ANTENNAS

ANTENNAS
Antennas form a essential part of any radio communication system. Antenna is that part of a transmitting or receiving system which is designed to radiate or to receive electromagnetic waves. An antenna can also be viewed as a transitional structure between free-space and a transmission line (such as a coaxial line). An important property of an antenna is the ability to focus and shape the radiated power in space e.g.: it enhances the power in some wanted directions and suppresses the power in other directions.

Many different types and mechanical forms of antennas exist.

Each type is specifically designed for special purposes.

ANTENNAS TYPES
In mobile communications two main categories of antennas used are Omni directional antenna These antennas are mostly used in rural areas. In all horizontal direction these antennas radiate with equal power.

In the vertical plane these antennas radiate uniformly across all azimuth angles and have a main beam with upper and lower side lobes.

ANTENNAS TYPES
Directional antenna These antennas are mostly used in mobile cellular systems to get higher gain compared to omnidirectional antenna and to minimise interference effects in the network. In the vertical plane these antennas radiate uniformly across all azimuth angles and have a main beam with upper and lower side lobes. In these type of antennas, the radiation is directed at a specific angle instead of uniformly across all azimuth angles in case of omni antennas.

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Radiation Pattern The main characteristics of antenna is the radiation pattern. The antenna pattern is a graphical representation in three dimensions of the radiation of the antenna as a function of angular direction. Antenna radiation performance is usually measured and recorded in two orthogonal principal planes (E-Plane and H-plane or vertical and horizontal planes). The pattern of most base station antennas contains a main lobe and several minor lobes, termed side lobes. A side lobe occurring in space in the direction opposite to the main lobe is called back lobe.

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Radiation Pattern

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Antenna Gain Antenna gain is a measure for antennas efficiency. Gain is the ratio of the maximum radiation in a given direction to that of a reference antenna for equal input power. Generally the reference antenna is a isotropic antenna. Gain is measured generally in decibels above isotropic(dBi) or decibels above a dipole(dBd). An isotropic radiator is an ideal antenna which radiates power with unit gain uniformly in all directions. dBi = dBd + 2.15 Antenna gain depends on the mechanical size, the effective aperature area, the frequency band and the antenna configuration. Antennas for GSM1800 can achieve some 5 to 6 dB more gain than antennas for GSM900 while maintaining the same mechanical size.

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Main Lobe Axis Power Beamwidth

First Null

Side Lobe

Back Lobe

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Front-to-back ratio It is the ratio of the maximum directivity of an antenna to its directivity in a specified rearward direction. Generally antenna with a high front-to-back ratio should be used.

First Null Beamwidth The first null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angular span between the first pattern nulls adjacent to the main lobe. This term describes the angular coverage of the downtilted cells.

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Antenna Lobes Main lobe is the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum radiation. Side lobes Half-power beamwidth The half power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between the points on the main lobe that are 3dB lower in gain compared to the maximum. Narrow angles mean good focusing of radiated power. Polarisation Polarisation is the propagation of the electric field vector . Antennas used in cellular communications are usually vertically polarised or cross polarised.

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Frequency bandwidth It is the range of frequencies within which the performance of the antenna, with respect to some characteristics, conforms to a specified standard. VSWR of an antenna is the main bandwidth limiting factor. Antenna impedance

Maximum power coupling into the antennas can be achieved when the antenna impedance matches the cables impedance.
Typical value is 50 ohms. Mechanical size Mechanical size is related to achievable antenna gain. Large antennas provide higher gains but also need care in deployement and apply high torque to the antenna mast.

COUPLING BETWEEN ANTENNAS

Antenna radiation pattern will become superimposed when the distance between the antennas becomes too small. This means the other antenna will mutually influence the individual antenna patterns. Generally 5 to 10 horizontal separation provides sufficient decoupling of antenna patterns. The vertical distance needed for decoupling is usually much smaller as the vertical beamwidth is generally less. A 1 separation in the vertical direction is sufficient in most cases.

ANTENNA INSTALLATION

Antenna installation configurations depend on the operators preferences.

It is important to keep sufficient decoupling distances between antennas.

If TX and RX direction use separated antennas, it is advisable to keep a horizontal separation between the antennas in order to reduce the TX signal power at the RX input stages.

ANTENNA DOWNTILTING
Network planners often have the problem that the base station antenna provides an overcoverage. If the overlapping area between two cells is too large, increased switching between the base station (handover) occurs. There may even be interference of a neighbouring cell with the same frequency.

If hopping is used in the network, then limiting the overlap is required to reduce the overall hit rate.
In general, the vertical pattern of an antenna radiates the main energy towards the horizon.

Only that part of the energy which is radiated below the horizon can be used for the coverage of the sector.
Downtilting the antenna limits the range by reducing the field strength in the horizon.

ANTENNA DOWNTILTING
Antenna downtilting is the downward tilt of the vertical pattern towards the ground by a fixed angle measured w.r.t the horizon. Downtilting of the antenna changes the position of the half-power beamwidth and the first null relative to the horizon. Normally the maximum gain is at 0 (parallel to the horizon) and never intersects the horizon.

A small downtilt places the beams maximum at the cell edge

With appropriate downtilt, the received signal strength within the cell improves due to the placement of the main lobe within the cell radius and falls off in regions approaching the cell boundary and towards the reuse cell. There are two methods of downtilting Mechanical downtilting Electrical downtilting.

MECHANICAL DOWNTILTING
Mechanical downtilting consists of physically rotating an antenna downward about an axis from its vertical position. In a mechanical downtilt as the front lobe moves downward the back lobe moves upwards. This is one of the potential drawback as compared to the electrical downtilt because coverage behind the antenna can be negatively affected as the back lobe rises above the horizon. Additionally , mechanical downtilt does not change the gain of the antenna at +/- 90deg from antenna horizon. As the antenna is given downtilt, the footprint starts changing with a notch being formed in the front while it spreads on the sides. After 10 degrees downtilt the notch effect is quiet visible and the spread on the sides are high. This may lead to inteference on the sides.

MECHANICAL DOWNTILTING

MECHANICAL DOWNTILTING

MECHANICAL DOWNTILTING
Vertical antenna pattern at 0

Vertical antenna pattern at 15 downtilt Backlobe shoots over the horizon

ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT
Electrical downtilt uses a phase taper in the antenna array to angle the pattern downwards. This allows the the antenna to be mounted vertically. Electrical downtilt is the only practical way to achieve pattern downtilting with omnidirectional antennas. Electrical downtilt affects both front and back lobes. If the front lobe is downtilted the back lobe is also downtilted by equal amount. Electrical downtilting also reduces the gain equally at all angles on the horizon. The that adjusted downtilt angle is constant over the whole azimuth range. Variable electrical downtilt antennas are very costly.

ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT

ELECTRICAL DOWNTILT
Horizontal and vertical pattern for allgon 7144 antenna Horizontal Beamwidth = 90 Vertical Beamwidth = 16 Electrical Downtilt = 16

OBSTACLE REQUIREMENT

Nearby obstacles are those reflecting or shadowing materials that can obstruct the radio beam both in horizontal and vertical planes. When mounting the antenna on a roof top, the dominating obstacle in the vertical plane is the roof edge itself and in the horizontal plane, obstacles further away like surrounding buildings, can act as reflecting or shadowing material. The antenna beam will be distorted if the antenna is too close to the roof. Hence the antenna must be mounted at a minimum height above the rooftop or other obstacles. If antennas are wall mounted, a safety margin of 15 degrees between the reflecting surface and the 3-dB lobe should be kept.

OBSTACLE REQUIREMENT

Safety Margin 15 Degrees

Building

Main Radiation Direction

Half Power Beamwidth

OPTIMAL DOWNTILT
Although the use of downtilt can be a effective tool for controlling interference, there is a optimum amount by which the antenna can be downtilted whereby both the coverage losses and the interference at the reuse cell can be kept at a minimum.

downtilt angle (D)

Height (H)

3 dB Beamwidth Main lobe

Cellmax

OPTIMAL DOWNTILT
The figure shows a cells coverage area. The primary illumination area is the area on the ground that receives the signal contained within the 3dB vertical beamwidth of the antenna. The distance from the base station to the outer limit of the illumination area is denoted by Cellmax. It should be noted that the cellmax can be different from the cell boundary area which is customer defined. Ideally in a well planned network Cellmax should always be less than the co-channel reuse distance to minimise interference. We now derive the relation between height (H), downtilt angle (D), 3dB vertical beamwidth and Cellmax. As shown in the schematic is the angle between the upper limit of the 3dB beamwidth and the horizon.

OPTIMAL DOWNTILT OPTIMAL DOWNTILT

tan ( ) = Cellmax / H = D - 0.5 * 3dB vertical beamwidth Cellmax = H * tan (D - 0.5 * 3dB vertical beamwidth) For the Cellmax to be a positive quantity , downtilt angle must be more than half of the 3dB vertical beamwidth. When the downtilt angle is less than half of the 3dB beamwidth, part of the signal from the main beam shoots over the horizon . The signal directed towards or above the horizon can potentially cause interference at the reuse sites.