The FOLDED DIPOLE

To achieve good directional pattern characteristics and good matching to

practical coaxial lines with 50- or 75-ohm impedances, the length of a
single wire element is usually chosen to be λ∕4 ≤ l < λ. The most widely
used dipole is that whose overall length is l ≃ λ∕2, and which has an input
impedance of Zin ≃ 73 + j42.5 and directivity of Do ≃ 1.643.
In practice, there are other very common transmission lines whose
characteristic impedance is much higher than 50 or 75 ohms. For example,
a “twin-lead” transmission line (usually two parallel wires separated by
about 8mm and embedded in a low-loss plastic material used for support
and spacing) is widely used for TV applications and has a characteristic
impedance of about 300 ohms.

To provide good matching characteristics,

variations of the single dipole element must be
used. One simple geometry that can achieve this
is a folded wire which forms a very thin (s ≪ λ)
rectangular loop as shown in Figure . When ( s< <
λ), is known as a folded dipole and it serves as a
step-up impedance transformer (approximately by
a factor of 4 when l = λ∕2) of the single-element
impedance. Thus when l = λ∕2 and the antenna is
resonant, impedances on the order of about 300
ohms can be achieved, and it would be ideal for
connections to “twin-lead” transmission lines.

Zf = 4 Zd = 4X73 = 292 ≈ 300 Ohm

when If is the current of the

folded dipole and Id is the
current of the ordinary dipole,
the input power of the two
dipoles are identical, or

Which means
 Loop Antennas
Loop antennas are simple, inexpensive, and very versatile type of
antennas. Loop antennas take many different forms such as a rectangle,
square, triangle, ellipse, circle, and many other configurations.
Because of the simplicity in analysis and construction, the circular loop is
the most popular and has received the widest attention. The small loop
(circular or square) is equivalent to an infinitesimal magnetic dipole whose
axis is perpendicular to the plane of the loop. That is, the fields radiated by
an electrically small circular or square loop are of the same mathematical
form as those radiated by an infinitesimal magnetic dipole.
Loop antennas are usually classified into two categories, electrically
small and electrically large. Electrically small antennas are those whose
overall length (circumference) is usually less than about (C < 0.1 λ).
However, electrically large loops are those whose circumference
is about (C ∼ λ). Most of the applications of loop antennas are in the HF
(3–30 MHz), VHF (30–300 MHz), and UHF (300–3,000 MHz) bands.
SMALL CIRCULAR LOOP
Consider a small loop antenna on the x-y plane, at z = 0, as shown in the
Figure. The wire is assumed to be very thin and the current is constant
along the wire, I𝜙 = Io , . This type of current distribution is accurate only for
a very small circumference.

The far-field components

of the small circular loop
antenna of radius a.
s=πa2
is the area of the loop.
When the radius of the loop is relatively large and the current can be
considered constant along the loop, then the far-field components will be

r>> a
I=constant

A horizontal, lossless, one-turn circular loop of circumference C = λ, with a

nonuniform current distribution, is radiating in free space. The Tar-field
pattern of the antenna can be approximated by

where C0 is a constant and 𝜃 is measured from the normal to the

plane/area of the loop. Determine the
(a) Maximum exact directivity (dimensionless and in dB).
(b) Approximate input impedance of the loop.
(c) Input reflection coefficient when the antenna is connected to a balanced
“twin-lead” transmission line with a characteristic impedance of 300 ohms.
(d) Maximum gain of the loop (dimensionless and in dB).