Electromagnetic Wave Theory

----Chap III----
H. Açıkgöz
2020-2021
 Time-Harmonic Fields

The vector phasor E(x, y, z) and the instantaneous field E(x, y, z; t) it describes are related as

Similar definitions apply to D, B, and H, as well as to ρv and J.

For a linear, isotropic, and homogeneous medium

Maxwell’s equations in the phasor form

 Time-Harmonic Fields

Maxwell’s equations in the phasor form To derive these equations we used

D = ε E and B = μH, and the fact
that for time-harmonic quantities,
differentiation in the time domain
corresponds to multiplication by
jω in the phasor domain.
 Time-Harmonic Fields

Complex Permittivity

In a medium with conductivity σ, the conduction current density J is related to by

By defining the complex permittivity ε as

 Time-Harmonic Fields

Complex Permittivity

Taking the divergence of both sides of Eq. (7.5)

The complex permittivity is often written in terms of a real part ε’ and an imaginary part ε’’

For a lossless medium with σ = 0, it

follows that ε’’ = 0 and εc = ε’= ε.
 Time-Harmonic Fields

Wave Equations

Solving wave equations for and and then solve them to obtain explicit expressions for and as a
function of the spatial variables (x, y, z).

Taking the curl of both sides

We know that the curl of the curl of is

Laplacian of
In Cartesian coordinates
 Time-Harmonic Fields

Wave Equations
=0

Homogeneous wave equation for

By propagation constant ϒ

Eq. (7.13) can be written as

If we start by taking the curl of both sides of Eq. (7.6d) and then use Eq. (7.6b) to eliminate , we obtain a wave equation
for

Since the wave equations for and are of the same form, so are their solutions.
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

A wave produced by a localized

source, such as an antenna, expands To an observer very far away from the source, however, the
outwardly in the form of a spherical wavefront of the spherical wave appears approximately planar,
wave as if it were part of a uniform plane wave with identical
properties at all points in the plane tangent to the wavefront
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

If the medium is nonconducting (σ = 0), the wave does not suffer any attenuation as it travels and hence the
medium is said to be lossless.

Because in a lossless medium εc = ε’= ε, the propagation constant becomes

For lossless media, it is customary to define the wavenumber k as

 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

Uniform PlaneWaves

For an electric field phasor defined in Cartesian coordinates as

The wave equation becomes

To satisfy Eq. (7.21), each vector component on the left-hand side of the equation must
vanish. Hence,

similar expressions apply to and

 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

If this happens to be the x–y plane, then and do not vary with x or y.

Similar expressions apply to

The remaining components of and are zero; that is

z component

Since I it follows that

Similarly
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

For the phasor quantity , the general solution of the ordinary differential equation given by

where E+x0 and E−x0 are constants to be determined from boundary conditions.

The first term in Eq. (7.25), containing the negative exponential e−jkz, represents a wave with amplitude E+x0 traveling
in the +z direction. Likewise, the second term (with ejkz) represents a wave with amplitude E−x0 traveling in the −z
direction.
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

Assume for the time being that only has a component along x (i.e., Ey = 0) and that Ex is associated with a wave traveling
in the +z direction only (i.e., E−x0= 0). Under these conditions,

To find the magnetic field associated with this wave, we apply

with

For a uniform plane wave traveling in the +z direction,

Hence, Eq. (7.27) gives
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

where H+y0 is the amplitude of and is given by

The intrinsic impedance of a lossless medium is defined as

the electric and magnetic fields of a +z-propagating plane wave with E field along are:
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

In the general case, E+x0 is a complex quantity with magnitude |E+x0| and phase angle φ+. That is,

The instantaneous electric and magnetic fields therefore are

Because E(z, t) and H(z, t) exhibit the same

functional dependence on z and t , they are
said to be in phase; when the amplitude of
one of them reaches a maximum, the
amplitude of the other does so too. The fact
that and are in phase is characteristic of
waves propagating in lossless media.
 Plane-Wave Propagation in Lossless Media

The phase velocity of the wave is

and its wavelength is

In vacuum, ε = ε0 and μ = μ0, and the phase velocity up and the intrinsic impedance η given by

where c is the velocity of light and η0 is

called the intrinsic impedance of free
space.
 General Relation between E and H

It can be shown that, for any uniform plane wave traveling in an arbitrary direction denoted by the unit
vector k, the electric and magnetic field phasors E and H are related as

These relations are valid for both lossy and

lossless media

For a wave given by (+z direction):

which is the same as

the result given by

For a wave traveling in the −z direction with electric field given

by
 General Relation between E and H

In general, a uniform plane wave traveling in the +z direction may have both x and y components, in which case E is
given by

The associated magnetic field is:

Application of Eq. (7.39a) gives

The wave may be considered the sum of two waves, one with electric and magnetic
components (E+x ,H+y ), and another with components (E+y , H+x ).
 Wave Polarization

The polarization of a uniform plane wave describes the locus traced by the tip of the E vector (in the plane
orthogonal to the direction of propagation) at a given point in space as a function of time.

In the most general case, the locus of the tip of E is an ellipse, and the wave is said to be elliptically polarized. Under
certain conditions, the ellipse may degenerate into a circle or a straight line, in which case the polarization state is
called circular or linear, respectively.

Hence, in the most general case, the electric field phasor of a +z-propagating plane wave may consist of an
x component, and a y component.
 Wave Polarization

The polarization of the wave described by Eqs. (7.46) and (7.47) depends on the phase of Ey0 relative to
that of Ex0,

Hence, for convenience, we assign Ex0 a phase of zero and denote the phase of Ey0, relative to that of Ex0, as
δ.

δ is the phase difference between the y and x components of E

Ex0 and Ey0 are defined as

where ax = |Ex0| ≥ 0 and ay = |Ey0| ≥ 0 are the magnitudes of Ex0 and Ey0, respectively

The total electric field phasor is

 Wave Polarization

The electric field E(z, t) has components along the x and y directions. At a specific position z, the direction of
E(z, t) is characterized by its inclination angle ψ, defined with respect to the x axis and given by
 Wave Polarization

Linear Polarization

A wave is said to be linearly polarized if for a fixed z, the tip of E(z, t) traces a straight-line
segment as a function of time. This happens when Ex(z, t) and Ey(z, t) are in phase (i.e., δ = 0) or
out of phase (δ = π).

Under these conditions Eq. (7.50) simplifies to

 Wave Polarization

Linear Polarization

The out-of-phase case

The field’s magnitude is

and the inclination angle is

At z = 0 and t = 0,

The length of the vector representing E(0, t) decreases to zero at ωt = π/2.

The vector then reverses direction and increases in magnitude to

in the second quadrant of the x–y plane at ωt = π.

Since ψ is independent of both z and t , E(z, t) maintains a direction along

the line making an angle ψ with the x axis,

If ay = 0, then ψ = 0◦ or 180◦, and the wave is x-polarized; conversely, if ax = 0, then ψ = 90◦ or −90◦, and the wave is y-
polarized
Vertical

Horizontal
Ideal Polarizers
Double Polarizers
 Wave Polarization

Circular Polarization

The magnitudes of the x and y components of E(z) are equal, and the phase difference δ = ±π/2.

The wave polarization is called left-hand circular when δ = π/2, and right-hand circular when δ = −π/2.
 Wave Polarization

Left-hand circular (LHC) polarization

For ax = ay = a and δ = π/2,

The corresponding field magnitude and inclination angle are

 Wave Polarization

Left-hand circular (LHC) polarization

The magnitude of E is independent of both z and t , whereas ψ depends on both variables.

At z = 0 → ψ = −ωt; The inclination angle decreases as time increases.

The tip of E(t) traces a circle in the x–y plane and rotates in a clockwise direction as a
function of time (when viewing the wave approaching).

Left-hand circularly polarized → when the thumb of the left hand points along the
direction of propagation the other four fingers point in the direction of rotation of E.
 Wave Polarization

Right-hand circular (RHC) polarization

For ax = ay = a and δ = −π/2, we have

For RHC polarization, the fingers of the right hand point in the direction of rotation of E when the
thumb is along the propagation direction.
 Wave Polarization
Example 7-2: RHC-Polarized Wave

An RHC-polarized plane wave with electric field magnitude of 3 (mV/m) is traveling in the +y direction in a
dielectric medium with ε= 4 ε0, μ = μ0, and σ = 0. If the frequency is 100 MHz, obtain expressions for E(y, t) and H(y,
t).
Solution: Since the wave is traveling in the +y direction, its field must have components along the x and z
directions. The rotation of E(y, t) is depicted in Fig. 7-10, where ˆy is out of the plane
 Wave Polarization
Example 7-2: RHC-Polarized Wave

The instantaneous fields E(y, t) and H(y, t) are

 Wave Polarization

Elliptical Polarization

The tip of E(z, t) traces an ellipse in the plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation.

Major axis with length aξ along the ξ direction

Minor axis with length aη along the η direction.

Rotation angle γ : the angle between the major axis of the

ellipse and a reference direction, chosen here to be the x axis

−π/2 ≤ γ ≤ π/2.

Ellipticity angle χ : Characterize the shape of the ellipse and its

handedness
Left Hand Rotation

−π/4 ≤ χ ≤ π/4. Right Hand Rotation

 Wave Polarization

The quantity R = aξ /aη is called the axial ratio of the polarization ellipse, and it varies between 1 for circular
polarization and ∞ for linear polarization.

The polarization angles γ and χ are related to the wave parameters ax , ay , and δ by:

where ψ0 is an auxiliary angle defined by

 Wave Polarization

Wave plan
Observer

Left Right Right Left

Wave Polarization

The ellipse reduces to a circle for χ = ±45◦

and to a line for χ = 0.

Positive values of χ are associated with left-

handed rotation, and negative values of χ are
associated with right-handed rotation.