ENEL290-26S2 (C) Semester Two 2026

Waves and Materials in Electrical Engineering

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 13 July 2026
End Date: Sunday, 8 November 2026
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 26 July 2026
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 27 September 2026

Description

Waves in electrical engineering. Static electric and magnetic fields. Transmission lines: equivalent circuit, wave propagation, reflections and matching. Plane waves: time varying fields and Maxwell’s Equations. Electrical engineering materials: conductors, insulators and semiconductors.

This course aims to equip you with the ability to analyse static electric and magnetic field distributions for important electrical engineering situations (coaxial cables, transmission lines etc.), and to relate these to equivalent circuit parameters (resistance, capacitance, inductance). You will also gain an understanding of wave propagation and reflections on coaxial cables and other transmission lines. The propagation of electromagnetic plane waves will also be studied.

The course also aims to equip you with an understanding of the electrical properties of materials, including: conduction mechanisms, dielectric properties and breakdown phenomena, basic crystallography, bonding and band structure in conductors, insulators and semiconductors; doping, impurities, electrons and holes in semiconductors; basic diode operation principles.

• Electrostatics and Magnetostatics: Electric and Magnetic Fields; Gauss’ Law, Coulomb’s Law, Ampere’s Law; Capacitance and inductance; Coaxial cables.

• Transmission Lines: Wave equations; Characteristic impedance; Reflections and impedance matching; Lossy and lossless transmission lines; Standing waves and Voltage Standing Wave Ratio; Smith Charts; Examples: coaxial cables, microstrip lines.

• Plane Waves and Time Varying Fields: Maxwell’s Equations in free space and source-free media; Conduction Current; Charge Dissipation; Wave equation and plane-wave solutions; Complex permittivity; Intrinsic impedance; Skin depth.

• Physical & Electronic Structure of Materials: Isolated atoms; Atomic bonding; Crystallography; Crystalline defects; Thermal expansion.

• Conductors: Conduction mechanisms; Temperature dependence; Skin effect; Thin metal films; Interconnects; Thermal conductivity; Thermal noise.

• Dielectrics/Insulators: Polarisation; Relative permittivity; Dielectric strength; Insulator breakdown; Capacitor dielectric materials.

• Semiconductors: Intrinsic semiconductors; Extrinsic semiconductors; Temperature dependence; Recombination; Majority & minority carriers; Optical absorption; Basic diode operation principles; Basic transistor operation principles.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course you should be able to:
• LO1: Analyse static electric and magnetic fields for electrical engineering applications (WA1, WA2)

• LO2: Apply mathematics to describe, analyse and interpret the propagation of electromagnetic plane waves in different media (WA1, WA2)

• LO3: Identify how atomic structure relates to the electrical properties of materials, and how atomic structure can be tailored to suit different applications. (WA1, WA2)

• LO4: Gather and evaluate experimental data, interpret outcomes, draw reasoned conclusions, and communicate outcomes using written reports. (WA1, WA2, WA4, WA8, WA9)

• LO5: Design, build and test a sensor based on the material properties of electronic components in a team environment, and report results as a device datasheet (WA3, WA4, WA8, WA9)

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Employable, innovative and enterprising

Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.

Prerequisites

Subject to the approval of the Faculty of Engineering Dean (Academic)

Timetable 2026

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 12:00 - 13:00 A3 Lecture Theatre
13 Jul - 23 Aug
7 Sep - 18 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 16:00 - 17:00 A3 Lecture Theatre
13 Jul - 23 Aug
7 Sep - 18 Oct
Lecture C
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 12:00 - 13:00 A3 Lecture Theatre
13 Jul - 23 Aug
7 Sep - 18 Oct
Drop in Class A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
21 Sep - 4 Oct
Lab A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
20 Jul - 26 Jul
02 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
27 Jul - 2 Aug
03 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
3 Aug - 9 Aug
04 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
10 Aug - 16 Aug
05 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
17 Aug - 23 Aug
Lab B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
20 Jul - 26 Jul
02 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
27 Jul - 2 Aug
03 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
3 Aug - 9 Aug
04 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
10 Aug - 16 Aug
05 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 Elec 210 Electronics Lab
17 Aug - 23 Aug
Lab C
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 High Voltage Lab 101
27 Jul - 2 Aug
02 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 High Voltage Lab 101
3 Aug - 9 Aug
03 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 High Voltage Lab 101
10 Aug - 16 Aug
04 Monday 14:00 - 17:00 High Voltage Lab 101
17 Aug - 23 Aug
Tutorial A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Friday 10:00 - 11:00 Rehua 102
13 Jul - 23 Aug
7 Sep - 18 Oct

Course Coordinator

Richard Clare

Lecturer

Ciaran Moore

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Test 1 20%
Test 2 20%
Labs 6%
Lab Report 14%
Assignment 20%
Final Exam 20%

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

F.T. Ulaby and U. Ravaioli; Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics ; Pearson, 2015 (On reserve in the Library).

S.O. Kasap; Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices ; McGraw-Hill, 2006 (On reserve in the Library).

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

Artificial Intelligence Tools  

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for each of the assessments in ENEL290 is summarised in the Table below. No AI use is allowed in the tests and exam because these are closed-book invigilated assessments. Students are always responsible for the accuracy of the submitted works, regardless of which tools are used.

Assessment Item Permitted use of AI
Laboratories -  Generative AI tools are not restricted for this assessment.
Laboratory Report - Generative AI Tools Are Permitted for Certain Parts of This Assessment
Assignment - Generative AI Tools Are Permitted for Certain Parts of This Assessment
Tests - Generative AI tools cannot be used for this assessment.
Exam - Generative AI tools cannot be used for this assessment.

Generative AI Tools Are Permitted for Certain Parts of This Assessment
In these assessments (Lab Report, Assignment), you are permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) for the purpose of proof reading and editing the document, and for gathering and summarising knowledge. No other use of generative AI is permitted. To assist with maintaining academic integrity, you must appropriately acknowledge any use of generative AI in your work. Please include a Statement of AI use (if no AI tool has been used, then this must also be stated) and a listing of all prompts provided to the AI tool, clearly indicating which AI tools were used and how they contributed to your assessment.

Assessment and grading system

The examiners will award a failing grade to students who score less than 40% for the Tests and Exam combined. More formally, (Test1Percent * 0.2 + Test2Percent * 0.2 + ExamPercent * 0.2) / 0.6 must be greater than or equal to 40 for a pass mark to be awarded. This note is put in place to ensure that each student has adequately shown to the examiners they have gained some mastery of the topic.

Labs (20%)
Students are required to complete all 3 labs (2% each) and submit 1 formal Lab Report (14%). Students will be allocated to each of the labs. The labs will run concurrently for 5 weeks with 1-2 TAs per lab (except Lab C which will run for 4 weeks only). Labs will be marked by TA/lecturers at end of each session.
A. Transmission line reflections (Electronics Lab)
B. Diodes (Electronics Lab)
C. Statics & breakdown (High Voltage Lab)

Scaling of marks
In order to maintain consistency across courses and fairness for students, scaling of raw marks occurs. In the Faculty of Engineering, target course GPAs are calculated based on the performance of the cohort of students in their courses in the previous year. Scaling of the raw total course marks is normally performed so that when converted to grades (using UC Grade Scale) the outgoing GPA is in line with the target GPA for a course. Scaling up or down can occur.
The Grading Scale for the University:
https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/study-support-info/study-related-topics/grading-scale

Late submission of work

Lateness Penalties
For the Lab Report and Assignment, a lateness penalty of 10% (in absolute terms) per day or part day late will be deducted from the original mark. For example, an assignment with a nominal mark of 83% submitted 0-24 hours late will receive a mark of 73%, and submitted 24-48 hours late will receive 63%.

Mahi ā-Ākonga | Workload (expected distribution of student hours, note 15 points = 150 hours):

Contact Hours

Lectures: 36 hours
Tutorials: 12 hours
Workshops: 0 hours
Laboratories: 9 hours

Independent study

Review of lectures: 36 hours
Test and exam preparation: 20 hours
Assignments: 25 hours
Tutorial preparation: 12 hours
Laboratory calculations:0 hours

Total = 150 hours

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,190.00

International fee $6,488.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Electrical and Computer Engineering .

All ENEL290 Occurrences

  • ENEL290-26S2 (C) Semester Two 2026