Microwave Engineering

Outline
Introduction

to Microwaves
Microwave Frequency Bands
Advantages of Microwaves
Applications of Microwaves
Comparison of Transmission Line and Waveguide
Rectangular Waveguide
Analysis of TM modes for Rectangular Waveguide
Analysis of TE modes for Rectangular Waveguide
Waveguide Parameters
Rectangular waveguide Cavity Resonators.
Examples

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Microwave Properties
Microwaves

frequency range 1 GHz 300 GHz

Microwave is an electromagnetic radiation of
short wavelength.
Reflected by conducting surfaces
Microwave currents flow through a thin outer
layer of an ordinary cable.
They are not reflected by ionosphere

Microwave Bands Designation

Band

Frequency
(GHz)

Wavelength(cm)

1 to 2

30.0 to 15.0

2 to 4

15 to 7.5

4 to 8

7.5 to 3.8

8 to 12

3.8 to 2.5

Ku

12 to 18

2.5 to 1.7

18 to 27

1.7 to 1.1

Ka

27 to 40

1.1 to 0.75

Millimeter

40-300

0.75-0.1

Advantages of Microwaves
Increased

Bandwidth Availability
Improved Directive properties
Less fading effect and more reliable
Lower power requirement
Transparency Property of Microwaves

Applications

Telecommunication:
Intercontinental Telephone and TV
Space communication
Telemetry

Radars:
Detect aircraft
Track / guide supersonic missiles
Observe and track weather patterns
Air Traffic Control (ATC)

Applications
Commercial Applications
Microwave ovens
Drying machines
Rubber / Plastics / Chemical /Food process
industry
Biomedical Applications
Electronic Warfare and Counter Warfare

Waveguides
A

hollow metallic tube of uniform cross

section for transmitting electromagnetic waves
by successive reflections from the inner walls
of the tube is called waveguide.

Waveguides
Waveguides,

like transmission lines, are structures used

to guide electromagnetic waves from point to point.
However, the fundamental characteristics of waveguide
and transmission line waves (modes) are quite different.
The differences in these modes result from the basic
differences in geometry for a transmission line and a
waveguide.
Waveguides can be generally classified as either metal
waveguides or dielectric waveguides.
Metal waveguides normally take the form of an enclosed
conducting metal pipe. The waves propagating inside
the metal waveguide may be characterized by
reflections from the conducting walls.

Transmission line and Wave guide -1

Transmission line

Wave guide

Two or more conductors

separated
by
some
insulating medium (twowire, coaxial, micro strip,
etc.)

Metal
waveguides
are
typically
one
enclosed
conductor filled with an
insulating medium.

Normal operating mode is Operating modes are TE or

the TEM or quasi-TEM TM modes (cannot support
mode (can support TE and a TEM mode).
TM modes but these modes
are typically undesirable).

Transmission line and Wave guide -2

Transmission line

Wave guide

No cutoff frequency for the

TEM mode. Transmission
lines can transmit signals
from DC up to high
frequency.

Must operate the waveguide

at a frequency above the
respective TE or TM mode
cutoff frequency for that
mode to propagate.

Significant
signal Lower signal attenuation at
attenuation
at
high high
frequencies
than
frequencies due to conductor transmission lines.
and dielectric losses.

Transmission line and Wave guide -3

Transmission line

Wave guide

Small
cross-section
transmission lines (like
coaxial cables) can only
transmit low power levels
due to the relatively high
fields
concentrated
at
specific locations within the
device

Metal
waveguides
can
transmit high power levels.
The fields of the propagating
wave are spread more
uniformly over a larger
cross-sectional area than the
small
cross-section
transmission line.

Large
cross-section Large cross-section (low
transmission
lines
can frequency) waveguides are
transmit high power levels. impractical due to large
size and high cost.

Rectangular Waveguide

The walls of the waveguide are made of ideal

conductor and the medium filling the waveguide is
ideal dielectric.

Assumptions
The

waveguide is infinitely long, oriented

along the z-axis, and uniform along its length.

The

waveguide is constructed from ideal

materials. [perfectly conducting pipe (PEC) is
filled with a
perfect insulator (lossless
dielectric)].

Fields are time-harmonic.

General Wave Characteristics as Defined

by Maxwells Equations
Given any time-harmonic source of electromagnetic

radiation, the phasor electric and magnetic fields

associated with the electromagnetic waves that
propagate away from the source through a medium
characterized by (,) must satisfy the source-free
Maxwells equations given by

General Wave Characteristics as Defined

by Maxwells Equations
The

source-free Maxwells equations can be

manipulated into wave equations for the electric and
magnetic fields. These wave equations are

where the wave number k is real-valued for lossless

media and complex valued for lossy media.

Types of modes in Waveguide

Transverse

Magnetic (TM) wave: Here only

magnetic field is transverse to the direction of
propagation and the electric field is not purely
transverse.
(i.e.) Ez 0, Hz = 0.

Transverse

Electric (TE) wave: Here only the

electric field is purely transverse to the direction
of propagation and the magnetic field is not
purely transverse.
(i.e.) Ez = 0, Hz 0.

Analysis of TM modes
The

wave equation is to be solved for Ez with

appropriate boundary conditions. In Cartesian coordinates the wave equation for Ez can be written as:

The equation can be solved by the separation of

variables i.e. by assuming that Ez is given as:

The

fields are assumed to be of sinusoidal nature with

an angular frequency .

Analysis of TM modes
Substituting

this solution of Ez and re-arranging the

terms, the wave equation becomes-

The

first term is a function of x only, the second term

is a function of y only, the third term is a function of
z only and fourth term is a constant.
Since the equation is to be satisfied for every value of x,
y, z in each term in equation must be constant.

Analysis of TM mode

where, A, B and are real constants.

The

parameter is commonly referred as modal

phase constant.

Analysis of TM modes
From

the physical understanding of reflection of

waves from parallel conducting boundaries we expect a
standing wave kind of behavior in x and y directions
and a travelling wave kind of behavior in z direction.

In

any case, we expect a wave phenomenon in x,y,z

direction which can be properly represented by putting a
negative sign in front of the constants A2, B2 and 2 .

Instead

of negative sign if the positive sign was used the

solutions will have real exponential functions which
would not represent the wave phenomenon.

Analysis of TM mode
These

These

equations can be re-written as:

equations are identical to the transmission

line equations.

Analysis of TM mode
The

solution to these equations can be appropriately

written as:

If

we assume that waveguide is of infinite length, we

can take only one travelling wave in +z-direction.

Analysis of TM mode

Boundary condition 1:
Ez = 0 @ x = 0 leads to C1 = 0
Boundary condition 2:
Ez = 0 @ y = 0 leads to C3 = 0
The equation of Ez now reduces to
Ez = C * sin(Ax) * sin(By) * e-jz

Analysis of TM mode
The equation of Ez
Ez = C * sin(Ax) * sin(By) * e-jz
Boundary condition 3:
Ez = 0 @ x = a leads to
Boundary condition 4:
Ez = 0 @ y = b leads to
where, m & n are integers.

Analysis of TM mode
Substituting for A and B, we get the solution for
Ez as:

One

can get, the values of transverse

components Ex, Ey, Hx, Hy from longitudinal
components Ez and Hz.
In case of TM mode, as Hz = 0, the all 4
transverse components can be obtained from Ez
only.

Analysis of TM mode

where, h2 is transverse propagation constant given by-

Observations for TMmn Modes

The fields existing in the discrete electric and

magnetic field pattern called modes of waveguide.
All field components vary sinusoidal in x and y
directions.
All transverse fields go to zero if either m or n is
zero.
Both the indices m and n have to be non-zero for
existence of the TM mode.
TMm0 and TM0n modes can not exist.
Consequently, the lowest order mode which can exist
is mode TM11 mode.

Analysis of TM mode
We

started with ,

Analysis of TM mode
Re-writing this expression,
-A2 - B2 - 2 + 2 = 0
Also, we have,

which leads to,

Analysis of TE Mode
For

TE mode, Ez = 0 and only Hz is present, all

4 transverse components of the field can be
obtained from Hz only.

In

the case of TM mode, the wave equation was

solved for Ez which was tangential to all the four
walls of the waveguides. We therefore had
boundary conditions on Ez.
In the TE case however the independent component
Hz is tangential to the walls of the waveguide which
do not impose any boundary conditions on Hz.

Analysis of TE Mode
One

can note that for x=0 and x=a , (vertical walls) and
for y= 0 and y=b, (horizontal walls) the tangential
component of magnetic field is maximum.

Proceeding

the analysis for TE mode similar to TM

mode, with knowledge that Hz is maximum at the
boundaries, one can obtain the solution for Hz as:

Analysis of TE Mode

Where, h2 is transverse propagation constant

given by-

Analysis of TE Mode
The fields for the TE modes have similar behavior to the
fields of the TM modes i.e. they exist in the form of
discrete pattern.
They have sinusoidal variations in x and y directions,
indices m and n represent number of half cycles of the
field amplitudes in x and y direction respectively.
Unlike TM mode both indices m and n need not be
non-zero for the existence of the TE mode.
TE00 mode cannot exist but TEm0 and TE0n modes can
exist.
The lowest order mode for the TE case therefore is TE10
and TE01 .

Phase constant of TE and TM

mode
For

both TEmn and TMmn modes the modal phase

constant is given by:

For

the mode to be travelling has to be a real

quantity.
If becomes imaginary then the fields no more
remain travelling but become exponentially
decaying.

Cut-off Frequency of TE and TM

mode
The

frequency at which changes from real to

imaginary is called the cut-off frequency of the
mode. At cut-off frequency, therefore = 0
gives,

Cut-off Frequency of TE and TM

mode
The

cut-off frequencies for lowest TM

and TE modes i.e. TM11, TE10 and TE01
can be obtained as:

Cut-off Frequency of TE and TM

mode
Since

by definition we have a > b we get the

frequencies as-

We can

make an important observation that, if at

all the electromagnetic energy travels on a
rectangular waveguide its frequency has to be
more than the lowest cut-off frequency i.e. fc
of TE10 mode.
As the order of the mode increases the cut-off
frequency also increases.

Cut-off wavelength of
TE and TM mode
The

very first mode that propagates on the rectangular

waveguide is TE10 mode and therefore this mode is called
the dominant mode of the rectangular waveguide.
The cut-off wavelength is given by
c

For
For

2
m

dominant mode , c=2a.

propagation of wave in the waveguide
< c or f > fc

Field Pattern
The

visualization of the modal fields is important for

identifying regions from where fields can be tapped
efficiently by the probes.

The

field probes are devices which can induce fields

inside a waveguide or extract energy from the fields
propagating inside the waveguide.

One

can see from the modal field expression that the

fields are periodic over one guided wavelength g
along the length of the waveguide.

So

essentially one has to develop a three dimensional

picture of the fields only over a block of g.

Waveguide Parameters
Guide Wavelength
It

is defined as the distance

travelled by the wave in
order to undergo a phase
shift of 2 radians.
It is related to phase
constant by the relation
g = 2 /

Wave Impedance
It

is defined as ratio of
strength of electric field in
one transverse direction to
the strength of magnetic
field along other transverse
direction.

Waveguide Parameters
Phase Velocity
The

phase velocity is
defined as the velocity with
which the wave changes
phase in terms of the guide
wavelength
Vp = g * f

Group Velocity
The

group
velocity of
a wave is defined as the
rate at which the wave
propagates through the
waveguide.
Vg = d / d

The product of phase and group velocities is equal to

square of the velocity of light. i.e. vp * vg = c2

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4
Find

the resonant frequencies of the dominant mode of

an air filled rectangular cavity of dimensions 5cm x 4cm
x 2.5cm.The dominant mode for rectangular cavity
resonator is TE101

Given

a = 5 cm, b = 4 cm, d = 2.5 cm

Resonant frequency of TE and TM modes is given by

fr = 6.71 GHz

Thank You