IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
GlennElmore
CorridorSystemsInc.
www.corridor.biz

Abstract
AnoverlookedsolutiontotheMaxwellHeavisideequationssupportstheexistenceofa
propagatingTMsurfacewaveoncoaxialcableaswellasonacompletelyunshielded
singleconductor.Thisnonradiatingsurfacewavemodeexhibitsattenuationmuchlower
thancoaxandarelativepropagationvelocityofunity.Itisverybroadbandandhas
practicalapplicationsfromRFthroughmicrowavefrequenciesandbeyond.Thisarticle
introducesthismode,measurementsanddescribesapplications.Inparticular,this
articledescribestheuseofthenewmodewithconventionaloverheadpowerlinesasa3rd
pipeandsolutiontothelastmileproblem.

Background&History
ConventionalModelofCoaxialLine
CoaxialcableisperhapsthemostcommonlyusedtransmissionlinetypeforRF&
microwavemeasurementsandapplications.In1894Heaviside,Teslaandothersreceived
patentsforcoaxiallineandrelatedstructures.Adevelopmentofcoax(coaxialline)theory
1
isoftenprovidedaspartofbasicphysicsandengineeringeducation ,evenpriortofull
developmentanduseoftheMaxwellHeavisideequations,whicharegenerallyusedfor
transmissionlineandmacroscopicelectromagneticanalysis.Accordingly,theanalysis,
measurementandapplicationofcoaxisusuallyconsideredtobequitematureand
complete.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Perfect
Conductor
b
a
Vacuum
dielectric

Illustration1:Coaxialtransmissionlineusedto
deliversourcepowertoaload.
IntroductorydescriptionsofcoaxoftenproceedalongthelinesofIllustration1.Here
losslesscylindricalcentralandoutershieldingconductorsareseparatedbyavolumeof
emptyspace.Thisstructureisexaminedasameansforconveyingpowerbetweentwo
points.Oneendisconsideredaninputportanddrivenwithasinusoidalvoltagesource
(1)

V s= Asin t
ofmagnitude A atfrequency .

Thissourceisappliedtothelinethroughaknownimpedance, Z S .Theotherendofthe
lineisterminatedbyaloadofimpedance Z L .

Illustration2:Schematicmodelofatransmission
linefromtheTelegraphers'Equation

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Heaviside'stelegraphers'equationprovidesalumpedcircuitequivalentofan
infinitesimallengthoftransmissionline,showninIllustration2.Forthelosslesscase
where R=G=0 Ampere'slawcanbeusedtofindtheinductanceperunitlength

b
ln
2
a
andGauss'slawtofindthecapacitanceperunitlength
Ll =

q
2
=
Vl
b
ln
a
2
thisdescribesalinewithanentirelyrealcharacteristicimpedance of
Cl =

Z=

Ll
ohms
Cl

(2)

(3)

(4)

b
whichisdependentonlyonthegeometryoftheconductors .
a
Maximumtransferofpowerbetweensourceandloadoccurswhenalloftheseimpedances
areequaland

(5)

Z =Z S =Z L

Currententeringthelinecentralconductorproducesarealcurrentdensity, J .By
Ampre'scircuitallaw,thiscurrentdensityproducesanorthogonalmagneticfluxdensity
B field(invectorform)
B= J
(6)
intheregionofemptyspaceinsidetheouterconductor.Anequalmagnitudebutopposite
sensecurrentdensity, J returningfromtheoutershieldalsocontributestomagnetic
fluxwithinthisregion.Beyondthisregionthemagneticeffectsexactlycancelandno
fieldsduetothecurrentsarepresent.Thiscancellationprovidestheshieldingnatureof
coax.
Betweentheconductorsthevarying B fieldproducesanelectricfield
E=

B
t

(7)

Electricfieldlinesextendbetweentheconductorsandarenormaltotheirsurfaces.These
electricandmagneticfieldsproduceatransverseelectricmagneticwavetravelingalong
thelineinthespacebetweenthetwoconductors.Inidealcoaxthiswavetravelsinthe
vacuumdielectricwithoutattenuationandwithvelocitythesameasthatoflightina
vacuum.
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Wavespropagatingontransmissionlinescanbedescribedintermsoftheaxesofthe
electricandmagneticfieldsandamodenumber.Oneorbothoftheelectricandmagnetic
fieldsmustbetransversetothedirectionofpropagation.Thecorrespondingmodesare
TE,fortransverseelectricfield,TMfortransversemagneticfieldandTEMwhenboth
fieldtypesaretransverse.Apairofmodenumbers,nandm,canbeassociatedwiththese
whichrepresenttheorderofthemodeinthetransverseandlongitudinaldirections,
respectively.Valuesofzeroforeachofthesedescribeaprincipalmodeinthe
correspondingdirection.
Foracoaxlineofinfinitelengthandforwavelengthslargecomparedtotheinner
circumferenceoftheouterconductor
2 b

(8)
thereisradialsymmetryandthecoaxiallineexhibitsaprinciple TEM 00 propagation
mode.Theimpedancepresentedtothesourcebythelinecanbewrittenas,
ZT E M =

1
b
b
ln 60 ln

2
a
a

(9)

where
4 x 107 Henry/meter 1.2566 H/meter,permeabilityofavacuum
1
= 2 Farad/meter8.8542pFpermeter,permittivityofavacuum
c
Forthematchedconditiondescribedthevoltageproducedbythewaveataposition
separatedfromthesourcebydistance, l ,alongthelinecanbedescribedas
A
sin t el
2
where

(10)

V=

= j

isthepropagationconstant. describestheattenuationwhile describesthephase,

perunitlengthofline.Thepropagationconstantfortheprinciplemodecanbeshownto
relatetothecomponentsinIllustration2by
j = R j L G j C

(11)

whichforthelosslesscaseispurelyimaginaryandthesameasthatoftheenclosed
3
medium .
Practicalcablesrequiredielectricsupportsanduseimperfectconductorswhich
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
complicatethemodelbutmorethanacenturyofusehasvalidatedthisbasic
understandingofcoaxiallineanditsapplicationtothesolutionofrealworldproblems.
FormostapplicationsfromRFthroughuppermicrowaves,convenientlydimensioned
coaxialcablehasproventobeanexcellentdevicefortransferringelectromagneticenergy
betweendifferentlocationswithoutsignificantradiation;effectivelyshieldingthe
internalwavefromexternalcomponentsandcircuitry.
ThePropagatingTMWaveinCoax
Ahomogeneousplanewaveinanisotropicmediumhasanintrinsicimpedance

i
infreespacewhere
Z=

(12)

=0
thisreducesto
Z =c =

120 ohms

(13)

Incoax,asthegeometry b increases,theimpedanceofthe TEM 00 modeincreases

a
logarithmicallyandtherealcurrentdensity,J,tendstowardzero.Equating(2)and(3)
showsthattheimpedanceofthe TEM 00 modeincoaxequalsthatoffreespacewhen
b
b
ln =2 535
a
a

(14)

However,energymaynotpropagatefasterthanthespeedoflightinavacuum.
c=

1
Z
=

(15)

Justasforaplanarwaveinfreespace,energypropagatingthroughalosslesscoaxial
transmissionlinehavingvacuumdielectricandnomagneticmaterialsissubjecttothis
constraint.Theimpedanceassociatedwiththepropagatingenergyinatransmissionline
isboundedbythepermeabilityandpermittivityofspace.Energymaypropagate
simultaneouslybywayofahybridofmultiplemodesbutthecombinedimpedancesand
thecombinedadmittancesofthepropagatingmodesareboundedsuchthatforthetotal
propagatingwave
Z total =

1
Y total

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Foralinewithdimensionmeeting(8),duetosymmetry,onlymodeswithatransverse
magneticcomponent,eitherTEMorTM,arepossiblesinceanyasymmetricmodesthat
5
wouldproducealongitudinalmagneticcomponentwillbeimmediatelydampedout .Only
TEM 0m or TM 0m modescanpropagate.Additionally,forperfectconductorsonlythe
6
principalmodesaresupported .Thereforeonly TEM 00 or TM 00 arepossible.Incoaxof
thistypethecombinedadmittancesofthesemustbeboundedsuchthat

2.65 x 103 mho

Theadmittanceduetothe TEM 00 mode

Y total=Y TEM Y TM
00

Y TEM =

00

b
ln
a
ispositive,finiteandcontinuousovertherange
00

Z TEM

(17)

(18)

00

b
1
a
Soatleastforthecasewhere

(19)

b
ln 2
a
Apropagating TM 00 modemustalsoexistandprovideafiniteadmittance

Y TM

(20)

00

AllpropagatingmodesaresolutionstothewaveequationwhichresultsfromMaxwell's
equationsandsatisfytherequirementsforcontinuityoffieldsattheconductorvacuum
boundary.CombinationsofBesselfunctionsareusedtodescribethefieldsand
impedancesassociatedwiththesesolutions.Thesefunctionsandtheirfirstderivatives
havesingularitiesonlyatzeroandinfinityandarecontinuousinbetween.Therefore,the
fieldsandwavestheydescribealsoarewithoutdiscontinuitiesovertheintermediate
region.
Asaresult,contrarytolongstandingbelieftothecontrary,incoaxthereexist
simultaneouspropagating TEM 00 and TM 00 modesovertheentirerangeofgeometries
b
1
a

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

ThePropagatingTMWaveasaSurfaceWaveonaSingleConductor
TheTMwaveonasingleconductorembeddedinadielectricmedium,canbeviewedasa
surfacewavealongtheinnerconductorofacoaxlinehavinginfinitegeometry.Inthis
view,forfinite V s ,realcurrentdensityvanishes:
b
J r 0 as
a

(22)

HoweverfromtheMaxwellHeavisideequations,thetotalmagneticfieldisduetoboth
realcurrent J r involvingmovingchargesandtodisplacementcurrentduetothetime
E
rateofchangeoftheelectricfield
,
t
B= J r

D
E
= J r
t
t

(23)

Asthegeometryofcoaxincreaseswithoutbound,thecomponentofthemagneticfielddue
tothelongitudinalcomponentofthedisplacementcurrentincreasesatthesametime
thatthecomponentduetorealcurrentdecreases.
b
,Y TEM 0
a
and
Y total Y TM =

2.65 x 103 mho

(24)

Inthelimit,theamountofrealcurrentintheouterconductorfallstozeroandthetotal
admittanceisdueentirelytodisplacementcurrentwhichproducesasingleprincipal
TM 00 modewiththesameimpedanceasawaveinfreespace.
Forintermediategeometries,thetotaladmittanceisduetocontributionsfromeach
mode.Theouterconductorprovidesapathforrealreturncurrentwhichincreasesthe
totaladmittance.Thisincreaseinadmittancereducesthepotentialonthelineand
causesanassociatedreductionoflongitudinaldisplacementcurrentandacorresponding
decreaseintheportionofthetotalpowerpropagatedviatheTMmode.
Thus,conventionalcoaxcablealwayspropagatespowerbyahybridofaprincipalTEM
modeandaprincipalTMmodeovertheentirerangeofcoaxgeometries.Bothofthese
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
modeshavethesamepropagationvelocitywhichisdeterminedbytherelative
permittivityoftheencloseddielectric.Forthecaseofperfectconductivityandvacuum
dielectricbothwavestravelwithoutattenuationatthespeedoflight.

History
Theexistence,practicalityandimpactofthesurfacewaveTMmodeseemstohavebeen
generallyoverlooked.Thisisperhapsnotsosurprisinginviewofthesmalleffectithason
propagationincoaxofconvenientgeometryandcommonimpedance,aspreviously
7
8
described.Sommerfeldinvestigatedsurfacewaves asdidZenneck ,particularlyinvolving
lossyconductorsaspartofbetterunderstandingbeyondthehorizonradiopropagation
duringtheearly1900's.Solutionsforthewavearoundaperfectlyconductingcenter
cylinderembeddedinadielectricwerepresentedbyStrattonin1941.Thereitwasfound
thatonlyasinglemodallowattenuationsolutiondescribinga TM 00 wavehavingthe
9
samepropagationconstantasthatoftheenclosingdielectricexists .Solutionsforcoax
werealsoinvestigatedbutonlythesingleprinciple TEM 00 modewasdescribedasbeing
10
consequentialforlinedimensionsthatarecommonincommunicationspractice .Inthe
coaxialsolutionsnlyasingleprinciple TEM 00 modewasconsidered.
Morerecentcharacterizationofprecisioncoaxiallinestandardsinslightlylossylinefor
useinvectornetworkanalysiswithareferenceimpedanceof50ohmsalsofoundthe
effectofthe TM 00 modetobesmall.However,incalculatingit'seffectonlineimpedance,
theHFieldandwaveadmittanceassociatedonlywiththeradialcomponentofthe
11
electricfieldwereincluded .Apparentlythiswasduetoanaprioriassumptionthatno
propagatingTMmode,oratleastnosignificantmode,existsincoaxandanylongitudinal
componentoftheEfieldwouldbeonlyevanescentorsosmallthatitcouldbeneglected.
Perhapsmostsurprisingisthatduringthe1950'stheinitialpracticalapplicationof
surfacewavetransmissioninvolvingonlyasingleconductorandapplicationsofthatsame
worksincehavenotuncoveredtheexistenceandusefulnessofthisTMmode.Theseminal
applicationofsurfacewavepropagationoverasingleconductorwaspresentedby
12
Goubau .Thisapplication,calledGLine,providedmethodstobuildapractical
transmissionsystembyusingspecialconductorsurfaceconditioningorasurrounding
dielectricmaterialalongwithspeciallauncherstoconvertfromcoaxorwaveguidemodes
toasurfacewavemodeontheline.InspiteofthepriorworkbySommerfeldand
13
Stratton,aspartofpatenting thissystemGoubaupositedthatareductionofthewave
velocityontheconductorwasrequired,bothtopreventradiationandtoallowalauncher
14
ofconvenientsize.Adaptationsofhiswork,includingrecentvariations ,havecontinued
alongthesesamelinesofthoughtandthisopinionseemstohavepersisteduntilthe
presentday.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

ImplementationofPracticalSingleConductorLines
SingleConductorApplicationoftheTMWave
SincethisarticleisintendedasanintroductiontotheusefulnessoftheTMmoderather
thanasacompletesolutiontothegeneralcaseofhybridpropagationoftheTEMandTM
modeswithlossyconductorsandimperfectdielectricsincoax,itwillnowturntoward
providingsomeinsightintopracticalnoncoaxialapplicationoftheTMmodeinreal
worldsituations.
Asitisnecessarytocoupletoandfromthemodeinordertoaccessitandtakeadvantage
ofitinconjunctionwithothertraditionaltransmissionlinessuchascoaxandwaveguide,
developingavisualizationoftheassociatedelectricfieldatthispointseemsuseful.
Efielddirection
ThesolutiontothewaveequationforthepropagatingTMmodeproducesanonzero
longitudinalcomponentoftheEfield.ThisisincontrasttothesolutionfortheTEM
modeincoaxwhichproducesonlyatransverseEfield.
WhereastheTEMmodeisexcitedbyrealcurrent,theTMwaveisexcitedbythe
displacementcurrent.Thepotentialonthecentralconductorincreasesaslineimpedance
increases.Astheseincrease,themagnitudeoftheEfieldincreasesaswell.However,a
nearbyconductorotherthanthelineitselfmayprovideaterminationpointandthereby
reduceenergycoupledintotheTMwave.Thisisthecasewiththeshieldofconventional
coaxialcableofcommongeometry.TheproximityofashieldreducestheTEMimpedance,
providesareturnpathforEfieldlines,increasesrealcurrent,reducesdisplacement
currentandcorrespondinglyreducesthepowercoupledintotheTMwave.Theresultis
thatasthegeometryisreduced,propagationincoaxialcablerapidlybecomesdominated
bytheTEMmodetotheexclusionoftheTMmode.Whenthegeometryhasreached50
b
ohmsinidealcoax, 2.3 (Illustration1)theTMmodehasbeenalmostentirely
a
suppressed.Toexaminethemodeitisnecessarytoconsideracentralconductorapart
fromnearbyshieldingorconductorswhichcansuppressit.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Illustration3:Efielddirectionsinvicinityofaperfectconductorandaplanarlauncher
Illustration3showsaplotofelectricfieldgeneratedfromanumericsolutionofMaxwell's
equationsperformedbya3DEMsolver(HFSS).Themodelisofathin,perfectly
conductingcirculardisk,ontheleft,havingacentralholethroughwhichpassesa
perfectlyconductingwirethatextendscontinuouslyfromlefttoright.Theshortregion
insidethisholeisequivalenttoasectionofidealcoaxandexcitationofthisportis
configuredtobecoaxialatthislocation.Therestoftheregionintheillustrationis
vacuumwhereintheshortlinesindicatethedirectionoftheEfieldthatresultwhenthe
portisdrivenbyasinusoidalsignalthroughaportimpedanceequivalenttothatofthe
TEMmodeatthecoaxialinputattheplaneofthedisk.
ItisimportanttorecognizethatbecausetheTMmodehasnotpreviouslybeenknownto
existent,computeranalysistoolsmaymakeassumptionsabouttheconditionsattheport
ofamodel.Eventhoughintheanalysisitself,afullnumericalsolutionofMaxwell's
equationsmaybeperformed,theportexcitationforthemodeldoesnotnecessarily
includethis.Forthemodelandplotshownabove,theanalysiswasperformedwiththe
assumptionthatconditionstotheleftofthelauncherport,thatregioninsidethe
modeler,isaTEMextensionoftheport.NolongitudinalEfieldcomponentispresent
thereandassuchitonlymodelsexcitationfromaTEMsource.BecauseaTMwave
actuallydoesexistthiscausessomeerror.However,inthisexampletheportgeometry
hasbeenchosentoprovidearelativelylowimpedance,inthevicinityof50ohms,andthe
TMcontributiontothepropagatingwaveissosmallthattheerrorisnegligible.
Thissameproblemexistswithconventionalscalarandvectornetworkmeasurementand
analysisofcoaxialsystemsingeneral.Allcommercialsystemsofwhichtheauthoris
awarepresentlymaketheimplicitassumptionthatincoaxonlyaTEMwaveexists.For
fiftyohmsystemsthisassumptionhasbeen,andcontinuestobe,almostentirely
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
adequatewiththepossibleexceptionofcharacterizationofprecisioncoaxialcalibration
standardsforvectornetworkanalysis,aspreviouslycited.TheTMmodeissowell
suppressedthatforalmostallpracticalmeasurementsandapplicationstheerrorsdueto
thisassumptionareofnoconsequence.
Theconductiveplanardiskwiththecoaxialport,ontheleftinIllustration3,iscalleda
launcherandservestocoupleenergyfromthecoaxialstimulusintotheTMwave
propagatingalongthecentralconductor.
Fromtheplotitcanbeseenthatclosetotheexcitationport,theEfieldsextendfromthe
centralconductortothelauncherandarenormaltothesurfacesofeachconductor
immediatelyadjacenttotheconductor.Perfectconductivityforcestangentialcomponents
oftheelectricfieldtobezeroandonlyafieldcomponentatrightangletotheconductor
surfaceispossible.Inthisregionneartheport,realcurrentflowsintheplaneand
returnsbywayoftheouterconductoroftheinputcoaxport.Furthertotheright,away
fromthelauncher,closeexaminationoftheillustrationwillrevealthatEfieldlines
terminatealongtheconductor.Herealsotheyleavetheconductornormaltoit'ssurface
butcurveintheenclosing(vacuum)dielectricandreturnatadifferentlocationalongthe
sameconductor,uptoonehalfwavelengthaway.InthisregiontheresultingwaveisTM.
Inessence,thelauncherservesasatransitionbetweenthepredominantlyTEMmodein
thecoaxandthepredominantlyTMmodeontheconductorintheregionfarfromthe
launcher.
Thefieldsolutiontothewaveequationforcoaxshowsthatthepeakmagnitudeforthe
longitudinalEfieldisdisplacedfromthepeakmagnitudefortheradialfieldbyone
quarterwavelength.Thepeaklongitudinalfieldsoccuratthelocationsofvoltageminima
onthecentralconductor.ThephaseoftheexcitationinIllustration3hasplacedthe
voltagemaximumatorneartheinputport.Carefulexaminationofthefieldlineswill
showthatthefirstclearlydiscerniblemaximumofthelongitudinalEfieldsoccurs
slightlytotheleftofthecenterofthecentralconductorandapproximatelythreequarter
wavelengthsawayfromthemaximumoccurringneartheexcitationport.Thefirst
longitudinalmaximumoccursonequarterwavelengthfromtheportbutisdifficultto
discernbecauseoftheotherfieldlinesreturningtothelauncher.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Efieldmagnitude

Illustration4:ContoursofconstantEfieldmagnitude
AlthoughIllustration3givesinsightintoEfielddirection,itgivesalmostnoinformation
aboutEfieldamplitudeorevenrelativemagnitude.Tohelpprovidethis,contoursof
constantEfieldmagnitudeforadifferentmodeledtwoportsystemareshownin
Illustration4.TheselinesarecontoursofconstantmagnitudesoIllustrations3and4
mustbetakentogetherinordertovisualizethecompleteEFieldvectors,whichcontain
bothamplitudeanddirectioninformation.Thelaunchersinthisillustrationare100mm
squareratherthanroundandthecentralconductoris400mmlong,alsosquarebut
taperedfrom4mmateachendto.04mmatthecenter.Thestimulusfrequencyis1875
MHzwherethestructureis2.5wavelengthslong.
ItisnoteworthythattheradialextentoftheEfieldisdependentonlyonlineimpedance
andnotonconductordiameterorwavelength.Becausedisplacementcurrentisconstant,
conductordiameteraffectstheEfieldmagnitudeatthesurfaceoftheconductorbutnot
thecontouritfollowsinthesurroundingdielectricmedium.
ContrarytopreviousbeliefinregardtosurfacewavesonGLine,alauncherneednotbe
large.BecausemostoftheEfieldisquiteclosetotheconductor,bothintheTEMregion
andintheTMregion,themajorityoftheterminatingfieldlinesandcurrentalsooccur
quiteclosetotheconductorsurface.Thefieldsolutionsshowthatthemagnitudeofthe
1
radialcomponentfollowsa
curveandthatthemajorityofthepropagatedenergyis
r
withinafewconductordiametersofthecenteraxis.
LongitudinallytheEfieldisdependentonwavelengthsinceeachfieldlinemusthavea
terminationpoint,whichcanbeuptoonehalfwavelengthaway.Thereforetheconductor
mustbeatleastahalfwavelengthlonginordertosupporttheTMmode.
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Thelineimpedanceinthevicinityofthelauncherislowerthanthatofthethelineinfree
space.Thisisbecausefieldlinesproducingrealcurrentinthecoaxial(TEM)regionare
presentalongwiththelinesterminatingontheconductorintheTMmode.

Illustration5:Timedomainmeasurementofimpedanceof680mmlengthofTMline
stretchedbetweentwo68mmdiameterplanarlaunchers.
Illustration5showsaVNAtimedomainmeasurementofasimplesystemconstructed
withapairofcircularbrassplanarlaunchers68mmindiameterandspaced680mm.
Theconductoriscylindrical,madeof.5mmdiameterbarecopperconductor(burnished
#24copperwire)andconnectedbetweenthecenterpinsofSMAconnectorseachmounted
atthecenterofoneofthelaunchers.TheleftYaxishaslabelsfortheequivalentline
impedance,ascalculatedfromtherealpartofthereflectioncoefficientplottedovera
rangefrom0to1whenthesystemreferenceimpedanceisfiftyohms.
Withinapproximatelythefirstcentimeterfromtheexcitationport,approximately20wire
diameters,theimpedancerisesveryrapidlyfromtheinitial50ohmvalueattheSMA
connector.Beyondthatitrisesmuchmoreslowlyandasymptoticallyapproachesthefree
spacevalueof377ohms.Thevalueofthereflectioncoefficientatthemarkercorresponds
toalineimpedanceofabout366ohms.Thediscontinuityat4.5nsisatthelocationofthe
secondSMAconnector.
PracticalLaunchers
Apracticallaunchershouldprovidethetransitionfrom TEM 00 to TM 00 wavesas
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
effectivelyaspossible.Generallythistransitionisbetweendifferentimpedancesaswell
asbetweendifferentmodes.
Anylauncherrepresentsadiscontinuitytothepropagatingwaves.Thisdiscontinuity
mayproduceradiationawayfromtheregion.IntheTMportionofasystemsuchasis
showninIllustrations4and5,thereiscompletesymmetryofEfield;everyfieldlineis
oneofapairoflinesofequalmagnitudebutoppositesign.Thissymmetryispresentboth
axiallyandlongitudinally.Thereforeatdistancesofmorethanafewwavelengths,these
fieldsaddtozeroandnonetfieldandnoradiationresults.However,fortheregionneara
launcher,thereisnolongerlongitudinalsymmetryandincompletecancellationoffields
mayresultatlargedistances.Thisproducesradiationawayfromthelauncherwiththe
radiatedwavelinearlypolarizedparalleltotheconductor.

Illustration6:MeasuredS21andGAmaxforthetwoportTMsystemofIllustration5
Illustration6showsafrequencydomainmeasurementofthesamesystemwithplanar
launchersthatwasmeasuredinIllustration5.Thelowertraceisof S 21 whichdisplays
therippleorbeatbetweenthediscontinuitiesproducedbythelaunchersateachendof
theline.Inadditiontotheripplethereisalargeamountofmismatchlossbetweenthe50
ohmimpedanceoftheVNAandtheimpedancepresentedbytheTMsystemateachport.
15
Theuppertraceisacalculationof GA max whicheffectivelyremovestheextra
attenuationduetoportmismatchandallowsjusttheohmicandradiationlossestobe
evaluated.Inadditiontoattenuationduetoohmiclossesinthecopperconductor,
approximately2dBlossisapparentnear1GHz.Thisisalmostentirelyradiationloss
duetothediscontinuitiesatthelaunchersandoccursovertheentiremeasurement
range.Becauseofthelargestandingwavespresentonthelineduetomismatch,the
radiationlossisgreaterthanitwouldbeforthesituationofaperfectlyimpedance
matchedlauncher.
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Whileaplanarlauncherofthetypeshownintheseillustrationisusefulforanalysis,even
withimpedancematchingaddedattheports,itisnotgenerallythebestdesignfor
minimumsystemattenuation.Themodaldiscontinuitiesofthistypeoflauncher
generallyproducesbothunwantedradiationandreflection.

Illustration7: GA max ofForwardhornlaunchersfrommeasurementon680mmline,

withandwithoutcompensation.
MeasurementofasystemwithsomewhatbetterlaunchersisshowninIllustration7.
Thesearealso68mmindiameterbutoftheforwardconicalhornratherthantheplanar
type.Thesewerefabricatedfromasectionofacircularbrassdiskfoldedandsolderedso
astocreateaninetydegreecone.AnSMAbulkheadconnectorwassolderedtothe
narrowendoftheconeandthesametypeandlengthofbarecopperconductorusedfor
Illustrations6and7wassolderedtothecenterpinoftheconnector.Twomeasurements
of GA max areshown;thesearewithandwithoutasmallpolyethylenedielectric
compensatoraddedtohelpreducethediscontinuityandconsequentreflectionand
radiation.Thecompensatorwasfabricatedfromanapproximately30mmlongsectionof
polyethylenedielectricremovedfromconventionalRG/8coaxialcableandplacedafew
mmawayfromtheSMAconnector.Materialwasremovedsoastotaperthediameterof
thecompensatorlinearlyfromthewirediameterateachendtoamaximumdiameterof
about8mmatitsmiddle.Ascanbeseenbythemeasurement,thissmallamountof
compensationisonlysufficienttomakesignificantimprovementaboveabout5GHz
wherethecompensatorisonehalfwavelengthlong.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Illustration8:140MHz20GHzmeasurementof3.4meterlengthsof.085"Teflon
dielectricsemirigidcoax(TEM)and#24barecopper(TM)modeline.
Illustration8showsameasurementofGAmaxforthesametypeofcompensatedlauncher
butthelinelengthhasbeenincreasedto3.4meters.Additionallyameasurementofan
equallengthof.085Teflondielectricsemirigidcoaxhasbeenincluded.Thecoaxcenter
conductorisofaboutthesamediameterastheconductoroftheTMlinebutissilver
plated.Inspiteofthebetterconductivityofthecoaxandtheradiationduetothe
launchers,thelowerattenuationoftheTMwavesystemisobvious.Abetterlauncher
designcanprovideevenmorecontrastbetweentheattenuationsoftheTEMandTM
modes.Evenwithonlycrudetechniques,itisnotdifficultoreducetotallossforasingle
launchertolessthan.25dB.Theseandotherlauncherpossibilitiesanddesignshave
16
beendescribedelsewhere .BecausethedisplacementcurrentinTMlineismuchless
thantherealcurrentinconventionalcoax,impedanceishigherandtheohmiclossesin
TMlinearedramaticallylessthanforcoax.ThesmallerslopeoftheTMattenuation
versusfrequencygivesanindicationofthissuperiorTMperformance.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Broadband
Thebroadbandnatureofthistransmissionsystemisobviousfromthesemeasurements.
Withevenrelativelysimplelaunchersitispossibletoachievethreeormoredecadesof
lowattenuationperformance.Thelowerfrequencylimitisprimarilydeterminedbythe
diameterofthelauncherandbytheabilitytoeffectivelymatchtothelineimpedance.
Thelauncheractsasasortofcapacitortospaceinthatitprovidesareturnpathfor
displacementcurrent.Asthelaunchergetsverysmall,thereactanceofthiscapacitor
increasesandgetslargecomparedtoloadpresentedbythelinepluslauncher.This
higherQmakesbroadbandimpedancematchingmoredifficult.Howevera60cm
diameterplanarlauncherhasprovenquiteusabletobelow20MHz.
Theupperfrequencylimitisaffectedmainlybythedetailofthetransitionfromthecoax
connectortothelineitself.Thesame60cmdiameterplanarlauncherdescribedabove
easilyprovidesgoodperformancefrom20MHzto20GHz,whichistheupperlimitofthe
HP8720VNAusedforthismeasurement.Itisveryprobablethatperformancewas
excellentwellbeyondthis.
Asthelinediameterbecomeslargecomparedtoawavelengthmorecareneedstobe
takentoassurethatunwanteddiscontinuitiesandresultantradiationdonotoccur.
HoweveritispossibletosupporttheTMmodeonlinesthatarelargecomparedtoa
wavelength.Workbetween30GHzand500GHzindicatesthatthemodeisusefulatleast
17
thathigh usingconductorshavingcircumferenceswhicharelargecomparedtoa
wavelength.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

PracticalApplications
OverheadPowerLines
Anobviousandverypromisingclassofapplicationsofthistransmissionmodeisinuseof
existingoverheadelectricpowerlinesforlastmileinformationservices.Thelow
attenuationandbroadbandnatureofthemodeoperatingonpreexistinginfrastructure
canprovideabasisforverylowcostinformationtransmissioninmuchofthepopulated
world.Becausetheunderlyinghardware,rightsofway,supportandmaintenancefor
powergridsarealreadyinplace,theadditionofhighcapacityinformationtransportcan
bequiteinexpensive,particularlywhencomparedtoothercandidatetransmission
methodssuchasDSL,CATV,fixedormobilewirelesssystemsorfiberopticcable.
ThepreviouspracticalexamplesandmeasurementsofTMstructuresusedrelatively
smallconductordiameters.Commonpowerdistributionandtransmissionlineconductors
rangeindiameterfromabout4mmupto25mmoreven50mm.Modernpower
conductorsareoftenconstructedbywindingmultiplebarealuminumorcopperwires
aroundacentralsteelcarrierwirewhichproducesamultistrandcablewithextra
strengthandresistancetostretching.Twoormoreofthesecablesarethenplacedunder
tensionandsupportedbyseparateinsulatorsmountedonperiodicsupportsinorderto
formmultispansegmentsofoverheadpowerline.Inmuchoftheworldthesesupports
arewoodenpowerpolesandmaybe1020mtallandspaced30100m.It'snot
uncommonforasinglesystemofpolestoprovidesupportformultiplesetsoflines,with
highervoltagedistributionlinenearthetopsofthepoles,possiblyinconjunctionwitha
stepdowntransformer,andasecondsetofsupportslowerdownforlowervoltagelines
thatprovidedeliverytoresidentialorbusinessendusesiteslocatedadjacenttotheline.
Theselinesareprevalentinmuchoftheinhabitedworld,arelocatedinareasassociated
withhumanactivity,havesystemsinplacetoensurethattheyarekeptoperatingand
maintained,andassuchtheyaregoodcandidatesforlastmileinformationdelivery
systems.Becauseofthecapabilityforverylargebandwidthandlowattenuationofthe
TMmodeit'susefultoexaminethecharacteristicsofpracticalTMmodepowerline
systems.RFandmicrowavetransmissionsystemsusingtheTMmodethatutilize
overheadpowertransmission,distributionordeliveryinfrastructurehavebeendubbed
ELine.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Illustration9:AslottedELinelaunchermountedtoanaluminum
powerlineconductor.
Anexampleofaspecialslottedlauncher adaptedtomountonanexistingpower
conductorisshowninIllustration9.Thislauncherhasaspecialtriaxialadaptersection
includedtoallowcouplingbetweencoaxiallineandthesurfacewavemodepropagating
alongthealuminumpowerconductor.Theslotteddesignallowstheentireassemblytobe
placedonthelinewithoutrequiringanymodificationofthelineconductor.Thecoaxial
portisconnectedtobidirectionalamplifiers,whicharesolarpoweredinthisexample,
locatedbehindthelauncheranddirectlyaboveamechanicalclampwhichattachesthe
entireassemblytothepowerlineconductor.Thelauncherinthisphotographdoesnot
includeanydielectriccompensationtoimprovetheimpedanceandmodematchbetween
thecoaxialandTMmodes.
18

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Illustration10:Measurementof GA max and S 21 on18metersof4mmstranded

copperpowerlineconductorusedinconjunctionwiththeuncompensatedlauncher
showninIllustration8.
Ameasurementof S 21 and S 21 forapairoflaunchersofthetypeshowninIllustration
8mountedonapproximately18metersof#4strandedcopperpowerconductorisshownin
Illustration10.Thebandpassnatureofthetriaxialcouplerismadeevidentbythe
transmissionresponsecenteredatapproximately2GHz.Asecondincidentalresponse
whichisattenuatedconsiderablyexistsatabout500MHz.Theimpedancematchofthis
secondresponseisverypoorandresultsinagreatdealofmismatchloss.Thedegreeof
thismismatchcanbeappreciatedbycomparingthe GA max measurementstothe S 21
response.At1900MHz,ofthe7dBtotalsysteminsertionlossshownabout3dBisdueto
portmismatch.Approximatelyanother3dBisduetoradiationlossfrommodal
discontinuitiesoftheuncompensatedlaunchersandtheremaining1dBlossisdueto
ohmiclossesinthe18mlengthofcopperconductor.
Whiletheseparticularlaunchersarenotideal,theirmeasurementisusefultodevelopan
appreciationofsystemcharacteristics.Ofcourse,inpowerlinetransmissionand
distributionsystems,otherfactorscontributetoattenuation,reflectionandradiation.

07/27/09

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

ImpairmentType

2GHz 5GHz Notes:Standard7strand4ACSRconductor

LineAttenuation

2.2dB 2.5dB Ohmicattenuationper100'

SaddleInsulators
Splices
TapLine

5dB

6dB

Approx.1dBvariationdependingupontailonendoftie

.55dB 15dB

Fingertrapstyle,larger(step)diameterslightlyworse.Quiteflat
withfrequency

3dB

Functionofconnectionhardware,inparticularfirstwith1from
line.Quiteflatwithfrequency.

Rain

Toosmalltomeasureon1100'run.

Sag

Nomeasurablevariationforanypracticaltension

Bends

020dB

Birds

small

Saddleinsulator Loss , dB=0.0192 0.017 ,for 025

Singlebird,verylargeflockmayapproach6dB

Table1:Impactofimpairmentscommontooverheadpowerlines

Table1listssomecommonimpairmentfactorsandtheircharacteristicsat2and5GHz.
InsulatorsnormallyaccountfornomorethanafewdBadditionalattenuation.Taplines
whichconnecttoaconductorandleaddirectlyawayfromtheline,suchasthoseatastep
downtransformer,interruptthefieldlinesinonlyoneplaneandusuallycauseabout3
dBofextraattenuation.Ingeneral,impairmentslocatedclosetothesurfaceofthe
conductortendtohavemoreinfluencethanthoseevenslightlyremoved.Thisistobe
expectedsincethisisthelocationofthelargestfields.Theeffectsoflinebendsgenerally
dependalotonthedetailoftheconductorandinsulatorclosetothebenditself.Asmall
radiusbendismoreinfluentialthanaslowerbendhavingalargerminimumradiusof
curvature.Normallinesaghasnomeasurableeffect.Mostoftheseimpairmentshavea
relativelyuniformeffectversusfrequencyandasaresultproduceratherlowgroupdelay
perturbationofthetransmittedwave.
Becausetheeffectsofimpairmentsaregenerallystableandwellbehaved,highQ
resonances,sharpfrequencydomainnotchesandsimilareffectsarerelativelyuncommon.
Asforothertypesoftransmissionlinesitispossibletoconfigurespecialstructuresina
waytocreatefrequencydependentfilteringfromsectionsofTMmodelinebutthese
kindsofresponsesaren'tcommonontypicaloverheadpowerlineinstallations.
TouseoverheadpowerlinesfortransportofRFandmicrowaveinformationbearing
signals,alinkbudgetanalysiscanbemadeinmuchthesamewayasforotherwiredor
wirelesssystems.ToexaminethecapabilitiesofELine,itisusefultocomparethe
underlyingabilitytotransportsignalswithothermethods,intermsofspectral
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
bandwidth,attenuationanddistance.

Illustration11:Maximuminformationcapacitieswithin100MHzbandwidthforELine
comparedwithotherlastmiletransportmethods.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
Transmission SpectralBW,
Signal
Method
(Center
PowerdBm
Frequency)
(mW)

Noise
dBm
orNoise
Figure(dB)

Attenuation

Notes

CenterFrequency
limitsavailable
bandwidth

HFBPL

26MHz
(17MHz)

50dBm/Hz
(260)

xDSL

100MHz
(50MHz)

0
(1)

120

Suburban
Wireless

100MHz
(2GHz)

0
(1)

(3)

Freespace
Wireless

100MHz
(2GHz)

0
(1)

(3)

lossless

Antenna#2dipole,2m
elevation

CATV

100MHz
(1GHz)

0
(1)

(3)

Perdatasheet

TimesWireLMR600

Line+Insulator
Attenuation

TypicalInstallation,
linelosspluseffectsof
supportinginsulator
every100m

ELine

100MHz
(2GHz)

0
(1)

OPERA

(3)

19

.3dB/m@100
MHz

Crosstalklimited

COST231/Hata
Antenna#1 1 m2
propagationmodel aperture,20m
elevation

Table2:Conditionsandassumptionsusedtocalculatetheinformationcapacitiesin
Illustration11
Illustration11plotsthemaximumtheoreticalinformationcapacityasafunctionof
distanceforseveralexistinglastmiletransmissionmethodsalongwiththatforELine.
Thetypescomparedare

HFBPL,HFtransportusingtwopowerlineconductors

xDSL,twistedpaircoppertelephonelines,

Freespacewireless,radiowithcompletelylineofsightpropagation,

Suburbanwireless,radiowithinatypicalsuburbanenvironment,

CATV,lowlossdistributioncoax

ELine,TMpropagatingmodeonsingleconductoroverheadpowerlines.

Acomparisonofthissortisalmostimpossibletoperformfairlyorcompletelyaccurately.
Eachtransportmediumhasitsowncharacteristics,strengthsandweaknessesthatmake
anycommonbenchmarklessthanperfect.Assumptionsnecessaryforonemethodare
inappropriateorirrelevantforanother.Becauseofthesedifficulties,Illustration11
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
shouldbeconsideredonlyaqualitativecomparisonandisprovidedtogiveasenseof
relativeperformanceratherthananabsolutemeasure.
Thisapproachcalculatesinformationcapacityasafunctionofdistancebyuseof
Shannon'sequation
C=B log 2

S
1
N

(25)

where
C=maximumchannelinformationrateinbits/second
B=bandwidthinhertz
S=signalpower
N=noisepower
Foreachmethod,theassociatedspectrumwassubdividedinto100segmentsandthe
informationcapacityforeachsegmentwascalculatedbasedondistance,segmentcenter
frequency,signalpowerandnoisepower.Theinformationcapacitiesofallofthese
subsegmentswerethensummedtoproduceanassociatedmaximumcapacity.These
resultsdescribethemaximuminformationratepossibleifaperfectencodingandprotocol
isused.Noallowancesormarginsforvariationhavebeenincluded.Theseresultsare
thereforetheupperboundratherthanadescriptionofpracticalsystems.Unlessnoted,a
sourcepowerof0dBm(1milliwatt)andinformationbandwidthof100MHzhavebeen
used.OtherrelevantattributesareasshowninTable2.Limitingthebandwidthtoonly
100MHzconsiderablyunderstatesthecapabilityofELine.
Inadditiontotheplotsforeachofthemethodsthemaximuminformationcapacity
possiblein100MHzbandwidthwithC/Nratiolimitof30dBisshown.Thisisan
arbitrarylimitbutissimilartotheminimumrequiredC/Nforprotocolssuchas802.11a,
802.11g,WiMax,LTEandothercommoncommunicationsstandards.Ifgreaterspectrum
wereused,thepotentialinformationcapacityofELinewouldeasilyexceedthatofevery
technology,exceptopticalfiberandfreespacewirelessouttodistancesofseveralkm.
Inordertotransportinformationoververylargedistancesallofthesemethodsrequire
periodicamplificationinordertoovercomesignalloss,possiblyaccompaniedby
demodulationandremodulationofinformation.Illustration11revealsthemaximum
distanceallowablebetweensuchamplificationifaspecificinformationrateistobe
maintained.ForELineinstalledontypicaldistributionlineswithpolespacingsof100m,
amplificationeveryfewpolesisnecessarytomaintainthemajorityofthemaximum
possiblecapacityallowedbytheassumptions.Linepowerlevelslargerthan1milliwatt
canallowincreasedspacing.Practicalsystemshavebeenbuiltwithfivetotenamplifiers
permileoflinewhichhavesupportedmorethan2Gbpsinformationcapacityusingless
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
than100MHzinformationbandwidth.Aphotographofaprototypeofoneofthese
amplifyingnodesinstalledonanoperatingpowerlineisshowninIllustration12.The
launchersareconsiderablylargerthannecessaryformanyapplicationsbutallow
operationfromaslowas200MHztoabove20GHz.

Illustration12:Photographofoneamplifyingnodeinaprototypesysteminstalledonan
existingmediumvoltagepowerline

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Illustration13:ELine(TMmode)systemprovidingsimultaneoustransportand
distributionofdifferentinformationservices.
Illustration13depictsanELinesystemcapableofprovidingbothhighcapacityendto
endinformationtransportaswellasinformationdistributionforendusersneartheline.
Simultaneoususageofpowerpolesassitesfornanocellstoprovideaccessforadjacent
userswhileenablingnearlineofsight(freespace)radiopathsallowsveryhighuserdata
ratesalongwithsmalluserantennaapertureandlowtransmitpower.AnELine
distributionsystemcaneasilyincludebothanantennaandactivecircuitryatselected
polesinordertotailoracoveragefootprintalongandinthevicinityofthepowerline
system.Inasituationwherethecommunicationssystemisalreadyfrequencydivision
duplex,suchasinamobiletelephonesystem,thiscanbedonewithsimplebidirectional
amplificationandfiltering.InthiswayasingleELineinstallationcanprovidebackhaul
(transport),fronthaul(distributedantennafeed)andaccess(distributedantennas)for
endusersat3Gand4Gspeeds,withanaggregateinformationcapacityofmanyGbps.
TherelativelylowattenuationofELineallowssimpleamplificationtosufficeateach
amplifyingnode,ratherthanrequiringdemodulation,remodulationandtheattendant
delays(latency)producedbytheseprocesses.Sinceallhardwarecanbelocatedonthe
lineconductoritselfandnopoleattachisrequiredthecostofthissystemisdramatically
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
lessthanisthecaseforalternatetechnologiesandmethods.TheresultisthatsimpleRF
andmicrowaveelectronics,periodicallyincludedwithpairsoflaunchersplacedalonga
powerline,cansimultaneouslyprovideandmaintainbothtransportanddistributionof
highrateinformationservicesandcontent.Sincethesystemfollowstheelectric
distributiongrid,itcanalsobeusedtosimultaneouslyprovideSmartGrid
communicationswithenduselocationsforrealtimepowermanagementandbilling.

FeedLineforHighAltitudeAntennas
Theextremesimplicityandrelativelysmalldimensionsofalowattenuationandhigh
bandwidthTMmodesystemmakeuseasanantennafeedlinebetweengroundlocated
communicationsequipmentandhighaltitudeantennasattractive.Formanypractical
terrestrialcommunicationssystems,coverageisseverelylimitedbythepresenceofhills,
buildings,foliageandothersimilarobstructionswhicharerelativelyclosetotheearth.
Theimpactoftheseimpairmentscanbeappreciatedbycomparingthefreespace
attenuationwiththatofthesuburbanenvironmentattenuationofradiosignalsshownin
Illustration11.FortytosixtydBofexcessattenuationiscommonplaceformanypractical
anddesirablepathlengths.However,bylocatingatleastoneantennawellabovethe
impairments,thetotalradiopathlossrapidlyfallsandallowsmuchhighercarrier/noise
ratios,performanceandcoverage.TMmodetransmissionlinecanbeusedtoconnect
heavygroundlocatedequipmentwithhighaltitudeantennas.
Toillustratethisapplication,alightweightbiconicalantennawasfabricatedand
integratedwithasmallforwardhorntypelauncher.Asmallheliumfilledballoonwas
usedtolifttheantennaandtheentireassemblywastetheredbymeansofsmallgauge
copperwirewhichdoubledasalightweightTMfeedlinefortheantenna.

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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor

Illustration14:"Featherweight"biconicalantenna,integratedTMmodelauncherand
supportingballoontetheredbyfeedline.
Illustration14isaphotographoftheantennawithintegratedTMlauncherand
supportingballoon.
Tomeasuretheimprovement,theballoonwasfirstallowedtosupporttheantennaat
about2metersabovegroundandareferencemeasurementofadistantcommercial100
MHzFMbroadcastsignalwasmade.Thetransmittingantennaforthissignalwas
approximately150kmawayandtherewasconsiderableinterveningobstruction.Asa
result,thesignalwasatornearFMthresholdandcouldnotbefullydemodulatedbya
standardFMstereoreceiver.Thecopperwiretetherwasthenallowedtoplayoutandthe
balloonrosetoapproximately60meters.Atthatelevation,theantennawaswellabove
localfoliageandclutter.Thereceivedsignalamplituderosebymorethan30dB.Asthe
feedlineandantennawerepassivestructures,Lorentzreciprocitytheoremappliesand
thisantennaandfeedlinesystemcouldbeexpectedtoprovidethesameimprovementat
thedistantlocationiftheballoonsupportedantennawereusedfortransmittingrather
thanforreceiving.
Althoughballoonandkiteliftedantennashavebeeninuseforaboutacentury,the
lightweightandlowcrosssectionalareaofsuitableTMlineconductorallowstheantenna
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IntroductiontothePropagatingWaveonaSingleConductor
feedpointtobelocatedathighaltituderatherthanatgroundlevel,aswasthecasefor
previousaeriallysupportedantennaswhichweregenerallyendfed.Thus,existingheavy
communicationsequipmentcanremaingroundmountedbutbeeasilyusedwith
temporarylightweightantennaslocatedatveryconsiderableelevationandthe
communicationsrangeandqualityofcommoncommunicationssystemsgreatlyincreased.
Anapplicationofthissortmighthaveparticularvalueforemergencycommunicationsas
wellasinsituationswheretemporarywideareacommunicationsisrequired,suchasona
battlefield.Inaddition,becausetheattenuationofthe TM 00 modeisquitelow,RFor
microwaveenergycanbetransmitteduptotheelevatedassemblyandrectifiedtoprovide
DCpowerforactiveelectronics,signageorevenfortheliftingdeviceitself.Itshouldbe
possible,forexample,topoweranelectrichelicopterwhichsupportsthelineandantenna
whichissimultaneouslybeingusedforcommunicationspurposes.

Summary
Thisarticlehasdescribedapreviouslyunknownpropagating TM 00 surfacewavemode
whichexistsonasingleunshieldedconductor.Practicaltransmissionlinesutilizingthis
modewerenotpreviouslyknowntobepossible.Descriptionsoftheassociatedfieldsand
launchersusefulforconvertingbetweenthismodeandconventionaltransmissionlines
havebeenprovidedandthebroadbandandlowlossnatureofthismodehasbeen
illustratedthroughmeasurementsofsimple,practicalsystems.Someapplicationsofthis
mode,includingtheuseoftheexistingworldwidegridofoverheadpowerlinesforhigh
ratelastmileinformationtransporthavebeendetailed.
Inparticular,thisdiscoveryallowsveryinexpensiveimplementationofwidearea
informationservicesutilizingthepreexistingworldwidepowerdistributiongrid.Simple
andinexpensivehardwarecanbeinstalledonasingleconductoroftheseubiquitouslines
andusedtocreateahighcapacity3rdPipeforinformationdistribution.Thelocation
andrightsofwayoftheseexistingpowersystemsallowthemtobeusedsimultaneously
toprovide3Gand4Guseraccesswhiletheyalsoprovidesbackhaulandotherpointpoint
informationtransport.Ofparticularvalue,thissystemcaneasilybeappliedforusein
SmartGridenergysystems.Thereuseofexistinglines,rightsofwayandmaintenance
systemsallowalloftheseinformationservicestobedeployedandoperatedatasmall
fractionofthecostofanyothermethod.

07/27/09

29

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