Plane Waves Part – II

1. For an electromagnetic wave incident from one medium to a second

medium, total reflection takes place when
(a) The angle of incidence is equal to the Brewster angle with E field
perpendicular to the plane of incidence.
(b) The angle of incidence is equal to the Brewster angle with E field
parallel to the plane of incidence.
(c) The angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle with the wave
moving from the denser medium to a rarer medium
(d) The angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle with the wave
moving from a rarer medium to a denser medium
[GATE 1987: 2 Marks]
Soln. For an electromagnetic wave incident from one medium to a second
medium, total (internal) reflection takes place when wave moves
from a denser to rarer medium and angle of incidence should be
greater than or equal to the critical angle.
The critical angle 𝜽𝒄 ,
𝝐𝟐
𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝜽𝒄 ) = √
𝝐𝟏

𝝐𝟐
𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝜽𝒊 ) ≥ √
𝝐𝟏

Where 𝜽𝒊 is the angle of incidence?

As 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝒊 𝒐𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝒄 can not be greater than 1, 𝝐𝟏 > 𝝐𝟐
Option (c)

2. In a good conductor the phase relation between the tangential components

of electric field Et and the magnetic field Ht is as follows
(a) Et and Ht are in phase (c) Ht leads Et by 900
(b) Et and Ht are out of phase (d) Et leads Ht by 450
[GATE 1988: 2 Marks]

Soln. For a good conductor 𝝈 ≫ 𝝎𝝐 Intrinsic impedance

 𝑬 𝒋𝝎𝝁
𝜼= =√
𝑯 𝝈 + 𝒋𝝎𝝐

𝝎𝝁
𝜼=√ ∠𝟒𝟓𝟎
𝝈

⃗𝑬
⃗ 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 ⃗𝑯
⃗⃗ 𝒃𝒚 𝟒𝟓𝟎
Option (d)

3. The skin – depth of copper at a frequency of 3 GHz is 1 micron (10-6

meter). At 12 GHz, for a non – magnetic conductor whose conductivity is
1/9 times that of copper, the skin – depth would be
(a) √9×4 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 (c) √4/9 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠
1
(b) √9/4 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 (d) 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠
√9×4
[GATE 1989: 2 Marks]
𝟏
Soln. For a good conductor, skin depth 𝜹 =
√𝝅𝒇𝝁𝝈

𝟏
For copper 𝜹𝟏 = = 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝒎
√𝝅𝒇𝟏 𝝁𝝈𝟏

𝒇𝟏 = 𝟑 𝑮𝑯𝒛
For non - magnetic with 𝝁 = 𝝁𝟎
𝝈𝟏
𝝈𝟐 = 𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝟐 = 𝟏𝟐 𝑮𝑯𝒛
𝟗
𝟏
𝜹𝟐 =
√𝝅𝒇𝟐 𝝁𝝈𝟐

𝟏
𝜹 ∝ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝝁
√𝒇𝝈

𝜹𝟐 𝒇𝟏 𝝈𝟏 𝟑 𝝈𝟏 𝟗 𝟑
=√ =√ 𝝈 =√ =
𝜹𝟏 𝒇𝟐 𝝈𝟐 𝟏𝟐 𝟗𝟏 𝟒 𝟐

Option (b)
 4. The electric field component of a uniform plane electromagnetic wave
propagating in the Y – direction in a lossless medium will satisfy the
equation
𝜕 2 𝐸𝑦 𝜕 2 𝐸𝑦 𝜕 2 𝐸𝑋 𝜕 2 𝐸𝑋
(a) =𝜇∈ (c) =𝜇∈
𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑡 2 𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑡 2
𝜕 2 𝐸𝑦 𝜕 2 𝐸𝑦 2 +𝐸 2
(b) =𝜇∈ √𝐸𝑋 𝑍 𝜇
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜕𝑡 2 (d) = √∈
2 +𝐻 2
√𝐻𝑋 𝑍
[GATE 1991: 2 Marks]
Soln. In a uniform plane EM wave propagating in the y – direction, the
components of 𝑬 ⃗⃗ and 𝑯
⃗⃗⃗ in the direction of propagation Y 𝑬𝒚 , 𝑯𝒚 are
zero. ⃗𝑬
⃗ and ⃗𝑯
⃗⃗ should be function of Y and t satisfying second order
partial differential equation

𝜹𝟐 𝑬𝒙 𝝏𝟐 𝑬𝒙
= 𝝁𝝐
𝜹 𝒚𝟐 𝝏𝒕𝟐
⃗𝑬
⃗ and ⃗𝑯
⃗⃗ are related as
𝑬𝒛 𝑬𝒙
=𝜼 , = −𝜼
𝑯𝒙 𝑯𝒛

𝑬 𝑬𝟐𝒙 + 𝑬𝟐𝒛
=√ 𝟐 =𝜼
𝑯 𝑯𝒙 + 𝑯𝟐𝒛

𝜼 = 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦

𝝁
= 𝜼𝟎 = √
∈

Option (c) and (d)

 5. A material is described by the following electrical parameters at a
𝑚ℎ𝑜
frequency of 10 GHz 𝜎 = 106 , 𝜇 = 𝜇0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∈⁄∈0 = 10. The
𝑚
1
material at this frequency is considered to be (∈0 = ×10−9 𝐹 ⁄𝑚)
36𝜋
(a) Good conductor
(b) Good dielectric
(c) Neither a good conductor nor a good dielectric
(d) Good magnetic material
[GATE 1993: 2 Marks]
𝝈
Soln. For a good conductor ≫𝟏
𝝎∈

𝒇 = 𝟏𝟎 𝑮𝑯𝒛, 𝝈 = 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒉𝒐/𝒎

∈ 𝟏
= 𝟏𝟎 𝒐𝒓 ∈= 𝟏𝟎
∈𝟎 𝟑𝟔𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗

𝟏𝟎−𝟖
=
𝟑𝟔𝝅
𝝈 𝟏𝟎𝟔 ×𝟑𝟔𝝅
=
𝝎∈ 𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎×𝟏𝟎𝟗 ×𝟏𝟎−𝟖
𝟏𝟎𝟔 ×𝟑𝟔𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟖
=
𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟎

= 𝟏𝟖×𝟏𝟎𝟒 ≫ 𝟏
Option (a)

6. A plane wave is incident normally on a perfect conductor as shown in

⃗⃗⃗𝑖 are electric field, magnetic field and
figure. Here 𝐸𝑥𝑖 , 𝐻𝑦𝑖 and 𝑃
Poynting vector respectively for the incident wave. The reflected wave
should have
𝐸𝑋𝑖 X

𝑃𝑖 Z

𝐻𝑌𝑖
 (a) 𝐸𝑥𝑟 = −𝐸𝑥𝑖 ⃗⃗⃗⃗𝑟 = −𝑃
(c) 𝑃 ⃗⃗⃗𝑖
(b) 𝐻𝑦𝑟 = −𝐻𝑦𝑖 (d) 𝐸𝑥𝑟 = −𝐸𝑋𝑖
[GATE 1993: 2 Marks]
Soln. The tangential component of E is continuous at the surface. That is it
is the same just outside the surface as it is just inside the surface.
As E is zero within a perfect conductor, tangential component just
outside the conductor at 𝒛 = 𝟎, = 𝑬𝒊𝒙 + 𝑬𝒓𝒙
Tangential component just inside the conductor at 𝒛 = 𝟎+= 𝟎
𝑬𝒓𝒙 = −𝑬𝒊𝒙
The amplitude of 𝑬𝒊𝒙 is reversed on reflection, but 𝑯𝒓𝒙 = 𝑯𝒊𝒙
⃗𝑷
⃗ 𝒓 = −𝑷
⃗⃗ 𝒊

The average power flow is zero indicating a standing wave in the

incident – reflected medium
Option (a) & (c)

7. A uniform plane wave in air is normally incident on an infinitely thick

slab. If the refractive index of glass slab is 1.5, then the percentage of the
incident power that is reflected from the air – glass interface is
(a) 0% (c) 20%
(b) 4% (d) 100%
[GATE 1996: 2 Marks]
Soln. Medium 1 Medium 2
𝒏𝟏 𝒏𝟐 = 𝟏. 𝟓
𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟎 𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟎
∈𝟏 =∈𝟎 ∈𝟐 =∈𝟎 ∈𝒓
If 𝒏𝟏 , 𝒏𝟐 are refractive indices and 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 are the velocities

𝒏𝟏 𝒗𝟐 √𝝁𝟏 𝝐𝟏 𝟏
= = =
𝒏𝟐 𝒗𝟏 √𝝁𝟐 𝝐𝟐 𝟏. 𝟓
 ∈𝟏
=√ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟎
∈𝟐

𝝐𝟏 𝟏 𝟐
√ = =
𝝐𝟐 𝟏. 𝟓 𝟑

𝑬𝒓 𝜼 −𝜼
Reflection coefficient, = 𝜼𝟐 +𝜼𝟏 𝜼𝟏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝜼𝟐 are the intrinsic
𝑬𝒊 𝟐 𝟏
impedances of medium 1 and medium 2 respectively
𝝁 𝝁
𝜼𝟏 = √ 𝟏 , 𝜼𝟐 = √ 𝟐
𝝐 𝟏 𝝐 𝟐

𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟎

𝑬𝒓 √∈𝟏 − √∈𝟐
=
𝑬𝒊 √∈𝟏 + √∈𝟐

∈
√∈𝟏 −𝟏 𝟐
−𝟏 −
𝟏
𝑬𝒓 𝟐 𝟑 𝟑 𝟏
= = 𝟐 = 𝟓 = −𝟓
𝑬𝒊 ∈
+𝟏
√∈𝟏 +𝟏 𝟑 𝟑
𝟐

𝑷𝒓 |𝑬𝒓 |𝟐 𝟏
= |𝑬𝒊 |𝟐
= 𝟐𝟓 = 𝟒%
𝑷𝒊
Option (b)

8. Some unknown material has a conductivity of 106 mho/m and a

permeability of 4𝜋×10−7 𝐻/𝑚. The skin depth for the material at 1 GHz
is
(a) 15.9 𝜇𝑚 (c) 25.9 𝜇𝑚
(b) 20.9 𝜇𝑚 (d) 30.9 𝜇𝑚
[GATE 1996: 2 Marks]
Soln. 𝝈 = 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒉𝒐/𝒎
𝝁 = 𝝁𝟎 = 𝟒𝝅×𝟏𝟎−𝟕 𝑯/𝒎
 𝒇 = 𝟏 𝑮𝑯𝒛
𝟏 𝟏
𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉 𝜹= =
√𝝅𝒇𝝁𝝈 √𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗 ×𝟒𝝅×𝟏𝟎−𝟕 ×𝟏𝟎𝟔
𝟏 𝟓𝟎
= 𝟒 𝒎= 𝝅
𝝁𝒎
𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎

= 𝟏𝟓. 𝟗 𝝁𝒎
Option (a)

9. A uniform plane wave in air impinges at 450 angle on a lossless dielectric

material with dielectric constant 𝜀𝑟 . The transmitted wave propagates in a
300 direction with respect to the normal. The value of 𝜀𝑟 is
(a) 1.5 (c) 2
(b) √1.5 (d) √2
[GATE 2000: 2 Marks]
Soln. At the interface between air and lossless dielectric angle of incidence
𝜽𝒊 = 𝟒𝟓𝟎 angle of refraction 𝜽𝒓 = 𝟑𝟎𝟎

450

300

According to Snell’s law

𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝟐 𝒗𝟐
=
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝟏 𝒗𝟏

𝒗𝟐 is the velocity of wave in medium 2

𝒗𝟏 is the velocity of wave in medium 1

𝟏 𝟏
𝒗𝟐 = , 𝒗𝟏 =
√𝝁𝟐 ∈𝟐 √𝝁𝟏 ∈𝟏
𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟎 , ∈𝟐 =∈𝒓 ∈𝟏
 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝟎𝟎 √𝝁𝟏 ∈𝟏
= =
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝟏 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟒𝟓𝟎 √𝝁𝟐 ∈𝟐

𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝟏×√𝟐 𝟏

= =
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟒𝟓𝟎 𝟐×𝟏 √ ∈𝒓

𝟏 𝟏
=
√𝟐 √∈𝒓
Option (d)

10. A uniform plane electromagnetic wave incident normally on a plane

surface of a dielectric material is reflected with a VSWS of 3. What is the
percentage of incident power that is reflected?
(a) 10% (c) 50%
(b) 25% (d) 75%
[GATE 2001: 2 Marks]
Soln. VSWR = 3
Let S = 3
𝟏+|𝑲|
𝑺= , 𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕
𝟏−|𝑲|
𝑺−𝟏 𝟑−𝟏 𝟏
|𝑲| = = =
𝑺+𝟏 𝟑+𝟏 𝟐
𝑬𝒓
=𝑲
𝑬𝒊

𝑷𝒓 |𝑬𝒓 |𝟐 𝟏
= |𝑬𝒊 |𝟐
= 𝑲𝟐 =
𝑷𝒊 𝟒

= 25%
Option (b)
 11. A plane wave is characterized by 𝐸⃗ = (0.5𝑥̂ + 𝑦̂𝑒 𝑗𝜋/2 )𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝑡−𝑗𝑘𝑧 . This
wave is
(a) Linearly polarized (c) Elliptically polarized
(b) Circularly polarized (d) Un polarized
[GATE 2002: 2 Marks]

Soln. The wave ⃗𝑬⃗ = (𝟎. 𝟓𝒙̂+𝒚 ̂ 𝒆𝒋𝝅/𝟐 )𝒆𝒋𝝎𝒕−𝒋𝒌𝒛 represents a wave travelling
in the positive Z direction. Taking the real part of ⃗𝑬
⃗

𝑬𝒙 (𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝟎. 𝟓 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 − 𝒌𝒛)

𝝅
𝑬𝒚 (𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝐜𝐨𝐬 (𝝎𝒕 + − 𝒌𝒛)
𝟐

= − 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝝎𝒕 − 𝒌𝒛)

𝑬𝒙 𝟐 𝑬𝒚 𝟐
( ) +( ) =𝟏
𝟎. 𝟓 𝟏
This is the equation of an ellipse. The wave is elliptically polarized
Option (c)

𝑚ℎ𝑜
12. Distilled water at 250 C is characterized by 𝜎 = 1.7×10−4 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∈=
𝑚
78 ∈0 at a frequency of 3 GHz. Its loss tangent tan 𝛿 is
(a) 1.3×10−5 (c) 1.7× 10−4 ⁄78
(b) 1.3×10−3 (d) 1.7×10−4 (78 ∈0 )
[GATE 2002: 2 Marks]
Soln. For distilled water 𝝈 = 𝟏. 𝟕×𝟏𝟎−𝟒 𝒎𝒉𝒐/𝒎

𝟏𝟎−𝟗
∈= 𝟕𝟖 ∈𝟎 , 𝒇 = 𝟑 𝑮𝑯𝒛 , ∈𝟎 =
𝟑𝟔𝝅
𝝈
Loss tangent = 𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝜹 =
𝝎∈

𝝈 𝟏. 𝟕×𝟏𝟎−𝟒 ×𝟑𝟔𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗
=
𝝎∈ 𝟐𝝅×𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟗 ×𝟕𝟖
= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟑𝟎×𝟏𝟎−𝟒
 ≅ 𝟏. 𝟑×𝟏𝟎−𝟓

𝐽𝑑

𝜹
𝐽

⃗⃗
𝑱 = conduction current density = 𝝈𝑬
⃗⃗
𝑱𝒅 = displacement current density = 𝒋𝝎 ∈ 𝑬
Option (a)

13. Medium 1 has the electrical permittivity 𝜀1 = 1.5 𝜀0 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑚 and

occupies the region to left of 𝑥 = 0 plane. Medium 2 has the electrical
permittivity 𝜀2 = 2.5 𝜀0 farad / m and occupies the region to the right of
𝑥 = 0 plane. If E1 in medium 1 is 𝐸1 = (2 𝑢𝑥 − 3 𝑢𝑦 + 1 𝑢𝑧 ) volt/m, the
E2 in medium 2 is
(a) (2 𝑢𝑋 − 7.5 𝑢𝑌 + 2.5 𝑢𝑍 ) 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡⁄𝑚
(b) (2 𝑢𝑋 − 2 𝑢𝑌 + 0.6 𝑢𝑍 ) 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡⁄𝑚
(c) (1.2 𝑢𝑋 − 3 𝑢𝑌 + 1 𝑢𝑍 ) 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡⁄𝑚
(d) (1.2 𝑢𝑋 − 2 𝑢𝑌 + 0.6 𝑢𝑍 ) 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡⁄𝑚
[GATE 2003: 2 Marks]
Soln. The interface between medium 1 and 2 is x = 0 or y – z plane.

1 2

𝑋<0 𝑋>0
∈1 = 1.5 ∈0 ∈2 = 2.5 ∈0

𝑋 = 0 𝑌 − 𝑍 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒

𝑬𝟏 = (𝟐 𝒖𝒙 − 𝟑 𝒖𝒚 + 𝟏 𝒖𝒛 ) 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕/𝒎
The y and z components of E1 are same as the y and z components of
E2 as the tangential components of E are continuous.
 𝑬𝒕𝟏 = 𝑬 𝒕𝟐
The normal components of D are continuous
𝑫 𝑵 𝟏 = 𝑫𝑵 𝟐
∈𝟏 𝑬𝑵𝟏 =∈𝟐 𝑬𝑵𝟐
∈𝟏 𝑬𝑿𝟏 =∈𝟐 𝑬𝑿𝟐

∈𝟏 𝑬𝑿𝟏 𝟏. 𝟓 ∈𝟎 ×𝟐
𝒐𝒓 𝑬𝑿𝟐 = = = 𝟏. 𝟐
∈𝟐 𝟐. 𝟓 ∈𝟎
⃗𝑬
⃗ 𝟏 = (𝟏. 𝟐 𝒖𝒙 − 𝟑 𝒖𝒚 + 𝟏 𝒖𝒛 ) 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕/𝒎

Option (c)

14. A uniform plane wave traveling in air is incident on the plane boundary
between air and another dielectric medium with 𝜀𝑟 = 4. The reflection
coefficient for the normal incidence is
(a) Zero (c) 0.333 ∠00
(b) 0.5 ∠1800 (d) 0.333 ∠1800
[GATE 2003: 2 Marks]
Soln. For normal incidence of a uniform plane wave at air dielectric
interface, reflection coefficient 𝑲, ∈𝒓 = 𝟒

𝑬𝒓 𝜼𝟐 − 𝜼𝟏
𝑲= =
𝑬𝒊 𝜼𝟐 + 𝜼𝟏

𝜼𝟐
−𝟏
𝜼𝟏
=𝜼
𝟐
+𝟏
𝜼𝟏

𝝁𝟎
𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟎 , 𝜼𝟐 = √
∈𝟐
 𝝁𝟎
𝜼𝟏 = √
∈𝟏

∈
√ ∈𝟏 − 𝟏
𝟐
𝑲=
∈
√ ∈𝟏 + 𝟏
𝟐

Where, ∈𝟏 =∈𝟎 and ∈𝟐 =∈𝒓 ∈𝟎

𝟏 𝟏
√ − 𝟏 −𝟏 𝟏
∈𝒓
𝑲= = 𝟐 = −
𝟏 𝟏 𝟑
√ +𝟏
∈𝒓 + 𝟏 𝟐

𝟏
𝑲=− = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟑𝟑∠𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎
𝟑
Option (d)

15. If the electric field intensity associated with a uniform plane

electromagnetic wave traveling in a perfect dielectric medium is given by
𝐸(𝑧, 𝑡) = 10 cos(2𝜋×107 𝑡 − 0.1 𝜋𝑧) 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡/𝑚, the velocity of the
traveling wave is
(a) 3.00×108 𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐 (c) 6.28×107 𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐
(b) 2.00×108 𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐 (d) 2.00×107 𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐
[GATE 2003: 2 Marks]
Soln. For a uniform plane wave in a perfect dielectric medium 𝝈 = 𝟎
𝑬(𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝟏𝟎 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝒕 − 𝟎. 𝟏𝝅𝒛) 𝒗/𝒎
The E field represents wave travelling in the positive z direction with
𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝒓𝒂𝒅/ 𝐬𝐞𝐜 𝜷 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝝅 𝒓𝒂𝒅/𝒔𝒆𝒄
𝝎
Velocity of propagation 𝑽 =
𝜷

𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟕
= 𝟎.𝟏𝝅
 = 𝟐×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎/𝒔𝒆𝒄
Option (b)

16. A plane electromagnetic wave propagating in free space is incident

normally on a large slab of loss – less, non – magnetic, dielectric material
with 𝜀 > 𝜀0 . Maxima and minima are observed when the electric field is
measured in front of the slab. The maximum electric field is found to be 5
times the minimum field. The intrinsic impedance of the medium should
be
(a) 120 𝜋 Ω (c) 600 𝜋 Ω
(b) 60 𝜋 Ω (d) 24 𝜋 Ω
[GATE 2004: Marks]
Soln. 𝑬𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝟓 𝑬𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝟏

𝑬𝒎𝒂𝒙
𝑽𝑺𝑾𝑹, 𝑺 = =𝟓
𝑬𝒎𝒊𝒏
𝑺−𝟏 𝟓−𝟏 𝟐
Reflection coefficient |𝑲| = = =
𝑺+𝟏 𝟓+𝟏 𝟑

1 2
free space loss less
𝜎 = 0, 𝜇 = 𝜇0 𝜎=0
∈ =∈0 Non magnetic
Incident wave 𝜇 = 𝜇0
Reflected wave dielectric
∈ > ∈0

𝜼𝟐
−𝟏 𝟐
𝜼𝟏
𝑲=𝜼 =
𝟐
+𝟏 𝟑
𝜼𝟏
𝟑𝜼𝟐 𝟐𝜼𝟐
−𝟑= +𝟐
𝜼𝟏 𝜼𝟏
 𝜼𝟐
= 𝟓 , 𝜼𝟐 = 𝟓𝜼𝟏
𝜼𝟏

𝝁𝟎
𝜼𝟏 = √ = √𝟒𝝅×𝟏𝟎−𝟕 ×𝟑𝟔𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗
∈𝟎

= (𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅)𝛀
𝜼𝟐 = 𝟓×𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅
= 𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝝅 𝛀
Option (c)

17. A medium is divided into regions I and II about x = 0 plane, as shown in

the figure below. An electromagnetic wave with electric field
𝐸⃗1 = 4𝑎̂𝑥 + 3𝑎̂𝑦 + 5𝑎̂𝑧 is incident normally on the interface from region
– I. The electric filed E2 in region – II at the interface is

Region I Region II
𝜎1 = 0 , 𝜇1 = 𝜇0 𝜎2 = 0 , 𝜇2 = 𝜇0
∈𝑟1 = 3 ∈𝑟2 = 4

𝐸1 𝐸2
𝑋=0
(a) 𝐸2 = 𝐸1 (c) 3 𝑎̂𝑥 + 3 𝑎̂𝑦 + 5 𝑎̂𝑧
(b) 4 𝑎̂𝑥 + 0.7 𝑎̂𝑦 − 1.25 𝑎̂𝑧 (d) −3 𝑎̂𝑥 + 3 𝑎̂𝑦 + 5 𝑎̂𝑧
[GATE 2006: 2 Marks]
Soln. ̂ 𝒙 + 𝟑𝒂
𝑬𝟏 = 𝟒𝒂 ̂ 𝒚 + 𝟓𝒂
̂𝒛
The Y and Z components of E1 are same as the Y and Z components
of E2 as the tangential components of E are continuous at the
boundary.

𝑬𝒕 𝟏 = 𝑬𝒕𝟐

𝑬𝒚𝟐 = 𝑬𝒚𝟏 , 𝑬𝒛𝟐 = 𝑬𝒛𝟏

 The normal components of D is continuous at the boundary 𝑫𝒏𝟏 =
𝑫𝒏𝟐

𝝐𝟏 𝑬𝒙𝟏 = 𝝐𝟐 𝑬𝒙𝟐

𝝐𝟏 𝑬𝒙𝟏 𝟑 𝟒
𝒐𝒓 𝑬𝒙𝟐 = = ×
∈𝟐 𝟒 𝟏
̂ 𝒙 + 𝟑𝒂
𝑬𝟐 = 𝟑𝒂 ̂ 𝒚 + 𝟓𝒂
̂𝒛
Option (c)

18.When a plane wave traveling in free – space is incident normally on a

medium having 𝜀𝑟 = 4.0, the fraction of power transmitted into the
medium is given by
(a) 8/9 (c) 1/3
(b) 1/2 (d) 5/6
[GATE 2006: 2 Marks]
Soln. Normal incidence from free space on a medium is shown in figure

𝑬𝒕 𝟐𝜼𝟐 𝟐
= =
𝑬𝒊 𝜼𝟐 + 𝜼𝟏 𝟏 + 𝜼𝟏
𝜼𝟐

1 2

free space ∈𝑟 = 4
𝜇 = 𝜇0 𝜇2 = 𝜇0
∈ = ∈0
𝜂1 = 𝜂0
𝐸𝑖 𝐸𝑡
𝑃𝑖 𝑃𝑡
𝐸𝑟
𝑃𝑟
 𝜼𝟏 𝝁𝟐 ∈𝟐
=√ 𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟎
𝜼𝟐 𝝁𝟏 ∈𝟏

= √∈𝒓 = 𝟐

𝑬𝒕 𝟐 𝟐
= =
𝑬𝒊 𝟏 + 𝟐 𝟑

𝑬𝟐𝒊
𝑷𝒊 = 𝑰𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 =
𝜼𝟏

𝑬𝟐𝒕
𝑷𝒕 = 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 =
𝜼𝟐

𝑷𝒕 𝑬𝟐𝒕 𝜼𝟏 𝟒 𝟖
= 𝟐 = ×𝟐 =
𝑷𝒊 𝑬𝒊 𝜼𝟐 𝟗 𝟗
Option (a)

⃗ field (in A/m) of a plane wave propagating in free space is given

19. The 𝐻
⃗ = 𝑥̂ 5√3 cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝛽𝑧) + 𝑦̂
by 𝐻
5 𝜋
sin (𝜔𝑡 − 𝛽𝑧 + ). The time average
𝜂0 𝜂0 2
power flow density in Watts is
𝜂
(a) 0 (c) 50𝜂02
100 50
100 (d)
(b) 𝜂0
𝜂0
[GATE 2007: Marks]
Soln.
𝟓√ 𝟑 𝟓 𝝅
⃗⃗⃗ = 𝒙
𝑯 ̂ ̂ 𝐬𝐢𝐧 (𝝎𝒕 − 𝜷𝒛 + )
𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 − 𝜷𝒛) + 𝒚
𝜼𝟎 𝜼𝟎 𝟐

𝟓√ 𝟑 𝟓
𝑯𝒙 = , 𝑯𝒚 =
𝜼𝟎 𝜼𝟎
 𝟐
(𝟓√𝟑) 𝟓𝟐
𝑯𝑻 = √𝑯𝟐𝒙 + 𝑯𝟐𝒚 =√ +
𝜼𝟐𝟎 𝜼𝟐𝟎

𝟓 𝟐
= √(√𝟑) + 𝟏
𝜼𝟎
𝟓
= √𝟒
𝜼𝟎
𝟏𝟎
=
𝜼𝟎

Time average power flow density

𝟏
𝑷𝒂𝒗𝒈 = 𝜼𝟎 𝑯𝟐𝑻
𝟐

𝟏 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝟓𝟎
= 𝜼 = 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒔
𝟐 𝟎 𝜼𝟐𝟎 𝜼𝟎
Option (d)

20. A plane wave having the electric field component

𝐸⃗𝑖 = 24 cos(3×108 𝑡 − 𝛽𝑦) 𝑎̂𝑧 𝑉/𝑚 and traveling in free space is
incident normally on a lossless medium with 𝜇 = 𝜇0 and 𝜀 = 9 𝜀0 which
occupies the region 𝑦 ≥ 0. The reflected magnetic field component is
given by
1
(a) cos(3×108 𝑡 + 𝑦) 𝑎̂𝑥 𝐴/𝑚
10𝜋
1
(b) cos(3×108 𝑡 + 𝑦) 𝑎̂𝑥 𝐴/𝑚
20𝜋
1
(c) − cos(3×108 𝑡 + 𝑦) 𝑎̂𝑥 𝐴/𝑚
20𝜋
1
(d) − cos(3×108 𝑡 + 𝑦) 𝑎̂𝑥 𝐴/𝑚
10𝜋
[GATE 2010: 2 Marks]
Soln. 𝑬𝒊𝒛 = 𝟐𝟒 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒕 − 𝜷𝒚) 𝒗/𝒎
𝝎 = 𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒓𝒂𝒅/𝒔𝒆𝒄
 𝝎
𝜷=
𝑽
𝑽 = 𝑽𝟎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 = 𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎/𝒔𝒆𝒄
𝜷 = 𝟏 𝒓/𝒎

𝑬𝒊𝒛
𝜼𝟏 = 𝜼𝟎 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅 =
𝑯𝒊𝒙

𝟐𝟒 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒕 − 𝒚) 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒕 − 𝒚)
𝑯𝒊𝒙 = =
𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅 𝟓𝝅

𝜼𝟏
𝑯𝒓 𝜼𝟏 − 𝜼𝟐 𝜼𝟐 − 𝟏
= =
𝑯𝒊 𝜼𝟏 + 𝜼𝟐 𝜼𝟏 + 𝟏
𝜼𝟐

𝜼𝟏 √𝝁𝟐 ∈𝟐
=
𝜼𝟐 √𝝁𝟏 ∈𝟏
𝝁𝟐 = 𝝁𝟏 = 𝝁𝟎

𝜼𝟏 √∈𝟐 𝟗 ∈𝟎
= =√ =𝟑
𝜼𝟐 √∈𝟏 ∈𝟎

𝑯𝒓 𝟑 − 𝟏 𝟏
= =
𝑯𝒊 𝟑 + 𝟏 𝟐
⃗⃗⃗ 𝒓 = 𝟏 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒕 + 𝟏𝒚) 𝒂
𝑯 ⃗ 𝒙 𝑨/𝒎
𝟐

⃗⃗⃗ 𝒓 is reflected wave which travels in negative Y direction

𝑯
Option (a)

21. The electric and magnetic fields for a TEM wave of frequency 14 GHz in
a homogeneous medium of relative permittivity 𝜀𝑟 and relative
permeability 𝜇𝑟 = 1 are given by
 𝐸⃗ = 𝐸𝑃 𝑒 𝑗(𝜔𝑡−280𝜋𝑦) 𝑢̂𝑧 𝑉 / 𝑚

⃗ = 3 𝑒 𝑗(𝜔𝑡−280𝜋𝑦) 𝑢̂𝑥 𝑉 / 𝑚
𝐻
Assuming the speed of light in free space to be 3×108 𝑚/𝑠, the intrinsic
impedance of free space to be 120 π, the relative permittivity 𝜀𝑟 of the
medium and the electric field amplitude 𝐸𝑃 are
(a) 𝜀𝑟 = 3, 𝐸𝑃 = 120𝜋 (c) 𝜀𝑟 = 9, 𝐸𝑃 = 360𝜋
(b) 𝜀𝑟 = 3, 𝐸𝑃 = 360𝜋 (d) 𝜀𝑟 = 9, 𝐸𝑃 = 120𝜋
[GATE 2011: 2 Marks]
⃗⃗ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯
Soln. 𝑬 ⃗⃗⃗ , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘 − 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Phase shift constant 𝜷 = 𝟐𝟖𝟎𝝅

𝑬 𝑬𝑷
𝜼= =
𝑯 𝟑
𝝎
Velocity of wave 𝑽 =
𝜷

𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟒×𝟏𝟎𝟗
𝑽= 𝟐𝟖𝟎𝝅
= 𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎/𝒔

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑽= = ×
√𝝁 ∈ √𝝁𝟎 ∈𝟎 √𝝁𝒓 ∈𝒓
𝟏
Velocity for free space = 𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎/𝒔𝒆𝒄
√𝝁𝟎 ∈𝟎

𝟏
𝑽 = 𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖 ×
√𝝁𝒓 ∈𝒓

𝝁𝒓 = 𝟏
𝟑×𝟏𝟎𝟖
𝑽= = 𝟏𝟎𝟖 , ∈𝒓 = 𝟗
√∈𝒓

𝝁 𝝁𝒓 𝝁𝟎 𝝁𝟎 𝟏
𝜼=√ =√ =√ ×
∈ ∈𝒓 ∈𝟎 ∈𝟎 √∈ 𝒓
 𝝁𝒓 = 𝟏

𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅
𝜼=
√∈𝒓

𝑬𝑷 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅
=
𝟑 √∈𝒓
𝑬𝑷 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝝅 𝑽/𝒎
Option (c)

22. If the electric field of a plane wave is

𝐸⃗ (𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝑥̂3 cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘𝑧 + 300 ) − 𝑦̂4 sin(𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘𝑧 + 450 ) (𝑚𝑉/𝑚)
The polarization state of the plane wave is
(a) Left elliptical (c) Right elliptical
(b) Left circular (d) Right circular
[GATE 2014: 2 Mark]
Soln. Equation for electric field of plane wave is
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝒙
̂. 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 − 𝒌𝒛 + 𝟑𝟎𝟎 ) − 𝒚
̂. 𝟒 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝝎𝒕 − 𝒌𝒛 + 𝟒𝟓𝟎 ) (𝒎𝑽/
𝒎)
Here wave is propagation in +z direction. Above equation can be
written for z = 0
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝟎, 𝒕) = 𝒙
̂. 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 + 𝟑𝟎𝟎 ) − 𝒚. 𝟒 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝝎𝒕 + 𝟒𝟓𝟎 )
̂. 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 + 𝟑𝟎𝟎 ) + 𝒚. 𝟒 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝝎𝒕 + 𝟒𝟓𝟎 + 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎 )
=𝒙
̂. 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 + 𝟑𝟎𝟎 ) + 𝒚
𝑬(𝟎, 𝒕) = 𝒙 ̂. 𝟒 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 + 𝟏𝟑𝟓𝟎 )
Ey component is leading Ex by 1050
As in the given figure the resultant E vector rotates in clockwise
direction as shown. Since the direction of propagation is +z direction.
If we look the wave in +z direction then it will look moving counter
clockwise or left hand elliptically polarized (|𝑬𝒙 | ≠ |𝑬𝒚 |)
 𝑦

Hint: For right handed coordinate system. In the given figure

𝐸2
𝐸

𝑥
𝑧 𝐸1

E1 - amplitude of wave linearly polarized in x direction

E2 - amplitude of wave linearly polarized in y direction
E- Resultant vector
If E2 leads E1, then E vector moves (clockwise) as indicated
If E1 leads E2 then it moves in counter clockwise. To observe the wave
polarization, we have to look towards the direction of propagation of
wave.
(Refer: Antennas by Kraus)
 23. The electric field of a plane wave propagation in a lossless non –
magnetic medium is given by the following expression
𝜋
𝐸⃗ (𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝑎̂𝑥 5 cos(2𝜋×109 𝑡 + 𝛽𝑧) + 𝑎̂𝑦 3 cos (2𝜋×109 𝑡 + 𝛽𝑧 − )
2
The type of the polarization is
(a) Right hand circular (c) Right hand elliptical
(b) Left hand elliptical (d) Linear
[GATE 2015: 2 Mark]
Soln. Given
𝝅
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝒂
̂ 𝒙 𝟓 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝒕 + 𝜷𝒛) + 𝒂
̂ 𝒚 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬 (𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝒕 + 𝜷𝒛 − )
𝟐

Let 𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅×𝟏𝟎𝟗
𝝅
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝒛, 𝒕) = 𝒂
̂ 𝒙 𝟓 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒕 + 𝜷𝒛) + 𝒂
̂ 𝒚 𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐬 (𝝎𝒕 + 𝜷𝒛 − )
𝟐

Here, Ey is lagging Ex by 900

The resultant vector moves as shown (opposite to leading case) as
shown in the given figure
𝐸𝑦

−𝑧
𝐸

𝐸𝑥

Direction of propagation as per the equation is –z direction

Thus, the resultant vector E moves in counter clock clockwise if we
look into –z direction
Thus, the wave is left hand elliptically polarized (since unequal
amplitude)
Option (b)