circuit for low-voltage power-
line communications is described. It is shown that transmission
through the transformer is governed by series resonance of the
leakage inductance and coupling capacitance. At low frequencies
though, the magnetizing inductance plays an important role in fil-
tering the power waveform. The coupling transformer, if prop-
erly designed, can equalize terminating impedances on either side
for maximum power transfer. Furthermore, these equalized termi-
nating impedances facilitate symmetrical bidirectional band-pass
transmission.
Index Terms—Coupling circuits, filters, impedance matching,
modems, transformers.
I. INTRODUCTION
T RANSFORMER-CAPACITOR coupling circuits are
used extensively in low-voltage power-line communi-
cations, mainly because i) the transformer provides galvanic
isolation from the power-line network and ii) the transformer
acts as a limiter when saturated by high-voltage transients. As
power-line access impedances are generally very low, poor
power transfer is achieved because of the mismatch between
modem impedance and power-line impedance. However, in this
paper, it is shown that a properly designed coupling circuit can
i) adapt the impedance level of a certain modem to a chosen
typical impedance level of the power line and ii) subsequently
be used as a bidirectional coupler for two-way communication.
The step-by-step design of a 1:7 coupling transformer is de-
scribed, and amplitude response measurements clearly indicate
the bidirectional symmetry. As the unfiltered power waveform
typically has an influence of factor 10 on core flux density
compared to the communication waveform, the possibility
of core saturation needs to be carefully considered. There-
fore, a more comprehensive model, including the coupling
transformer’s magnetizing inductance, is used to accurately
determine the filter characteristics for low frequencies. Also,
it is shown that fluctuating power-line impedance values cause
the bandwidth of the coupling filter to fluctuate when a signal
is transmitted. In the receiving direction though, the bandwidth
Manuscript received May 27, 2003. This work was supported in part by the
S.A. National Research Foundation under Grant 2053408. Paper no. TPWRD-
00249-2003.
P. A. Janse van Rensburg is with Walter Sisulu University, East London 5200,
South Africa (e-mail: pvanren@ingulube.bortech.ac.za).
H. C. Ferreira is with the University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park 2006,
South Africa (e-mail: hcf@ing.rau.ac.za).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2004.835260
0885-8977/05$20.00 © 2005 IEEE
of the coupling filter stays constant as the modem impedance
stays constant. Last, some tradeoffs are discussed in order to
choose a typical minimum power-line impedance value for
design purposes.
II. CIRCUIT
In [1], a typical coupling circuit [shown in Fig. 1(a)] was an-
alyzed and shown to behave as a simple series-resonant band-
pass filter at frequencies close to the series resonant point. The
equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 1(b).
The center frequency of this band-pass filter is at the series-
resonant point
(1)
where refers to the series inductance and refers to the series
capacitance. typically consists only of the leakage inductance
referred to primary, but can be enlarged with an external series
inductor. The bandwidth of the filter is determined by the respec-
tive low-frequency and high-frequency 3-dB cutoff points
(2)
and
(3)
where refers to the terminating resistance ( when trans-
mitting and when receiving).
Take note that , the equivalent impedance of the power line
network (see Fig. 1) was not taken into account during measure-
ments in [1]. Typical impedance values of 0.1 to 2 for frequen-
cies in the Comité Européen de Normalization Electrotechnique
(CENELEC ) B, C, and D bands have been reported [2], [3]. This
low impedance value implies that a large portion of the available
signal power is dissipated unnecessarily. Even if it is possible to
improve (raise) the power line impedance using network condi-
tioning, the best practice is to design the input impedance of the
modem to equal the power-line impedance. This would mean a
splitting of current (and power) at the series-resonant point and,
thus, only 3 dB of power is lost.
If the modem input impedance cannot be designed to equal
the power-line impedance, it is absolutely necessary to equalize
JANSE VAN RENSBURG AND FERREIRA: DESIGN OF A BIDIRECTIONAL IMPEDANCE-ADAPTING TRANSFORMER COUPLING CIRCUIT
Fig. 1 (a) Suggested coupling circuit and (b) equivalent circuit for frequencies
of interest. Z and Z refer to the power-line and modem terminating impe-
dances, respectively, whereas R represents the referred modem impedance to
the power-line side.
the impedance levels by using a step-up transformer. A trans-
former is a powerful impedance-transforming device, as any
impedance is reflected by the square of the winding ratio. If a
transformer is used to equalize the terminating impedances on
either side of Fig. 1(b), another advantage results: the coupling
network can now be used as a bidirectional coupler with the
same filter characteristics from both sides.
III. DESIGN
A. Frequency Specifications
The bidirectional coupler will be designed for the CENELEC
B, C, and D bands [3], [4], roughly from 90 to 150 kHz. Thus,
90 kHz would be the worst-case frequency for core consider-
ations [see (6)] and 150 kHz would be the frequency where
copper losses would be a maximum.
B. Impedance Levels/Winding Ratio
Although the power-line access impedance fluctuates be-
tween 0.2 to 2 and more [2], [5], it has been decided that
a 1- power-line impedance value satisfies various tradeoffs
(discussed in Section VI). It is also assumed that a 50- modem
impedance needs to be adapted to the 1- impedance of the
power line. This can be done using a 1:7 transformer. The
50- modem impedance appears as on
the power-line side, whereas the 1- power-line impedance
appears as on the modem side.
C. Maximum Voltage Levels
According to the CENELEC specifications, a maximum
signal level of 116 is allowed for
the B, C, and D bands. Although this figure represents a
measured value, the measurement setup consists of a balanced
voltage-divider network, which implies that only 50% of the
true signal is measured [3], [4]. Thus, a maximum voltage of
122 (which represents or 0.89 ) I. Number of Turns
can be injected into the power-line network and this represents
a voltage of 8.81 or 6.23 on the modem side of
the transformer.
65
D. Maximum Power and Current
In order to calculate the maximum power level, a minimum
power-line impedance of 0.25 is assumed. This gives a max-
imum power throughput of 3.17 W and maximum currents of
3.56 and 0.51 for the power-line side and modem
side, respectively.
E. Core
An E20 core was chosen, manufactured from MnZn ferrite
material [6]. This core set has the following properties: core
cross-sectional area mm , flux path-length
mm, intrinsic permeability , and saturation flux
density mT.
F. Current Density
Billings [7] shows that the current density for a certain rise in
conductor temperature is given by the empirical equation
A/cm (4)
where is a constant for a certain core shape and temperature
rise, and refers to the area product of the core (product
of core and window areas). The core under consideration has
an of 4.5 (for 30 C) and an area product
cm . Equation (4) yields a current density of 6.1 A/mm
for a 30 C rise in conductor temperature. Reference [8] lists
values of for various other core shapes and temperatures.
G. Skin Effect
The optimum strand diameter is typically chosen between
and , depending on the proximity effect and other design fac-
tors. For copper at a temperature of 50 C, the penetration depth
at a certain frequency is
(5)
if the relative permeability of copper is assumed as 1.
Symbol represents the conductivity whereas is the perme-
ability of free space. Equation (5) yields a of 0.18 mm for 150
kHz. The optimum strand diameter can also be obtained from
graphs [7] and was 0.36 mm for this design. The closest (lower)
gauge available at the time of construction was a 0.25-mm
diameter copper wire with a cross-sectional area of 0.049 mm .
H. Number of Strands
The number of insulated strands necessary to obtain a Litz-
wire bundle with sufficient cross-sectional area (for the current
density of 6.1 A/mm ) can now be calculated as approximately
12 strands for the power-line side and two strands for the modem
side.
A typical window fill-factor is 0.5, and it is thus expected that
only eight power-line side turns and, therefore, 56 modem-side
turns would fit onto the transformer’s bobbin.
66
J. Flux Density
Although the power waveform can have an overwhelming in-
fluence on the flux density (see Section V), the superimposing
flux density contribution of the communication waveform
on the total flux density is
mT (6)
which is valid for a sine wave, subscript referring to peak
values on the modem side. Symbols , , and refer to fre-
quency, core cross-sectional area, and number of modem-side
turns, respectively. As (depending on temper-
ature), less than 3% of the available flux density is required by
the communication waveform.
K. Leakage Inductance
The value of the transformer’s leakage inductance (which is
dependent on the number of turns and winding geometry) can
now be calculated as [9]
(7)
This equation is valid for one primary and one secondary
layer (i.e., no interleaving/sandwiching). and represent the
mean turn length and window width, respectively, and , , and
refer to the primary winding, secondary winding, and insula-
tion thickness, respectively. refers to the number of turns of
the side to which the total leakage inductance needs to be re-
ferred to.
L. Enlarging of Leakage Inductance
According to (3), would yield a high-frequency
cutoff point of approximately 540 kHz, which should preferably
be lower for the CENELEC B, C, and D frequency bands. A
cutoff frequency of 300 kHz, one octave above the upper limit,
would be more appropriate. This cutoff frequency requires a
leakage inductance of 530 nH, which can be accomplished by
letting the single-layer primary winding on the power-line side
protrude out of the transformer window [10], [11].
This enlarged leakage inductance was later measured and
fine-tuned to approximately 530 nH using a HP 4284 precision
LCR meter. The primary winding layer had to protrude approx-
imately 3 mm from both sides of the transformer in order to
obtain a 530-nH leakage inductance. (Alternatively, an external
230-nH inductor can be inserted in series with the transformer
primary terminal.)
M. Series Capacitor
The required series capacitor can be calculated by either
choosing a center point for the band-pass filter [see (1)] or by
choosing a low-frequency cutoff point [see (2)]. A low-fre-
quency cutoff point of 50 kHz was chosen, also roughly an
octave below the lower limit of the CENELEC bands. Equation
(2) yields a series capacitor of 3.2 , and together with the se-
ries leakage inductance, has a series resonant point of 122 kHz.
As this capacitor carries the power waveform’s voltage, it needs
to be rated as such, including a safety factor.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005
N. Magnetizing Inductance
The value of the magnetizing inductance does not in-
fluence the passband of the coupling circuit, but is required to
determine the filtering of the low-frequency power waveform.
See Section V. The total inductance (magnetizing plus leakage
inductance) of a transformer is given by
(8)
where subscript refers to effective. and represent the core
cross-sectional area and flux path-length, respectively, and
represents the number of turns (of the side to which the induc-
tance needs to be referred to).
is called the inductance factor of a certain core set, and
is supplied by manufacturers in order to easily calculate induc-
tance values for different air gaps and number of turns. To ob-
tain a more accurate value of magnetizing inductance, a trans-
former’s leakage inductance needs to be subtracted from the
above value. For this design, .
O. Check Combined Flux Density Levels
Because of its low frequency, the power waveform can easily
saturate the transformer, depending on how well it is filtered.
See Section V for details and equations. For this design, it is
expected that the power waveform would cause a flux density of
43 mT. Combined with the communication waveform, a total
flux density of 52 mT is expected—well below the saturation
flux density of 400 mT.
P. Reducing Magnetizing Inductance
If the combined flux density level of the transformer is not
sufficiently low, the magnetizing inductance of the transformer
can be made smaller by introducing an air gap. Take note that
the air gap does not alter but only lowers to skew the
curve [12]. Although stays the same, a smaller
magnetizing inductance would help to filter low frequencies
more effectively, as the 40-dB/decade slope [Fig. 5(b)] starts
at a higher frequency. Refer to Section V.
IV. BIDIRECTIONAL MEASUREMENTS
In order to verify that the constructed coupling circuit [see
Fig. 2(a)] does function as designed, the amplitude response
( versus frequency) was measured with an HP 3577 B
5 Hz to 200 MHz network analyzer with 50- output and input
impedances.
Take note of the bidirectional symmetry—the coupling
circuit shows very similar filter characteristics in both receiving
and transmitting directions. The measured center frequency
and cutoff points correspond to the calculated values of
kHz, kHz, and kHz. Another
interesting observation is the 15-dB and 19-dB peaks when
receiving and transmitting, respectively. This is caused by the
1:7 transformer winding (voltage) ratio that implies approxi-
mately 17 dB when receiving and 17 dB when transmitting.
It must be emphasized that the amplitude response represents
voltage ratios expressed as decibels and not power levels. Thus,
JANSE VAN RENSBURG AND FERREIRA: DESIGN OF A BIDIRECTIONAL IMPEDANCE-ADAPTING TRANSFORMER COUPLING CIRCUIT
Fig. 2. Photographs of (a) the coupling transformer designed in Section III and
(b) a coupling transformer designed for a 250-to-500-kHz carrier frequency.
resistor). Take note of
Fig. 3. Measured amplitude response of the coupling circuit designed for
CENELEC B, C, and D bands when (a) receiving a signal from the power-line
side and (b) transmitting a signal into the 1-
resistor (emulating a power-line imposed on the filtered power waveform’s flux density, the influ-
access impedance). Take note of the bidirectional symmetry: In both Fig. 3(a)
and (b), it can be seen that the measured values correspond to the calculated
values of f  122 kHz, f  50 kHz, and f  300 kHz. The
difference in reference levels is caused by the 1:7 transformer winding ratio.
the 17-dB and 17-dB levels should be taken as reference
levels, as indicated in Fig. 3(a) and (b).
Another coupling circuit for frequencies between 250 and
500 kHz (typical in the USA/Japan), was designed and con-
structed. See Fig. 2(b). Because of the higher cutoff frequen-
cies, smaller reactive component values are required [refer to
(2), (3)]. Cutoff frequencies of 167 and 750 kHz were chosen,
yielding and and a center point of
67
Fig. 4. Measured amplitude response of the coupling circuit designed for
250 to 500 kHz when (a) receiving a signal from the power-line side and
(b) transmitting a signal to the power-line side (1-
the bidirectional symmetry and different reference levels caused by the 1:7
transformer winding ratio.
350 kHz. This coupling circuit also showed good symmetry
and correlated well with the model in Fig. 1(b). Measured am-
plitude responses for the receiving and transmitting directions
can be seen in Fig. 4(a) and (b), respectively.
V. INFLUENCE OF POWER WAVEFORM ON CORE SATURATION
As the total flux density in the coupling transformer core is
made up of the communication waveform’s flux density super-
ence of both have to be considered in order to prevent saturation.
The influence of the filtered power waveform on core saturation
can be gauged by its factor, also called the volt-time product.
Equation (9) summarizes the superimposing influence of the fil-
tered power waveform (subscript ) and the referred communi-
cation/modem waveform (subscript ) on the total flux density
(subscript ), and is valid for sinusoidal waveforms only.
The ratio of the filtered power waveform’s value to the
communication waveform’s value will determine how the
two waveforms share (or exceed) the total flux density, as the
core cross-sectional area and number of primary turns
are fixed for a certain design. Take note that the voltage
68
Fig. 5. (a) More comprehensive model for the coupling circuit and (b) simu-
lated amplitude response for the coupling circuit designed in Section III. Here,
the reference level is 0 dB as the 1:7 transformer was not included in the
simulation.
refers to the peak value of the filtered power voltage, whereas
refers to the peak value of the referred communication
voltage, and also that the minimum value of has to be used
in order to calculate the maximum flux density
(9)
For the coupling circuit designed in Section II, the received
communication waveform will only have a maximum factor
of V/Hz, yielding a flux density of
. For the filtered power waveform to have a figure (and
flux density contribution) of say twice this value, it needs to be
filtered to a voltage of only 1.3 or by 107.6 dB. Alter-
natively, a power waveform attenuation level of 100 dB would
represent whereas 90 dB would
represent , all still within ac-
ceptable limits as for this ferrite core.
At first glance, it seems as if the band-pass coupling circuit de-
signed in Section II, would only be able to filter the power wave-
form by a maximum of 60 dB, as only three decades is available
for filtering, and the rolloff slope is 20 dB/decade. However, it
must be emphasized that the model in Fig. 1(b) is only valid for
frequencies close to the resonant point. A more comprehensive
model of the coupling circuit that includes the magnetizing in-
ductance is shown in Fig. 5(a). The voltage transfer function of
this circuit (in the receiving direction) is expressed by
(10)
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005
where represents the referred modem impedance. From (10),
it is clear that the power-line impedance has no influence on the
voltage transfer function in the receiving direction. The ampli-
tude response of (10) was simulated and is shown in Fig. 5(b).
As can be seen in Fig. 5(b), the simulated amplitude response
of the coupling circuit correlates well with the simple model
of Fig. 1(b) for frequencies above 1.6 kHz, but a rolloff slope
of 40 dB/decade is evident below 1.6 kHz. This is due to the
influence of the parallel magnetizing inductance at lower fre-
quencies. At 1.6 kHz, the reactance of this 100- magnetizing
impedance nearly equals the 1- (referred) load resistor, and at
frequencies below 1.6 kHz, its reactance dominates the parallel
branch , attenuating these frequencies more than for a
pure resistor [as in Fig. 1(b)].
It is not necessary to simulate above circuit for every design,
as the magnitude of the filtered power waveform voltage for a
certain frequency (voltage across the magnetizing inductance)
can be calculated using the voltage divider rule
(11)
Subscripts and refer to leakage and magnetizing in-
ductance, respectively, whereas subscript refers to the modem
impedance referred to the power-line side. Once is known,
its contribution to the flux density can be calculated with (9).
The simulated amplitude response [Fig. 5(b)] of the coupling
circuit designed in Section III was verified practically and mea-
surements are shown in Fig. 6. In Fig. 6(a), the general trend of
Fig. 5(b) can be seen, although low-frequency values are not as
accurate because of a limited bandwidth when scanning a wide
frequency range. Fig. 6(b) shows a more accurate measurement
between 5 Hz and 1 kHz and, in conjunction with Fig. 3(a), gives
a better picture of the overall filtering performance. In Fig. 6(b),
it can be seen that the coupling circuit deviates from theoretical
values for frequencies below 50 Hz: instead of a 40-dB/decade
slope, the response curve levels off to 80 dB for lower
frequencies.
From Fig. 6(b), it is evident that for this specific coupling cir-
cuit, a total attenuation of 100 dB is attainable compared to the
17-dB reference level (or 98 dB compared to the peak communi-
cation level). Thus, the power waveform is expected to occupy
43 mT of flux density while the communication waveform is
predicted to utilize 9 mT. The sum of these two figures, 52 mT,
will be the total flux density in the coupling transformer’s core.
This value will be the same, regardless of whether the coupling
circuit is used to receive data or transmit data: although the volt-
ages on the modem side is seven-fold those on the power-line
side, the number of turns is also seven-fold and, thus, cancels
the influence of former [refer to (6)].
VI. INFLUENCE OF FLUCTUATING POWER-LINE IMPEDANCE
Equation (1) shows that the terminating impedance does not
influence the resonant point (or center point) of the band-pass
filter. However, (2) and (3) show that a varying terminating
impedance does influence the respective cutoff points and,
therefore, the bandwidth of the filter. Fig. 7 shows the influence
of terminating impedance on the amplitude response of a 1:1
JANSE VAN RENSBURG AND FERREIRA: DESIGN OF A BIDIRECTIONAL IMPEDANCE-ADAPTING TRANSFORMER COUPLING CIRCUIT
terminating impedance and (b) 25-
terminating impedance. Take note
Fig. 6. Measured amplitude response of the coupling circuit designed in
Section III (a) over a wide frequency range (inaccurate at lower frequencies)
and (b) between 5 Hz and 1 kHz for a better graphical resolution. The cursor
was positioned at  0
50 Hz and measured 83 dB compared to a +17-dB
reference level.
coupling circuit designed around a 80-kHz center point. In
Fig. 7(b), the narrower passband caused by a lower terminating
impedance is evident.
When receiving a signal, this problem is not encountered:
as the modem input impedance and transformer winding ratio
is constant, the referred modem impedance stays constant.
This implies a constant amplitude response when receiving a
signal through the coupling circuit. Figs. 3(a) and 4(a) would
therefore stay constant because the terminating impedance
stays constant. However, when transmitting a communication
signal into the power line, the terminating impedance varies
with time. As stated before, typical impedance values are 0.2
to 2 for frequencies in the CENELEC B, C, and D bands [2],
[3]. Impedance values as low as 0.1 and as high as 10 are
also not uncommon [2], [5].
The lowest power-line impedance value would result in the
narrowest passband while the maximum power-line impedance
value would result in the widest passband. It is therefore best
to design the filter for the lowest impedance value expected for
a certain power-line network. If the power-line impedance (and
transmitting bandwidth) then increases, no harm is done: a wider
passband usually has no detrimental effect when transmitting
69
Fig. 7. Measured amplitude response for a 1:1, 80-kHz coupling circuit with
(a) 50-
how the bandwidth is reduced by a lower terminating impedance. For this circuit,
 
L 19 H and C 0:22 F.
a communication signal. Rather, when a signal is received, it
is of paramount importance that proper filtering takes place to
improve signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
The minimum power-line impedance that is designed for,
must be chosen wisely, taking various interdependent factors
into consideration. The lowest value of power-line impedance
will determine the maximum power level (and, thus, trans-
former core size) for a certain voltage level. This power rating
then influences the conductor cross-sectional area, and the
number of turns that can physically fit into the transformer
window. Again, the number of turns influences magnetizing
and leakage inductances as well as flux density.
VII. CONCLUSION
The first step when designing a coupling circuit would be to
decide on a typical minimum power-line impedance value. The
coupling transformer’s turns ratio is then chosen to adapt the
modem impedance to be roughly equal to this chosen power-line
impedance. (This facilitates symmetrical filtering in both di-
rections.) The maximum power output of the modem would
be matched to the coupling transformer’s maximum power in
order not to overload the coupling circuit. If the power-line
70
impedance drops below the chosen design value, the commu-
nication signal is still transmitted at the modem’s maximum
power level, but below the maximum voltage levels as deter-
mined by government regulations. Thus, transformer size and
cost (for optimum performance at a chosen minimum power-
line impedance level) is traded against reduced performance at
lower power-line impedance levels.
REFERENCES
[1] P. A. Janse van Rensburg and H. C. Ferreira, “Coupling circuitry: under-
standing the functions of different components,” in Proc. 7th Int. Symp.
Power-Line Comm., 2003, pp. 204–209.
[2] H. C. Ferreira, H. M. Grové, O. Hooijen, and A. J. H. Vink, Power Line
Communication (in Wiley Encyclopaedia of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering). New York: Wiley, 1999, pp. 706–716.
[3] K. Dostert, Powerline Communications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren-
tice-Hall, 2001, pp. 74–92.
[4] Signalling on Low-Voltage Electrical Installations in the Frequency
Range 3 kHz to 148.5 kHz, CENELEC Std. EN 50 065-1, 1991.
[5] O. Hooijen, Aspects of Residential Power Line Communications.
Aachen, Germany: Shaker Verlag, 1998, pp. 52–65.
[6] Soft Ferrites Data Handbook MA01, Philips Components, 1991, p. 60,
83.
[7] K. H. Billings, Handbook of Switchmode Power Supplies. New York:
Mc Graw-Hill, 1989, p. 3.78, 3.107.
[8] W. T. McLyman, Transformer and Inductor Design Handbook. New
York: Marcel Dekker, 1978.
[9] A. S. Langsdorf, Theory of Alternating-Current Machinery, 2nd ed.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1955, pp. 43–49.
[10] P. C. Theron and J. A. Ferreira, “The zero voltage switching partial series
resonant converter,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 31, pp. 879–886,
Jul./Aug. 1995.
[11] P. C. Theron, “The Partial Series Resonant Converter,” Ph.D. disser-
tation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Rand Afrikaans Univ., Johannesburg, South
Africa, 1994.
[12] J. G. Kassakian, M. F. Schlecht, and G. C. Verghese, Principles of Power
Electronics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1991, p. 572.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005
Petrus A. Janse van Rensburg was born in Pre-
toria, South Africa, in 1971. He received the B.Sc.
degree in physics and the B.Ing degree in electrical
engineering from the Rand Afrikaans University,
Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1994, where he
also received the B.Sc.Hons. (physics) and M.Ing
(electrical) degrees in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer at Walter Sisulu
University, East London, South Africa. He was with
Kendal Power Station and lectured at East London
College, East London. His research interests include
integrated power electronics and power-line communications.
Mr. Janse van Rensburg is the recipient of an IEEE Industry Applications
Society prize paper award.
Hendrik C. Ferreira (M’80) was born and educated
in South Africa where he received the D.Sc. (Eng.)
degree from the University of Pretoria, Pretoria,
South Africa, in 1980.
Since 1984, he has been a Visiting Researcher at
various institutions in the USA and Europe. From
1980 to 1981, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher
with the Linkabit Corporation, San Diego, CA. In
1983, he joined the Rand Afrikaans University,
Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was pro-
moted to professor in 1989. He served two terms as
Chairman of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Rand
Afrikaans University from 1994 to 1999. His research interests include digital
communications and information theory, especially coding techniques. He has
also been principle adviser for more than 20 postgraduate students, of whom
eight have so far obtained a doctoral degree.
Dr. Ferreira is a Past Chairman of the Communications and Signal Processing
Chapter of the IEEE South Africa section and since 1997 he has been Ed-
itor-in-Chief of the Transactions of the South African Institute of Electrical En-
gineers. He has served as chairman of several conferences, including the inter-
national 1999 IEEE Information Theory Workshop in the Kruger National Park,
South Africa. From 1989 to 1993, he held a “Presidential Award for Young In-
vestigators,” a prestigious research grant from the South African Foundation for
Research Development.