Coupling (electronics)

In electronics and telecommunication, coupling is the desirable or undesirable transfer of energy from one medium, such as a metallic wire or an optical fiber, to another medium.

Coupling is also the transfer of electrical energy from one circuit segment to another. For example, energy is transferred from a power source to an electrical load by means of conductive coupling, which may be either resistive or hard-wire.  An AC potential may be transferred from one circuit segment to another having a DC potential by use of a capacitor.  Electrical energy may be transferred from one circuit segment to another segment with different impedance by use of a transformer; this is known as impedance matching. These are examples of electrostatic and electrodynamic inductive coupling.