Reflection and Transmission of Plane Waves at a Dielectric-Metal Boundary

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the reflection and transmission of plane waves at a dielectric-metal boundary, specifically involving a dielectric with permittivity ##\epsilon_{r}## and an ideal metal boundary at ##z=d##. The total electric field in the dielectric, represented as ##\vec{E_{D}}##, is derived from the superposition of incident and reflected waves. Key insights include the requirement that the parallel electric field must be zero at the boundary due to the ideal conductor's properties, and the necessity for the frequency of incident and reflected waves to remain constant to satisfy boundary conditions. The user identifies a potential error in applying the plane wave formula for free space instead of the dielectric medium.

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  • Understanding of electromagnetic wave propagation in dielectrics
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  • Knowledge of Faraday's law and its application in electromagnetic theory
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  • Study the derivation of wave equations in dielectric media, focusing on permittivity ##\epsilon_{r}##
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bananabandana
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Homework Statement


Sorry for the dull question. Problem is as shown/attached
Screen Shot 2016-05-28 at 12.10.47.png


Homework Equations


The waves in part ii) are traveling in a HIL dielectric of permittivity ##\epsilon_{r}## from ##0 <z<d## and then hit an ideal metal boundary at ##z=d##.

The Attempt at a Solution


I figure this should be quite obvious! The total field in the dielectric ##\vec{E_{D}}## is the superposition of the reflected and incident waves. At ##z=d## the field parallel to the boundary must be 0 -ideal metal is ideal conductor and so electrons can move to precisely counteract the field. We also know (from applying Faraday's law to a small loop around the boundary) that the parallel electric field must be continuous across the boundary. i.e

$$ \vec{E_{d}} =E_{D}\hat{\mathbf{x}}= \bigg(E_{xi}exp[i(kz-\omega t)] + E_{xr} exp[i(-kz-\omega t) ]\bigg)\hat{\mathbf{x}} $$
[n.b - the frequency of the incident and reflected waves has to be the same, else we couldn't satisfy the boundary condition for all t,] So:
$$ E_{D}(z=d) =0 \implies E_{xi} \big[cos(kd) +isin(kd)\big] =-E_{xr} \big[cos(kd)-isin(kd)\big] $$
$$ E_{xr} = -\frac{ cos(kd)+isin(kd)}{cos(kd)-isin(kd)} E_{xi} $$
Which is obviously not the result I'm meant to get! What has gone wrong?
 
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It looks to me that the given formula for the plane wave is for free space for z<0. So, you have the first get the expression for the wave inside the dielectric. That is where you will get the ##\epsilon_r## and ##k'## terms.
 

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