Waveguides

-One of the early milestones in microwave engineering was the development of

waveguide and other transmission lines for the low-loss transmission of power at high
frequencies.
- Waveguides have the advantage of high power-handling capability and low
loss but are bulky and expensive, especially at low frequencies.

- We begin with a discussion of the different types of wave propagation and modes that can
exist on general transmission lines and waveguides.
- Transverse electromagnetic (TEM) waves, characterized by the lack of longitudinal field components.
- Transverse electric (TE) and/or transverse magnetic (TM) waves, characterized by the presence of
longitudinal magnetic or electric field components.
GENERAL SOLUTIONS FOR TEM, TE, AND TM WAVES
We assume wave propagation along the z-axis. The electric and magnetic fields can then be
written as

(A)

where (x, y) and (x, y) represent the transverse electric and magnetic field components,
and ez and hz are the longitudinal electric and magnetic field components.
In addition, if conductor or dielectric loss is present, the propagation constant
will be complex; jβ should then be replaced with γ = α + jβ.
- Assuming that the waveguide region is source free, we can write Maxwell’s equations as

(1a)

(1b)

Three components of each of these vector equations can be reduced to the following:

(2a)

(2b)

(2c)

(3a)

(3b)

(3c)
These six equations can be solved for the four transverse field components in
terms of Ez and Hz

(3a)

(3b)

(3c)

(3d)

where
(4)

is defined as the cutoff wave number.

(5)

is the wave number of the material filling the transmission line or waveguide region.
 TEM Waves

Transverse electromagnetic (TEM) waves are characterized by Ez = Hz = 0. Observe

from (3) that if Ez = Hz = 0, then the transverse fields are also all zero.
However, we can return to (2)–(3) and apply the condition that Ez = Hz = 0. Then from (2a) and (3b),
we can eliminate Hx to obtain

(6)

The cutoff wave number, kc is thus zero for TEM waves.

The Helmholtz wave equation for Ex is
(7)

so (7) reduces to

(8)
 A similar result also applies to Ey , so using the form in (A), we can write
(9)
where
It is easy to show in the same way that the transverse magnetic fields also satisfy equation:
(10a)

In the electrostatic case, the electric field can be expressed as the gradient of a scalar potential,ϕ (x,y):
(10b)

The scalar potential, ϕ (x, y) also satisfies the equation,

(11a)

(11b)

general expression for the transverse fields as

(11c)
 TE Waves
Transverse electric (TE) waves, (also referred to as H-waves) are characterized by Ez = 0.
Equations (3) then reduce to
(12a)
(12b)

(12c)

(12d)

In this the propagation constant . To apply (12), one must first find Hz
from the Helmholtz wave equation,
(13)

Since can be reduced to a two-dimensional wave equation for hz :

(14)

The TE wave impedance can be found as

(15)
 TM Waves
Transverse magnetic (TM) waves (also referred to as E-waves) are characterized by Hz = 0. Equations
(3) then reduce to
(16a)

(16b)

(16c)
(16d)

The propagation constant . Ez is found from the Helmholtz wave equation,

(17)

Since it can be reduced to a two-dimensional wave equation for ez

(18)

The TM wave impedance can be found as

(19)
 Attenuation Due to Dielectric Loss
Attenuation in a transmission line or waveguide can be caused by either dielectric loss or conductor loss. If
αd is the attenuation constant due to dielectric loss and αc is the attenuation constant due to conductor loss,
then the total attenuation constant is α = αd + αc
Thus, use of the complex permittivity allows the complex propagation constant to be written as

In practice, most dielectric materials have small losses (tan δ<< 1), and so this expression can be simplified by
using the first two terms of the Taylor expansion,
 Rectangular and Circular WAVEGUIDES

Rectangular and circular waveguides are one of the earliest types of transmission lines used to
transport microwave signals, and they are still used for many applications.

The geometry of a rectangular and circular waveguides are shown in Figure below.

Geometry of a Rectangular waveguide Geometry of a Circular waveguide

The guide is filled with a material of permittivity ɛ and permeability μ.

 RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDE

TE Modes:

TE waveguide modes are characterized by fields with Ez = 0, while Hz must satisfy

the reduced wave equation of

(20)

with is the cutoff wave number.

The partial differential equation (20) can be solved by the method of separation of variables
by letting
(21)

and substituting into (20) to obtain

(22)
Then, by the usual separation-of-variables argument, each of the terms must be equal to a constant, so
we define separation constants kx and ky such that

(23)
with
The general solution for hz can then be written as
(24)

To evaluate the constants in (24) we must apply the boundary conditions on the electric field
components tangential to the waveguide walls. That is,

(25a)
(25b)
We therefore cannot use hz of (24) directly but must first use (12c) and (12d) to find
ex and ey from hz :
(26a)

(26b)
Then from (25a) and (26a) we see that D = 0, and ky = nπ/b for n = 0, 1, 2. . . . From (25b) and (26b) we have that B
= 0 and kx = mπ/a for m = 0, 1, 2. . .. The final solution for Hz is then

(27)

where Amn is an arbitrary amplitude constant composed of the remaining constants A and C.
The transverse field components of the TEmn mode can be found using (12) and (27):

(28a)
(28b)

(28c)

(28d)

The propagation constant is (29)

which is seen to be real, corresponding to a propagating mode, when

(30)
Each mode (each combination of m and n) has a cutoff frequency fcmn given by

(31)

- Attenuation in a rectangular waveguide may occur due to dielectric loss or conductor

loss. Dielectric loss can be treated by making ɛ complex.
- Conductor loss is best treated using the perturbation method.

The power lost per unit length due to finite wall conductivity is
(32)

where Rs is the wall surface resistance, and the integration contour C encloses the inside
perimeter of the guide walls. There are surface currents on all four walls, but from symmetry
the currents on the top and bottom walls are identical, as are the currents on the left
and right side walls. So we can compute the power lost in the walls at x = 0 and y = 0
and double their sum to obtain the total power loss.
 TM Modes

TM modes are characterized by fields with Hz = 0, while Ez must satisfy the reduced
wave equation (18)

(33)

with

Equation (33) can be solved by the separation-of-variables procedure that was used for TE modes.
The general solution is
(34)
The boundary conditions can be applied directly to ez :

(35)
 Applying (35) to (34) shows that A = 0 and kx = mπ/a for m = 1, 2, 3. . . .
And C = 0 and ky = nπ/b for n = 1, 2, 3. . . .
The solution for Ez then reduces to

(36)

where Bmn is an arbitrary amplitude constant.

The transverse field components for the TMmn mode can be computed from (16) and
(36) as
(37a)
(37b)
(37c)

(37d)

As for the TE modes, the propagation constant is

(38)
The wave impedance relating the transverse electric and magnetic fields for TM modes
is,

(39)

Attenuation due to dielectric loss is computed in the same way as for TE modes, with the same
result.
Summary of Results for Rectangular Waveguide