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Unit4 Notes

This document covers the classification and characteristics of guided electromagnetic waves, specifically TEM, TM, and TE waves, along with their propagation in parallel planes, rectangular, and circular waveguides. It explains the conditions for cut-off frequencies and the mathematical formulations governing these wave types, including the use of Bessel functions in circular waveguides. The expected outcome is for students to understand wave propagation and the associated parameters in different waveguide structures.

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7 views3 pages

Unit4 Notes

This document covers the classification and characteristics of guided electromagnetic waves, specifically TEM, TM, and TE waves, along with their propagation in parallel planes, rectangular, and circular waveguides. It explains the conditions for cut-off frequencies and the mathematical formulations governing these wave types, including the use of Bessel functions in circular waveguides. The expected outcome is for students to understand wave propagation and the associated parameters in different waveguide structures.

Uploaded by

NPR CET
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

UNIT IV — ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVEGUIDES

23EC503 — Transmission Lines and RF Systems | B.E. ECE, Semester V

4.1 Wave Classification


Guided electromagnetic waves are classified by which field components exist along the direction of propagation
(z-axis):
• TEM wave (Transverse ElectroMagnetic): both E and H are entirely transverse to z (Ez = 0, Hz = 0) — the
mode supported by ordinary two-conductor transmission lines.
• TM wave (Transverse Magnetic): Hz = 0 but Ez ≠ 0 — the magnetic field is purely transverse, electric field
has a longitudinal component.
• TE wave (Transverse Electric): Ez = 0 but Hz ≠ 0 — the electric field is purely transverse, magnetic field has
a longitudinal component.

4.2 TEM Waves Between Parallel Planes


Between two infinite, perfectly conducting parallel planes, a TEM wave can propagate exactly like a plane wave
in unbounded space, with phase velocity equal to the velocity of light in the medium and no cut-off frequency:
vp = 1/√(μϵ). This is the limiting case of a parallel-plate transmission line carrying its principal (TEM) mode.

4.3 TM Waves Between Parallel Planes


Solving Maxwell's equations with the boundary condition that tangential E vanishes at both conducting planes
(separation 'a') gives discrete TM modes (TMm). The longitudinal field component is:

Ez = E0 sin(mπy/a) e^(−jβz), m = 0,1,2,…


Each mode has a cut-off frequency fc = m·v/(2a) below which the wave cannot propagate (becomes
evanescent); for TM waves, m = 0 corresponds to the TEM mode itself.

4.4 TE Waves Between Parallel Planes


Similarly, TE modes (TEm) are obtained with Hz as the longitudinal component, satisfying the boundary
condition on tangential H derivative:

Hz = H0 cos(mπy/a) e^(−jβz), m = 0,1,2,…


with cut-off frequency fc = m·v/(2a) (m ≠ 0, since m = 0 TE mode is trivial/non-propagating between two plates).

4.5 Cut-off, Phase Velocity and Group Velocity


Each guided mode (TE or TM) has a cut-off frequency fc; the wave propagates only when f > fc. The propagation
parameters are:

β = (ω/v)√[1 − (fc/f)²] vp = v / √[1−(fc/f)²] vg = v · √[1−(fc/f)²]


Note that vp > v (phase velocity exceeds the velocity of light in the medium) while vg < v (group velocity, the
actual signal/energy velocity, is always less than v), with the product vp·vg = v².
4.6 Rectangular Waveguides — TM and TE Waves
A rectangular waveguide is a hollow conducting pipe of internal dimensions a × b (a > b) that confines and guides
EM energy at microwave frequencies, with much lower loss than coaxial lines at these frequencies.

TMmn Modes

Ez = E0 sin(mπx/a) sin(nπy/b) e^(−jβz)


The lowest-order TM mode that can exist is TM11 (both m and n must be ≥ 1, otherwise Ez vanishes identically).

TEmn Modes

Hz = H0 cos(mπx/a) cos(nπy/b) e^(−jβz)


For TE modes, m and n cannot both be zero, but either one individually can be zero. The dominant (lowest cut-
off frequency) mode of a rectangular waveguide with a > b is TE10, which has the lowest cut-off frequency of all
modes and is therefore the mode normally used for single-mode operation.

Cut-off Frequency (general, both TE and TM)

fc(mn) = (v/2) √[ (m/a)² + (n/b)² ]

4.7 Impossibility of TEM Waves in Rectangular Waveguides


A TEM wave requires both Ez = 0 and Hz = 0 everywhere. Inside a single hollow conductor (rectangular
waveguide), Maxwell's equations combined with the boundary condition (tangential E = 0 on all four walls) force
Ez and Hz to satisfy a homogeneous wave equation with zero boundary values; the only solution consistent with
this for a TEM-type field (no longitudinal component at all) is the trivial, identically-zero field. Physically, a TEM
wave needs a return conductor (as in a coaxial line) to carry the longitudinal displacement current; a single
hollow pipe has no such inner conductor, so a pure TEM mode cannot exist inside a rectangular (or any single-
conductor) waveguide. Only TE and TM modes are possible.

4.8 Circular Waveguides — Bessel's Equation


For a circular waveguide of radius 'a', the wave equation is solved in cylindrical coordinates (ρ, φ, z), and the
radial part of the field satisfies Bessel's differential equation:

ρ² d²R/dρ² + ρ dR/dρ + (k²ρ² − n²) R = 0


whose finite, physically valid solutions are Bessel functions of the first kind, Jn(kρ); the field varies as
Jn(kρ)·e^(±jnφ)·e^(−jβz). (Bessel functions of the second kind, Yn, are excluded since they are singular at ρ = 0,
the waveguide axis.)

TM Waves in Circular Waveguides


Boundary condition Ez = 0 at ρ = a requires Jn(ka) = 0, i.e. ka must equal a root (zero) of the Bessel function Jn.
The dominant TM mode is TM01, based on the first zero of J0.

TE Waves in Circular Waveguides


Boundary condition on tangential E (i.e. on dHz/dρ) requires Jn'(ka) = 0, i.e. ka must equal a root of the
derivative of the Bessel function. The dominant overall mode of a circular waveguide is TE11, based on the first
root of J1'.
Key Formula Summary
Quantity Formula
Cut-off frequency (parallel plate) fc = mv/2a
Cut-off frequency (rectangular guide) fc = (v/2)√[(m/a)²+(n/b)²]
Phase velocity vp = v/√[1−(fc/f)²]
Group velocity vg = v·√[1−(fc/f)²]
Dominant mode, rectangular guide TE10
Dominant TM mode, circular guide TM01 (J0 root)
Dominant TE mode, circular guide TE11 (J1′ root)

Expected Outcome (CO4)


On completing this unit, the student should be able to characterise TE, TM and TEM wave propagation between
parallel planes and in rectangular and circular waveguides, including cut-off conditions and the role of Bessel
functions in circular-guide analysis.

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