Surface Waves and Their Application to Transmission Lines

In this paper the applicability of non-radiating surface waves for transmission lines is investigated. Two types of waves are considered. The first one, originally studied by A. Sommerfeld, is guided by a cylindrical conductor of finite conductivity. Although this wave type has (under comparable conditions) much lower attenuation than the waves in coaxial cables or rigid wave guides, its practical application is restricted by the fact that the extension of the field is very large. Efficient excitation and undisturbed propagation of this wave mode are feasible only for very high frequencies. The other wave type considered in this paper has not been treated in the literature. It is guided by a conductor which is coated with a dielectric layer or the surface of which is otherwise modified; for example, by being threaded. The field of this wave type has a structure similar to that of Sommerfeld's wave, but the extension of the field can be controlled by the surface modification. Thus low loss transmission lines on the basis of this wave type become feasible for frequencies above 100 megacycles. The information necessary for the design of such lines is given and the agreement between the theoretically expected transmission losses and the measured transmission losses is checked.