3

Plane Wave Propagation

and Reflection
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David R. Jackson 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 513

Department of Electrical and 3.2 Basic Properties of a Plane Wave ............................................................ 513
Computer Engineering, 3.2.1 Definition of a Plane Wave
University of Houston,
Houston, Texas, USA 3.3 Propagation of a Homogeneous Plane Wave............................................. 516
3.3.1 Wavelength, Phase Velocity, and Group Velocity . 3.3.2 Depth of Penetration
(Skin Depth) . 3.3.3 Summary of Homogeneous Plane Wave Properties . 3.3.4 Polarization
3.4 Plane Wave Reflection and Transmission ................................................. 519
3.4.1 Transverse Electric and Transverse Magnetic Decomposition . 3.4.2 Transverse Equivalent
Network . 3.4.3 Special Case: Two-Region Problem . 3.4.4 Orthogonality
3.5 Example: Reflection of an RHCP Wave.................................................... 522
3.5.1 Solution
References .......................................................................................... 524

3.1 Introduction the earth or sea, for example, are easily treated using plane
wave theory. Even when the incident wave front is actually
Plane waves are the simplest solution of Maxwell’s equations in spherical in shape, as from a transmitting antenna, plane wave
a homogeneous region of space, such as free space (vacuum). theory may often be approximately used with accurate results.
In spite of their simplicity, plane waves have played an impor- This chapter’s discussion assumes article that the regions of
tant role throughout the development of electromagnetics, interest are homogeneous (the material properties are constant)
starting from the time of the earliest radio transmissions and isotropic, which covers most cases of practical interest.
through the development of modern communications systems.
Plane waves are important for several reasons. First, the far-
field radiation from any transmitting antenna has the charac-
3.2 Basic Properties of a Plane Wave
teristics of a plane wave sufficiently far from the antenna. The
incoming wave field impinging on a receiving antenna can
3.2.1 Definition of a Plane Wave
therefore usually be approximated as a plane wave. Second, The most general definition of a plane wave is an electromag-
the exact field radiated by any source in a region of space can netic field having the form:
be constructed in terms of a continuous spectrum of plane
waves via the Fourier transform. Understanding the nature of E ¼ E 0 c(x, y, z) (3:1)
plane waves is thus important for understanding both the far-
and
field and the exact radiation from sources.
Copyright 2005. Academic Press.

The theory of plane wave reflection from layered media is H ¼ H 0 c(x, y, z): (3:2)
also a well-developed area, and relatively simple expressions
suffice for understanding reflection and transmission effects In equations 3.1 and 3.2, E 0 and H 0 are constant vectors, and
when layers are present. Problems involving reflections from the wave function c is defined as:

Copyright ß 2004 by Academic Press. 513

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