2021-03-27

Electromagnetics II (ELCN305)
Lecture 1: Rectangular Waveguide 1

Electronics and Electrical Communications Department

Faculty of Engineering
Cairo University

Outline

• Introduction.
• Course outline.
• A quick revision
• Rectangular Waveguide
• Field equations.
• Impedance, guided wavelength and velocity.
• Dispersion relation & cutoff frequencies.
• Conclusion
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Introduction
• Instructor: Dr. Mohamed Nasr. Grading
• Email: m.nasr@eng.cu.edu.eg
• Office: 8210 (waves group). 10%
5%

10% 40%
• Office hours: (Wed) by appointment. 10%

• Midterm: 5th week (in lecture). 25%

• Subject code(Blackboard): ELCN305-1. Final Exam Midterm Attendance

• Course enrollment code: ******. Project Quizzes Assignment

• Textbook: David Pozar, “Microwave Engineering”, 4th edition.

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Course outline
• Revision.
• Rectangular waveguides (Ch.3).
• Circular waveguides (Ch.3).
• Cavity resonators (Ch.6).
• Dielectric slab waveguides (Ch.3).
• Ferrites.
• Network (Scattering) Parameters (Ch.4)
• Microwave power splitters and combiners (Ch.7).

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A quick revision.
• Studied before:
✓ TEM wave propagation in space.
✓Transmission line theory and model.
✓ Matching and Smith chart.

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A quick revision.
• What are the characteristics of TEM waves and lines?

• Can the coaxial T.L. be used at high frequencies?

• Is it possible to have a one conductor T.L. that is efficient at high

frequencies?

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A quick revision.
• Maxwell equations has the answer!

∇ × 𝐸 = −𝑗𝜔𝐵 Remember that:

∇ × 𝐻 = 𝐽 + 𝑗𝜔𝐷 𝐵 =∇×𝐴
This means:
∇. 𝐷 = 𝜌𝑣𝑓 𝐸 = −∇𝜑 − 𝑗𝜔𝐴.
∇. 𝐵 = 0

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A quick revision.
• The two curl equations may be decoupled as:
∇ × ∇ × 𝐸 = −𝑗𝜔𝜇 ∇ × 𝐻 .

∇ ∇. 𝐸 − ∇2 𝐸 = −𝑗𝜔𝜇 𝐽 + 𝑗𝜔𝐷 .

∇2 𝐸 = −𝜔2 𝜇𝜀𝐸.
∇2 𝐸 + 𝑘 2 𝐸 = 0 & ∇2 𝐻 + 𝑘 2 𝐻 = 0

• This applies to any source free propagation.

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A quick revision.
• Assuming a TEM plane wave propagating along Z-direction, the vector
equation may be turned into:
𝜕 2 𝐸𝑥 𝜕 2 𝐸𝑦
+ 𝑘 2 𝐸𝑥 = 0 & + 𝑘 2 𝐸𝑦 = 0
𝜕𝑧 2 𝜕𝑧 2
𝐸𝑧 = 0
• Solving the equation, we obtain the general solution:
𝐸𝑥 𝑧, 𝑡 = 𝐴 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝑧 + 𝐵 𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝑧
𝑦

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Rectangular waveguide
• Rectangular waveguide is a metal tube of rectangular cross-section.
It can be dielectric-filled.
𝑌
• The value of transversal 𝐸 cannot be constant.
𝑋

𝑑𝐸𝑦 𝑑𝐸𝑥
≠0 & ≠0 𝑏 𝐸
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦
𝑎
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Rectangular waveguide
In general, the field in Z-direction is :
𝐸𝑧 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 = g(x) h(y) f(z).

𝜕 2 (g(x) h(y) f(z)) 𝜕 2 (g(x) h(y) f(z)) 𝜕 2 (g(x) h(y) f(z))

2
+ 2
+ 2
+ 𝑘 2 g(x) h(y) f(z) = 0
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
2
−𝑘𝑥 2 −𝑘 𝑦
1 𝜕 2 (g(x)) 1 𝜕 2 (h(y)) 1 𝜕 2 (f(z)) 2 𝑘𝑥 2 + 𝑘𝑦 2 = 𝑘𝑐 2
+ + + 𝑘 = 0
g(x) 𝜕𝑥 2 h(y) 𝜕𝑦 2 𝑓 𝑧 𝜕𝑧 2
𝛽2
𝜕 2 (f(z))
+ (𝑘 2 −𝑘𝑐 2 )𝑓(𝑧) = 0 𝑓 𝑧 = 𝐴𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧 + 𝐵𝑒 𝑗𝛽𝑧
𝜕𝑧 2
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Rectangular waveguide.
• Applying separation of variables on x and y gives:

1 𝜕 2 (𝑔 𝑥 ) 1 𝜕 2 (ℎ(𝑦))
2
+ 2
+ 𝑘𝑥 2 + 𝑘𝑦 2 = 0
𝑔(𝑥) 𝜕𝑥 ℎ(𝑦) 𝜕𝑦

which can be separated as two equations in y and x:

𝑔 𝑥 = 𝐴 cos 𝑘𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐵 sin 𝑘𝑥 𝑥 .

ℎ 𝑦 = 𝐶 cos 𝑘𝑦 𝑦 + 𝐷 sin 𝑘𝑦 𝑦 .

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Rectangular waveguide.
If we assume 𝐸𝑧 ≠ 0 and 𝐻𝑧 = 0 : 𝑇𝑀𝑚𝑛
𝑔 𝑥 = 𝐴 cos 𝑘𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐵 sin 𝑘𝑥 𝑥 . E-wave
ℎ 𝑦 = 𝐶 cos 𝑘𝑦 𝑦 + 𝐷 sin 𝑘𝑦 𝑦 . 𝒚

Applying B.C.: 𝑔 𝑥 = 0 @ 𝑥 = 0, 𝑎. 𝑬𝒛
ℎ 𝑦 = 0 @ 𝑦 = 0, 𝑏.
𝑚𝜋
𝑔 𝑥 = 𝐵 sin 𝑥 , 𝑚 is a nonzero integer.
𝑎
𝑛𝜋
ℎ 𝑦 = 𝐷 sin , 𝑦 𝑛 is a nonzero integer. 𝒙
∞ ∞ 𝑏
𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐸𝑧 = ෍ ෍ 𝐵𝑚𝑛 sin 𝑥 sin 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧 . 𝒛
𝑎 𝑏
𝑚=1 𝑛=1
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Rectangular waveguide.
If we assume 𝐻𝑧 ≠ 0 and 𝐸𝑧 = 0 : 𝑇𝐸𝑚𝑛
g 𝑥 = 𝐴 cos 𝑘𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐵 sin 𝑘𝑥 𝑥 . H-wave
h 𝑦 = 𝐶 cos 𝑘𝑦 𝑦 + 𝐷 sin 𝑘𝑦 𝑦 . 𝒚

Applying B.C.: 𝑔′ 𝑥 = 0 @ 𝑥 = 0, 𝑎. 𝑯𝒛
ℎ′ 𝑦 = 0 @ 𝑦 = 0, 𝑏. b
𝑚𝜋
𝑔 𝑥 = 𝐴 cos 𝑥 , 𝑚 is an integer.
𝑎
𝑛𝜋
ℎ 𝑦 = 𝐶 cos 𝑦 ,
𝑛 is an integer. 𝒙
∞ ∞ 𝑏
𝒂
𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐻𝑧 = ෍ ෍ 𝐵𝑚𝑛 cos 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧 . 𝒛
𝑎 𝑏
𝑚=1 𝑛=0 14
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Rectangular waveguide.
• The total field in z-direction is a series summation. Each element in the series
represents a mode with specific value for the constants (𝑘𝑥 , 𝑘𝑦 , 𝑘𝑐 ) :
𝑘𝑐 2 = 𝑘𝑥 2 + 𝑘𝑦 2

• The specific value of 𝑘𝑐 corresponds to a specific 𝛽 at a given frequency. The

mode propagates only if 𝛽 is real; otherwise, the mode is evanescent.

• 𝑘 ≥ 𝑘𝑐 is a condition for the propagation of the mode. The operating frequency

has to be higher than the cutoff frequency of the mode 𝑓𝑐 :
wave velocity in 𝑣 𝑘𝑐
unguided medium 𝑓𝑐 =
2𝜋
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Rectangular waveguide.
After obtaining the longitudinal fields, transversal may be obtained as:
𝒚

ෞ𝑧 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧 .
𝐸 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 = 𝐸𝑡𝑟. 𝑥, 𝑦 + 𝐸𝑧 𝑎

ෞ𝑧 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧 .
𝐻 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 = 𝐻𝑡𝑟. 𝑥, 𝑦 + 𝐻𝑧 𝑎

∇ × 𝐸 = −𝑗𝜔𝐵 𝒙
ቑ Curl is expanded in cartesian coordinates
∇ × 𝐻 = 𝑗𝜔𝜀𝐸 𝒛

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Rectangular waveguide.

𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐻𝑧 𝒚
+ 𝑗𝛽𝐸𝑦 = −𝑗𝜔𝜇𝐻𝑥 + 𝑗𝛽𝐻𝑦 = 𝑗𝜔𝜀𝐸𝑥
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐻𝑧
+ 𝑗𝛽𝐸𝑥 = 𝑗𝜔𝜇𝐻𝑦 + 𝑗𝛽𝐻𝑥 = −𝑗𝜔𝜀𝐸𝑦
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥

𝜕𝐸𝑦 𝜕𝐸𝑥 𝜕𝐻𝑦 𝜕𝐻𝑥

− = −𝑗𝜔𝜇𝐻𝑧 − = 𝑗𝜔𝜀𝐸𝑧 𝒙
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝒛

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Rectangular waveguide.
• The transverse components in terms of longitudinal components:
𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐻𝑧 𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐻𝑧
𝑘𝑐2 𝐸𝑥 = −𝑗 𝛽 + 𝜔𝜇 . 𝑘𝑐2 𝐻𝑥 = 𝑗 𝜔𝜀 −𝛽 .
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥
𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐻𝑧 𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐻𝑧
𝑘𝑐2 𝐸𝑦 = 𝑗 −𝛽 + 𝜔𝜇 . 𝑘𝑐2 𝐻𝑦 = −𝑗 𝜔𝜀 +𝛽 .
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

• The dominant mode is the mode that has the lowest cutoff frequency.

• The waveguide is normally operated on dominant mode only or it is

called overmoded.

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Rectangular waveguide.
• For the 𝑇𝐸𝑚𝑛 wave (𝐸𝑧 = 0): 𝑇𝐸𝑚𝑛
𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 H-wave
𝐻𝑧 = 𝐵𝑚𝑛 cos 𝑎
𝑥 cos 𝑏
𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛 𝑧 .

𝑗𝜔𝜇𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐸𝑥 = 𝐵𝑚𝑛 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛𝑧 = 𝑍𝑇𝐸 𝐻𝑦 .
𝑘𝑐 2 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏 𝜔𝜇
−𝑗𝜔𝜇𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝛽𝑚𝑛
𝐸𝑦 = 2 𝐵𝑚𝑛 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛𝑧 = −𝑍𝑇𝐸 𝐻𝑥 .
𝑘𝑐 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏

𝐶 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝛽𝑚𝑛 = 𝑘 2 − 𝑘𝑐𝑚𝑛 2 = 𝑘 2 − 𝑘𝑥𝑚 2 − 𝑘𝑦𝑛 2 . 𝑓𝑐 = ( )2 +( )2
2𝜋 𝑎 𝑏

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Rectangular waveguide.
• For the 𝑇𝑀𝑚𝑛 wave (𝐻𝑧 = 0): 𝑇𝑀𝑚𝑛
𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛 𝑧 E-wave
𝐸𝑧 = 𝐵𝑚𝑛 sin 𝑎
𝑥 sin 𝑏
𝑦 𝑒 .

−𝑗𝛽𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋 𝛽𝑚𝑛
𝐸𝑥 = 𝐵𝑚𝑛 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛𝑧 = 𝑍𝑇𝑀 𝐻𝑦 . 𝜔𝜀
𝑘𝑐 2 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏
−𝑗𝛽𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐸𝑦 = 2 𝐵𝑚𝑛 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛𝑧 = −𝑍𝑇𝑀 𝐻𝑥 .
𝑘𝑐 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏

𝑚𝜋 2 𝑛𝜋 2 𝐶 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝛽𝑚𝑛 = 𝑘 2 − 𝑘𝑐𝑚𝑛 2 = 𝑘2 − ( ) −( ) . 𝑓𝑐 = ( )2 +( )2
𝑎 𝑏 2𝜋 𝑎 𝑏

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Rectangular waveguide.
• Having 𝛽𝑚𝑛 of the mode, the guided wavelength can be obtained:
2𝜋
𝜆𝑔,𝑚𝑛 =
𝛽𝑚𝑛

• The phase and group velocities can be obtained as:

𝜔 𝑑𝜔
𝑣𝑝ℎ = & 𝑣𝑔𝑟 =
𝛽𝑚𝑛 𝑑𝛽𝑚𝑛

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Rectangular waveguide.
• In the rectangular waveguide, 𝑇𝐸10 mode normally has the lowest
cutoff frequency making it the dominant mode.

• 𝑇𝐸10 field equations are:

𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐻𝑧 = 𝐵𝑚𝑛 cos 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛 𝑧 .
𝑎 𝑏
𝑗𝜔𝜇𝑛𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐸𝑥 = 𝐵𝑚𝑛 cos 𝑥 sin 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛 𝑧 = 𝑍𝑇𝐸 𝐻𝑦 .
𝑘𝑐 2 𝑏 𝑎 𝑏
−𝑗𝜔𝜇𝑚𝜋 𝑚𝜋 𝑛𝜋
𝐸𝑦 = 2 𝐵𝑚𝑛 sin 𝑥 cos 𝑦 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑚𝑛 𝑧 = −𝑍𝑇𝐸 𝐻𝑥 .
𝑘𝑐 𝑎 𝑎 𝑏
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Conclusion
• Waveguides are used at microwave frequency due to its reduced losses with
respect to other transmission lines like coaxial cables.

• Solving Helmholtz equation and applying boundary conditions is necessary to

obtain the field distribution inside the waveguide. These solutions are called
modes.

• Waveguides carry TE and TM modes, not TEM. Each mode starts propagation
when frequency of operation is greater than the mode’s cutoff frequency.

• Waveguides are normally operated in dominant mode where only 1 mode carries
the information.
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