COURSE TITLE: ECE 308 Advanced Electromagnetics and Photonics

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Electromagnetic waves, transmission lines; impedance transformation; transients on lines; electrostatics, conductors, and capacitors; magnetostatics and inductors; wave reflection and transmission; electromagnetic motor, Maxwell’s equations; metallic waveguides and wave transmission; antenna and diffraction, antenna arrays, communication, and radar.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Ulaby, Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics, Prentice Hall, 2004 Media Edition.

Edminister, Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Electromagnetics, McGraw-Hill.

REFERENCE TEXT: Supplementary notes from instructor.

COURSE COORDINATOR: Allen Taflove

COURSE GOALS: To provide the electrical engineering student with detailed information regarding key applications of electromagnetic fields and waves in modern communications technology, especially antennas, fiber optics and photonic devices.

PREREQUISITE: ECE 224

ORGANIZATION: Four lectures per week with weekly labs. Weekly homework assignment.

DETAILED COURSE TOPICS:

Week 1 Review of Maxwell’s equations and plane wave propagation. Review of plane
wave reflection and transmission at normal incidence

Week 2 Plane wave reflection and transmission at oblique incidence.

Week 3 Geometric optics. Images formed by mirrors and lenses.

Week 4 Radiation and antennas: The short dipole. Antenna radiation characteristics.
Half-wave dipole antenna.

Week 5 Radiation and antennas, continued: Aperture antennas. Antenna arrays.

Week 6 Contemporary applications of antennas: Friis transmission formula. Satellite
communication systems. Global positioning system. Cellular telephone systems.
Radar and radar cross section.

Week 7 Waveguides: Infinite parallel metal plate waveguide. Propagation and cutoff
phenomena. Hollow rectangular metal waveguide.

Week 8 Waveguides, continued: Hollow circular cylindrical metal waveguide. Dielectric waveguides including sheets and rods. Fiber optics.

Week 9 Contemporary photonic devices, including micron-scale waveguides, couplers,
resonators, photonic bandgap structures, and lasers.

Week 10 Contemporary numerical techniques for solving Maxwell’s equations for
engineering applications.

LABORATORY PROJECTS:

Week 2. Transients on transmission lines, part 1.

Week 3. Transients on transmission lines, part 2.

Week 4. Sinusoidal excitation of transmission lines, part 1.

Week 5. Sinusoidal excitation of transmission lines, part 2.

Week 6. Propagation in unbounded media.

Week 7. Interference in electromagnetic waves.

Week 8. Sinusoidal excitation of waveguides.

Week 9. Propagation below cutoff frequency.

Week 10. Characteristics of antennas.

GRADES: Midterm – 30%

Final – 60%

Homework – 10%

COURSE OBJECTIVES: When a student completes this course, s/he should understand:

1) Key aspects of the behavior and design of antennas for wireless communications systems,
including satellite direct-broadcast and terrestrial cellular / personal communications systems.

2) Propagation and cutoff behavior of electromagnetic wave modes in metal waveguides
comprised of parallel plates, rectangular pipes, and circular pipes.

3) Waveguiding phenomena for light in optical fibers.

4) Electromagnetic phenomena associated with contemporary photonic devices, including
micron-scale waveguides, couplers, resonators, photonic bandgap structures, and lasers.

5) Classes of numerical techniques available for solving Maxwell’s equations for engineering
applications.

ABET CONTENT CATEGORY: 100% Engineering (Design component).