Indraprastha Institute of

Information Technology Delhi ECE230

Lecture – 24 Date: 13.04.2015

• Reflection of Plane Wave at Oblique Incidence (Snells’

Law, Brewster’s Angle, Parallel Polarization,
Perpendicular Polarization etc.)
• Introduction to RF/Microwave
• Introduction to Transmission Lines
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Introduction
• One can’t expect plane waves to be incident normally on a plane in all
types of applications.
• Therefore one must consider the general problem of a plane wave
propagating along a specified axis that is arbitrarily located relative to a
rectangular coordinate system.
• The most general form of a plane wave in a
E (r , t )  E o cos(  .r  t )
lossless media is given by:
Where:    x aˆ x   y aˆ y   z aˆ z r  xaˆ x  yaˆ y  zaˆ z  2   x2   y2   z2

One can deduce Maxwell’s equations in the following form:

  E   H   H   E  .H  0  .E  0

They show two things: (i) 𝐸, 𝐻 and 𝛽 are

orthogonal, (ii) 𝐸 and 𝐻 lie on the same plane
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Introduction (contd.)
• Furthermore:  .r   x x   y y   z z  cons tan t

aˆ  E
• The corresponding magnetic field is: H  1   E  
 

Ray representation of Wavefront representation

oblique incidence of oblique incidence
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Reflection at Oblique Incidence

• The plane defined by the propagation vector 𝛽 and a unit normal vector
𝑎𝑛 to the boundary is called the plane of incidence.
• The angle between 𝛽 and 𝑎𝑛 is the angle of incidence.

E i  E io cos( ix x  iy y  iz z  it )

E r  E ro cos(  rx x   ry y   rz z  r t )
𝛽𝑟 𝛽𝑡
E t  E to cos( tx x  ty y  tz z  t t )

𝛽𝑖
Where: 𝛽𝑖 , 𝛽𝑟 and 𝛽𝑡 will have
normal and tangential
components to the plane of
incidence.
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Reflection at Oblique Incidence (contd.)

𝛽𝑟𝑧 = 𝛽1 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝑟
𝛽2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑡
𝛽1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑖
𝛽1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑟
𝛽𝑖𝑧 = 𝛽1 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝑖 𝛽𝑡𝑧 = 𝛽2 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝑡
• From boundary condition we can write: the tangential component of 𝐸
must be continuous at 𝑧 = 0.
E i tan ( z  0)  E r tan ( z  0)  E t tan ( z  0)

This boundary condition

can be satisfied if: i  r  t   ix   rx  tx   x iy   ry  ty   y

First condition implies that the frequency

remains unchanged.
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Reflection at Oblique Incidence (contd.)

• From second and third
conditions we can 𝛽1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑖 = 𝛽1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑟 𝛽1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑖 = 𝛽2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑡
write:
Where, 𝜃𝑟 is the angle of reflection and 𝜃𝑡 is
the angle of transmission.
• We know, for lossless media: 1   11  2   2 2

sin t 1 u2 11
𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃𝑟   
sin i  2 u1 2 2

n1 sin i  n2 sin t
Snell’s Law
𝑛1 and 𝑛2 are the
refractive indices of the
media
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Example – 1
A dielectric slab with index of refraction 𝑛2 is surrounded by a medium with
index of refraction 𝑛1 as shown. If 𝜃𝑖 < 𝜃𝑐 , show that the emerging beam is
parallel to the incident beam.
At the upper surface:
n1
sin  2  sin 1
n2

Similarly at the lower surface:

n n2
sin 3  2 sin  2 sin 3  sin  2
n3 n1
 n  n 
 sin 3   2  1  sin 1  sin 1
 n1  n2 

The slab displaces the beam’s position but the beam’s

direction remains unchanged.
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Reflection at Oblique Incidence (contd.)

• For normal incidence, the reflection and transmission coefficients Γ and 𝜏
at a boundary between two media are independent of the polarization of
the incident wave, as both the 𝐸 and 𝐻 of a normally incident plane wave
are tangential to the boundary regardless to the wave polarization.
• This is not the case for wave travelling at an angle 𝜃𝑖 ≠ 0 with respect to
the normal to the interface.
• A wave of arbitrary polarization may be described as the superposition of
two orthogonally polarized waves, one with its 𝐸 parallel to the plane of
incidence (parallel polarization or transverse magnetic (TM) polarization)
and the other with 𝐸 perpendicular to the plane of incidence
(perpendicular polarization or transverse electric (TE) polarization).
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Parallel Polarization
• Consider this figure: 𝐸 field lies in the xz-plane, the plane of incidence.
• It illustrates the case of “Parallel Polarization”.
𝐸𝑡
𝐸𝑟
𝐻𝑡
𝐻𝑟
• In medium 1 the incident waves
are:
𝐸𝑖 E is  E io (aˆ x cosi  aˆ z sin i )e  j1 ( x sin i  z cosi )

E io
H is  e  j1 ( x sin i  z cosi ) aˆ y
𝐻𝑖 1
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Parallel Polarization (contd.)

E rs  E ro (aˆ x cos r  aˆ z sin  r )e  j1 ( x sin r  z cosr )
• In medium 1 the
reflected waves are: E io
H rs   e  j1 ( x sin r  z cosr ) aˆ y
1

• The transmitted fields in medium 2 are given by:

E ts  E to (aˆ x cost  aˆ z sin t )e  j2 ( x sin t  z cost ) H ts 
E to
e  j2 ( x sin t  z cost ) aˆ y
2
• We know: 𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃𝑟 and tangential components of electric and magnetic
fields are continuous at the boundary z=0.
• Therefore:

 Eio  Ero  cosi  Eto cost 1

 Eio  Ero  
1
Eto
1 2
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Parallel Polarization (contd.)

• Simplification gives: Ero 2 cost  1 cosi Eto 22 cosi
||    ||  
Eio 2 cost  1 cosi Eio 2 cost  1 cosi

Fresnel’s Equations for parallel polarization

Ero 2  1 Eto 22

• For 𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃𝑡 = 0, we get: ||     ||   
Eio 2  1 Eio 2  1
• Furthermore, the expressions
for reflection coefficient and  u12  2
cost  1  sin t  1   2  sin i
2
transmission coefficient can be  u2 
written in terms of angle of
incidence.
 cost 
• In addition: 1  ||   ||  
 cos  i 
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Parallel Polarization (contd.)

• The reflection coefficient Γ|| equals zero when there is no reflection (only
the parallel component is not reflected), and the incident angle at which
this happens is called Brewster’s Angle 𝜃𝐵|| .
• The Brewster’s Angle is also known as polarizing angle.
• At this angle, the perpendicular component of 𝐸 will be reflected.
• Brewster’s concept is utilized in laser tube used in surgical procedures.

• For Brewster’s Angle,

2 cost  1 cos B|| 22 1  sin 2 t   12 1  sin 2  B|| 
set Γ|| = 0:

21 For a lossless and 1

1 sin 2  B|| 
1 2 nonmagnetic medium: 1
sin 2  B||  1
2
2
 
1  1 
 2  2 There is a Brewster Angle
sin  B|| 
 2  1 for any combination of 𝜀1
and 𝜀2 .
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Perpendicular Polarization
• The 𝐸 field is perpendicular to the plane of incidence (the xz-plane).
• In this situation we get “Perpendicular Polarization”.
• Here, 𝐻 field is parallel to the plane of incidence.

𝐻𝑟 𝐸𝑡 E is  E ioe  j1 ( x sin i  z cosi ) aˆ y

𝐸𝑟 𝐻𝑡 E rs  E ioe  j1 ( x sin r  z cosr ) aˆ y

E io
H is  (aˆ x cosi  aˆ z sin i )e  j1 ( x sin i  z cosi )
1
𝐸𝑖
𝐻𝑖 E ro
H rs  (aˆ x cos r  aˆ z sin  r )e  j1 ( x sin r  z cosr )
2
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Perpendicular Polarization (contd.)

• The transmitted fields in medium 2 are given by:
E to
E ts  E toe  j2 ( x sin t  z cost ) aˆ y H ts  (aˆ x cost  aˆ z sin t )e  j2 ( x sin t  z cost )
2
• Again, 𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃𝑟 and tangential components of electric and magnetic fields
are continuous at the boundary z=0.
• Therefore:
1 1
 Eio  Ero   Eto  Eio  Ero  cosi  Eto cost
1 2

• Simplification Ero 2 cosi  1 cost 1 1

  
Eio 2 cosi  1 cost
 Eio  Ero  cosi  Eto cost
gives: 1 2

Fresnel’s Equations for perpendicular polarization

Ero 2  1 Eto 22
• For 𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃𝑡 = 0, we get:        
Eio 2  1 Eio 2  1
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Perpendicular Polarization (contd.)

• Simplification for Brewster’s Angle in Perpendicular Polarization gives:
2 cos B   1 cost 22 1  sin 2  B    12 1  sin 2 t 

1 2 For nonmagnetic media,

1
21 𝜇1 = 𝜇2 = 𝜇0 and therefore: sin 2  B   
sin 2  B   2
 
1  1 
 2  Brewster’s Angle doesn’t exist
as sine of an angle is never
greater than unity
• If 𝜇1 ≠ 𝜇2 and 𝜀1 = 𝜀2 then:
1
sin 2  B   2 Theoretically
1 sin  B  
1 2  1 possible but rarely
2
occurs in practice
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Reflection at Oblique Incidence (contd.)

• The Brewster’s Angle is also called Polarizing Angle.
• This is because if a wave composed of both the perpendicular and parallel
polarization components is incident on a nonmagnetic surface at the
Brewster angle 𝜃𝐵|| , the parallel polarized component totally transmitted
into the second medium and only the perpendicularly polarized
component is reflected by the surface.
• Natural light, including sunlight and light generated by most manufactured
sources, is 𝑢𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 because it consists of equal parallel and
perpendicular rays. When they are incident upon a surface at the Brewster
angle, the reflected wave is strictly perpendicularly polarized. Hence the
surface acts as a polarizer.
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Example – 2
• A wave in air is incident upon a soil surface at 𝜃𝑖 = 50°. If soil has 𝜀𝑟 = 4
and 𝜇𝑟 = 1, determine the following:

  ||  || The Brewster angle

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Applications of RF/Microwaves
• The use of RF/microwaves has greatly expanded.
• Examples include telecommunications, radio astronomy, land surveying,
radar, meteorology, UHF television, terrestrial microwave links, solid-state
devices, heating, medicine, and identification systems.
• Features that make microwaves attractive for communications include
wide available bandwidths (capacities to carry information) and directive
properties for short wavelengths.
• Currently, there are three main techniques to carry energy over long
distances: (a) microwave links, (b) coaxial cables, and (c) fibre optics.
• A microwave system normally consists of a transmitter (including a
microwave oscillator, waveguides, amplifiers, and transmitting antenna)
and a receiver subsystem (including a receiver antenna, transmission line
or waveguide, and amplifiers).
• A microwave network is usually an interconnection of various microwave
components and devices.
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Applications of RF/Microwaves (contd.)

• Common microwave components include:
• Coaxial cables, which are transmission lines for interconnecting microwave
components.
• Waveguide sections, which may be straight, curved, or twisted.
• Antenna, which transmit or receive EM waves efficiently.
• Terminators, which are designed to absorb the input power and therefore
acts as one port network.
• Attenuators, which are designed to absorb some of the EM power passing
through the device, thereby decreasing the power level of the microwave
signal.
• Directional couplers, with a mechanism to couple between different ports.
• Isolators, which allow energy flow in only one direction.
• Circulators, which are designed to establish various entry/exit points
where power can be either fed or extracted.
• Filters, which suppress unwanted signals and/or separate signals of
different frequencies.
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RF/Microwave Circuit
• A microwave circuit consists of microwave components such as sources,
transmission lines, waveguides, attenuators, circulators, and filters.
• One way of analyzing, such circuits, are to relate the input and output
variables of each component.
• At RF/microwave frequencies, where current and voltage are not well
defined, it is a common practice to use S-parameters for analysis.
• S-parameters are defined in terms of wave variables which are more easily
measurable at high frequencies than voltage and current.
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RF/Microwave Circuit (contd.)

• Let us consider following 2-port network:

• The traveling waves are related to the S-parameters as:

b1  S11a1  S12 a2 b2  S21a1  S22 a2

where, 𝑎1 and 𝑎2 are incident waves at port 1 and

2 respectively; while 𝑏1 and 𝑏2 represent the
reflected waves.
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RF/Microwave Circuit (contd.)

• In matrix form:  b1   S11 S12   a1 
b    S  a 
 2   21 22   2 
S

The off-diagonal terms represent transmission coefficients, while

the diagonal terms represent reflection coefficients.

• If the network is reciprocal, it will have the same transmission

characteristic in either direction.
S12  S21

• If the network is symmetric, then: S11  S22

• For matched two port network: S11  S22  0

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RF/Microwave Circuit (contd.)

Γ𝐿

• The input reflection coefficient in terms of the S-parameters and the load
𝑍𝐿 :
b1 S S 
i   S11  12 21 L
a1 1  S22 L
Z L  Zo
L 
Z L  Zo
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RF/Microwave Circuit (contd.)

• Similarly, the output reflection coefficient (with 𝑉𝑔 = 0) can be expressed
in terms of the generator impedance 𝑍𝑔 :

b2 S12 S21 g
 o   S22 
a2 1  S11 g
Z g  Z in
g 
Z g  Z in
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Example – 3
• S-parameters are obtained for a microwave transistor operating at 2.5
GHz: 𝑆11 = 0.85 < −30°, 𝑆12 = 0.07 < 56°, 𝑆21 = 1.68 < 120°, 𝑆22 =
0.85 < −40°. Determine the input reflection coefficient when 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑍𝑜 =
75Ω.
Z L  Zo
L  0
Z L  Zo

S12 S21 L
i  S11   S11  0.85  30
1  S22 L
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Waveguiding Structure
• A waveguiding structure is one that carries a wave (or power) from one
point to another.
• There are three common types:

• Fiber-optic guides
• Waveguides
• Transmission lines

Note: An alternative to waveguiding structures is wireless

transmission using antennas.
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Fiber-Optic Guides
Properties
• Can propagate a signal at any frequency (in theory)
• Can be made very low loss
• Has minimal signal distortion
• Very immune to interference
• Not suitable for high power
• Has both Ez and Hz components of the fields
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Waveguides
Properties
• Has a single hollow metal pipe
• Can propagate a signal only at high frequency:  > c
• The width must be at least one-half of a wavelength
• Has signal distortion, even in the lossless case
• Immune to interference
• Can handle large amounts of power
• Has low loss (compared with a transmission line)
• Has either Ez or Hz component of the fields (TMz or TEz)
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Transmission Line
Properties
• Has two conductors running in parallel
• Can propagate a signal at any frequency (in theory)
• Becomes lossy at high frequency
• Can handle low or moderate amounts of power
• Does not have signal distortion, unless there is loss
• May or may not be immune to interference
• Does not have Ez or Hz components of the fields (TEMz)

Twin lead
Coaxial cable (coax) (shown connected to a impedance-
transforming balun)
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Transmission Line (contd.)

CAT 5 cable
(twisted pair)

The two wires of the transmission line are twisted to reduce

interference and radiation from discontinuities.
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Transmission Line (contd.)

Transmission lines commonly used on printed-circuit boards

w
r
h
r h w

Microstrip Stripline

w w w

r h r h

Coplanar strips Coplanar waveguide (CPW)

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Transmission Line (contd.)

Transmission lines commonly used on printed-circuit boards

Microstrip line

A microwave integrated circuit

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Transmission Line Theory

• Lumped circuits: resistors, capacitors, inductors

neglect time delays (phase)

• Distributed circuit elements: transmission lines

account for propagation and time

delays (phase change)

We need transmission-line theory whenever the length of a

line is significant compared with a wavelength.
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Transmission Line Theory (contd.)

2 conductors

4 per-unit-length parameters:

C = capacitance/length [F/m]
L = inductance/length [H/m]
R = resistance/length [/m] Dz
G = conductance/length [S/m]
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Transmission Line Theory (contd.)

i  z, t 

B x x x +++++++
----------
v  z, t 

Dz

i(z,t) RDz LDz i(z+Dz,t)

+ +

v(z,t) GDz CDz v(z+Dz,t)

- -
z
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Using Transmission Lines to Synthesize Impedances

• This is very useful is RF/microwave engineering.

A microwave filter constructed from microstrip.

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Using Transmission Lines to Synthesize Impedances (contd.)

• A lossless transmission line terminated in load impedance 𝑍𝐿
I(-l )

+
Z0 ,  V(-l ) ZL
-
l
Z  
A Matched load: (ZL=Z0)
Z L  Z0
L  0 No reflection from the load
Z L  Z0
 V   0e
 V   j
 Z    Z0
V0  j
I    e For any l
Z0
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Using Transmission Lines to Synthesize Impedances (contd.)
B Short circuit load: (ZL = 0)
Z0 , 
0  Z0
L   1
0  Z0 l

 Z   jZ 0 tan   
Always imaginary!  Z   jX sc
Note:   2
 X sc  Z0 tan   
XSC

inductive
S.C. can become an O.C.
/ g with a /4 trans. line
0 1/4 1/2 3/4

capacitive