Tunneling of the unidirectional magnetostatic mode of a ferrite-loaded waveguide through finite barriers

Abstract A partially filled, ferrite-loaded rectangular waveguide can support a unidirectional propagating mode. We theoretically study the tunneling of this mode through finite conducting and non-conducting barriers. For a half-filled waveguide and a conducting barrier, the problem is treated analytically. Other filling factors and/or barrier types are investigated by means of a numerical technique. It is found that despite the absence of back-scattering, the passage of the unidirectional wave through a barrier is accompanied by significant power loss, even for short barriers. This phenomenon is caused by the sharp rise in field amplitude close to the barrier, and cannot be eliminated by reducing the material loss as this will further enhance the nearly singular behavior of the field.