Microwave

Engineering

Dr. S. P. Mahajan
Department Of E & TC,
College of Engineering Pune
 Outline
❖ Introduction to microwaves
❖ Microwave frequency bands
❖ Advantages of Microwaves
❖ Applications of Microwaves
❖ Comparison of Transmission line and
Waveguide
❖ Rectangular Waveguide
❖ Analysis of TM modes for Rectangular
Waveguide
❖ Analysis of TE modes for Rectangular
Waveguide
❖ Waveguide Parameters
❖ Rectangular waveguide cavity resonators.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
 Microwave Properties

⚫ Microwaves frequency range 1 GHz –

300 GHz
⚫ Microwave is an electromagnetic
radiation of short wavelength.
⚫ Reflected by conducting surfaces
⚫ Microwave currents flow through a
thin outer layer of an ordinary cable.
⚫ They are not reflected by ionosphere
 Microwave Bands Designation
Band Frequency Wavelength(cm
(GHz) )
L 1 to 2 30.0 to 15.0
S 2 to 4 15 to 7.5
C 4 to 8 7.5 to 3.8
X 8 to 12 3.8 to 2.5
Ku 12 to 18 2.5 to 1.7
K 18 to 27 1.7 to 1.1
Ka 27 to 40 1.1 to 0.75
Millimeter 40-300 0.75-0.1
 Advantages Of Microwaves

❖ Increased Bandwidth availability

❖ Improved Directive properties
❖ Less fading effect and more reliable
❖ Lower power requirement
❖ Transparency property of
Microwaves
 Applications
❖ Telecommunication:
Intercontinental Telephone and TV
Space communication
Telemetry
❖ Radars:
Detect aircraft
Track / guide supersonic missiles
Observe and track weather patterns
Air Traffic Control (ATC)
 Applications

❖ Commercial Applications
Microwave ovens
Drying machines
❖ Rubber / plastics / chemical /Food
process industry
❖ Biomedical Applications
❖ Electronic Warfare and Counter
Warfare
 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 waveguide.
 Waveguides
❖ Waveguides, like transmission lines, are
structures used to guide electromagnetic
waves from point to point.
❖ However, the fundamental characteristics of
waveguide and transmission line waves
(modes) are quite different.
❖ The differences in these modes result from the
basic differences in geometry for a
transmission line and a waveguide.
❖ Waveguides can be generally classified as
either metal waveguides or dielectric
waveguides.
❖ Metal waveguides normally take the form of
an enclosed conducting metal pipe. The
 Transmission line and Wave
guide
Transmission line
-1 Wave guide

Two or more Metal waveguides are

conductors separated typically one enclosed
by some insulating conductor filled with
medium (two-wire, an insulating medium.
coaxial, microstrip, etc.)

Normal operating mode Operating modes are

is the TEM or quasi- TE or TM modes
TEM mode (can (cannot support a TEM
support TE and TM mode).
modes but these modes
are typically
undesirable).
 Transmission line and Wave
guide -2
Transmission line Wave guide

No cutoff frequency Must operate the

for the TEM mode. waveguide at a
Transmission lines can frequency above the
transmit signals from respective TE or TM
DC up to high mode cutoff
frequency. frequency for that
mode to propagate.
Significant signal Lower signal
attenuation at high attenuation at high
frequencies due to frequencies than
conductor and transmission lines.
dielectric losses.
 Transmission line and Wave
guide -3
Transmission line Wave guide

Small cross-sectionMetal waveguides can

transmission lines (like transmit high power
coaxial cables) can only levels. The fields of the
transmit low power propagating wave are
levels due to thespread more
relatively high fields uniformly over a
concentrated at
larger cross-sectional
specific locationsarea than the small
within the device cross-section
transmission line.
Large cross-section Large cross-section
transmission lines can (low frequency)
transmit high power waveguides are
 Rectangular Waveguide

The walls of the waveguide are made of

ideal conductor and the medium filling
the waveguide is ideal dielectric.
❖ The waveguide is infinitely long,
oriented along the z-axis, and uniform
along its length.

❖ The waveguide is constructed from

ideal materials. [perfectly conducting
pipe (PEC) is filled with a perfect
insulator (lossless dielectric)].
❖ Fields are time-harmonic.
 General Wave Characteristics as
Defined
by Maxwell’s Equations
❖ Given any time-harmonic source of
electromagnetic radiation, the phasor electric
and magnetic fields associated with the
electromagnetic waves that propagate away
from the source through a medium
characterized by (μ,ε) must satisfy the source-
free Maxwell’s equations given by
 General Wave Characteristics as
Defined
by Maxwell’s Equations
❖ The source-free Maxwell’s equations can be
manipulated into wave equations for the
electric and magnetic fields. These wave
equations are

❖ where the wave number k is real-valued for

lossless media and complex valued for lossy
media.
 Types of modes in Wavegiide
❖ Transverse Magnetic (TM) wave: Here
only magnetic field is transverse to the
direction of propagation and the electric
field is not purely transverse.
(i.e.) Ez ≠ 0, Hz = 0.
❖ Transverse Electric (TE) wave: Here
only the electric field is purely
transverse to the direction of
propagation and the magnetic field is
not purely transverse.
(i.e.) Ez = 0, Hz ≠ 0.
 Analysis of TM modes
❖ The wave equation is to be solved for Ez with
appropriate boundary conditions. In
Cartesian co-ordinates the wave equation
for E z can be written as:

❖ The equation can be solved by the

separation of variables i.e. by assuming that
Ez is given as:

❖ The fields are assumed to be of sinusoidal

nature with an angular frequency ω.
 Analysis of TM modes
❖ Substituting this solution of Ez and re-
arranging the terms, the wave equation
becomes-

⚫ The first term is a function of x only, the

second term is a function of y only, the third
term is a function of z only and fourth term
is a constant.
⚫ Since the equation is to be satisfied for every
value of x,y, z in each term in equation must
be constant.
 Analysis of TM mode

where, A, B and β are real constants.

❖ The parameter β is commonly referred

as modal phase constant.
 Analysis of TM modes
❖ From the physical understanding of
reflection of waves from parallel conducting
boundaries we expect a standing wave kind of
behavior in x and y directions and a
travelling wave kind of behavior in z
direction.
❖ In any case, we expect a wave phenomenon in
x,y,z direction which can be properly
represented by putting a negative sign in front
of the constants A2, B 2 and β 2 .
❖ Instead of negative sign if the positive sign was
used the solutions will have real exponential
 Analysis of TM mode
❖ These equations can be re-written as:

❖ These equations are identical to the

transmission line equations.
 Analysis of TM mode
❖ The solution to these equations can be
appropriately written as:

❖ If we assume that waveguide is of infinite

length, we can take only one travelling wave
in +z-direction.
 Analysis of TM mode

Boundary condition 1:
Ez = 0 @ x = 0 leads to C1 = 0
Boundary condition 2:
Ez = 0 @ y = 0 leads to C3 = 0
The equation of E z now reduces to
Ez = C * sin(Ax) * sin(By) * e-jβz
 Analysis of TM mode
The equation of E z
Ez = C * sin(Ax) * sin(By) * e-jβz
Boundary condition 3:
Ez = 0 @ x = a leads to

Boundary condition 4:
Ez = 0 @ y = b leads to

where, m & n are integers.

 Analysis of TM mode
Substituting for A and B, we get the
solution for Ez as:

❖ One can get, the values of transverse

components Ex, Ey, Hx, Hy from
longitudinal components Ez and Hz.
❖ In case of TM mode, as Hz = 0, the all 4
transverse components can be obtained
from Ez only.
 Analysis of TM mode

where, h 2 is transverse propagation constant given

by-
Observations for TMmn Modes
❖ The fields existing in the discrete electric
and magnetic field pattern called modes of
waveguide.
❖ All field components vary sinusoidal in x and
y directions.
❖ All transverse fields go to zero if either m or
n is zero.
❖ Both the indices m and n have to be non-
zero for existence of the TM mode.
❖ TMm0 and TM 0n modes can not exist.
❖ Consequently, the lowest order mode which
can exist is mode TM11 mode.
 Analysis of TM mode
⚫ We started with ,
 Analysis of TM mode
Re-writing this expression,
-A2 - B 2 - β2 + ω2µε = 0
Also, we have,

which leads to,

 Analysis of TE Mode
❖ For TE mode, Ez = 0 and only Hz is
present, all 4 transverse components of
the field can be obtained from H z only.
❖ In the case of TM mode, the wave equation
was solved for Ez which was tangential to
all the four walls of the waveguides. We
therefore had boundary conditions on Ez.
❖ In the TE case however the independent
component Hz is tangential to the walls of
the waveguide which do not impose any
boundary conditions on Hz.
 Analysis of TE Mode
❖ One can note that for x=0 and x=a , (vertical
walls) and for y= 0 and y=b, (horizontal
walls) the tangential component of magnetic
field is maximum.
❖ Proceeding the analysis for TE mode similar to
TM mode, with knowledge that Hz is
maximum at the boundaries, one can obtain
the solution for Hz as:
 Analysis of TE Mode

Where, h2 is transverse propagation constant given by-

 Analysis of TE Mode
❖ The fields for the TE modes have similar behavior to
the fields of the TM modes i.e. they exist in the form
of discrete pattern.
❖ They have sinusoidal variations in x and y
directions, indices m and n represent number of
half cycles of the field amplitudes in x and y direction
respectively.
❖ Unlike TM mode both indices m and n need not be
non-zero for the existence of the TE mode.
❖ TE00 mode cannot exist but TEm0 and TE0n modes
can exist.
❖ The lowest order mode for the TE case therefore is
TE10 and TE 01 .
Phase constant of TE and TM mode

❖ For both TEmn and TMmn modes the

modal phase constant β is given by:

❖ For the mode to be travelling β has to be

a real quantity.
❖ If β becomes imaginary then the fields
no more remain travelling but become
exponentially decaying.
 Cut-off Frequency of TE and TM
mode
❖ The frequency at which β changes from
real to imaginary is called the cut-off
frequency of the mode. At cut-off
frequency, therefore β = 0 gives,
 Cut-off Frequency of TE and TM
mode
❖ The cut-off frequencies for lowest TM and TE
modes i.e. TM11, TE10 and TE01 can be obtained
as:
Cut-off Frequency of TE and TM
mode
❖ Since by definition we have a > b we get
the frequencies as-

❖ We can make an important observation

that, if at all the electromagnetic energy
travels on a rectangular waveguide its
frequency has to be more than the
lowest cut-off frequency i.e. fc of TE10
mode.
❖ As the order of the mode increases the
cut-off frequency also increases.
 Cut-off wavelength of
TE and TM mode
❖ The very first mode that propagates on the
rectangular waveguide is TE10 mode and
therefore this mode is called the dominant
mode of the rectangular waveguide.
❖ The cut-off wavelength is given by

❖ For dominant mode , λc=2a.

❖ For propagation of wave in the
waveguide
λ < λ c or f > f c
 Field Pattern
❖ The visualization of the modal fields is
important for identifying regions from where
fields can be tapped efficiently by the probes.
❖ The field probes are devices which can
induce fields inside a waveguide or extract
energy from the fields propagating inside the
waveguide.
❖ One can see from the modal field expression
that the fields are periodic over one guided
wavelength λg along the length of the
waveguide.
❖ So essentially one has to develop a three
dimensional picture of the fields only over a
 Waveguide Parameters

Guide Wavelength Wave Impedance

⚫ It is defined as the ⚫ It is defined as ratio of
distance travelled by strength of electric
the wave in order to field in one transverse
undergo a phase shift direction to the
of 2π radians. strength of magnetic
⚫ It is related to phase field along other
constant by the relation transverse direction.
λg = 2π / β
 Waveguide Parameters
Phase Velocity Group Velocity
✔ The phase velocity is ✔ The group velocity of
defined as the velocity a wave is defined as
with which the wave the rate at which the
changes phase in wave propagates
terms of the guide through the
wavelength waveguide.
✔ Vp = λg * f ✔ Vg = dω / dβ

The product of phase and group velocities is

equal to square of the velocity of light. i.e. v p * v g
= c2
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
 Example 4
⚫ Find the resonant frequencies of the dominant
mode of an air filled rectangular cavity of
dimensions 5cm x 4cm x 2.5cm.The dominant
mode for rectangular cavity resonator is TE101

⚫ Given a = 5 cm, b = 4 cm, d = 2.5 cm

Resonant frequency of TE and TM modes is
given by

f r = 6.71 GHz
Thank You