Waveguide system for slot radiating first electromagnetic waves that are combined into a non-fundamental wave mode second electromagnetic wave on a transmission medium

• US 9,865,911 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2015
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Henry, Paul Shala, Bennett, Robert, Barzegar, Farhad, Gerszberg, Irwin, Barnickel, Donald J., Willis, III, Thomas M., Guntin, Ed
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, BENNY T
• Application Number:
  US14/750,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20160380327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 333240, 333237, 333248
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/16 for mode selection, e.g. mode suppression or mode promotion; for mode conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/10 Wire waveguides, i.e. with a single solid longitudinal conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/12 Hollow waveguides H01P3/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/122 Dielectric loaded (not air)
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/16 Dielectric waveguides, i.e. without a longitudinal conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/02 with invariable factor of coupling H01P5/12 takes precedence choke joints H01P1/04, H01P1/06
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/08 for linking dissimilar lines or devices H01P1/16, H01P5/04 take precedence; linking lines of the same kind but with different dimensions H01P5/02
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/087 Transitions to a dielectric waveguide
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/08 Radiating ends of two-conductor microwave transmission lines, e.g. of coaxial lines, of microstrip lines
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/20 Non-resonant leaky-waveguide or transmission-line antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/26 Surface waveguide constituted by a single conductor, e.g. strip conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system for generating first electromagnetic waves and directing instances of the first electromagnetic waves to an interface of a transmission medium to induce propagation of second electromagnetic waves substantially having a non-fundamental wave mode. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

radiating, by waveguide slots of a waveguide system, instances of first electromagnetic waves by at least a portion of the waveguide slots; and

combining at least two of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves along a portion of a transmission medium to induce propagation of a second electromagnetic wave bound to an outer surface of the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, the second electromagnetic wave having at least a dominant non-fundamental wave mode, and the second electromagnetic wave having a non-optical operating frequency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a pair of the waveguide slots is configured to have a relative position to each other to generate a pair of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves having electric field orientations of a substantially similar direction to produce at least the dominant non-fundamental wave mode of the second electromagnetic wave.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveguide slots are located on a cover of the waveguide system, wherein a surface of the cover is divided into an inner region and an outer region, wherein currents flowing on the surface of the cover in the inner region differ from currents flowing on the surface of the cover in the outer region, and wherein placement of the waveguide slots at certain locations relative to the inner region and the outer region having a certain circumferential distance between the waveguide slots, results in first electric fields of a first instance of the at least two of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves generated by one of the waveguide slots being substantially asymmetrical to second electric fields of a second instance of the at least two of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves generated by another of the waveguide slots, thereby producing the second electromagnetic wave having at least the dominant non-fundamental wave mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiating the instances of first electromagnetic waves is enabled by the at least the portion of the waveguide slots.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least the portion of the waveguide slots are enabled by removing an obstacle blocking generation of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves by the at least the portion of the waveguide slots.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the radiating further comprises disabling one or more other slots of the waveguide slots.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more other slots of the waveguide slots are disabled by applying an obstacle to each of the one or more other slots of the waveguide slots to prevent radiating electromagnetic waves by the one or more other slots of the waveguide slots.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiating the instances of the first electromagnetic waves comprises:

emitting, by a first slot of the at least the portion of the waveguide slots, a first instance of the first electromagnetic waves having a first phase; and

emitting, by a second slot of the at least the portion of the waveguide slots, a second instance of the first electromagnetic waves having a second phase.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the combining comprises the first instance of the first electromagnetic waves emitted by the first slot having the first phase combining with the second instance of the first electromagnetic waves emitted by the second slot having the second phase to produce the second electromagnetic wave having at least the dominant non-fundamental wave mode.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveguide system comprises a waveguide structure for guiding the instances of the first electromagnetic waves to the waveguide slots.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the transmission medium comprises a core, wherein the outer surface of the transmission medium corresponds to an outer surface of the core, and wherein the second electromagnetic wave is guided and bound to the outer surface of the core without requiring an electrical return path.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the transmission medium comprises an outer surface of an insulated conductor or an uninsulated conductor, and wherein the second electromagnetic wave is guided and bound to the outer surface of the insulated conductor or the uninsulated conductor.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the at least the portion of the waveguide slots of the waveguide system, third electromagnetic waves guided by the transmission medium.

14. A waveguide system, comprising:

a transmitter for radiating first electromagnetic waves by slots of a waveguide device; and

a structure of the waveguide device for guiding at least two instances of the first electromagnetic waves radiated by at least two of the slots to induce propagation of a second electromagnetic wave along a portion of a transmission medium, the second electromagnetic wave bound to an outer surface of the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, the second electromagnetic wave substantially having a non-fundamental wave mode, and the second electromagnetic wave having a non-optical operating frequency.

15. The waveguide system of claim 14, wherein the instances of the first electromagnetic waves have electric field orientations that have a similar direction to substantially produce the non-fundamental wave mode.

16. The waveguide system of claim 15, wherein a first slot of the slots radiates a first instance of the first electromagnetic waves having a first phase, wherein a second slot of the slots radiates a second instance of the first electromagnetic waves having a second phase, and wherein inducing the propagation of the second electromagnetic wave comprises the first instance of the first electromagnetic waves combining with the second instance of the first electromagnetic waves to induce the propagation of the second electromagnetic wave along the portion of the transmission medium.

17. The waveguide system of claim 14, wherein the waveguide device is configured to enable a selection of the slots to radiate the at least two instances of the first electromagnetic waves guided to the portion of the transmission medium to induce propagation of the second electromagnetic wave along the portion of the transmission medium.

18. A method, comprising:

selecting, by a waveguide system, a non-fundamental wave mode;

enabling, by the waveguide system, a plurality of apertures of a waveguide structure of the waveguide system according to the non-fundamental wave mode selected;

radiating, by the plurality of apertures, first electromagnetic waves; and

guiding, by the waveguide structure, instances of the first electromagnetic waves to a portion of a transmission medium, wherein the instances of the first electromagnetic waves combine into a second electromagnetic wave having at least the non-fundamental wave mode selected, wherein propagation of the second electromagnetic wave is bound to an outer surface of the transmission medium, and wherein the second electromagnetic wave has a non-optical operating frequency.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the instances of the first electromagnetic waves guided by the waveguide structure have asymmetric electric field orientations.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein a first of the plurality of apertures radiates a first of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves having a first phase, wherein a second of the plurality of apertures radiates a second of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves having a second phase, and wherein the first of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves combining with the second of the instances of the first electromagnetic waves to generate the second electromagnetic wave having at least the non-fundamental wave mode selected.