Prepared by: Ronnie Asuncion

 Hollow conductive tube

 Usually rectangular in cross section but sometimes circular
or elliptical
 Electromagnetic (EM) waves propagate within its interior
 Serves as a boundary that confines EM energy
 The walls of it reflect EM energy
 Dielectric within it is usually dehydrated air or inert gas
 EM energy propagate down in a zigzag pattern
 Generally restricted to frequencies above
1 GHz
Rectangular and circular waveguides
 Parallel-wire transmission lines and coaxial
cables cannot effectively propagate EM
energy above 20 GHz
 Parallel-wire transmission lines cannot be

used to propagate signals with high

powers
 Parallel-wire transmission lines are

impractical for many UHF and microwave

applications
 Most common form of waveguide
 For an EM wave to exist in the waveguide it must

satisfy Maxwell's equation

Note: A limiting factor of Maxwell’s equation
is that a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) wave
cannot have a tangential component of the
electric field at the walls of the waveguide
 EM wave cannot travel straight down a

waveguide without reflecting off the sides

 The TEM wave must propagate in a zigzag
manner to successfully propagate through
the waveguide with the electric field
maximum at the center of the guide and
zero at the surface of the walls
 In parallel-wire transmission lines, wave
velocity is independent of frequency, and for
air or vacuum dielectrics, the velocity is equal
to the velocity in free space
 In waveguides the velocity varies with
frequency
 Group and phase velocities have the same
value in free space and in parallel-wire
transmission lines
 The velocities are not the same in waveguide
if measured at the same frequency
 At some frequencies they will be nearly equal
and at other frequencies they can be
considerably different
 The phase velocity is always equal; to
greater than the group velocity
 The product of the two velocities is equal

to the square of the free space

propagation speed
Vg Vph = c^2
where:
Vph = phase velocity (meters/second)
Vg = group velocity (meters/second)
c = free space propagation speed
= 300,000,000 (meters/second)
 The velocity of group waves
 The velocity at which information signals

of any kind are propagated

 The velocity at which energy is

propagated
 Can be measured by determining the time

it takes for a pulse to propagate a given

length of waveguide
 The apparent velocity of a particular phase of the
wave
 The velocity with which a wave changes phase in a
direction parallel to a conducting surface, such as
the walls of a waveguide
 Determined by increasing the wavelength of a
particular frequency wave, then substituting it into
the formula:
Vph = f λ
where:
Vph = phase velocity (meters/second)
f = frequency (hertz)
λ = wavelength (meters/second)
 may exceed the velocity of light
 Phase velocity in waveguide is greater

than its velocity in free space

 Wavelength for a given frequency will be

greater in the waveguide than in free

space
 Free space wavelength, guide wavelength, phase
velocity and free space velocity of electromagnetic
wave relationship:
λg = λo (Vph / c)
where:
λg = guide wavelength (meter/cycle)
λo = guide wavelength (meter/cycle)
Vph = phase velocity (meters/second)
c = free space velocity (meter)
Cutoff Frequency - minimum frequency of operation
- an absolute limiting frequency

Cutoff Wavelength - maximum wavelength that can

be propagated down the waveguide
-smallest free-space wavelength
that is just unable to propagate in
the waveguide
 The relationship between the guide
wavelength at a particular frequency is:
λg = (c) / [(f^2)-(fc^2)]^(1/2)
where:
λg = guide wavelength (meter/cycle)
fc = cutoff frequency (hertz)
f = frequency of operation (hertz)
 Determined by the cross-sectional dimension of the
waveguide
 fc = c/2a = c/λc
Where:
fc = cutoff frequency
a = cross-sectional length (meter)
λ = cutoff wavelength (meter/cycle)
 Electromagnetic waves travel down a
waveguide in different configurations called
propagation modes
 There are two propagation modes:

- TEm,n for transverse-electric waves

- TMm,n for transverse-magnetic waves
 TE1,0 is the dominant mode for rectangular

waveguide
 At frequencies above the fc, higer order TE

modes are possible

 It is undesirable to operate a waveguide at
frequency at which higher modes can
propagate
 Next higher mode possible occurs when the

free space λ is equal to a

 A rectangular waveguide is normally operated
within the frequency range between fc and 2fc
 Zo = 377/{1-(fc/f)^2} = 377(λg/ λo)
Where:
Zo - characteristic impedance (ohms)
fc - cutoff frequency
f - frequency of operation
 Reactive stubs
 Capacitive and inductive irises
 Used in radar and microwave applications
 The behavior of electromagnetic waves in circular
waveguides is the same as it is rectangular
waveguides
 Are easier to manufacture than rectangular
waveguides
 Disadvantage is that the plane of polarization may
rotate while the signal is propagating down it.
 Cutoff wavelength, λo
λo = 2πr/kr
where:
λo = Cutoff wavelength (meters/cycle)
r = internal radius of the waveguide
kr = solution of Bessel function equation
 TE1,1 is the dominant mode for circular
waveguides
the cutoff wavelength for this mode is:
λo = 1.7d
d = waveguide diameter
 Consist of spiral wound ribbons of brass or
copper
 Short pieces of the guide are used in

microwave systems when several transmitters

and receivers are interconnected to a complex
combining or separating unit
 Used extensively in microwave test equipment