Introduction To Modern Planar Transmission Lines. Anand K. Verma
The complex propagation constant γ = α + jβ is defined as follows:
For a lossless medium σ = 0, and the propagation constant is a real quantity:
(4.5.5)
In a homogeneous medium, propagation constant β is also expressed as the wavenumber k. In free space, μr = εr = 1. The velocity of the EM‐wave is equal to the velocity of light (c) in free space:
(4.5.6)
where
(4.5.7)
For a lossy medium, the complex propagation constant can be further written as:
(4.5.8)
For a lossy dielectric medium, εr is defined as a complex quantity:
(4.5.9)
It is like the previous discussion on the complex relative permittivity
In the above equation, the real part of the complex relative permittivity is
On separating the real and imaginary parts, the attenuation constant (α) and propagation constant (β) are obtained:
The wave equation (4.5.3a) and (4.5.3b) for the (
The propagation constant β is also expressed as the wavenumber k of the wavevector
4.5.2 1D Wave Equation
For the wave propagating only in the x‐direction, equations (4.5.12a) and (4.5.12b) are reduced to the 1D wave equations:
Equation (4.5.13a) has the solution,
(4.5.14)
The field equations in the time‐domain are also written as follows:
(4.5.15)
In the case of a lossy medium, equation (4.5.11) shows that both α and β depend on the loss‐tangent of a medium. For a lossless medium, tan δ = 0, leading to α = 0, and
(4.5.16)
The above equation computes the dielectric loss of a low‐loss dielectric medium. The approximation
(4.5.17)
For a low‐loss dielectric medium the dielectric loss, due to tan δ, increases linearly with frequency ω. However, the propagation constant β is dispersionless, giving the frequency‐independent phase velocity. The above approximation can also be carried out in a little different way:
(4.5.18)
In the above equation,