ECE 7209 TECHNIQUES OF ADVANCED ELECTROMAGNETICS

University of Virginia
Spring 2016
Electromagnetism is at the core of electrical engineering and underlies the operation of nearly
all modern technology. Electromagnetic fields are used to control the flow of charge in electronic devices and are the foundation of modern wireless communications. Electromagnetic
waves enable us to navigate using GPS, to operate aircraft and ships in poor weather using
radar, and to study the universe with radio telescopes. Whenever you prototype a circuit,
design an electronic control system, send information over the internet, or use a laser pointer
to give a presentation you are, at the most fundamental level, manipulating and using electromagnetic fields.
In ECE 7209, you will learn how to we can use electromagnetic fields and their mathematical
foundation (Maxwells Equations) to understand these and many other applications A particular emphasis of the course will be on waveguides (such as optical fibers) and antennas
important examples where electromagnetism meets circuits. By the end of the course you will
be able to analyze and understand many important fundamental electromagnetic structures
and apply that understanding to research and design problems in electrical engineering.
My goal for this course is for you to become familiar and adept with some of the more useful
methods and techniques for analyzing/designing electromagnetic components (such as antennas and waveguides). Often, electromagnetic field theory conjures up images of solving
boundary value problems in various coordinate systems. There is no doubt that this is an important aspect of studying electromagnetism and the mathematical methods that have been
developed for electromagnetic field theory are powerful, useful and (often) elegant. However,
this point of view will not be the main focus of the course. My primary objective for you
is to learn useful techniques that can be applied to help you better understand electromagnetics, its connection to circuit theory, and to solve practical engineering design problems.
Therefore, the emphasis will be on relating the fundamental concepts in electromagnetics to
their corresponding concepts in circuit theory. This has many advantages: circuit theory is
familiar, simpler, and usually more intuitive than electromagnetics. Moreover, circuit analogies can serve to clarify more abstract and complex concepts from electromagnetic theory.
Because circuit concepts are more familiar to electrical engineers, they can also serve as a
useful intermediate step to understanding electromagnetics problems. Finally ... and most
importantly ... relating electromagnetics to circuits is important from a practical point of
view because such relations are widely used to develop equivalent circuit models that can be
used for engineering design.
This course will start with a review of Maxwells equations to set the necessary foundation
and will be divided into three main parts. The first third of the course will focus on the
basic concepts of electromagnetic wave propagation and related phenomena. The second
third of the course will introduce a number of more advanced analytical concepts and useful
methods/approaches associated with them for analyzing electromagnetic problems. The final
third of the course will concentrate on antenna concepts, open radiating structures, and
practical methods for determining equivalent circuits to represent electromagnetic structures.

Instructor
Bobby Weikle
Oce: Thornton E220
Phone: 924-3362
email: weikle@virginia.edu
Oce Hours: Monday, noon1:00 PM and Wednesday, noon2:00 PM

Textbook
Strongly Recommended:

Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics (2nd edition), C.A. Balanis,

John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Other books you may find useful (I will place these on reserve in the library):

Fields and Waves in Communication Electronics, 3rd ed., Ramo, Whinnery, and Van Duzer, John Wiley & Sons, 1993.

Field Theory of Guided Waves, 2 nd ed., R.E. Collin, IEEE Press, 1991.
Classical Electrodynamics, 3 rd ed., J.D. Jackson, John Wiley & Sons,
1998.

Time-Harmonic Electromagnetic Fields, R. Harrington, IEEE Press,

2000.

Antennas and Radiowave Propagation, R.E. Collin, McGraw Hill, 1985.

Antennas, 2 nd ed., J.D. Kraus, McGraw Hill, 1988.
Background and Prerequisites
The primary prerequisite for this course is a solid foundation in fundamental electromagnetics,
on the level ECE 3209 or the classic text Fields and Waves in Communication Electronics,
by Ramo, Whinnery, and Van Duzer. Coming into the course, I will expect that you have a
basic understanding of Maxwells equations, multivariable calculus, and dierential equations.
As this is an upper-level graduate course, we will make use of many of the mathematical
tools and techniques that (I hope!) you have learned over the years. You should be familiar
with the following areas:

Solution of ordinary dierential equations,

Partial dierential equations and the separation of variables technique,
Elementary vector analysis and vector calculus,
Linear systems theory and Fourier Analysis,
Phasors and Complex variables

I do plan to review these mathematical concepts as we need them, but these reviews will
be brief and intended to refresh your memory. If you feel your preparation is weak in these
areas, you may want to do some extra reviewing. The following books give good overviews
of these and many other techniques of engineering mathematics:

Mathematical Methods for Physicists Fourth Edition, G.B. Arfken and H.J.
Weber, Academic Press, 1995.

Advanced Engineering Mathematics , 5th edition, P.V. ONeil , Thompson,

2003.

Advanced Engineering Mathematics, C.R. Wylie & L.C. Barrett, McGraw

Hill, 1982.

Lectures
The specific material that you will be responsible for in the homeworks and exams is that
which is discussed in class. The book we will be using has far more material than we can
cover in a semester, so we will be skipping around and concentrating on what I consider to
be the most important (and interesting) areas. Although most of the subjects we will discuss
are in the book, I will not necessarily follow the same development of topics as Balanis. In
lecturing, I feel it is important to complement rather than repeat what is in the books. As
a result, I will often be giving you my perspective on electromagnetics and often showing
you dierent ways of looking at the subject. One other note: in a class this small, your
participation is important so I strongly urge you to come to the lectures. You will be missed
if you dont!

Grading
Your grade in the class will be determined from a weighted average of homeworks, exams,
and the final, as shown below.
Homework
Midterm Exam
Final Exam

40%
30%
30%

You may discuss homework problems with others in the class, but the solutions you hand in
must be worked out on your own. Please try to be neat and clearly indicate your answer by
underlining or boxing it. If I cant read it, I cant grade it! The exams will be take-home
and open book. Needless to say, no collaboration is permitted on exams.

Topics to be Covered
Below is an outline of the subjects I plan to cover in class. Also included are the tentative
dates and corresponding chapters in Balanis

DATE
1/20 1/22
1/25
1/27
1/29
2/12/3
2/52/8
2/102/15
2/172/22
2/242/29
3/23/4
3/143/16
3/183/21
3/233/28
3/304/8
4/114/13
4/154/20
4/224/25
4/274/29
5/2

TOPIC
Basic Concepts and Waves
Review of Maxwells Equations
Constitutive Relations and Boundary Conditions
Maxwells Equations and Circuits
Power, Energy, and Phasors
The Wave Equation and Solutions
Wave Propagation and Polarization
Reflection and Transmission
Rectangular Waveguides
Dielectric Waveguides
Auxiliary Potentials and Electromagnetic Theorems
Auxiliary and Wave Potentials
Sources, Duality, and Uniqueness
Image Theory and the Equivalence Principle
Reciprocity
Electromagnetic Embedding Networks and Antennas
Modal Expansions and the Induced EMF Method
Elementary Antennas and Properties
Aperture and Wire Antennas; Receiving Antennas
Antennas on Dielectric Substrates
Gaussian Mode Coupling of Antennas
Antenna Impedance and the EMF Method
Final Exam

REF (Balanis)
Chapter 1.1, 1.2
1.3, 1.5, 2.12.4
1.4
1.61.7
3.13.4
4.14.4
5.15.6
8.18.3
8.48.7
6.16.5
7.17.3
7.4, 7.77.9
7.5, 7.6
Eisenhart & Khan
6.66.8