Unit-II Microwave Engineering

UNIT-II

CIRCULAR WAVEGUIDES

The circular waveguides have geometry, mode designation and applications quite
different from rectangular waveguides. A circular waveguide is a tubular, circular
conductor. A plane wave propagating through a circular waveguide results in a
transverse electric (TE) or transverse magnetic (TM) mode. Several other types of
waveguides, such as elliptical and reentrant guides, also propagate electromagnetic
waves. The reentrant waveguides are special cases, thus we restrict our analysis to
circular waveguides to the extent required by the undergraduate students.
Advantages of Circular waveguides

1. Easy to manufacture
2. It converts a linear wave into circularly polarized wave.
3. TE01 and TM01 are rationally symmetrical.
4. For TE01 mode, the attenuation decreases with increase in frequency.
Because of this feature, the circular waveguides with this mode are used for
long low loss waveguide communication links.
5. Well suited to rotary joints.

Dis-advantages of circular waveguides

1. They require larger cross sectional area for a given cutoff frequency compared
to that of rectangular waveguide.
2. Due to infinite number of modes existing, interference to dominant mode is
very much possible.
3. Difficult to define or maintain plane of polarization.
4. Mathematical Analysis is complicated.

Field Expressions in a circular waveguide.

Fig2.1: Coordinates of a Circular waveguide

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 1

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Let us consider the cylindrical coordinate system for analysis of circular waveguides
for easiness of analysis. Relation between rectangular and cylindrical coordinates is
given by

x = r cos Φ

y = r sin Φ

r= 𝑥2 + 𝑦2

Φ = tan-1 (y/x)

The equations 1.18 to 1.21 of Unit-I can be written in cylindrical coordinates using the
above relationship as

𝛄 𝝏𝑯𝒛 𝐣𝛚𝛆 𝝏𝑬𝒛

Hr = − + (2.1)
𝐡𝟐 𝝏𝒓 𝐫𝐡𝟐 𝝏𝜱

Similarly

𝛄 𝝏𝑯𝒛 𝐣𝛚𝛆 𝝏𝑬𝒛

HΦ = − - (2.2)
𝐡𝟐 𝒓𝝏𝜱 𝐡𝟐 𝝏𝒓

𝛄 𝝏𝑬𝒛 𝐣 𝛚𝛍 𝝏𝑯𝒛
Er = − - (2.3)
𝐡𝟐 𝝏𝒓 𝐡𝟐 𝒓𝝏𝜱

𝛄 𝝏𝑬𝒛 𝐣 𝛚𝛍 𝝏𝑯𝒛
EΦ = − + (2.4)
𝐡𝟐 𝒓𝝏𝜱 𝐡𝟐 𝝏𝒓

Where h2 = γ2 +ω2μϵ

h = Cutoff wave number

TM mode analysis of circular waveguide

For TM mode, Hz = 0

Let us consider the Helmholtz wave equation for Ez

∇2 Ez = −ω2 𝜇𝜀 Ez

Where Ez(r,Φ,z,t) = Ez(r,Φ) 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 for a propagating wave in z direction

Expanding the above differential equation in cylindrical coordinates

𝜕 2 𝐄𝐳 𝟏 𝜕 2 𝐄𝐳 𝝏𝑬𝒛
+ + γ2 Ez + = −ω2 𝜇𝜀 Ez (2.5)
𝜕𝑟 2 𝐫𝟐 𝜕Φ 2 𝒓𝝏𝒓

The above equation can be solved by separation of variables method

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 2

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Let Ez = PQ, the above equation can be rewritten as (2.6)

1 𝜕2𝑃 1 𝜕2𝑄 1 𝜕𝑃
+ + γ2 + ω2 με + =0 (2.7)
P 𝜕𝑟 2 𝐫𝟐 𝑄 𝜕Φ 2 rP 𝜕𝑟

1 𝜕2𝑄
Let = - n2 (2.8)
Q 𝜕Φ 2

1 𝜕 2 𝑃 n2 1 𝜕𝑃
2
− 2 + h2 + =0
P 𝜕𝑟 r rP 𝜕𝑟

𝜕2𝑃 n2 1 𝜕𝑃
+ (h2 − 2 )P + =0 (2.9)
𝜕𝑟 2 r r 𝜕𝑟

Equation 2.8 is a standard differential equation, the solution of which can be written
as

Q= Ancos nΦ + Bn sin nΦ

However, equation 2.9 is known as Bessel equation. The solution to this equation is
P = Jn(rh). This is Bessel function of first kind and nth order.

∴ Ez= PQ = (An cos nΦ + Bn sin nΦ) Jn(rh) (2.10)

The unknowns in above equation can be solved by applying boundary conditions.

Ez= 0 at r = a,

0 = (Ancos nΦ + Bn sin nΦ) Jn(ah)

∴ Jn(ah) = 0 the solution of this equation is given by

Pnm
𝒉= (2.11)
a

The value of h can be obtained by 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 for Pnm is

m=1 m=2 m=3

n=0 2.405 5.52 8.645
n=1 3.832 7.106 10.173
n=2 5.135 8.417 11.62
n=3 6.38 9.761 13.015

If axis Φ is oriented such a way that Bn = 0, then the equation 2.10 reduces to

Ez= PQ = An Jn(rh) cos nΦ 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 (2.12)

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 3

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Using equations 2.1 to 2.4, the other components can be computed as

𝐣 𝛚𝛜
Hr = - n An Jn(rhnm) sin nΦ 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 (2.13)
(𝐫 𝐡𝐧𝐦 )𝟐

𝛃
EΦ = − Hr (2.14)
𝛚𝛜

𝐣 𝛚𝛜
HΦ = - n An J’n(rhnm) cos nΦ 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 (2.15)
𝐡𝐧𝐦

𝛃
Er = − HΦ (2.16)
𝛚𝛜

TE mode analysis of circular waveguide

Ez = 0, The wave equation considered is

∇2 Hz = −ω2 𝜇𝜀 Hz

Where Hz(r,Φ,z,t) = Hz(r,Φ) 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍

Expanding the equation in cylindrical coordinates as in case of TM analysis

𝜕 2 𝐇𝐳 𝟏 𝜕 2 𝐇𝐳 𝝏𝑯𝒛
+ + γ2 Hz + = −ω2 𝜇𝜀 Hz (2.17)
𝜕𝑟 2 𝐫𝟐 𝜕Φ 2 𝒓𝝏𝒓

𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 on similar lines of TM analysis

Hz= PQ = A’n cos nΦ J’n(rhnm) 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 (2.18)

Where hnm = P’nm/a

hnm can be obtained from the table for P’nm which is as given below

m/n m=1 m=2 m=3

n=0 3.832 7.016 10.173
n=1 1.841 5.331 8.536
n=2 3.054 6.706 9.969
n=3 4.201 8.015 11.346

Using equations 2.1 to 2.4, the other field components can be computed as
𝐣𝛃
Hr = - A’n J’n(rh’nm) cos nΦ 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 (2.19)
𝐡′ 𝐧𝐦

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 4

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

𝛚𝛍
EΦ = - Hr (2.20)
𝛃

𝐣𝛃𝐧
HΦ = - A’n Jn(rh’nm) sin nΦ 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 −𝛾𝑍 (2.21)
𝐫𝐡′ 𝐧𝐦

𝛚𝛍
Er = HΦ (2.22)
𝛃

Cutoff wavelength in circular waveguides

From equation 1.7 we have h = γ2 + ω µε

2 2

γ2 = h2 − ω2µε

If h2 > ω2µε propagation constant is real

Where as if h2 < ω2µε propagation constant is imaginary

The propagation takes place when propagation constant is imaginary

∴ At cutoff frequency, h2 = ω2µε i.e. at ω = ωc

∴ h2 = ωc2µε

ωc2 = h2 /µε

𝒉
or fc = 𝟐𝝅 (2.23)
𝝁𝝐

For TM mode

𝑷𝒏𝒎
fc = (2.24)
𝟐𝝅𝒂 𝝁𝝐

𝟐𝝅𝒂
λc = (2.25)
𝑷𝒏𝒎

For TE mode

𝑷′ 𝒄 𝑷′ 𝒏𝒎
fc = 𝟐𝝅𝒂𝒏𝒎𝝁𝝐 = (2.26)
𝟐𝝅𝒂

𝟐𝝅𝒂
λc = (2.27)
𝑷′ 𝒏𝒎

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 5

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Group Velocity, Phase Velocity Guided Wavelength and Wave impedance:

vp, vg, λg and Zz expressions are similar to that of rectangular waveguides

𝒄 𝒄
vp= = (2.28)
𝝎𝒄 𝟐 𝒇𝒄 𝟐
𝟏− 𝟏− 𝒇
𝝎

𝒇𝒄 𝟐
vg = c 𝟏− (2.29)
𝒇

𝝀𝐨 𝝀𝐨
𝝀g = = (2.30)
𝝀𝐨 𝒇𝒄 𝟐
𝟏− 𝝀𝒄
𝟐 𝟏−
𝒇

𝒇𝒄 𝟐 𝝀𝒐 𝟐
ZTM = 𝜼 𝟏 − 𝒇 =𝜼 𝟏 − 𝝀𝒄 (2.31)

𝜼 𝜼
Z TE = = (2.32)
𝝀𝒐 𝟐 𝒇𝒄 𝟐
𝟏− 𝟏−
𝝀𝒄 𝒇

Dominant mode in circular waveguide:

𝟐𝝅𝒂
We have λc = for TM mode
𝑷𝒏𝒎

𝟐𝝅𝒂
and λc = for TE mode
𝑷′ 𝒏𝒎

Dominant mode for circular waveguide

The dominant mode is the one where λc is maximum. From the tables of Pnm and
P’nm it can be seen that the highest value of λc is for P’11 = 1.841

Therefore dominant mode for circular waveguide is TE11

Eg: An air filled circular waveguide with a = 2.5 cm is excited in dominant mode at 12
GHz. Calculate fc, λg and Zz

The dominant mode for circular waveguides is TE11

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 6

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

𝑐 𝑷′ 𝒏𝒎
fc = = (3x108 x 1.841)/( 2𝜋 x 0.025) = 3.517 G Hz
2𝜋𝑎

𝝀o = c / f = 0.025 m
𝝀𝐨 0.025
𝝀g = = = 0.0261 m
𝒇𝒄 𝟐 𝟑,𝟓𝟏𝟕
𝟏− 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒇 𝟏𝟐

𝜼 377
Z TE = = = 394.35 Ohms
𝒇𝒄 𝟐 𝟑,𝟓𝟏𝟕
𝟏− 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒇 𝟏𝟐

CAVITY RESONATORS

In general, a cavity resonator is a metallic enclosure that confines the

electromagnetic energy. The stored electric and magnetic energies inside the cavity
determine its equivalent inductance and capacitance. The energy dissipated by the
finite conductivity of the cavity walls determines its equivalent resistance. In practice,
the rectangular-cavity resonator, circular-cavity resonator, and reentrant-cavity
resonator are commonly used in many microwave applications.

Theoretically a given resonator has an infinite number of resonant modes, and

each mode corresponds to a definite resonant frequency. When the frequency of an
impressed signal is equal to a resonant frequency, a maximum amplitude of the
standing wave occurs, and the peak energies stored in the electric and magnetic
fields are equal. The mode having the lowest resonant frequency is known as the
dominant mode.

Resonators are active components with a wide variety of applications. A piece of

waveguide closed on both ends with conducting plate form a cavity at microwave
frequencies. Cavity resonators are used as tuned circuits at microwave frequencies.
Theoretically, a given resonator has an infinite number of resonant modes and each
mode corresponds to a definite resonant frequency.

In practice the rectangular cavity resonators, circular cavity resonators and reentrant
cavity resonators are commonly used in many microwave applications.

Irregular shape resonators also known as reentrant cavities, ar the one that find wide
applications. They are useful as tuned circuits, and in addition they have the
advantage of being easily integrated into the structure of the microwave device. The

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 7

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

structure of the reentrant cavities exhibit one important striking feature, the metallic
boundaries extend into its interior.

Fig 2.1: Reentrant Cavities (a) Coaxial cavity (b) Radial Cavity (c) Tunable
Cavity (d) Toroidal Cavity (e) Butterfly cavity.

Field expression for rectangular cavity resonators

It both ends are open and for direction propagation as Z, the fields at an arbitrary
point in a wave guide can be expressed as

Eix = Eixo e-jβz Hix = Hixo e-jβz

Eiy = Eiyo e-jβz Hiy = Hiyo e-jβz

Eiz = Eizo e-jβz Hiz = Hizo e-jβz

When the opening at the outlet is closed, the forward wave gets reflected and travel
in –z direction. These fields can be expressed as

Erx = Erxo e jβz Hrx = Hrxo e jβz

Eiy = Eryo e jβz Hry = Hryo e jβz

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 8

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Eiz = Erzo e jβz Hrz = Hrzo e jβz

Due to the interference of incident and reflected wave a standing wave pattern forms.
The fields of the standing wave patterns are

Esx = Eixo e-jβz +Erxo e jβz Hsx = Hixo e-jβz +Hrxo e jβz

Esy = Eiyo e-jβz +Eryo e jβz Hsy = Hiyo e-jβz +Hryo e jβz

Esz = Eizo e-jβz +Erzo e jβz Hsz = Hizo e-jβz +Hrzo e jβz

A cavity resonator is built by closing both ends with conducting plates, to act as
device to store the energy at resonating frequency.

Magnitude / amplitude

As the waveguide walls are perfect conductors and hollow region is made up
of lossless dielectric, the resonator under condition can be assumed as loss free
system.

The magnitudes of the reflected wave remains same as the incident wave

Phase

The tangential component of E fields and normal components of H fields suffer 180 0
phase shift or reflection.

The normal component of E fields and tangential components of H field suffer no

phase shift on reflection

Eixo = -Erxo Eizo = Erzo

Eiyo = -Eryo Hixo = Hrxo

Hizo = -Hrzo Hiyo = Hryo

With these relation, the standing wave becomes

𝑝𝜋
Esx = Eixo e-jβz +Erxo e jβz = Eixo [e-jβz + e jβz] = -2j Eixo sinβz = -2j Eixo sin 𝑧
𝑑

Esx = -2j Eixo sinβz Hsx = 2Hixo cosβz

Esy = -2j Eiyo sinβz Hsy = 2Hiyo cosβz

Esz = 2 Eizo cosβz Hsz = -2j Hizo sinβz

Resonating condition:

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 9

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

d = p λg/2, β = pπ/d (2.33)

TM Mode fields

Hizo= 0 Hsz= 0

From Equation 1-34

𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Esz = - 2 𝐶 sin 𝑥 sin 𝑦 cos 𝑧 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.34)
𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

From Equation 1-35

γ 𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Esx = 2j 𝐶 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 sin 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.35)
h2 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

From Equation 1-36

γ 𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Esy = 2j 𝐶 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 sin 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.36)
h2 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

From equation 1-37

2jὠωε 𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋 𝑗𝜔𝑡
Hsx = 𝐶 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑐𝑜 s 𝑧 𝑒
h2 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑
(2.37)

From equation 1-38,

2jὠωε 𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Hsy = 𝐶 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 𝑐𝑜 s 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.38)
h2 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

TE Mode fields Esz= 0

From equation 1-60,

2 ωµ 𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Esx = 𝐶 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 sin 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.39)
h2 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

From equation 1-61,

2ωµ 𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Esy = - 𝐶 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 sin 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.40)
h2 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

From equation 1-62,

2𝛾 𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Hsx = 𝐶 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑐𝑜 s 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.41)
h2 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 10

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

From equation 1-63,

2𝛾 𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Hsy = 𝐶 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 𝑐𝑜 s 𝑧 𝑒𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.42)
h2 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

From equation 1-59,

𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝑝𝜋
Hsz = −2𝑗𝐶 cos 𝑥 cos 𝑦 sin 𝑧 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 (2.43)
𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

Derivation of expression for resonating frequency

𝑚𝜋 2 𝑛𝜋 2
From equation 1.39 we have h = 𝛾 +𝜔 𝜖𝜇 = A + B =
2 2 2 2 2
+
𝑎 𝑏

and 𝛾 = - β
2 2

𝑚𝜋 2 𝑛𝜋 2
𝜔2𝜖𝜇 = + + β2
𝑎 𝑏

𝑇𝑕𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2.33 𝑖𝑠

At ω = ωr → β = pπ/d

𝑚𝜋 2 𝑛𝜋 2 𝑝𝜋 2
𝜔𝑟2 𝜇𝜖 = + +
𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

1 𝑚𝜋 2 𝑛𝜋 2 𝑝𝜋 2
fr = + +
2𝜋 𝜇𝜖 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑

𝒄 𝒎 𝟐 𝒏 𝟐 𝒑 𝟐
fr = + + (2.44)
𝟐 𝒂 𝒃 𝒅

Eg: Find the three lowest resonating frequencies for and air filled rectangular
waveguide cavity resonator operating in TE mode with dimensions a= 4 cm, b= 3 cm,
d= 4 cm.

𝒄 𝑚 2 𝑛 2 𝑝 2 𝟑 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟎 𝑚 2 𝑛 2 𝑝 2
fr = + + = + +
𝟐 𝑎 𝑏 𝑑 𝟐 4 3 4

𝟑 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟎
= 𝟑𝒎 𝟐 + 𝟒𝒏 𝟐 + 𝟑𝒑 𝟐
𝟐𝒙𝟑𝒙𝟒

fr = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝟑𝒎 𝟐 + 𝟒𝒏 𝟐 + 𝟑𝒑 𝟐 GHz

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 11

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

for TE101, fr = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝟑 𝟐+ 𝟑 𝟐 = 5.3 G Hz

for TE011, fr = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝟒 𝟐+ 𝟑 𝟐 = 6.25 G Hz

for TE111, fr = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝟑 𝟐+ 𝟒 𝟐+ 𝟑 𝟐 = 7.28 G Hz

for TE102, fr = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝟒 𝟐+ 𝟔 𝟐 = 8.385 G Hz

for TE012, fr = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝟒 𝟐+ 𝟔 𝟐 = 9.013 G Hz

Q-factor

The Q factor indicates the qualitative behavior of simple damped oscillators. The
common definition for Q is the ratio of the energy stored in the waveguide resonator
to the energy dissipated per cycle by damping processes: For electronic circuits,
energy losses within the circuit are caused by resistance or copper loss. Although this
can occur anywhere within the circuit, the main cause of resistance occurs within the
inductor. Copper loss or resistive loss is the main factor which governs the Q factor of
a waveguide resonator.

Bandwidth: With increasing Q or quality factor, so the bandwidth of the waveguide

resonator is reduced. As losses decrease, the tuned circuit becomes sharper as energy
is stored better in the circuit.

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 12

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

𝑴𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆

Q factor is defined as Q= 2π
𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆

For a waveguide, the energy stored primarily depends up on the volume and the
energy dissipated is a function of surface are and the skin depth.
𝟐 𝐱 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞
Q= (2.45)
𝛅𝐬 𝐱 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚

Where δs is the skin depth

For a rectangular waveguide cavity with cross sectional dimensions a x b and length
d,
𝟐 𝐱 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟐 ( 𝐚𝐱𝐛𝐱𝐝)
Q= =
𝛅 𝐱 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝛅 𝐱 𝟐(𝐚𝐛+𝐛𝐝+𝐚𝐝)

Eg: A copper rectangular waveguide cavity with dimensions a=2.28 cm, b= 1.01 cm,
d= 33.9 cm is operating in dominant mode at f = 8.447 G Hz. Find out its Q-factor and
p. σ = 5.8 x 107

𝒄 𝒎 𝟐 𝒏 𝟐 𝒄 𝟏
fc = + = 𝟐 = 6.57 G Hz
𝟐 𝒂 𝒃 𝟐 𝟎.𝟎𝟐𝟐𝟖

f = 8.447, λo = 0.035514 m

𝝀𝐨 0.035514
𝝀g = = = 0.0565 m
𝒇𝒄 𝟐 𝟔.𝟓𝟕
𝟏− 𝟏− 𝟐
𝒇 8.447

p = 2d/ 𝝀g = 12

𝜋𝑓𝜇 1 𝜋𝑓𝜇
Rs = = = = 2.39 x 10-2 Ohms
𝜎 𝜎𝛿𝑠 𝜎

1
𝛿𝑠 = = 1/(5.8x107 x 2.39 x 10-2) = 0.0721 x 10-5 m
𝜎 Rs
𝟐 ( 𝐚 𝐱 𝐛 𝐱 𝐝) 𝟕𝟖.𝟎𝟔𝟒𝟗𝟐 𝐱 𝟏𝟎−𝟔
𝑄= 𝛅 𝐱 𝟐(𝐚𝐛+𝐛𝐝+𝐚𝐝) = 𝟎.𝟕𝟎𝟖𝟑𝟔 𝐱 𝟏𝟎−𝟗
= 1.10205x 105

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 13

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Circular Cavity Resonator

Fig3.2: Coordinates of a circular cavity resonator

Derivation of resonant frequency of circular cavity

From equation 1.39 we have h = 𝛾 +𝜔 𝜖𝜇

2 2 2

and 𝛾 = - β
2 2

h2= - β2+𝜔2𝜖𝜇

Condition of resonance, at At ω = ωr → β = pπ/d

𝑝𝜋 2
h2= - +𝜔𝑟2 𝜇𝜖
𝑑

1 2 𝑝𝜋 2
ωr = 𝑕 +
𝜇𝜖 𝑑

1 2 𝑝𝜋 2 𝑐 2 𝑝𝜋 2
fr = 𝑕 + = 𝑕 +
2𝜋 𝜇𝜖 𝑑 2𝜋 𝑑

𝐏𝐧𝐦
for TM mode h =
𝐚

𝐏′ 𝐧𝐦
for TE mode h =
𝐚

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 14

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

𝑐 𝑃𝑛𝑚 2 𝑝𝜋 2
fr = + for TM mode (2.46)
2𝜋 𝑎 𝑑

𝑐 𝑃′ 𝑛𝑚 2 𝑝𝜋 2
fr = + for TE mode (2.47)
2𝜋 𝑎 𝑑

Eg: An air filled circular cavity has a length of 2.3 cm and radius of 1.15 cm. Find the
resonance frequencies for modes TM 010 and TE111.

𝑐 2.405
(a) In case of TM 010 mode fr = 2 for TM010 mode
2𝜋 0.0115

= 9.98 G Hz

𝑐 𝑃′ 𝑛𝑚 2 𝑝𝜋 2
(b) In case of TE 111 mode fr = + for TE mode
2𝜋 𝑎 𝑑

𝑐 1.84 𝜋
= 2 + 2
2𝜋 0.0115 0.023

= 10.04 𝐺 𝐻𝑧

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 15

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

MICROSTRIP LINES
Microstrip transmisson lines are the most popular types in planar trnsmission lines. A
microstrip transmission line is a "high grade" printed circuit construction, consisting of
a track of copper or other conductor on an insulating substrate. It consists of a
conductive ribbor attached to a dielectric sheet with conductive backing. As striplines
can be easily integrated with active and pasive micreowave devices, they are widely
used in microwave technology. These type of lines have economic and technical
merit as they are easily faabrictaed using photo-lithographic processes. A microstrip
is therefore a variant of a two-wire transmission line.

Fig 2. : Structural schematic of a strip line

Fig 2. : Finite radiation losses in strip lines

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 16

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Fig 2. : Embedded Strip line

Microstrip is by far the most popular transmission line used in microwave engineering
for circuit design.

If we solve the electromagnetic equations to find the field distributions in the vicinity
of a microstrip, we can find very nearly a completely TEM (transverse
electromagnetic) wave pattern. This means that there are only a few regions in which
there is a component of electric or magnetic field in the direction of (as opposed to
perpendicular to the direction of) wave propagation. This field pattern is commonly
referred to as a Quasi TEM pattern.

Overview of microstrip

 Microstrip transmission lines consist of a conductive strip of width "W" and

thickness "t" and a wider ground plane, separated by a dielectric layer (a.k.a.
the "substrate") of thickness "H" as shown in the figure below.
 Microstrip is by far the most popular microwave transmission line, especially
for microwave integrated circuits and MMICs.(Monolithic Microwave Integrated
Circuit)
 The major advantage of microstrip over stripline is that all active components
can be mounted on top of the board.
 The disadvantages are that when high isolation is required such as in a filter or
switch, some external shielding may have to be considered. Given the chance,
microstrip circuits can radiate, causing unintended circuit response.

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 17

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

 A minor issue with microstrip is that it is dispersive, meaning that signals of

different frequencies travel at slightly different speeds (usually not a big deal,
but this property is what causes the asymmetric frequency of bandpass filters,
for example).

Microstrip- Salient Features

 fabrication by printed circuit

 devices can be bonded to strip
 component are accessible
 in-circuit characterization of devices is straightforward to implement
 dc as well as ac signals can be transmitted
 large variation in Zo
 αc > αd
 monolithic applications
 structure is rugged and can withstand high voltages and power levels
 power handling is best with BeO substrate
 used up to 300 GHz or more
 quasi-TEM mode for d<<λ

Variants of microstrip include

1. Embedded microstrip
2. Coated microstrip

Effective dielectric constant

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 18

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

In a microstrip line part of the electric energy is stored in this conductor configuration
is in the air, and some is in the dielectric, the effective dielectric constant for the
waves on the transmission line will lie somewhere between that of the air and that of
the dielectric. Typically, the effective dielectric constant will be 50-85% of the
substrate dielectric constant, depending on the 2 geometry of the microstrip. This
effective dielectric constant determines the phase velocity of electromagnetic waves
on the microstrip transmission line. Because parts of the fields from the microstrip
conductor exist in air, the effective dielectric constant is somewhat less than the
substrate's dielectric constant (also known as the relative permittivity). The effective
dielectric constant eff of microstrip is calculated by:

The effective dielectric constant is a function of the ratio of the width to the height of
the microstrip line (W/H), as well as the dielectric constant of the substrate material.
Be careful, the way it is expressed here it is also a function of H/W.

It may be seen that there are separate solutions for cases where W/H is less than 1,
and when W/H is greater than or equal to 1. These equations provide a reasonable
approximation for eff (effective dielectric constant). This calculation ignores strip
thickness and frequency dispersion, but their effects are usually small.

Wavelength

Wavelength for any transmission line can be calculated by dividing free space
wavelength by the square root of the effective dielectric constant, which is explained
above.

λg = λo / ( eff )1/2

Phase Velocity

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 19

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

Vp = c / ( eff )1/2

Propagation Constant

β = ω (μ0ε0 eff )1/2

Characteristic impedance

The characteristic impedance Z0 is also a function of the ratio of the height to the
width W/H (and ratio of width to height H/W) of the transmission line, and also has
separate solutions depending on the value of W/H. The characteristic impedance
Z0 of microstrip is calculated by:

Substrate materials.

Important qualities of the dielectric substrate include

 The microwave dielectric constant

 The frequency dependence of this dielectric constant which gives rise to
"material dispersion" in which the wave velocity is frequency-dependent
 The surface finish and flatness
 The dielectric loss tangent, or imaginary part of the dielectric constant, which
sets the dielectric loss
 The cost
 The thermal expansion and conductivity
 The dimensional stability with time
 The surface adhesion properties for the conductor coatings
 The manufacturability (ease of cutting, shaping, and drilling)
Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 20
Unit-II Microwave Engineering

 The porosity (for high vacuum applications we don't want a substrate which
continually "outgasses" when pumped)

Types of substrate include plastics, sintered ceramics, glasses, and single crystal
substrates (single crystals may have anisotropic dielectric constants; "anisotropic"
means they are different along the different crystal directions with respect to the
crystalline axes.)

Material Symbol Dielectric Dissipation Coefficient Thermal

constant factor of thermal conductivity
(tan ) expansion (W/m°C)
ppm/°C
Alumina 99.5 % Al2O3 9.8 0.0001 8.2 35
Alumina 96% Al2O3 9.0 0.0002 8.2 24
Aluminum Nitride AlN 8.9 0.0005 7.6 290
Beryllium Oxide BeO 6.7 0.003 6.05 250
Gallium Arsenide GaAs 12.88 0.0004 6.86 46
Indium … …
InP 12.4 …
Phosphide
Porcelain … 6.5 … …

Quartz … 3.8 0.0001 0.6 5

Sapphire … 9.3, 11.5 … … …
Silicon … …
Si (HRS) 2.5 138
(high resistivity)
Silicon Carbide SiC 10.8 0.002 4.8 350

Table 2.1: Types of common substrates and their properties

Cut off frequency

In order to prevent higher-order transmission modes we should limit the thickness of

the microstrip substrate to 10% of a wavelength. Examples of what this means:

 15 mil alumina is good up to 25 GHz,

 4 mil GaAs is good up to 82 GHz,
 and 5 mil quartz is good up to 121 GHz.

Microstrip losses

1. Attenuation due to metal conductivity( C)

2. Attenuation due to dielectric loss tangent ( D)
3. Attenuation due to dielectric conductivity ( G)
4. Attenuation due to radiation ( R)
Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 21
Unit-II Microwave Engineering

1. Attenuation due to metal conductivity( C)

Metal Conductivity / Copper loss loss is modelled by the R' component in the
transmission line model which is series resistance per unit length. The R' term is a
function of the geometry of the transmission line and the ‘Rs’ RF sheet resistance
of the metal system that is used.

𝜋fμoμr
Rs =
σ

RFSH above is basically Rs, the sheet resistance

αc = (8.686 Rs ) / (Zo W) dB/m

2. Attenuation due to dielectric loss tangent ( D)

Loss due to dielectric loss tangent (tan ) can be very important at microwave
frequencies. This term is proportional to frequency, so the higher you go, the more
likely it will dominate overall loss.

αD = [27.3 (Єeff -1) Єr tan δ)] dB/m

[(Єr -1) Єeff λg]

3. Attenuation due to substrate conductivity ( G)

While considering the loss of a transmission line due to dielectric conductivity, if the
resistivity of the dielectric is greater than 10,000 Ohm-cm, it is negligible.

proliferation of silicon into the microwave realm has brought this term back to our
attention, because silicon has relatively poor electrical insulating properties (a true
semiconductor!)

That pretty much rules out all substrates except silicon, which can be anywhere from
1 Ohm-cm (very lossy) to 10,000 Ohm-cm (very expensive float-zone silicon). PTFE
is 1E18 Ohm cm!

Here's the generic equation for this loss mechanism using the G' element of the
transmission line model:

αG = 8.686 G’ Zo /2 dB/m

Where G’ is the loss Conductance of the line

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 22

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

4. Attenuation due to radiation ( R)

It really isn't attenuation in the sense of the word that the energy goes up in heat, it is
more of a leakage loss. But the effect open your signal is the same either way, it
loses energy. There's no way to account for attenuation due to radiation using the
transmission line model. For higher dielectric constant radiation loss decreases with
increase in the value of Characteristic impedance. For higher dielectric constant
substrates, radiation loss becomes significant.

Q-Factor

Many microwave integrated circuits require very high quality resonant circuits. The
quality factor Q of a microstrip line is very high but it is limited by the radiation losses
of the substrates and the low dielectric constant.

The total Q factor, is expressed by:

1/Q = (1/Qc) + (1/Qd) +(1/Q r)

Where Qc, Qd, and Qr are the quality factors corresponding to the conductor,
dielectric, and radiation losses, respectively.

Qc = 0.63 H (ζ f G Hz)1/2

Qd = 1/ tanδ

The unloaded Q factor of the microstrip line is typically on the order of 250.

Solved Questions
1. Evaluate the phase and group velocities, Zo for the lowest order TM mode
in an air filled circular waveguide of 2.0 cm. diameter at 12 GHz. (Data :
X01= 2:405 and X11= 1:841).

Solution
Lowest TM mode is TM01
𝑃𝑛𝑚 𝑐 2.405 𝑥 3 𝑥 10 10
fc = = = 11.48 G Hz
2𝜋𝑎 2𝜋 𝑥 1

𝒇𝒄 𝟐 𝟏𝟏.𝟒𝟖 𝟐
𝟏− = 𝟏− = 0.291
𝒇 𝟏𝟐

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 23

Unit-II Microwave Engineering

𝒄 3 x 10 8
vp = = = 10.3 x 108 m/s
𝒇𝒄 𝟐 0.291
𝟏−
𝒇

𝒇𝒄 𝟐
vg = c 𝟏− = 3 x 108 x 0.291 = 0.873 x 108 m/s
𝒇

𝒇𝒄 𝟐
ZTM = 𝜼 𝟏 − 𝒇 = 377 x 0.291 = 109.7 Ohms

2. A Microstrip Transmission line has a dielectric substrate of height h=0.2 mm.,

relative permittivity of 4.8, strip width of w=0.26 mm., line thickness 0.03 mm. at 10
GHz. Find its characteristic impedance, listing out the expressions used. What
happens if this is assumed as a wide microstrip line ? (JNTUH Apr 2011)

Solution

w/h = 0.26 / 0.2 = 1.3 therefore w/h >1

εr = 4.8

5.8 3.8 𝟏
Relative dielectric constant = + = 3.08
2 2 𝟏+ 𝟏𝟐𝒙 𝟎.𝟕𝟕

120𝜋
Z0 =
1.756 [1.3+1.393+

Department of ECE, CMR College of Engineering & Technology Page 24