PLANE WAVES AT MEDIA INTERFACE

In the previous chapter we studied the solution of the Maxwell's equations for time varying fields in an unbound
medium. We found that the time varying fields exist in the form of a plane transverse electromagnetic wave in
an infinite medium. For our convenience we oriented the co-ordinate system to align with the direction of the
wave motion and studied the behaviour of electric and magnetic fields in the plane transverse to the direction
of the wave propagation. The arbitrary orientation of the co-ordinate axis was possible because in an infinite
medium, there is no special direction as the medium looks same in all directions. This situation is obviously an
hypothetical situation. In practice we never see a medium which is uniform in all directions. In the next few
chapters we will gradually make the medium bound and try to capture the EM wave in a completely closed
space. The first step towards this would be to make the medium semi-infinite i.e., divide the space into two
semi-infinite regions with different medium properties and study the behaviour of a plane wave at the interface
of the two regions. Specifically we investigate the transfer of fields and power from one medium to other. In this
chapter we ask questions like- what happens to the plane wave nature of the wave at the interface ? What
fraction of the wave energy is transported to the second medium ? What happens to the polarization of the
wave etc. and try to find their answers.
It is very clear that since the space is no more symmetric the coordinate axes can not be oriented arbitrarily. If
we orient the co-ordinate axes along the media interface, the wave will be travelling in an arbitrary direction
(not along any of the axes) and if the coordinate axes are oriented to get one of the axes along the wave
motion, the axes will have arbitrary orientation with respect to the media interface. Generally the coordinate
axes are aligned along the interface and the wave is assumed to travel at an angle with respect to the media
interface. It is therefore necessary to formulate the wave function for a wave which is travelling at an arbitrary
angle with respect to the co-ordinate axes.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{Nfig5.1.eps}
\caption{Wave travelling in an arbitrary direction} \end{figure}

PLANE WAVE IN ARBITRARY DIRECTION

As we have seen earlier a plane wave is described by a phase front which is a plane perpendicular to the
direction of the wave motion. As shown in Figure 5.1, let us consider a wave travelling in some arbitrary
direction, and let the unit vector in the direction of wave motion be denoted by $\. If the unit vector $\ makes
angles , , respectively with the three axes $x we have
MATH
where MA, MA, MA are called the direction cosines of the vector $\.
The planes perpendicular to $\ are then the phase fronts or the constant phase planes. Let us consider one of
the phase fronts as shown in Figure 5.1, and let any point P on the plane has coordinates $( x,. The vector
Mcan be written as
MATH
From Figure 5.1 we can see that the dot product
MATH
Eqn. (5.3) is valid for any point on the phase front and hence we can write the equation of the phase front as
MATH
If we assume that phase of the plane which passes through the origin is zero and if the phase constant of the
wave is $\, the phase change over a distance of OA will be
MATH
The electric field of a plane wave travelling in direction $\ can then be written as
MATH
where $is a constant vector( MATH ).
For a transverse electromagnetic wave, $lies in the constant phase plane and hence is perpendicular to $\.
We therefore have
MATH
$\
If we now define the vector propagation constant (also called the wave vector) as
MATH
The field can be written as
MATH
with
MATH
where we have defined MATH , MATH , and MATH.
From eqns (5.9) and (5.10) we can verify that if the wave travels in $+ direction ( as taken in the previous
chapter) = = Mand
= 0, and the wave vector becomes
MATH
The corresponding electric field can be written as
MATH
Since $
is perpendicular to , it lies in the xy-plane. Expression (5.12) is identical to the plane wave
expression (4.54).
The magnetic field of a wave can be obtained by substituting $\ in the Maxwell's equation
MATH
where MATH , MATH and MATH , and MATH
Since $, $, $ are constants,
MATH
Similarly, we can get
MATH
Substituting for partial derivative operators in eqn (5.13), the magnetic field can be written as
MATH
From eqn (5.15) we can note that $\ is perpendicular to both $\ and $\ and since $\ is perpendicular to M, the
three vectors $\, $\Qand $\ are perpendicular to each other (Transverse electromagnetic wave).
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{Nfig5.2.eps}
\caption{Transverse nature of electromagnetic wave} \end{figure}
Since the magnitude of the wave vector MATH , and MATH ( intrinsic impedance of the medium),
eqn (5.15) yields
MATH
Since MATH , the magnitude of the magnetic field $ is equal to MA.

EXAMPLE 5.1 : A $ MHz uniform plane wave is travelling in free space along a direction which makes $
angle with the $x-axis and $ angle with the $-axis. Find the expression for the vector electric and magnetic
field . The electric field is linearly polarized and has a peak amplitude of V/m. Also, the $x-component of the
field is twice the $-component of field.

Solution:

In free space the velocity of the wave is MATH

MATH

The direction cosines of wave normal are

MATH
Since,
MATH
The unit vector along the direction of the wave normal is
MATH
The electric field is given by
MATH
is a constant vector perpendicular to the wave normal.
MATH
Since, the wave is linearly polarized $ , $ and $ should be in phase. Therefore, without losing generality,
let us assume them to be real.
Since, for uniform plane wave is perpendicular to M, we have
MATH
It is given that,
MATH
MATH
and the peak amplitude
Solving A, B and C, we get,
MATH
and the vector electric field is given as
MATH

Using eqn (5.15), the vector magnetic field is given as

MATH

MATH

Phase Velocity and Wavelength

As seen above, the choice of coordinate system is generally guided by the media boundaries etc., and the
wave travels in an arbitrary direction. It is however useful to find the velocity of the wave along the principal co-
ordinate axes. As will be seen in the following, the phase velocity of a wave along the principal axes is not a
simple vector resolution of the phase velocity of the wave. The phase velocity along an axis is the velocity of
the constant phase point along that axis.
Let us consider a wave with wave vector $\. The electric field for this wave is given by (see eqn (5.11)).
MATH
Let us now find the phase velocity along the z-axis. Rewriting (5.18) we get
MATH
Two things should be noted from eqn (5.19).

(1) In the $x plane (plane perpendicular to $-direction) the phase is not constant. So $x-plane is not a constant
phase plane.

(2) The phase constant along z-direction is MATH .

Since $\c is always less than or equal to unity, $k_is always $. The phase velocity in the $-direction
therefore is
MATH
where is the phase velocity of the wave in the direction $\ i.e., actual phase velocity of the wave.
Similarly we can get the phase velocities along the $xand $ydirections as
MATH
It is interesting to see that since $|\co, $|\co, $|\co $ , the velocities $, $, $ are always greater
than or equal to . In fact when any of the angles , , MATH, the cosines of these angles tend to 0 and
the corresponding velocities approach infinity. The bounds of the phase velocity therefore are
MATH
The wavelength of the wave in $x directions respectively are
MATH
where = Mis the wavelength of the wave.
From eqns (5.23)-(5.24) we should note that the phase velocity and the wavelength are smallest in the
direction of the wave motion.
If we consider the unbound medium as the free-space, the phase velocity of the wave is $v_0( velocity of
light in vaccum). Equations (5.23)-(5.24) then yield
MATH
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.2\textwidth]{Nfig5.3a.eps}
\caption{Plane wave in yz plane} \end{figure}
One would then wonder how come the velocity is greater than the velocity of light, and if we can achieve
infinite velocity can we send an information with infinite speed? The answer to this question can be obtained
from Figure 5.3.
For geometrical simplicity let us consider a plane wave travelling in the $y-plane. Let a wavefront intersect the $
-axis at point A at $t =. After a time $\Dthe point A moves to A'. The phase front now intersects the $-axis at
B' which corresponds to point B at the wavefront at $t =. Similarly, the wave front intersects the $-axis at
point C' which corresponds to point C on the wavefront at $t =. While calculating the phase velocity along $-
direction or $-direction, we do not actually find the distance travelled by a particular point on the wavefront but
find distance between two different points. Consequently we get a velocity which appears to violate the
physical laws (like velocity $). The velocity of energy corresponds to the distance travelled by point A from A
to A'. It is interesting to note from Figure 5.3 that as the angle increases the distance BB' increases but the
distance CC' decreases. Consequently, the phase velocity increases but the phase velocity $v_decreases
and for MATH , $\. For MAT the distance CC' and consequently $v_z but in this case also MAT if
MAT. We can therefore conclude that the phase velocity is not a velocity of a physical point on the wavefront
and hence is not guided by the physical laws. Obviously then we can not send information with infinite speed
or for that matter with a speed greater than the velocity of light.
It is worthwhile to ask a question at this juncture that with what velocity the point A moves along the $-axis?
Since the point A moves with velocity in the direction of $\, its velocity in $-direction is
MATH
is called the group velocity of the wave and $ denotes the group velocity in $y-direction. The group velocity
corresponds to the physical motion of a point on the wavefront and therefore gives the speed with which the
energy travels. As can be seen from eqns (5.26), is always less than . From (5.22) and eqn (5.26) we
also note that
MATH
In fact, eqn (5.27) is true for any arbitrary direction and hence we can make a general statement that `the
product of the group and phase velocity in any direction is equal to the square of the velocity of the wave in the
medium'. Figure 5.4 shows the exclusive domains of and . is always greater than or equal to the
velocity of the wave in the medium, whereas, is always less than or equal to the velocity of the wave in the
medium. As MATH , and as MATH also $\r.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{Nfig5.4.eps}
\caption{Domains of and } \end{figure}
EXAMPLE 5.2 : The complex vector electric and magnetic fields given by ideal dielectric medium are given
MATH
Show that these fields represent fields of a uniform plane wave. Find the frequency and velocity of the wave.
Also find the phase velocities along the $xand $yand $-directions. Find the state of polarization of the wave.

Solution:

\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=.7\textwidth]{wave5.2.eps}
\end{figure}For uniform plane wave M, MAand the wave normal are perpendicular to each other. Therefore,
MA, MAand MAshould be zero.
Now
MATH
The fields therefore represent fields of a uniform plane wave.
Now taking the coefficient of $-j in the exponent, we get,
MATH
M MA
The components of and are not in time phase and consequently the fields are not linearly polarized. For
the fields the $-component leads the $-component by $\f and as the $x-component lags the $y-component by $.
At some instant when the $-componentis at ats positive peak, the $x-component and the $-component are zero.
At that instant we have MATH
and MATH
Now for a uniform plane wave
MATH
The velocity of the wave
MATH
Now we know that MATH
$\Rfrequency of the wave
MATH
The phase velocity along the $x-direction
MATH

and the phase velocity along $-direction

MATH

and the phase velocity along $-direction

MATH

To find the state of polarization of the wave, let us trace the tip of the electric field vector. The three
components of the electric fields are
MATH
At $t=, $E_ , $E_ , $E_ $\Righ

At $t=T, MATH, MATH, MATH MATH

At $t=T, $E_{x, $E_ , $E_{z MATH

Since, the is constant as a function time, it is the circular polarization. To get the sense of rotation draw the
fields at different times as shown in Fig. E5.2. The vector rotation is towards the left hand if we face in the
direction of wave. The wave polarization therefore is LHC.

PLANE WAVE AT DIELECTRIC INTERFACE

Up till now we discussed the propagation of a plane wave in an unbound medium. Let us now consider the
propagation of a plane wave across a dielectric interface. Let the space be divided into two semi-infinite
regions with different medium parameters like the permeability and permittivity. Let us also assume that both
the regions are loss-less i.e., the conductivity for both regions is zero. Without losing generality let us orient the
co-ordinate system such that the dielectric interface is along the $x-plane passing through $z as shown in
Figure 5.5.
\begin{figure}[t]
\includegraphics[width=0.6\textwidth]{Nfig5.5a.eps}
\caption{Electromagnetic wave at dielectric interface} \end{figure}
Let us denote the region on the left of the interface ( $z ) as region 1, and let all its parameters be denoted by
suffix 1. Similarly let the region on the right of the interface ( $z ) be denoted as region 2 and let its
parameters be denoted by suffix 2. Then , $\erepresent permeability and permittivity of medium 1
respectively and , $\erepresent corresponding parameters for medium 2.
Let us now consider a plane wave incident on the interface from medium 1 side. For simplicity let us assume
that the wave vector $\ lies in the $x-plane and makes an angle $\t with the normal to the interface ( in this case
$-direction). The angle $\t is called the angle of incidence. The plane which contains the wave vector $\ and the
normal to the interface is called the plane of incidence. The angles which the wave vector makes with the three
axes are therefore
MATH
We can then write the field (electric or magnetic) for this wave as
MATH
$
The suffix indicates the incident field, $ is a constant vector and is the phase constant of the wave in
medium 1, MATH .
Substituting for , , into eqn (5.30) we get
MATH
From eqn (5.31) it is clear that the field is independent of $y.
At the interface i.e., at $z , the phase is constant along $-direction and it linearly increases along the $x-
direction. The field magnitude in the $x-plane therefore is
MATH
The field variation is like a sinusoidally corrugated sheet with corrugations oriented along the $-axis as shown
in Figure 5.6.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{Nfig5.6a.eps}
\caption{Field variation} \end{figure}
When the sinusoidally corrugated field is incident at the interface a field with similar corrugated variation is
induced on the other side of the interface. This is due to the boundary conditions which require continuity of the
fields at the dielectric boundary. One can additionally show that both magnetic field and electric field in general,
can not satisfy the boundary conditions without modifying the incident fields. In other words we can say that
when a plane wave is incident on an interface, the fields with similar phase variations are induced on both side
of the interface. In region 1 then the total field is the combination of the incident field and the induced field,
where as in region 2 there is only the induced field. Since the induced fields are also time varying, they also
constitute waves. The induced fields in region 1 then form a wave moving away from the interface i.e., back in
region 1, whereas the induced fields in region 2 form a wave going away from the interface in region 2 as
shown in Figure 5.7. Since both induced waves see infinite medium ahead of them they are in the form of
plane waves. These waves are called the reflected and transmitted (or refracted) waves respectively. We can
now note that since the phase variation for the induced fields is same as that of the incident field at the
interface (constant along $y-direction), the wave vectors of the reflected and transmitted waves also lie in the
plane containing the incident wave vector and the interface normal i.e., the plane of incidence. One can then
conclude that the wave vectors for the incident, reflected and refracted (transmitted) waves, and the normal to
the interface lie in the same plane. In bulk optics the wave vectors are called the light rays. The reader would
then note that the above conclusion is nothing but the first law of reflection of light which states that `the
reflected and refracted rays lie in the plane of incidence'.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.80\textwidth]{5.7.eps}
\caption{Incident, reflected and refracted waves} \end{figure}
We have seen above that the incident, reflected and refracted waves travel in the same plane, the plane of
incidence. We however do not know in what directions they would be travelling. Let us say that the reflected
wave travels back in medium 1 at an angle $\t with respect to the interface normal and the refracted
(transmitted) wave travels in the medium 2 at an angle $\t with respect to the interface normal, as shown in
Figure 5.8.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{Nfig5.8.eps}
\caption{Incident, transmitted and reflected waves} \end{figure}
For reflected wave MATH , $\phi_ and MATH , and the field for the reflected wave can be
written as
MATH
Similarly for the transmitted wave MATH , $\phi_, and $\phi and its field can be written as
MATH
where MATH is the phase constant in medium 2. At the interface i.e., at $z the fields must satisfy the
boundary conditions. If fields $\Q , , $\Qrepresent electric fields, their tangential components must be
continuous across the interface. On the other hand, if we take $\Q , , $\Qas magnetic fields, generally their
normal components must be continuous. However in the present case, their tangential components also must
be continuous at the interface since for ideal dielectrics there is no surface current. So without worrying about
whether $\ represents $\ or $\Q, we can say in general that their tangential components must be continuous at
the interface. We therefore have
MATH
Suffix ' $' represents the tangential component of the vector.
Equation (5.35) is true for every point on the interface i.e., for every value of $xand $. This can happen only if
the phases of the three terms are same i.e.,
MATH
and
MATH
From eqn (5.37) we get the second law of reflection that is, `the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of
incidence'.
For ideal dielectrics MATH (free space permeability), MATH and MATH where $ and $ are
the dielectric constants of the two media. Noting from eqn (4.140) that MATH (refractive index of medium
1) and MATH (refractive index of medium 2 ), eqn (5.39) can be written as
MATH
Equation (5.40) is the well known Snell's law of refraction. One should however note that (5.40) is a special
case of (5.39) which represents the generalized Snell's law for any loss-less medium.
Once the phases of the three terms in eqn (5.35) are equated the equation reduces to
MATH
That is, the problem of wave propagation across an interface reduces to finding the fields of the three waves at
the interface using eqn (5.41). From the knowledge of $, $ and $ we can write the fields at any point in
the space. If the point is in region 1 the field is a superposition of $\Qand whereas if the point is in region 2
the field is $\Q
.

EXAMPLE 5.3 : A light beam is incident from air to a medium with a dielectric constant $4and relative
permeability $. If the angle of incidence is $. Find the angle of reflection and angle of refraction.

Solution :

The angle of reflection $\t = angle of incidence $\t = $

From the Snell's law,
MATH

MATH

REFLECTION AND REFRACTION OF WAVES AT DIELECTRIC

INTERFACE
Uptill now we had a general discussion on the propagation of a plane wave across a loss-less dielectric
interface. Let us now analyse the specific cases of field orientation with respect to the plane of incidence. As
can be seen from Figure 5.9, $\ (and consequently $\Q) vector can make an arbitrary angle with respect to the
plane of incidence.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.55\textwidth]{Nfig5.9.eps}
\caption{field in arbitrary direction} \end{figure}
Geometrically it is quite complicated to handle the fields with arbitrary orientation. Instead one can elegantly
handle the case by decomposing the field into its components, one in the plane of incidence and other
perpendicular to it and then combining the results for the two components. In the following, therefore we
discuss the two cases (i) Electric field in the plane of incidence, also called parallel polarization (ii) Electric field
normal to the plane of incidence also called perpendicular polarization . Specifically we are interested in finding
out the field amplitudes of the transmitted and the reflected waves for a given incident wave. Normally we carry
out the analysis for the E field and as discussed earlier we can find the magnetic field as and when needed
from the property of the uniform plane wave. We therefore define two parameters of interest namely
MATH
and find their values for the parallel and perpendicular polarizations.
Reflection and Refraction with Perpendicular Polarization
Let us consider a plane wave with perpendicular ($\) polarization incident at a dielectric interface as shown in
Figure 5.10. The angle of incidence is say $\t (angle which the wave vector makes with the interface normal)
and the plane of incidence is the plane of the paper. Without losing generality let us assume that the incident
electric field is pointing out of the plane of the paper (oriented in $-direction). Then from the property of the
plane wave the magnetic field $will be perpendicular to and will lie in the plane of the paper perpendicular
to the wave vector as shown in Figure 5.10. The $therefore lies in the $x-plane. Also the ratio of the
magnitudes of and $is , the intrinsic impedance of medium 1.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{Nfig5.10.eps}
\caption{Perpendicular polarization} \end{figure}
As argued above, the wave vectors of reflected and transmitted waves also lie in the plane of incidence (in this
case the plane of the paper), and the angle of reflection is same as the angle of incidence. One may further
argue that since the tangential component of $\ should be continuous at the interface and since the incident
wave has only $y-directed electric field, the reflected and transmitted wave also must have $-directed $\ field
only. Of course the fields might point into the plane of paper or point out of it. However the direction reversal
can easily be accommodated by assigning a +ve or -ve sign to a field. Therefore without losing generality we
assume that both fields $and are along direction i.e., pointing outwards from the plane of the paper. If
any of them or both of them were directed in the opposite direction (along -$-direction) their signs will come
negative automatically.
Now for each wave, the Poynting vector MA should give the direction of the wave vector. Since the
directions of the incident, reflected and transmitted waves are known, the directions of the magnetic field for
the three waves $, $and $can be easily obtained as shown in Figure 5.10. Note that the incident and
transmitted waves are travelling from left to right upwards and consequently the magnetic fields point
downwards. Whereas, the reflected wave is travelling from right to left upwards and hence its magnetic field is
oriented upwards.
We can write the electric fields for the three waves as (see eqns (5.31), (5.33), (5.34))
MATH
where MATH , MATH and $ , $ , and $ are the vector amplitudes of the three waves. For
all the fields, a time variation of $ is implicitly assumed. Since $\ and $\ are related through intrinsic
impedance of the medium we can write
MATH
where MATH and MATH are the intrinsic impedances of medium 1 and medium 2 respectively.
Now applying the boundary conditions i.e., tangential component of the electric field is continuous at the
interface, and since there is no surface current even the tangential component of magnetic field is continuous
at the interface, we get at $z
MATH
Note that the fields are in -direction and hence are tangential to the interface whereas for the magnetic field
we have to take the component along the interface. Substituting eqns (5.43)-(5.45) into (5.49)-(5.50) we get
Solving eqns (5.51) and (5.52) we can obtain the reflection and transmission coefficients as
From eqns (5.53), (5.54) or dividing eqn (5.51) by we get relation between the transmission and the
reflection coefficients as
From (5.53) and (5.54) we can make following observations:

(1) The reflection and transmission coefficients are real. That means there is no arbitrary phase change in the
reflected or transmitted wave at the interface. Depending upon the sign of and , the phase change could
be either 0 or ( 0 for +ve sign and for negative sign).
(2) Magnitude of Reflection coefficient is always less than unity whereas the magnitude of the transmission
coefficient could be greater or less than unity. That means the amplitude of the transmitted field could be
greater than the amplitude of the incident electric field. Obviously this would happen when is positive ( see
eqn (5.56)), i.e., when
From Snell's law since we get
Substitution of in eqn (5.57) yields
Therefore if eqn (5.61) is satisfied the transmitted electric field is greater than the incident electric field.
It should be noted here that higher transmitted electric field does not mean higher transmitted power. The
magnetic field reduces in the medium 2 appropriately to give the transmitted power less than or equal to the
incident power. After all there has to be conservation of power making sum of the transmitted and the reflected
power equal to the incident power i.e.,

EXAMPLE 5.4 : A uniform plane wave having power density is incident from air at air-dielectric
interface at the angle of incidence . The electric field vector for the wave lies perpendicular to the plane of
incidence. Find the power density of the transmitted and the reflected wave. The relative permittivity of the
dielectric medium is 25. If the frequency of the wave is MHz, find the amplitude of the electric and
magnetic field at a distance of m on either side of the interface.

Solution:

The wavelength in air

In air the power density
The transmission angle is
From (5.53) and (5.54), we have,

Following the coordinate system in Fig. 5.11, we have

Power density of the transmitted wave

Power density of the reflected wave =

In region , the electric field is (at z = 1 m)
In region , the electric field is
Similarly, the magnetic fields for the three waves are(see eqns (5.46), (5.47) and (5.48)).

Hence total magnetic field magnitude in x direction in region 1 can be written as

-ve sign shows reversal of direction.
Similarly, total field in z direction in region 1 can be written as
Hence peak amplitude of magnetic field in region 1 is
Total magnetic field in region 2 is same as i.e. A/m
Reflection and Refraction with Parallel polarization
On the lines similar to that for the perpendicular polarization, we can now analyze reflection and refraction of a
plane wave having parallel polarization. In this case the E-vector lies in the plane of incidence. Again assuming
that plane of incidence is same as the plane of the paper, both wave vector and the vector lie in the plane of
the paper. Since the magnetic field is perpendicular to both, it is now perpendicular to the plane of the paper.
Without losing generality therefore let us assume that the magnetic field is pointing out of the paper (oriented
along +y direction) ( see Fig. 5.11).
Using similar arguments as in previous case, we can assume that the magnetic fields for the reflected and
transmitted waves also are oriented along +y direction. Using the Poynting vector argument we can then find
the directions of the respective electric fields. The electric fields for the incident, reflected and transmitted
waves have exactly same form as given by (5.43)-(5.45) except that the vector , and are no more
oriented along the direction but lie in the -plane. The amplitudes of the magnetic fields for the three
waves are also given by (5.46)-(5.48), but their direction is perpendicular to the plane of incidence (
direction).
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{5.11.eps}
\caption{Parallel polarization} \end{figure}
Applying continuity of the tangential components of the electric and magnetic fields at the interface we get
Again using (5.45)-(5.48) and solving (5.63) and (5.64) we get the reflection and the transmission coefficients
for the parallel polarization as
Reflection coefficient:
Transmission coefficient:
From (5.63) we note that

In the case of parallel polarization also we can make similar observations as that in the previous case i.e.,
(1) The magnitude of the reflection coefficient is always less than unity and there is a phase difference of 0
or between the incident and the reflected wave.
(2) The transmission coefficient could be greater or less than unity i.e., the transmitted electric field could be
greater or less than the incident electric field.
Reflection and Refraction - Normal Incidence
The reflection and refraction for the normal incidence i.e., incidence along the normal to the interface can be
obtained by making the angle of incidence zero either for perpendicular or for parallel polarization. Figure
5.12 shows the incident, reflected and transmitted waves with their respective fields for in the two
polarizations. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.2\textwidth]{Nfig5.12.eps}
\caption{Normal incidence} \end{figure}
Substituting and consequently due to the Snell' law, in (5.53) and (5.65) we get
Since for , the and polarizations represent same case one would wonder why the two reflection
coefficients are negative of each other! The reason for this lies in the original directions assumed for the E-
fields. In perpendicular polarization case as , and point in the same direction whereas for parallel
polarization when , and point in opposite direction (Figure 5.12(b)). It is then clear that for normal
incidence if we assume the and pointing in the same direction the reflection coefficient is same as that
given by eqn (5.68). We therefore have for normal incidence,
The case of normal incidence can also be analysed in a different way. For normal incidence since
the electric fields for the three waves can be written as (put in eqns (5.43)-(5.45))
Equations (5.72)-(5.77) are identical to the transmission line equations with E replacing V, H replacing I and
and replaced by the characteristic impedances respectively. One can therefore conveniently use the normal
incidence case using transmission line concept.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.2\textwidth]{Nfig5.13.eps}
\caption{Analogy between normal incidence case and the transmission line} \end{figure}
Figure 5.13 shows the equivalence of the two cases. Since line 2 is infinitely long towards the right, at the
junction it appears like an impedance ( input impedance of an infinitely long line is always the characteristic
impedance). The voltage reflection coefficient on line 1 then is
which is same as eqn (5.68) and the transmission coefficient is
The impact of transmission line analogy can not be realized until we analyse the propagation of a plane wave
through a multi-layer medium. In the following we analyze normal incidence of a plane wave in a layered
medium using wave as well as transmission line model. To develop the concepts clearly, we take only a three
media problem here and leave the multi-media problem to the interested readers.
EXAMPLE 5.5 : A uniform plane wave with V/m electric field is normally incident on an infinitely thick slab
of a material of dielectric constant . Find the electric and magnetic field just inside the slab surface. How
much power penetrates the material slab ?

Solution:

The wave is incident from air to the material. Hence, we have

The transmission coefficient

The electric field inside the slab

The magnetic field inside the slab
The power transferred to the slab is =1.416 .

NORMAL INCIDENCE ON A LAYERED MEDIUM

Let us consider a layered three media geometry as shown in Figure 5.14. Media 1 and 2 are semi-infinite in
size whereas media 2 is of finite thickness . The parameters for media 1, 2 and 3 are denoted by suffices
respectively. Let us consider a plane wave with electric field normally incident on the interface (1/2)
from medium 1. Since the electric and magnetic fields are oriented along the co-ordinate axes, without writing
explicitely we will assume that all vectors are along direction and vectors are along -directions
depending upon the direction of the wave vector. If the wave is moving along direction the H will be along
direction and if wave is moving along direction the H vector will be in direction. (Note that these signs are
chosen to give correct direction of the Poynting vector for each wave).
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{Nfig5.14.eps}
\caption{Layered medium} \end{figure}
In the following analysis we will drop the vector notation for the writing simplicity. The incident electric and
magnetic fields therefore can be written as
Our primary interest now is to find

(i) Fields for reflected wave in region 1.

(ii) Fields for transmitted wave in region 3.
As mentioned above the problem can be solved in two ways (i) by multiple reflection and transmission at the
two interfaces (1/2) and (2/3) (ii) by transmission line analogy.
Multiple Reflection/Transmission of waves
Let us first create a notation for the transmission and reflection coefficients at the interfaces in forward as well
as backward directions. Let represent the reflection coefficient at interface for a wave incident from
medium . Similarly let represent the transmission coefficient from medium to medium . For example
will represent reflection coefficient at interface (1/2) for a wave incident from medium 1 and will represent
transmission coefficient from medium 3 to medium 2 for a wave travelling backwards in medium 3.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{5.15.eps}
\caption{Multiple reflection} \end{figure}
From (5.78) and (5.79) we then have
and
From (5.82) it is clear that . Let now a wave with electric field be normally incident on the interface
(1-2) from medium 1 side. At the interface (1/2) a part of the energy is reflected and a part is transmitted. The
amplitude of the reflected field is and the amplitude of the transmitted field is . The transmitted field
travels a distance in medium 2 and therefore undergoes a phase change of . The phase shifted wave
gets partly reflected and partly transmitted at the interface (2/3). The reflected wave at (2/3)
interface travels backwards upto interface (1/2) and further undergoes a phase change of . At the
interface (1/2) a part of the energy is transmitted backward in medium 1 and a part is reflected back in medium
2. This process continues for infinite reflections and transmissions. In steady state then we have a reflected
wave in medium 1 which is a superposition of first reflected wave and subsequent backward transmitted
waves. In medium 2 we see two sets of waves one travelling from left to right and other from right to left. The
total field at any point is equal to the sum of all the forward and backward travelling waves. In region 3 we have
superposition of transmitted waves travelling from left to right.
From Fig. 5.15 we can write reflected field in medium 1 as
i.e.,
The terms in {} form a geometric series with progression ratio
. Since and are less than 1, and
the series is convergent and we can write its sum. The reflected field and the reflection
coefficient therefore can be written as
giving
Similarly, from Figure 5.15 we can write the transmitted wave in medium 3 as
Again the terms in curly brackets form the same geometric series as that in (5.85), and we get the transmission
coefficient as
The procedure explained above can be extended to any number of layers with of course increased algebraic
complexity.
Transmission Line Analogy
Let us now try to solve the problem of wave propagation in a multi-layer medium using the transmission line
analogy. The geometry in Figure 5.15 is equivalent to three transmission lines of characteristic impedances
respectively.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{Nfig5.16.eps}
\caption{Transmission line analogy} \end{figure}
The transmission lines 1 and 3 are infinitely long and the transmission line 2 is of length . Also note that the
phase constants of the three lines are respectively as shown in Figure 5.16.
Now, since line 3 is infinitely long, it sees an impedance (characteristic impedance of line 3 ) at the junction
(2/3). This impedance can be transformed to an impedance (say) Z at (1/2) junction as
Note that the characteristic impedance of the transforming line 2 is .
The reflection coefficient on the line 1 then can be written as
Equations (5.87) and (5.92) although look algebraically different, are infact the same. It is only a matter of
algebraic manipulation to reduce one to the other.
The magnitude of the transmission coefficient can be obtained by applying conservation of power.
The electric field in medium 1 has a power density of . The power density of the reflected wave will
be . Since all the media are lossless, the difference of the two power densities is equal to the power
density of the transmitted wave in medium 3, , giving
The above analysis clearly shows that the problem of normal incidence on a multi-layer medium can be
elegently solved using the transmission line concepts.
The analysis of layered medium finds many practical applications. For example, we may be interested in
sending electromagnetic energy efficiently from one medium to another, or we may be interested in providing a
protective sheet of a material around a radiating instrument. In both type of applications, ofcourse the primary
objective is the efficient power transfer with minimal reflections. One can then ask, under what condition the
reflected power reduces to zero i.e., the reflection coefficient goes to zero ?
From transmission line view point the answer to this question is rather simple. `Use a quarter wavelength
transformer to match two transmission lines'. We can get the same result by equating the reflection coefficient
in eqn (5.92) to zero, giving
Separation of real and imaginary parts yields
Since, both and can not simultaneously become zero for any angle, we have two conditions under
which there is no reflection.
(1) and

This implies
 is the wavelength in medium 2. ( )
This condition suggests that if a slab of any material which is multiples of half wavelength thick is inserted
normally in the path of an electromagnetic wave, there is no reflection i.e., the propagation on either side of the
slab remains unaffected. This is interesting and useful, as it suggests that if an antenna is covered with a half
wavelength thick sheet, the flow of the radiated wave is unaffected. This is the principle of radom design.
Radom is a cover which protects an antenna from the weather. Obviously, since the purpose of radom is
mechanical, it should affect the wave propagation in the least possible fashion. Multiple dielectric layers can be
used for designing proper radoms.
(2) and .

This is the famous quarter wavelength transformer. The conditions imply

This condition suggests that an electromagnetic wave can be fully transmitted across a media-interface without
reflection by inserting a sheet of matching medium which is quarter wavelength thick and has intrinsic
impedance equal to the geometric mean of the intrinsic impedances of the two media. This technique is
frequently used in realizing anti-reflecting coatings in optical components.
EXAMPLE 5.6 : A Uniform plane wave having power density is normally incident on a cm thick
dielectric sheet with = . If the frequency of the wave is GHz. Find the power density of the wave
transmitted through the sheet.

Solution:

Intrinsic impedance of the dielectric is

The transmission coefficient from eqn (5.89) is

Power density of the transmitted wave

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

Let us now investigate an interesting case of the wave propagation known as the `total internal reflection'.
From eqns. (5.38) and (5.58) we note that if
the angle of transmission does not exist, since and is imaginary. This means that if a plane
wave is launched at a media interface at an angle which satisfies eqn (5.102) there is no transmitted wave.
The angle for which the equality in eqn (5.102) holds is called the critical angle, . The critical angle therefore
is given by
For a wave launched at the critical angle, we get meaning that the transmitted wave travels along the
interface.
For , the reflection coefficients for the two polarizations (prependicular and parallel ) are re-written such
that the quantity in the square root sign is positive, giving
where we have written explicitly in terms of , and have taken common within the square root sign. It
is now easy to note that both reflection coefficients are of the form
and therefore their magnitudes are unity. That is, for and . The reflection coefficients
however have different phase angles. The phase angles for the two polarizations are
Since the magnitudes of the reflection coefficients are unity, the entire incident power is reflected back into
medium 1. This phenomenon therefore is called the Total Internal Reflection (TIR).
There are certain important things which are worth mentioning about the total internal reflection.

(i) The total internal reflection can take place only if the wave is travelling from denser to rarer medium.
From eqn (5.102) we can see that the angle of incidence for which the total internal reflection can occur is
given by
Since has to be , for TIR to take place we must have
i.e., medium 2 is rarer compared to medium 1.
A special case of this is an ideal dielectric interface, for which , and
and are refractive indices of the two dielectric media. Condition (5.108) then reduces to the well known
relation
(ii) Wave undergoes a phase change during total internal reflection
From (5.105) and (5.106) it is clear that the reflection coefficient has a phase which implies that the reflected
wave lags with respect to the incident wave. The phase change depends upon the medium parameters as well
as the angle of incidence. The angle at which the equality holds in eqn (5.102) is called the critical angle .
This is the angle of incidence ( ) at which
meaning that the transmitted wave travels just along the interface.
At critical angle the phase lag in the reflected wave is zero (quantity in the square root sign goes to zero) and it
increases as the angle of incidence increases beyond . It is also important to note that the two polarizations,
parallel and perpendicular undergo different phase changes at toal internal reflection. As will be discussed
later, this differential phase change for the two polarizations can be exploited to alter the state of polarization of
an electromagnetic wave.
(iii) At TIR the fields do not vanish in the second medium.
Substituting (5.58) with TIR condition (5.102) in (5.54) and (5.66) we find that even when and
becomes unity, the transmission coefficients and do not become zero. In other words, total reflection of
power in medium 1 i.e., no transmission of power to medium 2, does not mean no transmission of the fields to
medium 2. The fields can very well exist in the second medium provided they do not constitute any power flow.
These fields are called the 'evanescent fields'. Distribution of these fields in medium 2 can be readily obtained
by substituting for in the expression for the transmitted field (5.45). Substituting
and
in eqn (5.45) we get
In eqn (5.114), the exponential term I represents a travelling wave in x-direction. Term II however represents
only an exponentially varying field in the -direction and not a wave since there is no phase variation along -
direction. Since the field can not grow indefinitely away from the interface, we should choose the -ve sign for
the exponent which represents exponentially decaying fields away from the interface in medium 2. The field in
medium 2 therefore is correctly written as

Note that the exponential decay constant in -direction is a function of the angle of incidence besides the
media parameters. Figure 5.17 shows the field variation as function of distance from the interface for different
angles of incidence.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.3\textwidth]{Nfig5.17a.eps}
\caption{Electric field variation} \end{figure}
At the critical angle, the decay constant is zero and the field is constant along the -direction in medium 2. As
the angle of incidence is increased beyond the critical angle, the field gets more confined to the interface.
However, it is important to note that in no circumstance the field in medium 2 goes to zero. The boundary
conditions demand that the fields must be continuous at the interface. Since the fields in medium 1 at the
interface are non-zero, the fields in medium 2 are also finite at the interface. For TIR, where the energy is
totally reflected in medium 1, one should not undermine the importance of the evanescent fields in medium 2.
Though these fields do not constitute any power flow, there presence is as important as the fields in medium 1
which have power flow associated with them. Any disturbance to the evanescent fields eventually disturbs the
total internal reflection.
EXAMPLE 5.7 : A uniform plane wave travelling in a dielectric of refractive index 3 is incident at the dielectric
air interface. The angle of incidence is . The electric field of incident wave is V/m. Find the phase
velocity of the field and the magnitude of the field at a distance of cm on either side of the dielectric air
interface. Assume perpendicular polarization for the wave. Frequency of wave is GHz.

SOLUTION :

The critical angle at the interface is

Since the angle of incidence is , the wave is total internally reflected at the interface. In dielectric medium
then we have superposition of the incident and the reflected wave and in air we have exponentially decaying
fields.
From eqn (5.104) reflection coefficient can be written as
Hence total electric field in dielectric medium is given by
In the air, electrical field decays as we will go away from the interface. In air, is along the x-axis. New will
be given by

Electic field in air is given by (5.115)

WAVE POLARIZATION AT MEDIA INTERFACE

In section 4.5, we have shown that any arbitary polarization can be decomposed into any two orthogonal
states of polarization. We can therefore analyse the polarization of the reflected and the transmitted waves at
an interface by decomposing the incident electric field into its components, one in the plane of incidence and
other perpendicular to it. In other words, we decompose the polarization of the incident wave into two
orthogonal linear polarizations, one in the plane of incidence and other normal to it, find reflection and
transmission for the two polarizations separately and combine them. Let us therefore write the electric field as
Note that locally the coordinate system is oriented such that is along -axis and is along -axis and
is the direction of the wave vector (see Fig. 5.18).
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{5.18.eps}
\caption{Polarization of a plane wave at medium interface} \end{figure}
If the reflection and transmission coefficients for parallel and perpendicular polarizations are denoted by
and respectively, the reflected and transmitted electric fields are
since the reflection and transmission coefficients are different for parallel and perpendicular polarizations, we
can say that in general the states of polarization of the reflected and transmitted waves are not same as that of
the incident wave. However, it is worthwhile to investigate here a few simple but important cases.
Change in Polarization at Simple Reflection
(i) Linearly Polarized Incident Wave

If the incident wave is linearly polarized, and are in phase i.e., . For simple reflection ( not total
internal reflection) since the reflection coefficients and are real ( though they could be positive or
negative), the components of the reflected wave, and are either in phase or out of phase
(depending upon sign of and ). The polarization of the reflected wave hence remains linear. The
orientation of the linear polarization however will be different since
The argument is equally applicable to the transmitted wave as well since and are also real in this case.
We therefore conclude that a linearly polarized wave remains linearly polarized after simple reflection but the
plane of polarization changes as shown in Figure 5.19.

\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{5.19.eps}
\caption{Linearly polarized incident wave} \end{figure}
(ii) Circularly Polarized Incident wave

For a circularly polarized incident wave, we have

Since the reflection and transmission coefficients are real, the reflected (and also transmitted) wave has a
phase difference of between their components. However, their two components no more have same
magnitudes, since and . The reflected and transmitted waves therefore become elliptically
polarized with the major axis of each ellipse either lying in the plane of incidence or perpendicular to it as
shown in Figure 5.20.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{5.20.eps}
\caption{Circularly polarized wave incident at a dielectric boundary} \end{figure}
Depending upon the magnitudes of the reflection coefficients, the polarization ellipse may degenerate into a
line. A circular polarization therefore may change even to the linear polarization after reflection. This aspect will
be discussed later in section 5.8.
Polarization Change at TIR
For the total internal reflection, there is no transmitted wave, so we need to discuss the polarization of the
reflected wave only. For the TIR the magnitudes of the two reflection coefficients and , are unity but their
phases are different. Consequently, the phase difference between the two reflected components is not same
as that between the incident components. We can then only say that the state of polarization always changes
at the total internal reflection, except when the incident polarization is either purely parallel or perpendicular.
We can also note that the change in polarization depends upon the angle of incidence. The TIR can therefore
be cleverly exploited to change the state of polarization of a wave without affecting its magnitude.

EXAMPLE 5.8: A circularly polarized plane wave is incident on a thick glass slab at an angle of incidence of
. Find the state of polarization of the reflected and transmitted waves. The frequency of the wave is
Hz and the refractive index of glass is 1.5.
Solution :
Since, the incident wave is circularly polarized, the parallel and perpendicular components of the electric field
are equal in magnitude but out of phase. Let the perpendicular component be leading the parallel
component, that is
The reflection and transmission coefficients for parallel and perpendicular polarizations are (from eqns (5.75),
(5.76), (5.88), (5.89))
The reflected and transmitted fields are
The reflected wave is elliptically polarized and the transmitted wave is almost circularly polarized.

BREWSTER ANGLE
The Brewster angle is the angle of incidence for which there is no reflection, i.e., the reflection coefficient is
zero. Equating (5.53) and (5.65) to zero we get
where and are the Brewster angles for perpendicular and parallel polarizations respectively.
Substitution for from (5.58) in (5.119) and (5.120) yields
After a little algebraic manipulation we get
Substituting , , , and , the Brewster angles for the two
polarizations can be obtained as
In principle, the Brewster angle can exist for both polarizations. However, for non-magnetic materials
(dielectrics), (free-space permeability) and consequently the Brewster angle does not exist for
the perpendicular polarization. This can be seen by substituting in (5.125). The quantity in the
square bracket becomes negative and hence there is no real angle .
The Brewster angle for the parallel polarization exists and is given by,
Note: From (5.127) it might appear that when i.e., when there is no medium discontinuity at the
interface (in fact in that case there is no interface as there is only one medium), the Brewster angle is . But
this is absurd because if there is no medium discontinuity, no-reflection condition should be true for all angles
and not only for . This absurdity however is purely mathematical. If , the quantity in square brackets
of eqn (5.126) is i.e., is indeterminate and not .
From the above discussion it is clear that at Brewster angle, a particular polarization has no reflection. Now if
the incident wave has some arbitrary polarization ( which is a combination of parallel and perpendicular
polarizations), after reflection at the Brewster angle the wave will have only one polarization component. If the
angle of incidence is , the reflected wave has only perpendicular polarization, and if the angle of incidence
is , the reflected wave has only parallel polarization. In both the cases, the polarization of the reflected
wave is linear ( in the plane of incidence or perpendicular to it) irrespective of the polarization of the incident
wave. The Brewster angle therefore is also called the `Polarizing angle'. This principle is used to obtain linearly
polarized light from an unpolarized one. In many applications, like optical interferometry, lasers etc where the
light has to be linearly polarized, the Brester angle concept can be conviniently used.
EXAMPLE 5.9 : An elliptically polarized wave is incident on an air dielectric interface at the Brewster angle.
The axial ratio of the polarization ellipse is 2 and the major axis of ellipse is perpendicular to the plane of
incidence. Find the axial ratio and the orientation of the major axis of the reflected and transmitted waves.

Solution :

Since, the interface is dielectric interface, at Brewster angle, parallel polarization is completely transmitted. The
reflected wave has only perpendicular polarization. The reflected wave therefore has linear polarization
perpendicular to the plane of incidence.
For transmitted wave, we have to obtain the field components.
The angel of incidence
Using Snell's Law we get
For the ellipse since the AR is 2 we have,
the phase difference between and is , since, the major axis is along the normal to the plane of
incidence. Substituting and in expression of transmission coefficients we get,
The transmitted fields therefore are,
The phase between and is still as was in the original wave. The transmitted wave therefore has
same sense of rotation (LH or RH) as the incident wave. The ratio of the amplitudes of two components is
Since, (because if , there is no interface) and consequently the transmitted wave also
is elliptically polarized. If i.e , if , the major axis of the ellipse will be to the plane of
incidence and AR will be .

However, if i.e., if , the major axis of the ellipse will be in the plane of incidence and AR
will be .

For any medium is always greater than 1 and consequently always i.e., we have, .
The transmitted wave therefore is elliptically polarized with major axis in the plane of incidence.

FIELDS AND POWER FLOW AT MEDIA INTERFACE

From the discussions of the reflection and refraction of the plane waves at a media interface, it is clear that in
medium 1, we have superposition of the incident and the reflected waves, and in medium 2 we have only the
transmitted wave. It is then worthwhile to ask a question - what is the distribution of the fields in the two media,
and what is the direction of the net power flow. Let us investigate the fields in the two media for a wave with
perpendicular polarization. In the two media we have,
Substituting for and from (5.43)-(5.45), we get
For perpendicular polarization and are in the same direction.
Substituting for and from eqns (5.53), (5.54) we can get the fields in the two media as

Medium 1
The expression inside the square bracket can be written in polar form ( magnitude and phase form) giving
where,
and
The amplitude of the total field in medium 1 is
and the phase of the total field, including the time phase, is
From eqn (5.138) we can note that the field amplitude is a function of now. Since varies
between -1 and +1, the field amplitude varies from to . This is a partial standing
wave created by superposition of the incident and the reflected waves. A plot of the field amplitude appears
like a corrugated surface with corrugations running parallel to the interface as shown in Figure 5.21.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{5.21.eps}
\caption{Electric field amplitude} \end{figure}
The field amplitude is constant in a plane parallel to the interface ( ), but it varies from plane to
plane. For example, plane corresponds to the minimum field whereas corresponds to the maximum field
in Figure 5.21. We can then call these planes as `constant amplitude planes'.
The distance between the two adjacent constant amplitude planes, one passing through the maximum
amplitude points and other passing through the minimum amplitude points is given by
where is the wavelength in medium 1. Note that when , whereas when , .
Like the constant amplitude planes, the constant phase surfaces are not planes. Depending upon the angle of
incidence, reflection coefficient etc, we may get different constant phase surfaces.
The phase constant of the composit wave in -direction is and hence the phase velocity in -direction
is
In the -direction however, the phase constant cannot be written as explicitly as that in the -direction. We
therefore have to obtain the phase velocity in -direction from the first principles. Making the phase stationary
along -direction (and also making constant) we get
From eqns (5.139) and (5.142) two things are worth making note of:
(1) The constant phase surfaces are no more planes.
(2) The phase velocity in -direction is not constant but is a function of . Consequently, the total phase velocity
becomes a function of space.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=1.1\textwidth]{5.22.eps}
\caption{Variation of phase} \end{figure}
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{5.22b.eps}
\caption{Variation of as a function of } \end{figure}
Figure 5.22 shows the phase as a function of space and Figure 5.23 shows the variation of the phase velocity
as function of space.

Medium 2
In medium 2 the fields are rather simple as there is only one travelling wave. The amplitude of the field is
and the phase of the wave (including the time phase) is
The amplitude of the field is constant every where in medium 2 ( see Figure 5.21) and the phase varies linearly
with and . Consequently, the phase velocities in and directions
are constant in space.
It should be clear that although the above analysis has been carried out for the perpendicular polarization, the
discussion is valid for any polarization. The things to note are that due to interference of the incident and the
reflected waves, we do not have constant field strength in medium 1. For a field receiver, like a radio or a
mobile phone, moving in medium 1, the receiver output therefore varies since it encounters stronger field at
some place and weaker field at other. This phenomenon is called `signal fading'. For a single media interface,
as taken here, the field pattern is quite regular and predictable. In an environment where there are many
reflecting boundaries, the field patterns are quite complex and the fading becomes more or less random. In
modern communication systems, the fading is one of the prime issues. This aspect will be discussed in detail
in the chapter on `propagation of electromagnetic waves'.

LOSSY MEDIA INTERFACE

As discussed earlier, if the conductivity of a dielectric medium is non-zero, the medium becomes a lossy
medium. The propagation constant and the intrinsic impedance of a lossy medium are
If we replace by complex , in the formulation carried out in the previous section, we get the general
formulation for any lossy media interface. The formulation is valid for any arbitrary but finite value of
conductivity. For (ideal conductor) however we have to reformulate the problem. This is due to the fact
that for an ideal conductor, one has to include surface current in the boundary conditions. The continuity of the
tangential component of the magnetic field is not valid for an ideal conductor as we have taken in our boundary
conditions. Therefore the case of ideal conducting boundary will be analyzed separately.
Although the extension of results from a loss-less media to lossy media appears straight forward, one may
encounter certain conceptual difficulties regarding origin of the incident wave in medium 1. In the loss-less
case, we never asked, where the incident wave was originated and how much distance it had travelled before
reaching the interface. This question was rather unimportant because the amplitude of the wave was constant,
and no matter how much the wave travelled (even infinite), it had the same amplitude. This however is not true
for a lossy medium. If we assume that the incident wave was originated at an infinite distance from the
interface, it would attenuate to zero for any finite value of (that is any finite value of ). On the other hand if
we assume that an incident wave of finite amplitude is present at the interface, and if it was originated at an
infinite distance from the interface, its energy would be infinite at its origin. Well, we need not worry about this
as in practice neither the waves would have travelled infinite distance, nor they will be ideal plane waves. In
our analysis therefore we start with an incident wave whose amplitude is known at the interface and find the
fields in the two media in the vicinity of the interface with proper incorporation of the attenuation constant .
EXAMPLE 5.10 : A uniform plane is normally incident on an infinitely thick dielectric slab, having dielectric
constant 10 and loss tangent at rad/sec. If the power density of the incident wave is .
Find the power density of the wave in the dielectric at a distance of 10 m from the surface.

Solution :

For the incident wave the power density is

(All the quantities are assumed to be RMS here.)

The transmitted field at the surface is
Since, the dielectric slab is lossy, the field amplitude reduces exponentially as a function of distance
where,
The first magnitude at 10 m distance from the surface is
The power density of the wave is
EXAMPLE 5.11 : A plane wave is normally incident on an infinitely thick dielectric slab of refractive index 2.
Find the phase velocities of the total waves in air and in the dielectric . If the velocity varies with distance, find
the upper and lower bound on the phase velocity.

Solution :

We can note that in air we have incident as well as the reflected waves whereas in the dielectric we have only
transmitted wave. In air therefore we get standing wave and in the dielectric we have only a traveling wave.
Let the phase constant of a wave in air be . Then the phase constant in the dielectric is . In
the dielectric the phase velocity
(Note: , the velocity of light in air ). In the air, we have to find the phase velocity from the first
principles. Writing the total electric field for the standing wave in the air we have
Here the time variation is written explicitly and is the reflection coefficient.
Substituting for we get,
The phase of the standing wave therefore is
The phase velocity can be obtained by making the phase stationary as a function of time i.e.,
The phase velocity in air therefore varies as a function z. The maximum and minimum value of phase velocity
are and .

REFLECTION FROM A CONDUCTING BOUNDARY

Let us investigate here the reflection of a plane wave from an ideal conducting boundary ( ). In this case
naturally we have a dielectric-conductor interface and the plane wave is incident from the dielectric side. Since
no fields can exist inside an ideal conductor, there is no question of transmission (i.e. refraction) of the wave to
medium 2. We therefore have only reflection at the dielectric-conductor interface. As in previous case, here
also we analyse reflection of two polarizations, namely parallel and perpendicular.
Perpendicular Polarization
Let us consider a plane wave with polarization perpendicular to the plane of incidence as shown in Figure 5.24.
\begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[width=0.70\textwidth]{Nfig5.24a.eps}
\caption{Reflection from a conducting boundary: Prependicular polarization.} \end{figure}
Let the angle of incidence be , and let the -fields for both incident and reflected waves be oriented along
-direction. The directions of the -fields can be obtained using the Poynting theorem, i.e., should give
the direction of the wave propagation. The fields for the incident wave hence can be written as
and the reflected fields can be written as
Applying boundary conditions at the interface i.e., continuity of the tangential components of the electric field
and the normal components of the magnetic field, and noting that the fields are zero inside an ideal conductor,
we get at ,
Noting that the fields are tangential to the interface, we get from (5.154),
y-component of the elctric field field:
For normal component of the magnetic field,
z-component of the magnetic field:

The -field is in -direction and hence is intrinsically parallel to the boundary. (5.156) and (5.157) both give the
same condition i.e.
From (5.158) it is clear that the reflected electric field is equal in magnitude to the incident field but out of
phase. In other words, the reflection coefficient
We may recall that on a transmission line, the voltage reflection coefficient becomes for the short circuit
load. The ideal conducting boundary therefore is analogous to the short circuit on the transmission line.
Substituting for from eqn (5.158), the total field in medium 1 is
Similarly, H-field can be written as:
Equations (5.161) and (5.164) represent a travelling wave in -direction and a standing wave iz -direction.
Figure 5.25 shows the amplitude of , and components as a function of distance in -direction.
\begin{figure}[t]
\includegraphics[width=1.0\textwidth]{5.24.eps}
\caption{Various field amplitudes} \end{figure}
From Figure 5.25 following things can be noted:
(1) and standing wave patterns are aligned in space whereas, the standing wave pattern is shifted
by quardrature with respect to the (or ) pattern. That is, where is maximum, is zero and vice
versa.
(2) and are zero at the interface as required by the boundary conditions.
(3) The electric field becomes zero when
Here we have used and only negative sign has been chosen since is negative in medium 1.
Above equation (5.166) is the equation of a plane parallel to the -plane, i.e., parallel to the interface. We
therefore see that the electric field is zero in all planes which are parallel to the interface and are at distances
, , , and so on. Also from (5.164) the -component of the magnetic field i.e., the
component of the magnetic field which is normal to the planes, is also zero in these planes. In other words, the
magnetic field becomes tangential on these planes.
(4) The magnetic field component is zero when
(5) The tangential component of the magnetic field, is maximum at the interface. Now since there is no
magnetic field inside the conductor, there has to be a surface current at the interface
where unit outward normal to the interface. For our coordinate system . We therefore have
The surface current has a magnitude of and it flows along direction.
(6) The net power flow is in -direction, that is along the interface. This can be seen in two ways:
(a) The fields represent a travelling wave along -direction with a phase constant .
(b) If we calculate the average Poynting vector , we find that the fields and are out of
phase, giving average power flow zero along -direction. The fields and are however in phase, and
therefore constitute an average power flow along -direction ( ). The average power flow is
(7) The Wavelength along the interface is