WAVEGUIDES

JOHN EMMANUEL GAA

ALLEN DAVEY GUEVARRA
MALOU SALVADOR
Waveguide
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
PROPERTIES
Made of dielectric material such
as air surrounded by metallic
material
Waveguides are hollow
Used with frequencies between
100MHz and 30GHz
Do not support TEM waves
Two modes of operation
Waves travel zig-zag down the
waveguide
Wave frequency propagated is
 WAVEGUIDE VS COAXIAL
CABLE

Waveguides are easier to manufacture since there is no

central conductor.
There is no dielectric losses in waveguides.
Waveguides can handle higher power than coaxial
cables, since the air has a breakdown voltage of 30kV/cm
Since waveguides are bulky, and metallic, they are more
expensive to manufacture.
The walls of the waveguide are not perfect, some power
is lost as heat.
Rectangular
Waveguides
(the simplest shape of a
waveguide)
Modes of Operation

Mode Propagation
Type Properties
Transverse Electric Electric field is
(TE) perpendicular to the
direction of wave
propagation
Magnetic field is
Transverse Magnetic perpendicular to the
(TM) direction of wave
propagation
 TEM
waves
Transverse electromagnetic
waves are waves composed
of a magnetic field and an
electric field perpendicular to
each other and to the
direction of propagation
Transverse
Electromagnetic Wave
 Dominant Mode of Operation
The most natural mode of operation for a waveguide,
this mode is the lowest possible frequency that can be
propagated
2 submodes:

1. TEmn for Transverse Electric mode

2. TMmn for Transverse Magnetic mode
Where:
m number of half-wavelength across waveguide width
(the a dimension)
n number of half-wavelength along waveguide height
TEmn
(the bmeans there are m number of half-wave variations of the
dimension)
transverse E- field along the a side and n number of half-
wave variations along the b side.
Waveguide transverse electric and transverse magnetic
modes.

Only one field, either electric or magnetic will be

transverse to the direction of travel, while the other
loops longitudinally to the direction of travel.
TE Modes

TE10 TE11
Mode Mode

TE20
Mode
TM Modes

TE11 TE21
Mode Mode
Cut-off wavelength

Smallest free-space wavelength that is just unable

to propagate in the waveguide under given
conditions.

The wavelength of the lowest frequency that can

be accommodated in a given waveguide.

Any signal with > c will not propagate down the

waveguide.
For air-filled waveguide, cutoff freq., fc = c/c
TE10 is called the dominant mode since
c = 2a is the longest wavelength of any
mode.

Guide wavelength :

Group Velocity:

The speed of transmission of a signal

along a wave

Phase Velocity:

The apparent speed of propagation

along a waveguide based on the
distance between wavefronts along the
walls of the waveguide.
Waveguide Impedance

Where: ZO = 120 or 377 for air-filled

waveguide
Sample Problems

1. A wave is propagated in a parallel-plane waveguide.

The frequency is 12GHz, and the plane separator is
2cm. Calculate:

a) The cutoff wavelength for the dominant mode.

b) The wavelength in a waveguide.
Sample Problems

2. A rectangular waveguide is 2cm by 1cm. Calculate

the cut-off frequency of the dominant mode.
Sample Problems

3. A rectangular waveguide measures 3cm x 1cm and

has a 9GHz signal propagated in it. Calculate the cut-off
wavelength, the guide wavelength, the group velocity
and the waveguideimpedance for the TE1,0 mode.
Circular/Cylindrical
Waveguides
Salvador, Maria Lourdes G
1.
What is Circular
Waveguide?
Ahollowmetallictubeofuniformcircularcrosssectionfor
transmittingelectromagneticwavesbysuccessivereflectionsfrom
theinnerwallsofthetube.
It has the advantage of greater power

handling capacity and lower
attenuation for a given cut-off
wavelength. However, its disadvantage
is its size and weight.
The polarization of the transmitted
wave can be altered due to the minor
irregularities of the wall surface of
the circular guide, whereas in the
rectangular waveguide the polarization
is fixed.
Just like rectangular waveguide, circular
waveguide supports transverse electric
(TE) and transverse magnetic (TM)
modes. These modes have a cutoff
frequency, below which electromagnetic
energy is severely attenuated.
TE and TM Modes
Waveguide can support TE and TM modes.
- In TE modes, the electric field is transverse to the direction
of propagation.
- In TM modes, the magnetic field that is transverse and an
electric field component is in the propagation direction.
The order of mode refers to the field configuration in
the guide, and is given by m and n integer subscripts,
TEmn and TMmn.
- The m subscript indicatesthenumberoffullwavevariationsof
theradialcomponentoftheelectricfieldaroundthecircumferenceofthe
waveguide.
- The n subscript indicatesthenumberofhalfwavevariations
acrossthediameter.
DOMINANT MODE
the mode with the lowest cutoff frequency
the mode that propagates the minimum degradation
for circular waveguide, TE11 is the dominant mode
Where
xnp Bessel
constants
cspeedof
lightinsidethe
waveguide
ainternal
radiusofthe
waveguide
ccutoff
wavelength
vpphase
velocity
vg group
velocity
gpropagationwavelegthinthe
waveguide
Zowaveguidecharacteristic
impedance
Bessel Constant
Sample Problem
1. For the dominant mode propagated in an air filled circular
waveguide, the cut off wavelength is 10 cm. Find (i) the required
size or cross sectional area of the guide and (ii) the frequencies
that can be used for this mode of propagation

Solution:
C =10cm
2 a
c
1.814

10 1.841
a= 2.93 cm
2
Cont:

Area of cross section = r 2 (2.93) 2 26.97 cm 2

Thecutofffrequency

C3 1010
fc =3GHz
c 10
Thereforethefrequencyabove3GHzcanbe
propagatedthroughthewaveguide.
OTHER TYPES OF
WAVEGUIDES
Dielectric Waveguide

Dielectric waveguides are the

structures that are used to confine and
guide the light in the guided-wave
devices and circuits of integrated
optics.
Planar slab guide
Microstrip line waveguide

Microstrip is a type of electrical

transmission line which can be
fabricated using printed circuit board
technology, and is used to convey
microwave-frequency signals
Inverted micro strip line
suspended microstrip line
Shielded microstrip line
Advantage

Smaller size
Easy to fabricate
Easy to troubleshoot
Disadvantage

Unwanted radiation in uncovered

microstrip based configuration
Higher loss
Poor isolation among adjacent lines
Waveguide accessories

Bends

E bend H bend

Sharp bend waveguide twist

Waveguide accessories

Joints

permanent join semipermanent

rotating joint