DISPERSION AND ATTENUATION CHARACTERISTICS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC-WAVES PROPAGATING ALONG A PLANE CONDUCTOR

Several characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) waves propagating along a bare (or dielectric-coated) plane conductor (or semiconductor) are obtained by solving Maxwell's equations. The theory was constructed by regarding the metal as an electron plasma. The results were as follows: (I) Dispersion relations and attenuation coefficient for surface wave are obtained in terms of electron relaxation time and electron density in metal, (II) EM propagating modes in the dielectric layer are modified by electron density in metal, (III) Several characteristics of the propagations are also obtained qualitatively, especially on mode conversion between surface wave (SW) and the TM1 mode in the dielectric layer.