Guided wave couplers for coupling electromagnetic waves between a waveguide surface and a surface of a wire

A method of transmitting electromagnetic waves with use of a waveguide disposed in proximity to but not coaxially aligned with a wire, comprising:

• emitting, by a transmission device, a first electromagnetic wave of the electromagnetic waves that propagates at least in part on a surface of the waveguide;
• and
• delivering at least a part of the first electromagnetic wave to a wire surface of the wire via the non-coaxially aligned waveguide, thereby forming a second electromagnetic wave that propagates along the wire, at least partially around the wire surface, wherein the wire surface is an outer surface of the wire, and the second electromagnetic wave is a surface wave that travels along the outer surface of the wire, wherein an electromagnetic field of the surface wave is substantially outside of the wire, and wherein the waveguide comprises a material that is not electrically conductive.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a waveguide that has a waveguide surface that defines a cross-sectional area of the waveguide, wherein a wire is positioned outside of the cross-sectional area of the waveguide such that a first electromagnetic wave, traveling along the wire in part on a wire surface, couples at least in part to the waveguide surface and travels at least partially around the waveguide surface as a second electromagnetic wave, wherein the wire surface is an outer surface of the wire, and the first electromagnetic wave is a surface wave that travels along the outer surface of the wire, wherein an electromagnetic field of the surface wave is substantially outside of the wire, and wherein the waveguide comprises a material that is not electrically conductive.

A method, comprising:

• emitting, by a transmission device, a first electromagnetic wave that propagates at least in part on a waveguide surface of a waveguide, wherein the waveguide is not coaxially aligned with a wire;
• and
• configuring the waveguide in proximity of the wire to facilitate coupling of at least a part of the first electromagnetic wave to a wire surface, thereby forming a second electromagnetic wave that propagates at least partially around the wire surface, wherein the wire surface is an outer surface of the wire, and the second electromagnetic wave is a surface wave that travels along the outer surface of the wire, wherein an electromagnetic field of the surface wave is substantially outside of the wire, and wherein the waveguide comprises a material that is not electrically conductive.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a waveguide, wherein the waveguide comprises a material that is not electrically conductive and is suitable for propagating electromagnetic waves on a waveguide surface of the waveguide, wherein the waveguide facilitates propagation of a first electromagnetic wave at least in part on the waveguide surface, and, in response to the waveguide being positioned with respect to a wire, the first electromagnetic wave couples at least in part to a wire surface of the wire and travels at least partially around the wire surface as a second electromagnetic wave, wherein the wire surface is an outer surface of the wire, and the second electromagnetic wave is a surface wave that travels along the outer surface of the wire, wherein an electromagnetic field of the surface wave is substantially outside of the wire, and wherein the second electromagnetic wave has a wave propagation mode.