[en] For pulsed power applications transmission lines serve two generic functions. As the name implies, they are used to transmit pulses with high fidelity and with a fixed propagation delay. This propagation delay and the characteristic impedance completely characterize the transmission line to a reasonable first approximation. With suitable switching, transmission lines are also used to shape submicrosecond pulses. When used for this purpose they will be referred to as pulse forming lines (PFL). The characteristic pulse length produced when a transmission line is used for pulse shaping is twice its propagation delay which for transmission lines normally used in pulsed power applications ranges from 3 to 30 nanoseconds per meter of line length