Electromagnetic Fields and Transmission Lines (EE3105) in IITM BS: Syllabus

Electromagnetic Fields and Transmission Lines is a degree level core course in the IITM BS Electronic Systems programme. The handbook lists it at 4 credits with no prerequisite. It starts with transmission lines treated as circuits, then links them to Maxwell's equations, waves in open space and waveguides. Most modules include MATLAB exercises.

Code and credit gaps between the documents

• Two codes. The Sep 2025 syllabus calls this course EE3105. The ES handbook calls it EE3104. In the syllabus, EE3104 is a different course: the Sensors and Applications Lab. Go by the course name when you register.
• No credits or instructor in the syllabus. The syllabus entry for this course has no credit line and names no instructor. The 4 credits come from the handbook.

What you learn in this course

The syllabus has 6 modules and does not tie them to weeks. They fall into four stages.

1. Modules 1 and 2: lossless lines. Why fields matter for wireless links, antennas and power lines. Then a line modelled as a chain of inductors and capacitors, so signals take time to travel. You meet the telegrapher's equations, characteristic resistance, and open and short circuit ends. You solve the equations with finite difference methods in MATLAB, study reflections with bounce diagrams, standing waves and VSWR, and see how time domain reflectometry finds faults in a cable.
2. Module 3: lossy lines. Adding resistance and conductance to the model. Attenuation, phase and propagation constants. Negative resistance as a model for repeaters that boost a signal. Impedance matching and building a Smith chart in MATLAB. Why losses at high frequency push engineers toward wireless.
3. Module 4: from Maxwell back to lines. In one dimension, Maxwell's curl equations match the telegrapher's equations. Perfect conductors act like short circuits, and perfect magnetic conductors like open circuits. You study the wave impedance of a medium, media from good dielectrics to good conductors, the Poynting vector for power flow, and plane waves.
4. Modules 5 and 6: beyond the line model. Waves that spread out with no fixed path, Huygens' principle, and linear, circular and elliptical polarisation. Reflection at angles, Brewster's angle, and different kinds of boundaries. Then waves in closed structures: modes, parallel plate and rectangular waveguides, group and phase velocity, cavities, and MATLAB studies of bends, splitters, couplers, resonators and refractive index sensing.

The textbooks are "Fields and Waves in Communication Electronics" by Ramo, Whinnery and Van Duzer, and "Engineering Electromagnetics" by Hayt and Buck. Jackson's "Classical Electrodynamics" is listed as a reference.

How the course is assessed

The syllabus does not describe grading. The handbook's general pattern for ES courses is weekly online assignments, two in-person quizzes and an in-person end term exam, with details in each course's grading document. No lab is paired with this course.

Where it counts

It is a core course at the degree level, so every ES student needs it for the BS degree. The handbook says BS level core courses are offered every term. It is not part of any minor. See the other core courses in ES degree level courses.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

Expect a lot of maths. The trouble spots are partial differential equations, vector calculus (divergence and curl) in Modules 4 and 5, and complex numbers in the steady-state work. Students who have never written a MATLAB loop also lose time.

• Revise phasors and complex impedance from Electrical and Electronic Circuits. The sinusoidal steady-state parts use them all the time.
• Brush up on gradient, divergence and curl before Module 4.
• Write your own small finite difference loop early. Watching a pulse travel and bounce on a simulated line makes reflection feel real.
• Practise the Smith chart by hand for a few problems, then check with MATLAB.
• Find out in week one how you will get MATLAB access for the exercises.

What to take before and after

No course is listed as a prerequisite. Still, circuits, Math for Electronics II and Signals and Systems make the course easier. If the wireless side interests you, the IoT minor includes Communication Systems as one of its courses.

Common questions

Do I need to buy MATLAB for this course?

The syllabus has MATLAB exercises in most modules, but it does not say how students get access. Check the course page or ask the course team before you spend money.

Is this course only theory, or is there a lab?

It is a theory course. Neither the syllabus nor the handbook lists a lab for it. The hands-on part is the MATLAB work.

Is EE3104 this course or the sensors lab?

Both, depending on the document. The handbook uses EE3104 for this course. The Sep 2025 syllabus uses EE3104 for the Sensors and Applications Lab and gives this course EE3105.