5.

4 Lossy Media
Let us now consider the wave equation without assuming = 0:
2 E 2 E = 0

(5.96)
2

00

= c = ( j/) = ( j )

(5.97)

The complex propagation constant has real and imaginary parts,

= j c = + j

(5.98)

which can be found from

2 = ( + j)2 = 2 0 + j 2 00
2

00

+ j2 = + j

(5.99)
(5.100)

Equating real and imaginary parts and solving, we get:

s
1/2
00 2
0

=
1+
1
Np/m
2

s
1/2
00 2

1+

rad/m
+
1
=

2
0

5.4.1

(5.101)

(5.102)

Plane Waves

Now, if we simplify the wave equation for a uniform plane wave just like we did in the lossless case, we
obtain
d2 Ex
2 Ex = 0
(5.103)
dz 2
The solution to this differential equation is
+ z
z
Ex (z) = Exo
e
+ Exo
e

+ z jz
Exo
e
e

z jz
Exo
e e

(5.104)
(5.105)

So, the wave decays as it propagates. Note that this also means we take > 0, > 0 when we take the
square root of 2 .
To determine H, we use Faradays law, E = jH, so that
1
kE
c
r

=
c

H =

(5.106)

(5.107)

where c is the intrinsic impedance of the lossy medium. Since c is a complex number, E and H are no
longer in phase.
119

5.4.2

Skin Depth

For a +z-traveling wave, the magnitude of the electric field is

+ z jz
+ z
|Ex (z)| = |Exo
E
e
| = |Exo
|e

(5.108)

The propagation distance required to attenuate the wave by a factor of e1 is called the skin depth s :
+ 1
|Ex (z = s )| = |Exo
|e s =

Extremes:

Perfect Conductor
Dielectric

=
=0

=
=0

(5.109)

s = 0
s =

When an AC current flows in a conductor, since E decays rapidly, the current J = E is concentrated near
the conductor surface. In a perfect conductor, the current becomes a surface current density. This is called
the skin effect.

5.4.3

Loss Tangent

The loss tangent is simply a commonly-used parameter to describe the loss of a medium. It is defined as:
00
0
Often, materials are specified by 0 and tan at a certain frequency:
Loss Tangent = tan =

Polystyrene Foam:
Fresh Snow:
Round Steak:

0 = 1.030
0 = 1.200
0 = 400

tan = 0.3 104

tan = 3 104
tan = 0.3

(5.110)

f = 3GHz
f = 3GHz
f = 3GHz

Lets put the round steak in the microwave oven (not my favorite way to prepare steak). The complex
permittivity is

00
0
00
0
c = j = 1 j 0
= 0 (1 j tan )
(5.111)

= 40 (1 j0.3) 0
(5.112)
p
2 p

= j 0 c = j 0 0 40(1 j0.3) = j
40(1 j0.3)
(5.113)
0
At f = 3GHz, 0 = 10cm = 0.1m:
= + j = 59 + j402m1
(5.114)
1
= 0.017m = 1.7cm
(5.115)
s =

So, the microwave oven heats the surface more rapidly that it heats the center (contrary to popular belief).
However, it is true that a microwave immediately starts heating the center (not all heat arrives at the center
through heat conduction). For polystyrene foam:

c = 1.03 1 j0.3 104 0

(5.116)
= 9.6 104 + j63.8m1

(5.117)

Since is so small, very little wave attenuation (and therefore heating) occurs. This is why you can reheat
your meat in a styrofoam box in the microwave without the box getting hot.
120

5.5 Parameter Simplifications

We now want to look at approximations for and in Eqs. (5.101) and (5.102), in order to get a more
qualitative understanding of how the various material properties (, f , r ) parameters affect plane wave
propagation in different types of materials. We will look at two cases: (1) if 00 0 the material is a low
loss medium, and (2) if 00 0 the material is a good conductor.
Low loss. For a low-loss dielectric, the expression for can be put in the form

p
00 1/2
0
= j 1 j 0

The second square root can be approximated using the first two terms of the binomial expansion
1 + /2. This results in

00
p

' j 0 1 j 0
2

(5.118)

1+'

(5.119)

The real and imaginary part are

r
r
00

'
=
2
0
2
p

0
' = .

(5.120)
(5.121)

This expression shows that is the same as in the lossless case, so the plane propagation behavior for a
low-loss medium is the same with the addition of a decay term.
The intrinsic impedance is also approximated using the binomial expansion as given by
r

00
'
1+j 0
0
2
r

,
'

(5.122)
(5.123)

which is the same as it was for the lossless case.

Good conductor. For the case 00 0 ,
p
2 (0 j00 )
p
'
j 2 00

We now substitute 00 = / and j = (1 + j)/ 2 to get

r

=
(1 + j)
2
=

(5.124)
(5.125)

(5.126)

resulting in
r
==

p
= f .
2
121

(5.127)

In this case the propagation and decay constants are equal and change with frequency. The approximation
for the intrinsic impedance follows a similar derivation, resulting in
r
r

f
c = j 00 = (1 + j)
.
(5.128)

With a complex the electric and magnetic fields are no longer in phase.
Is it valid to assume that dielectrics are low-loss and metals are good conductors?
Dielectric
00
1 0
1
00
100 > 0

1
100 > r o
> 100
r o

12

10010
> (4)(8.85410
12 )
> 2.8 rad/s

Conductor
00
1 0
00
100 < 0
100 < r o
< 100r o
106
< (100)(8.85410
12 )
12
< 10 rad/s

(5.129)

This shows that the approximations are very valid for dielectrics and conductors over a wide frequency
range.

Sea Water Example

Lets look at plane wave propagation through sea water. The material parameters are
r = 72 80 (We will use r = 80)
=4
What is the range for the good conductor approximation?
00
> 100
0

> 100
r
< 56 MHz

(5.130)
(5.131)
(5.132)

What is the range for the low-loss dielectric approximation?

00
1
<
0

100

1
<
r
100
> 565 GHz

(5.133)
(5.134)
(5.135)

At 1 KHz, the decay constant is

(1 kHz) =

103 4 4 107 = 0.126 np/m

and the skin depth is about 8 meters.

122

(5.136)

At microwave frequencies, neither approximation is valid, so we have to return to the original expression
for to find the skin depth. So, for 1 GHz,
p

= j 0 c = j2109 4 107 8.854 1012 (80 j4/(2 109 ))

' 78 Np/m + j203 rad/m
The skin depth is about 1.3 cm.

5.5.1

Current Flow in Good Conductors (Skin Effect)

If we have a DC current, the current will be uniformly distributed across the conductor cross section. However, in the AC case, the current is concentrated near the conductor surface.
Consider a semi-infinite slab of conducting material. A plane wave exists in the medium whose fields just
below the top surface are expressed as:
E(z = 0+ ) = x
E0
E0
H(z = 0+ ) = y
c

(5.137)
(5.138)

good conductor

So, the plane waves are:

E(z) = x
E0 ez ejz
E0
H(z) = y ez ejz
c

(5.139)
(5.140)

The current flows in the x direction, and the current density is J = E = x

E0 ez ejz = x
J0 ez ejz .
If 00 0 (good conductor), then = = 1/s . So,
J =x
J0 e(1+j)z/s
Now, we explore the amount of current flowing through the region 0 y w and 0 z < .
Z wZ
i
s h (1+j)/s
I=
J0 e(1+j)z/s dzdy = J0 w
e
e0
1+j
0
0
s
= J0 w
1+j

(5.141)

(5.142)

Lets suppose we integrate in z only over the following ranges:

Integral in z over
0 z 3s
0 z 5s

Error in calculating I is
5%
1%

Therefore, we can treat the conductor as infinitely thick as long as the thickness is larger than about 5s . The
basic principle is that the majority of the current flows within a few skin depths of the surface. For example,
for copper we have:
c = 5.8 107 S/m
1
s =
= 2.1m at f = 1 GHz
f c
So, 99% of the current flows within 10m of the surface.
123

Resistance
Remember that the impedance is the voltage divided by the total current. The voltage along a path of length
l in the x direction is
Z
V = E dl
(5.143)
= El

(5.144)

The impedance is then given by

Z =

V
I

(5.145)

= (Eo l)
=

1+j
Eo w s

1+j l
w
| {zs }

(5.146)
(5.147)

Zs

where the quantity Zs is called surface impedance. The surface resistance is

r
1
f
Rs =
=
s

As an example, lets look at the resistance per unit length of a coaxial transmission line. The width of the
inner conductor is winner = 2a and of the outer conductor is wouter = 2b. The resulting resistance per
unit length is then
r

1
1
f
0
+
(5.148)
R =

winner
wouter
r

f
1
1 1
=
+
(5.149)

2
a b
This result takes into account the skin effect.

124