1

GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

AntennaTheory

ANTENNA
Consistsofawireorotherconductor,oracollectionofwiresorconductors,that
converts electrical energy into electromagnetic waves for transmission, and
electromagneticwavesintoelectricalenergyforreception
Anantennapassivereciprocaldevice.
Acts as a transducer to convert electrical oscillations in a transmission line or
waveguidetoapropagatingwaveinfreespaceandviceversa.
Functions as an impedance matcher between a transmission line or waveguide
andfreespace.
All antennas have a radiation pattern which is a plot of the field strength or
powerdensityatvariousangularpositionsrelativetotheantenna.

BasicAntennaOperation

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

CompleteAntennaSystem

The coupling device (coupling coil) connects the transmitter to the feeder.
The feeder is a transmission line that carries energy to the antenna. The antenna
radiatesthisenergyintospace.

AntennaTerminologyandParameters
Radiation Pattern a polar diagram or graph representing field strengths or power
densitiesatvariousangularpositionsrelativetoanantenna.
Absoluteradiationpatternradiationpatternplottedinvariabledistance,fixedpower
Relativeradiationpatternradiationpatternplottedinvariablepower,fixeddistance
Frontlobemajorlobe;lobethatreceivesthemostenergy
Sidelobeslobesadjacenttothefrontlobe
Backlobeslobesindirectionexactlyoppositethefrontlobe

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

Fronttobackratioratioofthefrontlobepowertothebacklobepower
Fronttosideratioratioofthefrontlobepowertothesidelobepower
Line of shoot or point of shoot line bisecting the major lobe from the center of the
antennainthedirectionofmaximumradiation

Nearfieldfieldpatternthatisclosetotheantenna(inductionfield)
Farfieldfieldpatternthatisatagreatdistance(radiationfield)
Duringonehalfofacycle,powerisradiatedfromanantennawheresomeofthe
powerisstoredtemporaryinthenearfield.Duringthesecondhalfofthecycle,power
inthenearfieldisreturnedtotheantenna.

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

Radiation resistance the resistance that, if it replaced the antenna, would dissipate
exactlythesameamountofpowerthattheantennaradiates
2
i
P
R
r
=
Antennaefficiencyratioofthepowerradiatedbyanantennatothesumofthepower
radiatedandthepowerdissipated
e r
r
d rad
rad
in
rad
R R
R
P P
P
P
P
+
=
+
= =
Where: =antennaefficiency
Prad=powerradiatedbyanantenna(W)
Pd=powerdissipatedinantenna(W)
Rr=radiationresistance(ohms)
Re=effectiveantennaresistance(groundresistance,ohms)
i=antennacurrentattheinput

AntennaGain
Directive gain ratio of the power density radiated in a particular direction to the
powerdensityradiatedtothesamepointbyareferenceantenna(isotropicantenna)
Directivitymaximumdirectivegain
) (ref D
D
P
P
D =
Power gain same as directive gain, except that antenna efficiency is taken into
account
D A
P
= ; indB: D A
P
log 10 =
Foranisotropicantenna,powergainisapproximately1.64(2.15dB)

EffectiveIsotropicRadiatedPower(EIRP)
t in t rad
A P D P EIRP = =
Where: Prad=powerradiatedbyanantenna(W)
Dt=transmitantennadirectivegain(unitless)
Pin=totalantennainputpower(W)
At=transmitantennapowergain(unitless)

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

TodeterminethepowerdensityatagivendistanceRfromatransmitantenna:
2 2
4 4 R
D P
R
A P
P
t rad t in
D

= =

AntennaCaptureArea
2
2
4
;
4

C
r
r
C
A
A
A
A = =
Capturedpower:
C
t in
cap
A
R
A P
P
2
4
=
Where: AC=effectivecapturearea
=wavelengthofreceivesignal
Arreceiveantennapowergain(unitless)
R=distancebetweentransmitandreceiveantennas

AntennaPolarizationorientationofelectricfieldradiatedfromtheantenna
Antenna Beamwidth angular separation between two halfpower (3 dB) points on
themajorlobeofanantennasradiationpattern
Antennagainisinverselyproportionaltobeamwidth
Antennabandwidthfrequencyrangeoverwhichantennaoperationissatisfactory
Antennainputimpedanceorfeedpointpointontheantennawherethetransmission
lineisconnected;generallycomplex
Za=Ra+jXa where: Ra=antennaresistance
Ra=Re+Rr Xa=antennareactance

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

Problems:
1. For an antenna with input power of 100 W, rms current of 2 A and effective
resistanceof2ohms,determinethe(a)antennaradiationresistance;(b)antenna
efficiency;(c)powerradiatedfromtheantenna.
Solution:
(a) = = = 25
2
100
2 2
i
P
R
r

(b) % 59 . 92
2 25
25
=
+
=
+
=
e r
r
R R
R

(c) W P P
P
P
in rad
in
rad
59 . 92 ) 100 ( 9259 . 0 ; = = = =
2. DeterminethepowergainindBforanantennawithadirectivegainof50dBand
efficiencyof75%
000 , 100 ; log 10 50 ; log 10 = = = D D D A
P


dB A
P
75 . 48 )] 75 . 0 )( 000 , 100 [( log 10 = =

3. DeterminetheEIRPindBmforanantennawithdirectivityof33dB,efficiencyof
82%andinputpowerof100W.
t in t rad
A P D P EIRP = =

262 . 1995 ; log 10 33 = =
t t
D D

W P P
P
P
in rad
in
rad
82 ) 100 ( 82 . 0 ; = = = =

W D P EIRP
t rad
5098 . 611 , 163 ) 262 . 1995 ( 82 = = =

dBm
x
W
dBm in 13 . 82
10 1
5098 . 611 , 163
log 10 :
3
=

4. Find the power density at a point 20 km from an antenna with input power of
1kWandpowergainof23dB.
526 . 199 ; log 10 23 = =
t t
A A

2
2 2
/ 694 . 39
) 20000 ( 4
) 526 . 199 ( 1
4
m W
k
R
A P
P
t in
D


= = =

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

5. Ahalfwavedipoleisdrivenwitha10Wsignalat200MHz.Areceivingdipole
100 km away is aligned such that the gain is cut in half. Determine the receive
powerandvoltageintothe73ohmreceiver.
Forahalfwavedipole:D=1.64
Forthewavelength:=c/f=1.5m
Receivedpower:
W x
k
A
R
A P
P
C
t in
cap
12
2
2 2
10 16 . 19
4
) 5 . 1 )( 64 . 1 )( 5 . 0 (
) 100 ( 4
) 64 . 1 )( 10 (
4

= = =


Where:

4
) 5 . 1 )( 64 . 1 )( 5 . 0 (
4
2 2
= =
r
C
A
A
a.
Forthevoltagereceived:P=V
2
/R;V=37.4V

BasicAntenna
ElementaryDoubletanelectricallyshortdipole
ThroughMaxwellsEquation:
R
Il
E

sin 60
=

Where: E=electricfieldintensity(V/m)
I=dipolecurrent(A,rms)
l=endtoendlengthofthedipole
R=distancefromthedipole
=wavelength
= angle between the axis of the antenna and the direction of
radiation

Since:PD=E
2
/120:
2 2
2 2 2
sin 30
R
l I
P
D

Pro
it is
max

Hal
G
W
A
e

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ximumra
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at is the
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ewavelen
R
Il
E
s 60

=
Dipole
yreferred
sedatfreq
ntantenna
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tennaTheory
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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

AntennaLoading
Physicaldimensionsforlowfrequencyantennasarenotpractical.Toincreaseelectrical
length,loadingtechniquesareapplied.

AntennaArrays
Formed when two or more antenna elements are combined to form a single
antenna
Increasethedirectivityoftheantennaandconcentratesradiatedpowerwithina
smallgeographicarea
Antenna elements can be driven or parasitic. Driven elements are directly
connected to the transmission line and receive power from the source. Parasitic
elements receive energy through mutual induction with a driven or another
parasiticelement.
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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

BroadsideArray
Madebyplacingseveralresonantdipolesofequalsizeinparallelwitheachother
andinastraightline.Allelementsarefedinphasefromthesource
Radiatesatrightanglestotheplaneofthearrayandverylittletothedirectionof
theplane

EndfireArray
Same element configuration as the broadside array except that the transmission
lineisnotcrisscrossedbetweenelements

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

RhombicAntenna
AnonresonantantennasuitedforHFtransmission
Madeupoffournonresonantelementsterminatedinaresistor

SpecialPurposeAntennas
FoldedDipole
Asingleantennamadeupoftwoelements
Inputimpedanceisequaltohalfwaveimpedance(72)timesthesquareofthe
numberoffoldedwires.(2
2
*72=288)
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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

YagiUdaAntenna
A linear array consisting of a dipole and two or more parasitic elements: one
reflectorandoneormoredirectors
CommonlyusedforVHFTVtransmission

TurnstileAntenna
Formed by placing two dipoles at right angles to each other (90 degrees out of
phase)
Radiationpatternproducesnearlyanomnidirectionalpattern
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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

LogPeriodicAntenna
Consists of several dipoles of different length and spacing that are fed from a
singlesourceatthesmallend.Thetransmissionlineiscrisscrossedbetweenthe
feedpointsofadjacentpairsofdipoles
Advantage: independent of radiation resistance and radiation pattern to
frequency
Notatypeofantennabutaclassofantenna
Physicalstructureisrepetitive,makingelectricalcharacteristicsrepetitiveaswell

Formulafordipolelengthandspacing:
3
4
2
3
1
2
3
4
2
3
1
2
1
L
L
L
L
L
L
R
R
R
R
R
R
= = = = = =

1 1
1

= =
n
n
n
n
L
L
R
R

Where: R=dipolespacing

L=dipolelength
=designratio(lessthan1)
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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

Foratypicaldesign:=0.7;=30

HelicalAntenna
A broadband VHF or UHF antenna suited for applications for which radiating
circularlypolarizedelectromagneticwavesarerequired
Mountedonagroundplanemadeupofeithersolidmetalormetalscreen
Twomodesofpropagationareavailable:normalandaxial.

PowerGainofaHelicalAntenna
]
) (
) ( 15 [ log 10 ) (
2

NS D
dB A
p
=

Where: Ap(dB)=antennapowergain(dB)
D=helixdiameter(m)
N=numberofturns
S=pitch
=wavelength
3dBBeamwidthofaHelicalAntenna
) / )( / (
52

NS D
=

Problem: Determine the power gain and beamwidth for an endfire helical antenna
with the following parameters: helix diameter = 0.1 m, number of turns = 10, pitch =
0.05mandfrequencyofoperation=500MHz

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

Solution
m
x
x
f
c
6 . 0
10 500
10 3
6
8
= = =

dB
NS D
dB A
p
349 . 5 ]
6 . 0
) 05 . 0 * 10 (
)
6 . 0
1 . 0
( 15 [ log 10 ]
) (
) ( 15 [ log 10 ) (
2 2
= = =

= = = 79 . 108
) 6 . 0 / 05 . 0 * 10 )( 6 . 0 / 1 . 0 * (
52
) / )( / (
52

NS D

UHFandMicrowaveAntennas
Shouldbehighlydirective
Concentrates power in a narrow beam (beamwidth decreases with increasing
antennagain)
Highlydirectionalantennasareusedwithpointtopointmicrowavesystems
ParabolicAntenna
Consistsofaparabolicreflectorandthefeedmechanism
Feedmechanismradiatestheenergytowardthereflector(centerfeed,hornfeed,
Cassegrainfeed)
Parabolicreflectorsaresometimescalledparabolicdishantennas
All waves radiated toward the parabola from the focus will be in phase when
they reach the directrix, regardless from which point on the parabola they are
reflected

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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

ParabolicAntennaBeamwidth
D

70
=

Beamwidthbetweennulls:0=2
ParabolicAntennaPowerGain(withrespecttoanisotropicantenna)
2
) (

D
A
p
=

Problem: Determine the beamwidth and transmit and receive power gains of a
parabolicantennawiththefollowingparameters:dishdiameterof2.5m,frequencyof
operationof4GHz,anda55%efficiency.
m
x
x
f
c
075 . 0
10 4
10 3
9
8
= = =

= = =
5 . 2
075 . 0
70
70
D

2 2
)
075 . 0
5 . 2
( 55 . 0 ) (

= =
D
A
p

HornAntenna
Toovercomethedifficultiesinradiatingenergyusingawaveguide,themouthof
thewaveguidemaybeopenedout,aswasdonetothetransmissionline,butthistime
anelectromagnetichornresultsinsteadofthedipole.

Thereareseveralpossiblehornconfigurations,themostcommonare
(a) Sectoralhornflaresoutinonedirectiononly.
(b) Pyramidal Horn flares out in both direction and has the shape of a
truncatedpyramid
(c) ConicalHornflaresoutinbothdirectionsandisalogicalterminationfora
circularwaveguide.
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GlennOpleAvendao
AntennaTheory

Special horn antennas are the Casshorn and the Hoghorn antenna, which are rather
difficulttoclassifysinceeachisacrossbetweenahornandaparabolicreflector.

LensAntenna
The lens antenna is yet another example of how optical principles may be applied to
microwave antennas. It is used as a collimator at frequencies well in excess of 3 GHz
andworksinthesamewayasaglasslensusedinoptics.