LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides knowledge and skills concerning antennas and guided electromagnetic propagation, with reference to both their working principles and their use in different applicative fields. The following main topics will be addressed. Fundamentals of electromagnetic radiation and antenna parameters. Linear antennas, aperture antennas, reflector antennas, printed antennas. Antenna Arrays. MIMO systems for multimedia communications. Smart and reconfigurable antennas. Wide band antennas for high–speed internet links. Antenna systems for industrial, civil and biomedical applications. Fundamentals of guided propagation. Longitudinal-transverse decompositions of Maxwell's equations, TEM, TE, TM modes, rectangular waveguides, higher TE and TM modes, operating bandwidth, power transfer an attenuation, group velocity in waveguides, reflection model of waveguide propagation, dielectric slab guides. Oblique incidence and Snel's laws, Zenneck surface wave, surface plasmons. Plasmonic waveguides, plasmonic and oscillatory modes, MDM and DMD configurations. RFID technology, active and passive RFID tags, plasmonic RFID.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Acquire  skills to face simple electromagnetic problems in accordance with the syllabus

Teaching methods

Lectures

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Maxwell's Equations

Review of Maxwell's equations, Poynting's theorem, simple models of dielectrics, conductors, and plasmas.

Uniform Plane Waves

Uniform plane waves in lossless media, monochromatic waves, wave impedance, polarization, waves in lossy media, propagation in good conductors, complex waves.

Reflection and Transmission

Reflection and transmission at normal incidence, propagation and matching matrices,  single and double dielectric slabs, reflectionless slab,  multilayer structures: multiple dielectric slabs at normal incidence.

Oblique Incidence

Oblique incidence and Snel's laws, transverse impedance, propagation and matching of transverse fields, Fresnel reflection coefficients, total internal reflection, Brewster angle, complex waves, lossy media, Zenneck surface wave, surface plasmons, multilayer dielectric structures at oblique incidence.

Waveguides

Longitudinal-transverse decompositions of Maxwell's equations, power transfer and attenuation in guiding systems, TEM, TE, TM modes, rectangular waveguides, higher TE and TM modes, operating bandwidth, power transfer, energy density, and group velocity in waveguides, power attenuation, reflection model of waveguide propagation, dielectric slab guides.

Transmission Lines

General properties of TEM transmission lines,  coaxial lines, distributed circuit model of a transmission line, wave impedance and reflection response, terminated lines, power transfer from generator to load, open- and short-circuited lines.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Orfanidis, S.J. (2013) Electromagnetic Waves and Antennas. Rutgers University.
http://www.ece.rutgers.edu/~orfanidi/ewa/

Exam Board

ANDREA RANDAZZO (President)

GIAN LUIGI GRAGNANI (President)

ALESSANDRO FEDELI

MATTEO PASTORINO

Teaching methods

Lectures

LESSONS START

in accordance with the defined timetable

Exam description

Oral examination

Assessment methods

Answer questions about theory and solve simple exercises

Exam schedule