Electromagnetic Field Interaction with Transmission Lines

Book excerpt: The evaluation of electromagnetic field coupling to transmission lines is an important problem in electromagnetic compatibility. Traditionally, use is made of the TL approximation which applies to uniform transmission lines with electrically small cross-sectional dimensions, where the dominant mode of propagation is TEM. Antenna-mode currents and higher-order modes appearing at higher frequencies are neglected in TL theory. The use of the TL approximation has permitted to solve a large range of problems (e.g. lightning and EMP interaction with power lines). However, the continual increase in operating frequency of products and higher frequency sources of disturbances (such as UWB systems) makes that the TL basic assumptions are no longer acceptable for a certain number of applications. In the last decade or so, the generalization of classical TL theory to take into account high frequency effects has emerged as an important topic of study in electromagnetic compatibility. This effort resulted in the elaboration of the so-called 'generlized' or 'full-wave' TL theory, which incorporates high frequency radiation effects, while keeping the relative simplicity of TL equations. This book is organized in two main parts. Part I presents consolidated knowledge of classical transmission line theory and different field-to-transmission line coupling models. Part II presents different approaches developed to generalize TL Theory.