Propagating modes along a thin wire located above a grounded dielectric slab

The possible propagating modes supported by a wire located parallel to a grounded dielectric slab are investigated. While at low frequencies a quasi-TEM behavior is exhibited, it is shown numerically that under certain conditions, a very different surface-attached character emerges. These results suggest the possibility of similar behavior occurring in the related, but more difficult to analyze configuration of open microstrip lines. The particular structure analyzed here is of interest mainly because of its potential application in air strip ground radar monitoring system, which conceivably can consist of a horizontal wire located above a reinforced concrete slab lying above a conducting earth surface.