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Chapter 2:Waveguide

Slide by Mohd Fairose Ibrahim

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Course Learning Outcome

Upon completion of this course, students should be able
to:
1. Explain clearly the generation of microwave , the effects
of microwave radiation and the propagation of
electromagnetic in a waveguide and its accessories. (C2)
2. Apply given mathematical equations or Smith Chart to
solve problem related to microwave propagation. (C3)
3. Handle systematically the related microwave
communication equipments in performing the assigned
practical work. (P3)

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Video
Waveguide
Maxwell Equation
TEM,TE and TM modes
Propagation of EM
Group and Phase
Velocity

Waveguide
components
Attenuation
Different type of
transmission line

EXIT

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Introduction

A waveguide is a special form of transmission

line consisting of a hollow, metal tube
The tube wall provides distributed
inductance, while the empty space between
the tube walls provide distributed
capacitance.

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practical only for signals of extremely high

frequency (>1GHZ), where the wavelength
approaches the cross-sectional dimensions of
the waveguide.
below such frequencies, waveguides are
useless as electrical transmission lines.

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Electromagnetic waves consist of electric and

magnetic fields propagating in the same
direction of travel, but perpendicular to each
other.

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Rectangular
waveguide

Dielectric Waveguide

Circular
waveguide

Optical Fiber

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Along the length of a normal transmission line,

both electric and magnetic fields are
perpendicular (transverse) to the direction of
wave travel known as the principal mode, or TEM
(Transverse Electric and Magnetic) mode.
This mode of wave propagation can exist only
where there are two conductors, and it is the
dominant mode of wave propagation where the
cross-sectional dimensions of the transmission
line are small compared to the wavelength of the
signal.

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Modes of propagation(rectangular waveguide)

TE10
# of variations along b
# of half cycles along a

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Maxwell Equation

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Maxwell Equation

the divergence (measure of the vector flow

out of a surface or div) of the electric field
equals charge density divided by o (constant)
The amount of electric field coming from a
region of space is equal to the total electric
charge in that region of space, (divided by a
number).

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the divergence (measure of the vector flow

out of a surface or div) of the magnetic field
is zero
Magnetic field doesn't come from anywhere
or go away anywhere. But it certainly exists.

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curl (rotation of a vector field or del) of the

electric field is minus the rate of change of
the magnetic field
The symbols and the t on the bottom are
the mathematical symbols meaning "rate of
change(how fast the magnetic field is
changing)
Curliness in the electric field pushes electric
charges around in circles.

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The curl(rotation of a vector field or del) of

the magnetic field equals o times the letter J,
plus o times o times the rate of change of
electric field.
J refers to current density

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Transverse Electromagnetic (TEM)

a pair of conductors was used to guide
electromagnetic wave propagation. This
propagation was via the transverse
electromagnetic (TEM) mode, meaning both
the electric and magnetic field components
were transverse, or perpendicular, to the
direction of propagation.

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Using phasors & assuming waveguide filled

with
lossless dielectric material and
walls of perfect conductor,
can be obtain:

E z A1 cos k x x A2 sin k x x A3 cos k y y A4 sin k y y e z

H z B1 cos k x x B2 sin k x x B3 cos k y y B4 sin k y y e z

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From Faraday and Ampere Laws we can find

the remaining four components:
E z

j H z
Ex 2
2
h x
h
y
E z j H z
Ey 2
2
h y
h
x
j E z H z
Hx 2
2
h y h x
j E z H z
Hy 2
2
h x h y
where

h 2 2 k 2 k x2 k y2

*So once we know

Ez and Hz, we can
find all the other
fields.

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From these equations we can conclude:

TEM (Ez=Hz=0) cant propagate in waveguide.

TE (Ez=0) transverse electric

TM (Hz=0) transverse magnetic, Ez exists

In TE mode, the electric lines of flux are

perpendicular to the axis of the waveguide
In TM mode, the magnetic lines of flux are
perpendicular to the axis of the waveguide.

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Transverse Electric (TE)

the electric field is transverse to the
direction of propagation
The order of the mode refers to the field
configuration in the guide, and is given by m
and n integer subscripts, TEmn

The m subscript corresponds to the number of half-wave variations of

the field in the x direction, and
The n subscript is the number of half-wave variations in the y direction.

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A particular mode is only supported above its

cutoff frequency. The cutoff frequency is given by
Derivation of Maxwells Equation:
fcmn

1
2

c
m n

a b
2 r r

o r o r

o o

r r

m n

a b

r r

where c 3 108 m/s

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Rectangular Waveguide

Location of modes

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The cutoff frequency is given by

fcmn

c
2 r r

a b

For air r 1
and r 1

fcmn

c m n

2 a b

Table 7.1: Some Standard Rectangular Waveguide

Waveguide
Designation

a
(in)

b
(in)

t
(in)

fc10
(GHz)

freq range
(GHz)

WR975

9.750

4.875

.125

.605

.75 1.12

WR650

6.500

3.250

.080

.908

1.12 1.70

WR430

4.300

2.150

.080

1.375

1.70 2.60

WR284

2.84

1.34

.080

2.08

2.60 3.95

WR187

1.872

.872

.064

3.16

3.95 5.85

WR137

1.372

.622

.064

4.29

5.85 8.20

WR90

.900

.450

.050

6.56

8.2 12.4

WR62

.622

.311

.040

9.49

12.4 - 18

where c 3 108 m/s

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Let us take a look at the field pattern for two

modes, TE10 and TE20

In both cases, E only varies in the x direction; since n = 0, it is constant

in the y direction.
For TE10, the electric field has a half sine wave pattern, while for TE20 a
full sine wave pattern is observed.

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Example

Let us calculate the cutoff frequency for the first four modes
of WR284 waveguide. From Table 7.1 the guide dimensions
are a = 7.214 cm and b = 3.404 cm. (medium, air: =1,=1)

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Solution
2

fcmn

TE10:
TE01:
TE20:

f c10

c m n

2 a b

where c 3 108 m/s

3 x108 m

s 100cm 2.08 GHz

2a 2 7.214cm 1m

f c 01

TE10

2b

c
a

s 100cm 4.41 GHz

2 3.404cm 1m

4.16 GHz

3 x108 m
2

TE20

TE01

TM11
TE11

2.08 GHz 4.16 GHz 4.41 GHz 4.87 GHz

3 x10 m
8

f c 20

TE11: fc11

1
1

100cm
4.87 GHz

7.214cm 3.404cm 1m

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Transverse Magnetic(TM)
the magnetic field that is transverse and an
electric field component is in the propagation
direction.
The order of the mode refers to the field
configuration in the guide, and is given by m
and n integer subscriptsTMmn.
The m subscript corresponds to the number of half-wave variations of
the field in the x direction, and
The n subscript is the number of half-wave variations in the y direction.

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Example
(1 inch = 2.54 centimeters)

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Answer:

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Poynting Vector
a quantity describing the magnitude and
direction of the flow of energy in
electromagnetic waves
represents the directional energy flux density
(the rate of energy transfer per unit area, in
watts per square metre (Wm2)) of an
electromagnetic field

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Poynting Vector
S=EXH
S = (1/)E B
where;
E= electric field, H= magnetic field,
B= magnetic flux density

The Poynting vector S is defined as to be equal to

the cross product (1/)E B, where is the
permeability of the medium through which the
radiation passes, E is the amplitude of the
electric field, and B is the amplitude of the
magnetic field.

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Boundary condition
Electromagnetic waves do not pass through
conductors, but rather, they are reflected.
Any electric field that touches a conductor
must be perpendicular to it.
Any magnetic field close to a conductor must
be parallel to it.

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The most common kind of waveguide is one

that has a rectangular cross-section, one that
is usually not square.
It is common for the long side of this crosssection to be twice as long as its short side.
These are useful for carrying electromagnetic
waves that have a horizontal or vertical
polarization to them.

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2 types wave propagation

Spherical wave

Plane wave

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Spherical waves
Spherical waves arise physically from "point"
sources. If a point source emits waves
uniformly in all directions, then we expect the
waves to depend only on the radial distance, r
from the point source.

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Plane wave
constant-frequency wave whose wavefronts
(surfaces of constant phase) are infinite
parallel planes of constant peak-to-peak
amplitude normal to the phase velocity
vector.

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Rectangular Waveguide - Wave Propagation

Consider a TEM wave propagating in the z direction.
Figure shows the wave fronts; bold lines indicating
constant phase at the maximum value of the field
(+Eo), and lighter lines indicating constant phase at
the minimum value (-Eo).
The waves propagate at a velocity uu, where the u
subscript indicates media unbounded by guide
walls. In air, uu = c

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Now consider a pair of identical TEM waves, labeled

as u+ and u- in Figure (a). The u+ wave is
propagating at an angle + to the z axis, while the uwave propagates at an angle .
These waves are combined in Figure (b). Notice that
horizontal lines can be drawn on the superposed
waves that correspond to zero field. Along these
lines the u+ wave is always 180 out of phase with
the u- wave.

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Since we know E = 0 on a perfect conductor, we can replace

the horizontal lines of zero field with perfect conducting
walls. Now, u+ and u- are reflected off the walls as they
propagate along the guide.
The distance separating adjacent zero-field lines in Figure
(b), or separating the conducting walls in Figure (a), is given
as the dimension a in Figure (b).
(a)

(b)

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The distance a is determined by the angle and by

the distance between wavefront peaks, or the
wavelength . For a given wave velocity uu, the
frequency is f = uu/.

If we fix the wall separation at a, and change the

frequency, we must then also change the angle if
we are to maintain a propagating wave. Figure (b)
shows wave fronts for the u+ wave.

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The edge of a +Eo wave front (point A) will

line up with the edge of a Eo front (point
B), and the two fronts must be /2 apart for
the m = 1 mode.

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For any value of m, we can write by simple

trigonometry
sin

2a
m

sin

uu
f

The waveguide can support propagation as

long as the wavelength is smaller than a
critical value, c, that occurs at = 90, or
c

m 2

2a
m

uu
fc

Where fc is the cutoff frequency for the

propagating mode.

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We can relate the angle to the operating

frequency and the cutoff frequency by
sin

c
c
f

The time tAC it takes for the wavefront to

move from A to C (a distance lAC) is
t AC

Distance from A to C
Wavefront Velocity

l AC
uu

m 2
uu

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A constant phase point moves along the wall

from A to D. Calling this phase velocity up,
and given the distance lAD is
m 2

l AD

Then the time tAD to travel from A to D is

t AD

cos

l AD
up

m 2
cos u p

Since the times tAD and tAC must be equal, we

have
up

uu
cos

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The Wave velocity is given by

uu

o r o r

o o

r r

r r

where c 3 108 m/s

The Phase velocity is given by

up

cos

cos

uu

up

uu

using

fc

cos 1 sin 1 fc f
2

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The Group velocity is given by

uG uu cos
uG uu 1

fc

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The phase constant is given by

u 1

fc

=2f
c

The guide wavelength is given by

u

fc

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The ratio of the transverse electric field to the

transverse magnetic field for a propagating
mode at a particular frequency is the
waveguide impedance.
For a TE mode, the wave impedance is
TE
Z mn

fc

Eta =

For a TM mode, the wave impedance is

2

f
TM
Z mn
u 1 c .
f

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Example
(Polyethylene, r=2.26), 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters)

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Example
Lets determine the TE mode impedance
looking into a 20 cm long section of
shorted WR90 waveguide operating at 10
GHz.
From the Waveguide Table 7.1, a = 0.9 inch (or) 2.286 cm and b = 0.450 inch
(or) 1.143 cm.

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Solution
2

fcmn

c m n

2 a b

Mode Cutoff Frequency

Mode Cutoff Frequency

TE10

TE10

6.56 GHz

TE11

13.12 GHzRearrange TE01

TE20
14.67 GHz

13.12 GHz
13.13 GHz

TE20

13.13 GHz

TE11

14.67 GHz

TE02

26.25 GHz

TE02

26.25 GHz

TE01

TE10

TE01 TE20

6.56 GHz

TM11
TE11

6.56 GHz 13.12 GHz

14.67 GHz
13.13 GHz

TE02
26.25 GHz

At 10 GHz, only the TE10 mode is supported!

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Example
The impedance looking into a short circuit
is given by
The TE10 mode impedance

Z10TE

120

6.56GHz
1-

10GHz

500.

impedance
TE
Z IN jZ10
tan l

The TE10 mode propagation constant is

given by

Z IN j 500 tan 158

0.2m
m

rad

Z IN j 500 tan 31.6 j100

2 f
f
f
1 c
1 c
c
f
f

2 10 x109 Hz
3 x108 m

rad
6.56GHz
1

158

m
10GHz

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Special purpose waveguide sections

bends, tees, attenuators, terminators, and

directional couplers

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Bends
accommodate the necessary turns in an
installation
The H bend of Figure 5.8 (a) is used to turn a
90 corner. The E bend (Figure 5.8 (b)) also
completes a 90 turn in either an upward or
downward direction. The twist of Figure 5.8(c)
is used to effect a shift in the polarization of
the wave.

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Tees
act as power combiners, power splitters, and
isolators
series tee acts as phase-splitter transformer.
The magic tee combines the characteristics of
both the series and shunt tees. It is often
used as a transmit-receive switch in noncritical application.

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Attenuators
to weaken a signal in a controlled fashion
control the output power level of an oscillator
or other RF source
variable attenuator can be built by using a
flap of resistive material that can be lowered
into the waveguide

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Terminator

device that is connected to the end of a

transmission line in order to provide a
matched load

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Waveguide components
Slotted Section

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Isolator
An isolator is a two-port device that
transmits microwave or radio frequency
power in one direction only. It is used to
shield equipment on its input side, from the
effects of conditions on its output side; for
example, to prevent a microwave source
being detuned by a mismatched load.

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Circulator
A circulator is a passive non-reciprocal(nonshared) three- or four-port device, in which a
microwave or radio frequency signal entering
any port is transmitted to the next port in
rotation (only). A port in this context is a
point where an external waveguide or
transmission line (such as a microstrip line or
a coaxial cable), connects to the device

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Mixer
device that performs the task of frequency
conversion, by multiplying two signals .
Mixers are needed in most microwave
systems because the RF signal is way too high
to process its information (for example,
looking for a Doppler shift in an X-band radar
application, you won't find many A/D
converters than can handle 10 GHz!)

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Attenuation
attenuator circuit consists solely of passive
resistor elements, it is linear and reciprocal. If
the circuit is also made symmetrical (this is
usually the case since it is usually required
that the input and output impedances Z1 and
Z2 are equal) then the input and output ports
are not distinguished, but by convention the
left and right sides of the circuits are referred
to as input and output, respectively.

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Source
Various causes of attenuation such as
rain attenuation,
attenuation due to trees,
long distance attenuation,
other climatic factors such as snow, wind, fog
etc

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Characteristic
Attenuation expressed in decibels of relative power. A
3dB pad reduces power to one half, 6dB to one
fourth, 10dB to one tenth, 20dB to one hundredth,
30dB to one thousandth and so on. For voltage you
double the dBs so for example 6dB is half in voltage.
Frequency bandwidth, for example DC-18 GHz
Power dissipation depends on mass and surface area
of resistance material as well as possible additional
cooling fins.
SWR is the standing wave ratio for input and output
ports
Accuracy
Repeatability

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The main properties of several wave guiding systems

Systems

Wave types

EM
Wave band
shielding

Two-wire line

TEM wav

Poor

> 3m

Coaxial line

TEM wave

Good

> 10cm

Strip line

TEM wave

Poor

Centimeter

Microstrip line Quasi-TEM wave

Poor

Centimeter

Rectangular
waveguide

TE or TM wave

Good

Centimeter
Millimeter

Circular
waveguide

TE or TM wave

Good

Centimeter
Millimeter

Fiber optic

TE or TM wave

Poor

Optical wave

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Circuit
Pi type attenuator circuit

T type attenuator circuit

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Type of microwave transmission line

Twowire line

Strip
line

Coaxial
line

Rectangular
waveguide

Microstrip
line

Circular
waveguide

Dielectric
waveguide,
Fiber optic

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Application of
Rectangular waveguide - guide microwave,
short and medium distance broad
communication

Circular Waveguide- waveguide-guide

microwave, short and medium distance broad
communication

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Ridge Waveguide- guide microwave,short and

medium distance broad communication. Used
in Spectroscopy, Pumping of fiber amplifier,
Measurement and control technology,
Pumping of up-conversion fiber laser,
Communication, Data writing/reading, Basis
for DFB- and DBR-laser

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Coaxial - used as a transmission line for radio

frequency signals. Its applications include feed
lines connecting radio transmitters and receivers
with their antennas, computer network (Internet)
connections, and distributing cable television
signals.
One advantage of coax over other types of radio
transmission line is that in an ideal coaxial cable
the electromagnetic field carrying the signal
exists only in the space between the inner and
outer conductors

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Strip Line-A strip line circuit uses a flat strip

of metal which is sandwiched between two
parallel ground planes. The insulating
material of the substrate forms a dielectric.
The width of the strip, the thickness of the
substrate and the relative permittivity of the
substrate determine the characteristic
impedance of the strip which is a
transmission line

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Micro strip-similar to strip line transmission

line except that the micro strip is not
sandwiched, it is on a surface layer, above a
ground plane.

Flexible Waveguide- guide microwave,short

and medium distance broad communication

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Refference
http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1420.html
http://www.eng.auburn.edu
http://ece.uprm.edu
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50296475/ppt-ofwaveguide
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.odyseus.nildram.co.uk/RFMicrowave_
Circuits_Files/Attenuator.pdf
http://www.multek.se/engelska/engineering/sign
al-management-2/pi-and-tee-attenuator-padcalculator-2

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