Waveguides

A waveguide is a special form of transmission line consisting of a hollow, metal tube.

The tube wall provides distributed inductance, while the empty space between the
tube walls provide distributed capacitance: Figure below

Wave guides conduct microwave energy at lower loss than coaxial cables.

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.

When functioning as transmission lines, though, waveguides are considerably simpler

than two-conductor cables—especially coaxial cables—in their manufacture and
maintenance. With only a single conductor (the waveguide’s “shell”), there are no
concerns with proper conductor-to-conductor spacing, or of the consistency of the
dielectric material, since the only dielectric in a waveguide is air. Moisture is not as
severe a problem in waveguides as it is within coaxial cables, either, and so
waveguides are often spared the necessity of gas “filling.”

Waveguides may be thought of as conduits for electromagnetic energy, the

waveguide itself acting as nothing more than a “director” of the energy rather than as
a signal conductor in the normal sense of the word. In a sense, all transmission lines
function as conduits of electromagnetic energy when transporting pulses or high-
frequency waves, directing the waves as the banks of a river direct a tidal wave.
However, because waveguides are single-conductor elements, the propagation of
electrical energy down a waveguide is of a very different nature than the propagation
of electrical energy down a two-conductor transmission line.

All electromagnetic waves consist of electric and magnetic fields propagating in the
same direction of travel, but perpendicular to each other. Along the length of a normal
transmission line, both electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular (transverse) to
the direction of wave travel. This is known as the principal mode,
orTEM (Transverse Electric and Magnetic) mode. This mode of wave propagation can
exist only where there are two conductors, and it is the dominant mode of wave
propagation where the cross-sectional dimensions of the transmission line are small
compared to the wavelength of the signal. (Figure below)

Twin lead transmission line propagation: TEM mode.

At microwave signal frequencies (between 100 MHz and 300 GHz), two-conductor
transmission lines of any substantial length operating in standard TEM mode become
impractical. Lines small enough in cross-sectional dimension to maintain TEM mode
signal propagation for microwave signals tend to have low voltage ratings, and suffer
from large, parasitic power losses due to conductor “skin” and dielectric effects.
Fortunately, though, at these short wavelengths there exist other modes of
propagation that are not as “lossy,” if a conductive tube is used rather than two
parallel conductors. It is at these high frequencies that waveguides become practical.

When an electromagnetic wave propagates down a hollow tube, only one of the fields
—either electric or magnetic—will actually be transverse to the wave’s direction of
travel. The other field will “loop” longitudinally to the direction of travel, but still be
perpendicular to the other field. Whichever field remains transverse to the direction of
travel determines whether the wave propagates in TE mode (TransverseElectric)
or TM (Transverse Magnetic) mode. (Figure below)

Waveguide (TE) transverse electric and (TM) transverse magnetic modes.

Many variations of each mode exist for a given waveguide, and a full discussion of
this is subject well beyond the scope of this book.

Signals are typically introduced to and extracted from waveguides by means of small
antenna-like coupling devices inserted into the waveguide. Sometimes these coupling
elements take the form of a dipole, which is nothing more than two open-ended stub
wires of appropriate length. Other times, the coupler is a single stub (a half-dipole,
similar in principle to a “whip” antenna, 1/4λ in physical length), or a short loop of wire
terminated on the inside surface of the waveguide: (Figure below)

Stub and loop coupling to waveguide.

In some cases, such as a class of vacuum tube devices called inductive output

tubes (the so-called klystrontube falls into this category), a “cavity” formed of
conductive material may intercept electromagnetic energy from a modulated beam of
electrons, having no contact with the beam itself: (Figure below below)
Klystron inductive output tube.

Just as transmission lines are able to function as resonant elements in a circuit,

especially when terminated by a short-circuit or an open-circuit, a dead-ended
waveguide may also resonate at particular frequencies. When used as such, the
device is called a cavity resonator. Inductive output tubes use toroid-shaped cavity
resonators to maximize the power transfer efficiency between the electron beam and
the output cable.

A cavity’s resonant frequency may be altered by changing its physical dimensions. To

this end, cavities with movable plates, screws, and other mechanical elements for
tuning are manufactured to provide coarse resonant frequency adjustment.

If a resonant cavity is made open on one end, it functions as a unidirectional antenna.

The following photograph shows a home-made waveguide formed from a tin can,
used as an antenna for a 2.4 GHz signal in an “802.11b” computer communication
network. The coupling element is a quarter-wave stub: nothing more than a piece of
solid copper wire about 1-1/4 inches in length extending from the center of a coaxial
cable connector penetrating the side of the can: (Figure below)
Can-tenna illustrates stub coupling to waveguide.

A few more tin-can antennae may be seen in the background, one of them a
“Pringles” potato chip can. Although this can is of cardboard (paper) construction, its
metallic inner lining provides the necessary conductivity to function as a waveguide.
Some of the cans in the background still have their plastic lids in place. The plastic,
being nonconductive, does not interfere with the RF signal, but functions as a physical
barrier to prevent rain, snow, dust, and other physical contaminants from entering the
waveguide. “Real” waveguide antennae use similar barriers to physically enclose the
tube, yet allow electromagnetic energy to pass unimpeded.

 REVIEW:
 Waveguides are metal tubes functioning as “conduits” for carrying
electromagnetic waves. They are practical only for signals of extremely high
frequency, where the signal wavelength approaches the cross-sectional
dimensions of the waveguide.
 Wave propagation through a waveguide may be classified into two broad
categories: TE (Transverse Electric), or TM (Transverse Magnetic), depending
on which field (electric or magnetic) is perpendicular (transverse) to the direction
of wave travel. Wave travel along a standard, two-conductor transmission line is
 of the TEM (Transverse Electric and Magnetic) mode, where both fields are
oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel. TEM mode is only possible with
two conductors and cannot exist in a waveguide.
 A dead-ended waveguide serving as a resonant element in a microwave circuit is
called a cavity resonator.
 A cavity resonator with an open end functions as a unidirectional antenna,
sending or receiving RF energy to/from the direction of the open end.

The Magnetron
The microwave radiation of microwave ovens and some radar applications is
produced by a device called a magnetron.

The magnetron is called a "crossed-field" device in the industry because

both magnetic andelectric fields are employed in its operation, and they are produced
in perpendicular directions so that they cross. The applied magnetic field is constant
and applied along the axis of the circular device illustrated. The power to the device is
applied to the center cathode which is heated to supply energetic electrons which
would, in the absence of the magnetic field, tend to move radially outward to the ring
anode which surrounds it.
Electrons are released at the center hot cathode by the process of thermionic emission
and have an accelerating field which moves them outward toward the anode. The axial
magnetic field exerts a magnetic force on these charges which is perpendicular to their
initially radial motion, and they tend to be swept around the circle. In this way, work
is done on the charges and therefore energy from the power supply is given to them.
As these electrons sweep toward a point where there is excess negative charge, that
charge tends to be pushed back around the cavity, imparting energy to the oscillation
at the natural frequency of the cavity. This driven oscillation of the charges around the
cavities leads to radiation of electromagnetic waves, the output of the magnetron.
 Physical construction of a magnetron
The magnetron is classed as a diode because it has no grid. The anode of a
magnetron is fabricated into a cylindrical solid copper block. The cathode
and filament are at the centre of the tube and are supported by the filament
leads. The filament leads are large and rigid enough to keep the cathode and
filament structure fixed in position. The cathode is indirectly heated and is
constructed of a high-emission material. The 8 up to 20 cylindrical holes
around its circumference are resonant cavities. A narrow slot runs from each
cavity into the central portion of the tube dividing the inner structure into as
many segments as there are cavities. Each cavitiy work like a parallel
resonant circuit. As depicted in figure 3 by the low frequency analogue, the
rear wall of the structure of the anode bloc may be considered to as the
inductive portion (a coil with a single turn). The vane tip region may be
considered as the capacitor portion of the equivalent parallel resonant circuit.
The resonant frequency of a microwave cavity is thereby determined by the
physical dimension of the resonator. If a single resonant cavity oscillates,
then it excites the next one to oscillate too. This one oscillates at a phase
delay of 180 degrees and excites the next resonant cavity, and so on. From
a resonant cavity to the next always occurs this delay of 180 degrees. The
chain of resonators thus form a slow-wave structure which is closed in itself.
Because of this slow-wave structure, this design is also called “Multi-cavity
Travelling Wave Magnetron” in some publications.