ECE 3209 — Electromagnetic Fields
University of Virginia
Fall 2016
As you study and learn about the different specialized areas of electrical engineering, many
of you might notice that only a few of your courses make explicit reference to electromagnetic
fields. In fact, many of the engineers that work in signal processing, controls, digital systems
or computer architecture never calculate an electric field magnitude or worry about concepts
such as the magnetic vector potential. Part of the reason is that much of engineering design
is done at a “system” level where the details of electromagnetic field distributions or the
inner workings of semiconductor components are unnecessary complications. Given this, you
might be tempted to ask why is it necessary to learn about electromagnetic fields?
Electromagnetics was the first “specialized” area in electrical engineering and continues to
be the foundation upon which all modern electrical systems are based. This is not always
obvious because electromagnetic field theory is often “hidden” or disguised by a simpler set
of rules. Most engineers are familiar with Kirchhoff’s Laws which are used to design and
analyze electrical circuits. Kirchhoff’s Laws, however, are really simplified versions of more
general laws known as Maxwell’s Equations. Maxwell’s Equations are the fundamental rules
governing the behavior of electromagnetic fields and, as a consequence, all electrical and
electronic systems.
Perhaps the area in which electromagnetics is most readily apparent is the microwave and
wireless RF industry. The RF industry is quite large: microwave systems have been a vital
technology for our nation’s defense since World War II and, more recently, the commercial
and consumer applications of microwave and RF systems have grown at an unprecedented
rate thanks to development of wireless networks, high-bandwidth personal communications,
automotive collision avoidance radar, and navigation systems for cars, aircraft and ships.
Moreover, the speed of computer CPU’s has continued to increase with the development of
nanometer-scale CMOS devices enabling clock rates well into the Gigahertz region. At these
frequencies, metal traces on printed circuit boards can behave as antennas radiating energy
and there can be very strong coupling between signals on adjacent PC traces (crosstalk). Also,
at these frequencies, one must be very careful to account for propagation delays and reflected
signals bouncing back and forth within a printed circuit. With all this going on, digital signals
do not look much like simple “1”’s and “0”’s anymore. To understand these phenomena
and properly account for them, the designers of such systems must be knowledgeable of
electromagnetic field theory.
The goal of this course is for you to learn the basic laws of electromagnetism and to see
how to apply those laws to engineering problems. Traditionally, most students have found
this subject challenging. Electromagnetic fields are a somewhat abstract concept and it
usually takes some effort before one becomes comfortable with the concept. For those of
you who intend to study semiconductor devices, optics and lasers, RF electronics, or wireless
communications, familiarity with electromagnetic fields is mandatory. One emphasis of the
class will be on relating field concepts to their analogous counterparts in circuit theory. This
approach serves two main purposes: (1) it will allow you to connect the material in this class
to what you have learned previously, and (2) assist you in understanding fundamental field
concepts through their (more familiar) forms used in circuit theory.
One last note: the laws of electromagnetism are most conveniently expressed using vector
differential equations. As a result, the development of electromagnetics depends heavily on
vector calculus. We will review the necessary concepts from Multivariable Calculus as we need
them and explain how they are used to understand electromagnetic phenomena. Nevertheless,
if you feel your background in Multivariable Calculus is weak, you will probably benefit from
reviewing the material from APMA 2120.
Instructor:
Bobby Weikle
Office: Thornton E220
Phone: 924-3362
email: weikle@virginia.edu
Office Hours: Monday, 10 am–noon, Tuesday 2:30–5 pm and Wednesday 1–2 p.m.
Course Objectives
• To explain, through lectures assignments, and hands-on projects the fundamental
principles of electromagnetic field theory,
• To deepen students’ understanding of vector analysis and multivariable calculus and
their application to electromagnetics, and
• To introduce students to the basic techniques for applying electromagnetic field
theory to solving practical problems of interest to engineering.
Textbook:
Required
• Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics by Fawwaz Ulaby and Umberto Ravaioli
Peason Education, 2015.
This is relatively recent edition of a text that covers the majority of the topics
we will discuss during the semester. It is written at a fundamental level and is
intended for a one-semester course in electrostatic and electrodynamic fields.
Ulaby gives numerous example problems and presents the subject in a organized and logical fashion. In addition, the book includes a nice set of ”Technology Briefs” that illustrate how Electromagnetic Fields and concepts are
used in modern engineering systems. You should find the text useful whether
you are learning the material for the first time or are reviewing fundamental
electromagnetics for more advanced work.
Recommended
• Schaum’s Outline of Electromagnetics, 4th ed., by Joseph Edminister and Mahmood
Nahvi
McGraw-Hill Education, 2013.
This is a supplemental work that ”outlines” basic concepts in electromagnetics.
Its primary value is that it contains a large number of solved problems as well
as practice problems with answers. You should find this a helpful resource as
you study and prepare for exams.
Other Useful References
The following texts have been used from time-to-time for this course and they are
all quite useful. I will place copies of these on reserve in the Brown Engineering and
Science Library.
• Field and Wave Electromagnetics, 2nd ed., by David K. Cheng
Addison-Wesley 1989.
This is a comprehensive text by Cheng that covers the same material as the
book we will be using in class, but goes into greater depth on a variety of
topics and covers additional topics appropriate for a more advanced course.
• Fields and Waves in Communication Electronics, 3rd ed., by Simon Ramo, John
Whinnery, and Theodore Van Duzer
John Wiley & Sons, 1994.
This is my favorite intermediate text on electromagnetics. The book is a
classic and has been around in one form or another since 1944! It covers a
fairly broad range of topics from electrostatics to optics and is one of the most
useful references around.
• Electromagnetics, 4th ed., by J.D. Kraus
McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Kraus’s book was first written in 1953 and is also recognized as a classic text.
The latest edition is quite readable and has a number of computer code listings
for simulating and solving electromagnetics problems numerically.
Lectures:
The organization of the course will consist of lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays, followed
by an in-class “laboratory” in which you will explore the concepts discussed in class through
experiments, measurements, and small design projects. The lectures will mostly cover topics
found in the text and my intention will be to complement and explain the concepts you read
and study in the text rather than simply repeating them to you. I will also on occasion
deviate from the text and present related material not necessarily found in the book. My
purpose in doing this is to help connect the material in this course to that you will cover in
other ECE courses as well as to provide new perspectives to help you understand the material
more comprehensively. Also note that my lectures will not always present subjects in the
same way or order as the text. Instead, I will be discussing my approach to electromagnetics
and this may be different in many instances than Ulaby’s. I am a firm believer that to fully
understand a subject, it is necessary to be able to look at it from different points-of-view.
For homeworks and exams, you will be responsible for the subjects that we discuss
in class and that are assigned for reading.
Homework:
Homework will generally be assigned weekly. The homework is not pledged, and you are
encouraged to talk about the assignments with others. Discussing problems with fellow
students is an outstanding way to learn the material. However, your solutions must be
your own and not copied from someone else. Likewise, you are not permitted to
refer to or copy solutions from previous years.
In addition to a set of problems, homework assignments will also include a section related
to the in-class projects and labs. In this section, you will typically be asked answer a set of
questions and/or perform calculations based on your measurements from the lab projects.
For the in-class projects, you will work with a small team of fellow students to construct
experiments and conduct measurements. A portion of your grade will be determined by your
participation and active collaboration with your partners on these in-class projects. You will
also be expected to share the data collected from these projects with your lab mates, but must
perform you own calculations and analysis to turn in as part of the homework assignment.
To help mitigate those occasions when you cannot attend class, I will drop your two lowest
homeworks from the final class average.
Grading:
Your grade in the class will be determined from a weighted average of homeworks, exams,
and the final, as shown below. The exams will be in-class, closed book, and time-limited.
Participation in Lab Projects
Homework
2 Midterm Exams
Final Exam
5%
15%
25% each
30%
Class Website and Schedule:
A tentative schedule of the topics we will cover during the semester along with
relevant chapters in the text book is provided on the class website:
http://people.virginia.edu/∼rmw5w/ECE3209Fall2016.htm
You should refer to this site regularly as announcements, assignments, and other
important materials for the class will be posted there.