Electromagnetic Waves in Guided and Wireless Media | EveryEng

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Electromagnetic Waves in Guided and Wireless Media

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695 min

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Why enroll

Participants should join this course to build strong fundamentals in electromagnetic wave propagation essential for RF, microwave, antenna, wireless, and optical communication careers. The course explains concepts in a clear and practical way, combining theory with real-world applications and problem-solving. It also prepares learners for advanced studies and research in electromagnetics and communication engineering.

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Is this course for you?

You should take this if

You work in Automotive
You're a Electrical Engineering professional
You have 3+ years of hands-on experience in this field
You want to build skills in Research & Developmnet, Project Management

You should skip if

You're new to this field with no prior experience
You need a different specialisation outside Electrical Engineering
You need live interaction with an instructor

Course details

This course helps students understand how electromagnetic waves travel in different media such as wires, waveguides, optical fibers, and free space. It starts with guided wave propagation in transmission lines and metallic waveguides used in RF and microwave systems. The course then explains how light propagates in optical waveguides and optical fibers, which form the backbone of modern communication networks. Free-space wave propagation is also discussed to connect theory with wireless communication systems. In the later part, students are introduced to the basic working principles of antennas and how they radiate electromagnetic energy. Simple antenna models and wireless channel concepts are explained to build intuition. The course connects mathematical concepts with real engineering applications. Emphasis is given to understanding physical meaning rather than only formulas. Assignments include conceptual questions to strengthen fundamentals and computational problems to build problem-solving skills. By the end of the course, students gain a strong foundation in electromagnetic wave propagation across wired and wireless systems.

Source: IIT Kanpur-NPTEL [Youtube Channel]

Course suitable for

Key topics covered

Introduction
- Introduction to Electromagnetic Waves in Guided and Wireless Media
- Introduction to Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves
Transmission Lines
- Introduction and Types of Transmission Lines
- Distributed Circuit Model of Uniform Transmission Line – I
- Voltage and Current Equation of the Transmission Line
- Sinusoidal Excitation of Transmission Line
- Properties of Transmission Line
- Power Calculations and Introduction to Smith Chart
Smith Chart
- Smith Chart
- Additional Applications of Smith Chart
Time-Domain Analysis of Transmission Lines
- Time Domain Analysis of Transmission Line – I
- Time Domain Analysis of Transmission Line – II
- Usage of Lattice Diagrams
- TDR Analysis of Transmission Lines
Plane Wave Propagation
- Uniform Plane Waves – I
- Poynting Vector, Average Power, and Polarization
- Uniform Plane Waves in Lossy Medium
Wave Incidence and Reflection
- Normal Incidence of Plane Waves
- Oblique Incidence of Plane Waves – I
- Oblique Incidence of Plane Waves – II
- Total Internal Reflection
Guided Wave Structures
- Slab Waveguides
- Optical Fibers
- Parallel Plate Waveguides
- Rectangular Waveguides

Course content

The course is readily available, allowing learners to start and complete it at their own pace.

25 lectures11 hr 35 min

Introduction-Electromagnetic Waves in Guided and Wireless Media
16 min
Introduction and Types of Transmission Lines
30 min
Distributed Circuit Model of Uniform Transmission Line-I
28 min
Voltage and Current Equation of the Transmission Line
31 min
Sinusoidal Excitation of Transmission Line
29 min
Properties of Transmission Line
30 min
Power Calculations and Introduction to Smith Chart
27 min
Smith Chart
29 min
Additional Applications of Smith Chart
15 min
Time domain Analysis of Transmission Line-I
30 min
Time domain Analysis of Transmission Line-II
29 min
Usage of Lattice Diagrams
27 min
TDR analysis of Transmission Lines
30 min
Introduction to Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves
27 min
Uniform Plane Waves-I
31 min
Poynting Vector, Average Power, Polarization
30 min
Uniform Plane Waves in Lossy Medium
26 min
Normal Incidence of Plane Waves
30 min
Oblique Incidence of Plane Waves-I
27 min
Oblique Incidence of Plane Waves-II
29 min
Total Internal Reflection
26 min
Slab Waveguides
30 min
Optical Fibers
29 min
Parallel Plate Waveguides
31 min
Rectangular Waveguides
28 min

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Questions and Answers

Q: You're signing off an EMC test plan for a 24 GHz short‑range radar. The supplier argues to relax chamber absorber layout because vehicle testing already passed CISPR 25. You're searching "ISO 11452 reverberation chamber field uniformity requirement automotive". Why does ISO 11452 insist on field uniformity verification in a reverberation chamber instead of relying on total input power?

A: A: That's the safety hook. Harness coupling drives functional upset, not forward power. Uniform field is how you bound it. B: Absorber behavior is real, but the standard isn't fixing chamber materials with this rule. C: VSWR is an antenna problem; ISO 11452 doesn't promise a match. D: Detector choice is orthogonal to why the field has to be statistically uniform.

Q: A guided microwave link at 5.8 GHz shows intermittent dropouts only during cold soak at −30 °C. VSWR spikes from 1.3 to 2.8, then recovers warm. You're googling "waveguide intermittent VSWR cold temperature failure". What's the root cause that fits all symptoms?

A: A: Mechanical stack‑up moves with temperature. That creates a hard reflection and explains the jumpy VSWR. B: Moisture ingress would kill it permanently, not recover cleanly on warm‑up. C: PLL issues drop power, they don't spike measured VSWR at the load. D: Skin depth goes down in the cold. Loss drops; VSWR doesn't blow up.

Q: You're reviewing an antenna datasheet callout on a GA drawing. The note says "50 Ω feed, SMA‑K, DC grounded". The subcontractor added an inline bias‑tee anyway. You're searching "DC grounded RF antenna SMA datasheet meaning". What did they misread?

A: A: DC grounded is explicit. Adding a block removes the bleed path the datasheet expects. B: SMA‑K is a mechanical tolerance grade, not impedance. C: RF passes fine through a DC short at the element; no choke is implied. D: The note isn't band‑limited. No frequency carve‑out shown.

Q: An outdoor X‑band waveguide run sits 200 m from a coastal road, −10 °C to +45 °C, no purge. After 18 months insertion loss creeps up. You're searching "aluminum waveguide corrosion coastal environment". What's the dominant degradation mechanism?

A: A: Chlorides plus moisture attack the surface. At X‑band, roughness matters. B: Galvanic couples hit joints, not the whole guide loss. C: UV doesn't change conductivity or skin effect. D: Sulfide cracking is a steel problem, wrong material family.