Lecture 2

Type of Microwave Transmission Lines

1. Multiconductor Line
(a) Co-axial lines
(b) Strip and microstrip line
(c) Slot line
(d) Coplanar lines.

2. Single Conductor Line or Waveguide

(a) Rectangular waveguide
(b) Circular waveguide

3. Open-boundary structure
(a) Dielectric rod
(b) Open waveguide.

Mode of Propagation (Waveguide Modes)

1- TEM Mode (Transverse Electromagnetic Mode).
2- TE Mode (Transverse Electric Mode).
3- TM Mode (Transverse Magnetic Mode).
4- HE Mode (Hybrid Mode).

Dominant Mode: The dominant mode in a particular waveguide is the mode having the lowest cut-off
frequency (highest cut-off wavelength).

There are two types of modes in waveguides.

1- Transverse Electric (TE) Mode. In transverse electric mode there is no electric field the
component in the direction of propagation, i.e., electric field lines are entirely transverse to the
direction of propagation whereas a magnetic field has a component in the direction of
propagation. If z is the direction of propagation as shown in Fig. 6. Ez = 0, Hz ̸= 0

2- Transverse Magnetic (TM) Mode. In transverse magnetic mode there is no magnetic field
component in the direction of propagation, i.e., magnetic field lines are entirely transverse to
the direction of propagation whereas an electric field has a component in the the direction of
propagation. The magnetic field is always parallel to the surface of the conductor.
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➢ Conventional open wire line is not suitable for microwave transmission due to high radiation loss.
➢ Mode of propagation in coaxial line is TEM.
➢ Mode of propagation in the waveguide is TE or TM.
➢ Open-boundary structure support HE mode.

➢ Electric field line touches the nearest conductor at the right angle.
➢ Magnetic field lines will be in form of a circular loop around the current-carrying conductor

➢ The mode of propagation in the microstrip line is quasi-TEM.

➢ The coaxial line field lines are confined between the two conductors so radiation loss will be
minimum.
➢ Strip line and microstrip line are planar transmission lines.
➢ Strip line has low radiation loss.
➢ Strip line has symmetrical configuration

➢ At microwave frequencies (above 1 GHz), the losses in the two-wire transmission system will be
very high; hence, it cannot be used at microwave frequencies.
➢ Hence microwave signals are propagated through the waveguide in order to minimize losses.
➢ The walls of the waveguide are usually made of copper alloy (generally brass) or aluminium.
➢ The inside surface of the waveguide is coated with a thin layer of either gold or silver in order to
improve the conductivity of the walls and to ensure that the inside surface is smooth which reduces
the losses inside the waveguide.
➢ Waveguide is a hollow conducting tube.
➢ Materials generally preferred for waveguides are brass and aluminium.

➢ Possible electric and magnetic field configurations or field patterns inside the waveguides are
known as modes of propagation.
➢ Electric field must always be perpendicular to the surface of the conductor.
➢ Subscript ‘m′ represents the no. of half wave variations of field across the wider dimension ‘a ′.
➢ Subscript ‘n ′ represents the no. of half wave variations of field across the narrow dimension ‘b ′.

➢ Electromagnetic waves propagate in waveguide through multiple reflections.

➢ The propagating wavelength inside the guide is called the guide wavelength.
➢ Waveguide may consider as high pass filter.