Transmission/Reflection Frequency Response of a Polarising Grid

[logbook]

I have been trying to find out some quantitative information on polarising grids for RF/microwave signals and despite checking over a dozen electromagnetics and physics text books I have found almost nothing.

In the early experiments of Hertz 66cm waves were passed through a polarising grid consisting of parallel 1mm wires separated by 3cm. When the grid was mis-aligned the transmitted signal was minimal. It therefore appears that when the grid spacing is 1/21 of a wavelength the transmission is minimal.

That is the most quantitative information I have found! I want to know what how the reflection and transmission coefficients to an incident plane wave vary as a function of wavelength for a given spacing between the wires. Presumably copper wires are sufficiently conductive that the loss is sufficiently small that non-transmitted waves are simply reflected.

Does anyone have any quantitative information to offer?

 

[biff44]

Search for papers under "quasi-optical"

 

[IRstuff]

That reflects ;-) the well-known aperture effects in the RF. Most RF texts will at least discuss the aperture size vs transmission into a waveguide as a function of size of aperture and wavelength.

TTFN