Excitation and use of guided surface wave modes on lossy media

• US 10,680,306 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2018
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Corum, James F., Corum, Kenneth L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Takaoka, Dean O
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Alan
• Application Number:
  US15/894,176
• Publication Number:
  US 20180183128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0218 Very long range radars, e.g. surface wave radar, over-the-horizon or ionospheric propagation systems for meteorological use G01S13/95
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/00 Waveguides; Transmission lines of the waveguide type
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/00 Coupling devices of the waveguide type
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/00 Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas arrangements for varying orientation of directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for exciting a guided surface waveguide probe to create a plurality of resultant fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a lossy conducting medium.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe that generates a plurality of electromagnetic fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a terrestrial medium to launch a Zenneck surface wave, wherein the electromagnetic fields substantially synthesize a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of the terrestrial medium, wherein the Zenneck surface wave mode is substantially expressed as

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a radiation resistance of the guided surface waveguide probe is substantially zero.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a height of the guided surface waveguide probe is less than λ

/2π

at an operating frequency of the guided surface waveguide probe, where λ

is a wavelength at the operating frequency.

4. An apparatus, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe that generates a plurality of electromagnetic fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a lossy conducting medium to launch a Zenneck surface wave, wherein the electromagnetic fields substantially synthesize a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of the lossy conducting medium, the guided surface waveguide probe comprising a plurality of charge terminals, and the guided surface waveguide probe is adjusted based at least in part on a height of at least one of the charge terminals.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein a radiation resistance of the guided surface waveguide probe is substantially zero.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein a height of the guided surface waveguide probe is less than

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe that generates a plurality of electromagnetic fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a lossy conducting medium to launch a Zenneck surface wave, wherein the electromagnetic fields substantially synthesize a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of the lossy conducting medium, the guided surface waveguide probe comprising a plurality of charge terminals, and the guided surface waveguide probe is adjusted based at least in part on a distance between the charge terminals.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a radiation resistance of the guided surface waveguide probe is substantially zero.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a height of the guided surface waveguide probe is less than

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe that generates a plurality of electromagnetic fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a lossy conducting medium to launch a Zenneck surface wave, wherein the electromagnetic fields substantially synthesize a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of the lossy conducting medium, the guided surface waveguide probe comprising a plurality of charge terminals, and the guided surface waveguide probe is adjusted based at least in part on a size of at least one of the charge terminals.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a radiation resistance of the guided surface waveguide probe is substantially zero.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a height of the guided surface waveguide probe is less than

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the guided surface waveguide probe is tuned based at least in part on a probe coupling circuit coupled to the charge terminals.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the guided surface waveguide probe generates the plurality of electromagnetic fields that are substantially mode-matched to the Zenneck surface wave mode of the surface of the lossy conducting medium based at least in part on a plurality of voltage magnitudes and a plurality of phases that are imposed on the charge terminals.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the guided surface waveguide probe further comprises a probe coupling circuit coupled to the charge terminals, the probe coupling circuit being configured to impose the voltage magnitudes and the phases on the charge terminals.

16. A method, comprising:

exciting a guided surface waveguide probe to create a plurality of resultant fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a terrestrial medium by imposing a plurality of voltage magnitudes and a plurality of phases on a plurality of charge terminals of the guided surface waveguide probe; and

varying the plurality of voltage magnitudes and the plurality of phases based at least in part on a physical position of a respective one of the plurality of charge terminals.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the physical position comprises a relative position of the respective one of the plurality of charge terminals with respect to the terrestrial medium.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the resultant fields substantially synthesize a wave incident at a complex Brewster angle of the terrestrial medium, resulting in substantially zero reflection.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the physical position comprises a relative position of the respective one of the plurality of charge terminals with respect to another one of the plurality of charge terminals.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising varying the plurality of voltage magnitudes and the plurality of phases based at least in part on a physical size of the respective one of the plurality of charge terminals.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising varying the plurality of voltage magnitudes and the plurality of phases as a function of an electrical circuit.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising arranging each of the plurality of charge terminals at a respective different height above the terrestrial medium.

23. A method, comprising:

exciting a guided surface waveguide probe to create a plurality of resultant fields that are substantially mode-matched to a Zenneck surface wave mode of a surface of a terrestrial medium by imposing a plurality of voltage magnitudes and a plurality of phases on a plurality of charge terminals of the guided surface waveguide probe; and

varying the plurality of voltage magnitudes and the plurality of phases based at least in part on a physical size of a respective one of the plurality of charge terminals.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the resultant fields substantially synthesize a wave incident at a complex Brewster angle of the terrestrial medium, resulting in substantially zero reflection.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the guided surface waveguide probe further comprises distribution circuitry coupled to the charge terminals.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the distribution circuitry comprises a coil.