Inclined incidence of a surface wave on the end of a planar dielectric waveguide

Abstract

Planar dielectric waveguide structures, particularly planar devices for inputting and outputting electromagnetic power into free space, have found wide application in the UHF band. Among their most important characteristics are the efficiency, which is determined, in particular, by the reflection coefficient R of the surface wave which travels to the end of the planar dielectric waveguide. The connection between the efficiency and R is due to the fact that the power of the electromagnetic wave radiated into free space is proportional to the quantity (1 – |R(φ)|²). Hence, it is of interest to investigate the behaviour of R as a function of the angle of incidence φ of the surface wave on the end of a planar dielectric waveguide for different frequencies and parameters of the waveguide.