Microwave transmission lines: Fundamentals of two wire

transmission lines and coaxial cable. Mode analysis and design

of rectangular, circular waveguides. Microstrip, strip lines and
co-planer waveguide (No analysis and design topics)
#Self-study :Different types of waveguides and their application
 Transmission Line Theory
• In an electronic system, the delivery of power requires the connection of
two wires between the source and the load.
• At low frequencies, power is considered to be delivered to the load through
the wire.
• In the microwave frequency region, power is considered to be in electric and
magnetic fields that are guided from place to place by some physical structure.

• Any physical structure that will guide an electromagnetic wave from one place
to another place is called a Transmission Line.
 Properties of transmission line
 Has two conductors running parallel
 Can propagate a signal at any frequency (in theory)
 Becomes lossy at high frequency
 Can handle low or moderate amounts of power
 Does not have signal distortion, unless there is loss
 May or may not be immune to interference
 Does not have Ez or Hz components of the fields (TEMz)
 Types of transmission lines
1. Two wire line
2. Coaxial cable
3. Waveguide
 Rectangular
 Circular
4. Planar Transmission Lines
 Strip line
 Microstrip line
 Slot line
 Fin line
 Coplanar Waveguide
 Coplanar slot line
 Two wire transmission lines
• This transmission line consists of a pair of parallel conducting wires separated by a uniform
distance
• These are used in power systems or telephones lines.
• Alternating electric field between conductors
• Alternating magnetic field surrounding conductors
• Dielectric material inside the conductor
• Disadv: Electric and magnetic fields extend to infinity , influences electronic equipment in the
vicinity
Coaxial line Coaxial line
• This consists of an inner and a coaxial outer conducting sheath separated by a dielectric medium .
• They are used as TV cables, telephones cables and power cables.
• Electric field is completely contained within both conductors
• Perfect shielding of magnetic field
• TEM modes up to certain cutoff frequency
• Adv: Outer conductor is grounded minimizing radiation losses and field interference.

Commonly used dielectric

material
Polystyrene = 2.5
Polyethylene = 2.3
Teflon = 2.1
 Waveguide

• Signal transmission at microwave

frequencies.

• These are basically hollow conducting tubes

as they somewhat resemble like coaxial
cable line but do not have centre conductor
as present in coaxial cables.
 Has a single hollow metal pipe
 Can propagate a signal only at high frequency:  > c
 The width must be at least one-half of a wavelength
 Has signal distortion, even in the lossless case
 Immune to interference
 Can handle large amounts of power
 Has low loss (compared with a transmission line)
 Has either Ez or Hz component of the fields (TMz or TEz)
 Microstrip Lines
Ground plane reduces excessive field leakage hence reduces radiation losses

Single layer PCB has high radiation loss and prone to cross talk

Substrate with high dielectric constant minimize field leakage and cross coupling
To reduce interference use multilayer technique i.e. Parallel plate transmission lines
Strip Lines
 Parallel-plate transmission line

• It has two parallel conducting plates

• separated by a dielectric slab of uniform thickness
Equivalent Circuit of Tx Line
 Transmission line parameters
• Resistance: This parameter of any transmission line rely on the cross-
sectional area of the conducting material. As we have already discussed
that these are distributed parameter networks that means its parameters
are distributed uniformly along the entire length.
• It is represented by R and its unit is ohms per unit length of the
conductor.
• It is given by:

• ρ denotes the conductivity of the conducting material

• l denotes the length of the transmission line and
• a denotes the cross-sectional area of the line
• Capacitance: A transmission line is composed of 2 parallel
conducting wire separated by dielectric material. So it behaves as a
parallel plate capacitor. Thus it has some capacitance which is also
distributed uniformly over its length.
• It is measured in farads per unit length of the conductor.
• Inductance: When current flows through a conductor then it
generates a magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of the
electric field.
• As the magnetic field varies, electromagnetic flux gets generated in
the line.
• So, this emf now flows in opposite direction with the current flowing
through the device which is known as inductance.
• Its value depends on the current flowing through the conductor.
• Inductance is represented by L and its unit is Henry per unit length
of the conductor.
• Conductance: The two parallel conductors are separated by
dielectric medium but it is not a perfect insulator.
• Due to which some current also flows through the dielectric. This
current is called leakage current and it is responsible for leakage
conductance through the transmission line.
• It is basically present between the conducting wires and is
represented by G.
• Its unit is mho per unit length of the conductor.
Transmission line parameters
 Modes of propagation

• According to the direction of oscillation and propagation, there are

different modes of wave propagation on transmission lines.
• When a time-varying signal starts to flow through a transmission line,
it aligns the electric and magnetic fields in different directions and
establishes various modes of wave propagation.
• Depending on the frequency and type of transmission line or
waveguide used, the mode of propagation varies.
• Electromagnetic waves have both
electric and magnetic fields that
are perpendicular to each other
and travel in the same direction.
• The transverse components of
electric and magnetic fields are
determined by their components in
the z direction.
• When a time-varying signal starts
to flow through a transmission line,
it aligns the electric and magnetic
fields in different directions and
establishes various modes of wave
propagation.
Transverse Electric and Magnetic (TEM) Mode
• TEM, also referred to as transmission line mode, is the principal mode of
wave propagation and exists only in transmission lines made of two
conductors.
• This mode becomes dominant in wave propagation where the cross-
sectional area of the transmission line is small compared to the signal
wavelength.
• That means the electric and magnetic fields are transverse to the direction
of propagation in this mode.
• The z axis components of electric and magnetic fields are equal to zero.
Transmission lines support TEM mode with two conductors and have
uniquely defined voltage, current, and characteristic impedance.
• When the frequency is very small, quasi-TEM modes are used to
approximate the TEM modes.
• In TEM, Hz=Ez=0
• Transverse Magnetic (TM) Mode
• In this mode, the magnetic field is purely transverse to the direction
of wave propagation and the electric field does not follow suit. The
electric field has both transverse and longitudinal components.
• In TM, Hz=0, Ez≠0
• Transverse Electric (TE) Mode
• In this mode, the electric field is transverse to the direction of wave
propagation and the magnetic field is not. The magnetic field has
both transverse and longitudinal components.
• In TE, Hz≠0, Ez=0
• TE and TM modes are commonly found in enclosed guiding structures
and are generally called waveguide modes.
• Both of these modes are dispersive, where the phase velocity is
dependent on frequency.
• As transmission lines generally operate below this cut-off frequency,
they support only TEM mode.
• TE and TM modes are limited by a cut-off frequency below which
there is no wave propagation through it.
• This cut-off frequency causes limited bandwidth in these modes.
• Hybrid Wave Mode
• In this mode, the wave propagates in z direction.
• None of the fields are purely transverse to the direction of propagation in
this mode.
• Both the magnetic and electric fields have longitudinal components.
• When the longitudinal electric field is dominant, the hybrid wave mode is
called EH mode.
• When the longitudinal magnetic field is dominant, the hybrid wave mode is
called HE mode.
• This mode is usually observed in waveguides with inhomogeneous
dielectric and in optical fibers.
Mode of Wave Propagation Type of Transmission Line
TEM Co-axial line, two-wire line,
parallel-plate line, stripline,
microstrip line, multi-conductor
lines, and coplanar waveguides
TE or TM Metal or optical fiber
waveguides, cavity resonators
Hybrid wave mode Optical fibers, open conductor
guides
Waveguides
Another mean of transporting EM wave from Source to the Load consist of a
hollow, metal tube through which waves propagate.
• Microwaves propagate through microwave circuits, components and devices,
which act as a part of Microwave transmission lines, broadly called as
Waveguides.
• A hollow metallic tube of uniform cross-section for transmitting electromagnetic
waves by successive reflections from the inner walls of the tube is called as
a Waveguide.

The tube wall provides distributed inductance, while the empty space between the
tube walls provide distributed capacitance.
Waveguides are practical only for signals of extremely high frequency, where the
wavelength approaches the cross-sectional dimensions of the waveguide.
Below such frequencies, waveguides are useless as electrical transmission lines.
 Transmission Lines Waveguides
Supports TEM wave Cannot support TEM wave
Only the frequencies that are greater than cut-off
All frequencies can pass through frequency can pass through

Two conductor transmission One conductor transmission

A wave travels through reflections from the walls
Reflections are less of the waveguide

It has a characteristic impedance It has wave impedance

Propagation of waves is according to "Circuit Propagation of waves is according to "Field

theory" theory"
Bandwidth is not limited Bandwidth is limited
Waves do not disperse Waves get dispersed
 Advantages of Waveguides

• Waveguides are easy to manufacture.

• They can handle very large power in kilowatts .
• Power loss is very negligible in waveguides.
• They offer very low loss low value of alpha−attenuation
• When microwave energy travels through waveguide, it experiences
lower losses than a coaxial cable.
Types of waveguide
Rectangular Waveguide
• A waveguide which is a hollow metallic tube of a
rectangular cross-section is known as the rectangular
waveguide.
• The EM fields can be confined.
• Therefore, the EM waves can be guided by the walls of the
guide through reflections.
• Rectangular waveguides are usually made in standard
sizes with breadth “a” (along x-direction) approximately
twice the height “b” (along y-direction).
• The “a” dimension cannot be less than a one-half
wavelength.
• This can be seen, as the guide is made up of two-quarter
wavelength stubs separated by a small distance.
• Any frequency that makes the “a” dimension less than
one-half wavelength allows no propagation of energy
down the waveguide.
 Circular Waveguide
• A circular waveguide is a hollow metal tube with
a circular cross-section.
• It is basically a tubular, circular conductor.
• This is used only for some special applications.
• For example, it is used in a rotating joint, which
transmits an electromagnetic wave to the
feeder of a rotating radar antenna.
• In circular waveguides, the plane of polarization
is not stable due to geometry.
• The frequency band of the single-mode
operation of a circular waveguide is narrower
than the same band of a rectangular waveguide.
Cut Off frequency:
The cutoff frequency of an electromagnetic waveguide is the lowest
frequency for which a mode will propagate in it.

Phase Velocity:
It is the velocity which the electromagnetic waves changes it phase in
the waveguide during propagation.

Group velocity: Group velocity is defined as the rate at which the wave
propagates through waveguide. The group velocity is also can be
defined as the velocity of energy flow in the waveguide system.