On the Feasibility of Power Transmission using Microwave Energy in Circular Waveguide*

Abstract

SummaryA cylindrical waveguide operating in the TE01 mode can transmit powers of the order of thousands of megawatts in frequency ranges below lOgc/s with acceptable copper losses over distances of hundreds of miles, provided It can be made with sufficient accuracy to avoid excessive power transfer into other unwanted high-loss modes. The tolerances on the guide straightness appear to be the most severe limitation on the use of this type of guide as a high power system component. These tolerances are evaluated here and found to be of the order of 10 to 100 mils in distances of a few hundred feet for typical values of the other parameters such as 2.0 gc/s in a 1-meter-radius guide providing one db power loss in a distance of 200 miles. It is also shown that low loss bends (about 0.005 db/mile) with bending radii of the order of 1.0 mils are possible if the length of the bend is accurately controlled and the guide has a dielectric lining of the proper thickness.