EEL 4410 FIELDS AND WAVES

Ch7 Plane Wave Propagation

ONLINE Nezih Pala, Florida International University
2 Ch7 Plane Wave Propagation
PART 2

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 Wave Polarization
3

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.

Plane wave propagating along +z : If:

with then

and the corresponding instantaneous field is

 Polarization State
4

Polarization state describes the trace of E as a function of time

at a fixed z
When characterizing an electric field at a given point in space, two of its attributes that are of
particular interest are its magnitude and direction. 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.

Inclination Angle

Magnitude of E
 Linear Polarization: or
5

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; cos 𝜃𝜃 + 𝜋𝜋 = − cos 𝜃𝜃

For the out-of-phase case, the field's magnitude is

E traces a line( in blue)
as the wave traverses
a fixed plane
and the inclination angle is
 Polarization Handedness
6

Polarization handedness is defined in terms of the rotation (of E as a function of

time in a fixed plane orthogonal to the direction of propagation, which is opposite
of the direction of rotation of E as a function of distance at a fixed point in time.

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 LH Circular Polarization:
7

For ax = ay = a and δ = π /2, the total electric field phasor and the
corresponding instantaneous field become

Remember
𝑒𝑒 𝑗𝑗𝜋𝜋/2 = 𝑗𝑗

The corresponding field magnitude and inclination angle are

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 RH Circular Polarization:
8

For ax = ay = a and δ = - π/2, we have

The trace of E(0, t) as a function of t is shown in upper figure.

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.

The lower figure depicts a right-hand circularly polarized

wave radiated by a helical antenna.
 Example 7-2: RHC Polarized Wave
9

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=
4ε0, µ=µ0, and σ = 0. If the frequency is 100 MHz, obtain
expressions for E(y, t) and H(y, t).
 Example 7-2: RHC Polarized Wave
10

Wave with electric field magnitude

of 3 (mV/m) traveling in the +y-
direction

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 Elliptical Polarization: General Case
11

Linear and circular polarizations are special cases of elliptical

Plane waves that are not linearly or circularly
polarized are elliptically polarized. That is, the
tip of E(z, t) traces an ellipse in the plane
perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
The shape of the ellipse and the field's
handedness (left-hand or right-hand) are
determined by the values of (ay/ax) and the
phase difference δ.

The polarization ellipse shown in the figure has its major axis with length aξ along the aξ -
direction and its minor axis with length aη along the η-direction. The rotation angle γ is defined
as the angle between the major axis of the ellipse and a reference direction, chosen here to be
the x-axis, with γ being bounded within the range -π/2 ≤ γ ≤ π/2. The shape of the ellipse and
its handedness are characterized by the ellipticity angle χ, defined as
𝑎𝑎𝜂𝜂 1 + for left-handed rotation
tan 𝜒𝜒 = ± =±
𝑎𝑎𝜉𝜉 𝑅𝑅 – for right-handed rotation
 Elliptical Polarization: General Case
12

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

Positive values of χ, corresponding to sin δ > 0, are associated with left-handed rotation, and
negative values of χ, corresponding to sin δ < 0, are associated with right-handed rotation.
 Wire-grid Polarizer
13

Electromagnetic waves which have a component of their electric fields aligned parallel
to the wires induce the movement of electrons along the length of the wires and the
wave is reflected backwards along the incident beam.
Waves with electric fields perpendicular to the wires, the electrons cannot move very far
across the width of each wire; therefore, little energy is reflected, and the incident wave
is able to pass through the grid.

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 Circular Polarizers
14

Circular polarizer involves placing a quarter-wave plate after a linear polarizer and
directing unpolarized light through the linear polarizer. The linearly polarized light leaving
the linear polarizer is transformed into circularly polarized light by the quarter wave plate.
The transmission axis of the linear polarizer needs to be half way (45°) between the fast
and slow axes of the quarter-wave plate.
Quarter-wave plate is made of a birefringent material. When in the wave plate, the light
travels at different speeds depending on the direction of its electric field. This means that
the horizontal component which is along the slow axis of the wave plate will travel at a
slower speed than the component that is directed along the vertical fast axis.
© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves
 Example 7-3: Polarization State
15

Determine the polarization state of a plane wave with electric field

 Example 7-3: Polarization State
16

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 Exercise
17
~
Exercise 7-6: If the electric field phasor of a TEM wave is given by E= (y - zj)e-jkx,
determine the polarization state.
Answer: RHC polarization.

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEL4410 Fields and Waves

 CD Modules 7.2 & 7.3 Polarization I & Polarization II
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Upon specifying the amplitudes and phases of the x- and y-components of E, the user can
observe the trace of E in the x-y plane (Module 7.2) as well as the 3-D profile of the E vector
over a specified length span (Module 7.3).
http://em.eecs.umich.edu/ch7/mod2/Polarization.html
 CD Modules 7.2 & 7.3 Polarization I & Polarization II
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http://em.eecs.umich.edu/ch7/mod3/Polarization2.html