Fundamentals of Antennas and Radiating systems:

Introduction:
In wireless communication systems, signals are radiated in space as an electromagnetic
wave by using a receiving transmitting antenna and a fraction of this radiated power is
intercepted by using a receiving antenna. Thus, an antenna is a device used for radiating
or receiver radio waves. An antenna can also be thought of as a transitional structure
between free space and a guiding device (such as transmission line or waveguide).
Usually antennas are metallic structures, but dielectric antennas are also used now a day.
In our discussion we shall consider only metallic antennas. Here we shall restrict our
discussion to some very commonly used antenna structures. Some of the most commonly
used antenna structures are shown.
Fundamental of Radiation:
Radiation is the process of emitting energy from a source. Electromagnetic radiation can
be at all frequencies except zero (DC), but radiation at various frequencies may take
different forms. At relatively lower frequencies it is in the form of electromagnetic
waves, in the visible domain the emission is in the form of light and at still higher
frequencies it may be in the form of ultra violet or X-ray radiation. The energy associated
with the radiation depends on the frequency.
Time varying currents radiate electromagnetic waves. A time varying current generates
time varying electric and magnetic fields. When such fields exist, power is generated and
propagated. Although, theoretically any structure carrying time varying current can
radiate electromagnetic waves, all structures are not equally efficient in doing that. While
in many applications we try to reduce the radiation, when radiation is intended, launching
of waves into space is accomplished with the aid of specially designed structures called
antennas. If the time varying current density established on an antenna structure is
unknown, the radiated fields can be calculated without great difficulty. A more difficult
problem is determination of current density J on an antenna such that the resultant field
will satisfy the required boundary conditions on the antenna surface.
In many practical antenna structures it is often possible to estimate the current
distribution with sufficient accuracy to obtain good approximation of radiated fields.
However, in order to calculate the impedance properties of an antenna, the current
distribution is required to be known with higher accuracy.
As we have mentioned that if the time varying current density J on the antenna is known,
the radiated E and H fields can be determined. However, it is often advantageous to
compute the radiated fields in an indirect manner, by introducing potential functions. We
illustrate the procedure below.
In a region not containing tree charges, for time harmonic case we can write Maxwell's
equations as:
j + H J E
................................ (7.1a)
j E H
..................................... (7.1b)
0 E ................................................ (7.1c)
0 H ............................................... (7.1d)
From equations (7.1a) and (7.1b)
( )
2
-j
-j j
-j

+
+
E = H
J E
J E
( )
2
.
2
-j +k E E = J E
where k
Using . 0 E we can write
2 2
k j + E E J (7.2)
By solving equation (7.2) electric field E can be determined for a specified current
density J and H can be computed from E by using (7.1b). However, as mentioned such
direct computations are often difficult. Simplification can be obtained by introducing
potential functions.
Since . 0 B , we can write
B A... (7.3)
Because ( ) . 0 A
and A is the vector potential.
From (7.1) and (7.3)
j E A
or, ( ) 0 j + E A


A curl tree vector function can be expressed as the gradient of a scalar function.
Therefore we assume,
j - + E A=
.. (7.4)
From equation (7.3) and (7.1a),
( ) j + A B H J E
Or, ( ) ( )
2
. A j j + 1
]
A J A
By substituting
j E A
from (7.4)
Or, ( )
2 2
. j + A A A J
....................... (7.5)
So far we have defined A and free to specify divergence of A. If we choose
-j A=
. (7.6)
which is known as Lorentz condition, we can simplify equation (7.5) as
2 2
+ A A J
Equation (7.&) can be solved to determine A and when A is known we can find,
1

H A
. (7.8)
From equation (7.4) and (7.6) we can write
.
j
j

,
A
E A
( ) .
j
j

+
A
E A . (7.9)
From equations (7.7) - (7.9) we find that both E and H can be computed when the vector
potential A is known.
Radiated field of a Herzian dipole: In the previous section we have outlined the
procedure for computing the electric magnetic field distribution of a known current
density J. In this section we consider the radiation from a shaft current filament. We
consider an ideal short linear element (the length of the element dl << operating
wavelength) with current considered uniform over its length. More complex antennas can
be considered to be made up of a large number of such differential antennas with proper
magnitude and phase of their current. For current element under consideration, by
continuity, equal and opposite time varying charges must exist on both ends of dl/2 so
that such elements are also called a Herzian dipole.
Fig 7.2
As shown in the Fig 7.2, the current element is located at the origin and oriented in the z-
direction. We consider the time harmonic case where the current varies sinusoid ally with
time and I represents the current phasor. For a z-directed current density located in free
space, from equation (7.7) we can write
2 2
0 z z z
A k A J + (7.10)
In the source free region the wave equation reduces to
2 2
0
0
z z
A k A + ............................ (7.11)
Since the current element is infinitesimally small, it can be regarded as a point source so
that away from the source A
z
will be a function of r only. Therefore equ.(7.11) can be
written as:
2 2
0 2
1
0
z
z
A
r k A
r r r
_
+


,
.............. (7.12)
If we substitute
z
A
r

, then
1 2 z
A
r r
r r

2
2
2
z
A
r r r
r r r r r r r

_ _
+


, ,
or,
2
2
2 2
1 1
z
A
r
r r r r r
_

,
Therefore, Eqn.(7.12) can be written as
2
2
0 2
1
0 k
r r r

+

Or,
2
2
0 2
0 k
r

(7.13)
Equation (7.13) has solution of the form
0
1
jk r
C e

and
0
1
jk r
C e where C
1
and C
2
are
constants. Out of these two solutions,
0
1
jk r
C e

represents a wave solution which

represents an outward traveling wave. Therefore we consider this solution.
Hence,
0
1
jk r
z
e
A C
r r

. (7.14)
In the static case, 0 and
0
0 k
and Eqn(7.14) simplifies to
1
z
C
A
r
. ............. .................................................(7.15)
For k = 0, eqn.(7.10) simplifies to
2
0 z z
A J ...... ................................................. (7.16)
(7.16) is recognized to be as the Poisson's equation and therefore and therefore the
solution can be written as,
0
'
'
4
z
z
v
J
A dv
r

................................................. (7.17)
Both (7.15) and (7.17) represents the solutions of the equation (7.10) for k = 0.
From (7.14) and (7.15) we observe that time varying soln (7.14) is obtained by
multiplying static case solution (7.15) by multiplying the factor
0
jk r
e

. In an analysis
manner we can write the time varying solution from (7.17) as,
0
0
'
'
4
jk r
z
z
V
J e
A dv
r

....................................... (7.18)
If the current densities were in x or y direction similar expression could be obtained.
Therefore, in general we can write:
0
0
'
'
4
jk r
V
e
A J dv
r

........................................ (7.19)
If the source is placed at a position (x', y', z') instead of origin, the vector potential at a
point (x, y, z) can be written as
( ) ( )
0
, , ', ', ' '
4
jkR
V
e
x y z x y z dv
R

A J
......... (7.20)
Where
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2 2
' ' '
v
R
x x y y z z

+ +
.
Returning back to our problem of computation of radiated field for the current element I
dl, we observe that the current I is assumed to be constant over the length of the dipole
and
'
z
J dv
can be replaced with ' Idz . Further, dl being very small r R , and hence, we
can write
0
2
0
2
'
4
dl
jk r
z
dl
I
A e dz
r

0
0
3 cos sin
4
jk r
r
Idl e
a a a
r

_


,
A .. (7.22)
From (7.22) using (7.8) and (7.9) we obtain
0 0
2
sin 1
4
jk r
jk Idl
e a
r r

_
+

,
H
..................................... (7.23a)
and
0
2
0 0 0 0 0
2 2 2
0 0
1 1
cos sin
2 4
jk r
j Idl jk j Idl k jk
e a
k r r k r r r

_
_
+ + +

,
,
E
.
(7.23b)
when the distance r is very large compared to
0

, amplitude variations corresponding to

1/r are important and 1/r
n
terms 2 n can be neglected. Retaining the terms containing
1/r variations, which constitute the radiated field or the field in the far zone, the electric
and magnetic field components can be written as:
0
0 0
sin
4
jk r
e
j Idlk a
r

E .. (7.24a)
0
0
sin
4
jk r
e
jIdlk a
r

H .. (7.24b)
We find that the radiated field has transverse components only and they satisfy the
relation
0 r
a

E H
..................................................... (7.25a)
0
1
r
a

H E
....................................................... (7.25b)
The Poynting vector of the radiation field
( )
2 2
2 2
0 0
2 2
sin 1
Re
2 32
r
av
I dl k
a
r

_


,
P E H is
directed radially outward.
The terms varying as 1/r
2
and 1/r
3
in reactive field for
0
r <
. These fields do not
contribute to the radiated power; rather they represent stored electric and magnetic energy
in space in the vicinity of the antenna and account for the reactive past of the impedance
seen looking into the antenna terminals. Therefore, in antenna impedance calculation, the
near fields are to be taken into account.
Basic Antenna Parameters:
An antenna does not radiate uniformly in all directions. For the sake of a reference, we
consider a hypothetical antenna called an isotropic radiator having equal radiation in all
directions. A directional antenna is one which can radiate or receive electromagnetic
waves more effectively in some directions than in others. The relative distribution of
radiated power as a function of direction in space (i.e., as function of and ) is called the
radiation pattern of the antenna. Instead of 3D surface, it is common practice to show
planar cross section radiation pattern. E-plane and H-plane patterns give two most
important views. The E-plane pattern is a view obtained from a section containing
maximum value of the radiated field and electric field lies in the plane of the section.
Similarly when such a section is taken such that the plane of the section contains H field
and the direction of maximum radiation.
A typical radiation patter plot is shown in fig (7.3).
Fig 7.3(a) shows a typical radiation pattern plot in polar coordinates and Fig 7.3(b) shows
the same in rectangle coordinates.
The main lobe contains the direction of maximum radiation. However in some antennas,
more than one major lobe may exist. Lobe other than major lobe are called minor lobes.
Fig 7.3 (a): Typical radiation pattern in Polar
Coordinates
Fig 7.3 (b): Typical radiation pattern in rectangular
Coordinates
Minor lobes can be further represent radiation in the considered direction and require to
be minimized.
HPBW or half power beam width refers to the angular width between the points at which
the radiated power per unit area is one half of the maximum.
Similarly FNBW (First null beam width) refers to the angular width between the first two
nulls as shown in Fig 7.3. By the term beam width we usually refer to 3 dB beam width
or HPBW.
Directivity and gain:
We have already mentioned that an antenna does not radiate uniformly in all directions.
Directivity function ( ) , D
describes the variation of the radiation intensity. The
directivity function ( ) , D
is defined by
( ) , D
=
Power radiated per unit solid angle
Average power radiated per unit solid angle
If P
r
is the radiated power, the
r
dP
d
gives the amount of power radiated per unit solid
angle. Had this power beam uniformly radiated in all directions then average power
radiated per unit solid angle is
r
P
4
.
( ) , 4
4
r r
r
r
dP dP
d d
D
P
P

............................. (7.27)
The maximum of directivity function is called the directivity.
In defining directivity function total radiated power is taken as the reference. Another
parameter called the gain of an antenna is defined in the similar manner which takes into
account the total input power rather than the total radiated power is used as the reference.
The amount of power given as input to the antenna is not fully radiated.
r in
P P
(7.28)
where

is the radiation efficiency of the antenna.

The gain of the antenna is defined as
( )
Radiated power per unit solid angle
, 4
input power
G
( ) ( ) , , G D
The maximum gain function is termed as gain of the antenna.
Another parameter which incorporates the gain is effective isotropic radiated power or
EIRP which is defined as the product of the input power and maximum gain or simply the
gain. An antenna with a gain of 100 and input power of 1 W is equally effective as an
antenna having a gain of 50 and input power 2 W.
Radiation resistance:
The radiation resistance of an antenna is defined as the equivalent resistance that would
dissipate the same amount power as is radiated by the antenna. For the elementary current
element we have discussed so far. From equation (7.26) we find that radiated power
density
( )
2 2
2 2
0 0
2 2
sin
32
r
av
I dl k
P a
r

Radiated power
2
2 2 2
0 0 2 2
2 2
0 0
sin sin
32
r
I dl k
P r d d
r

2
2 2 2 2
0 0 3
2
0 0
sin
32
I dl k
d d

( )
2 2
0 0
12
I k dl
P

................................... (7.29)
Further,
2
. sin r
r av
dP r d d a

P
2
. r
av
a r d

P
( )
2 2
2
0 0
2
sin
32
r
I k dl dP
d

(7.30)
From (7.29) and (7.30)
( )
2
, 1.5sin D
Directivity ( )
max
, D D
which occurs at
2

.
If R
r
is the radiation resistance of the elementary dipole antenna, then
2 1
2
r r
I R P
Substituting P
r
from (7.29) we get
2
0
0
2
6
r
dl
R

,
.
Substituting
0
120 ;

2
3
0
480
6
r
dl
R


_

,
2
2
0
80
r
dl
R

,
.. (7.32)
For such an elementary dipole antenna the principal E and H plane pattern are shown in
Fig 7.4(a) and (b).

Fig 7.4 (a) Principal E plane pattern of an elementary
Dipole.
Fig 7.4 (b) Principal H plane pattern of an elementary
Dipole.
The bandwidth (3 dB beam width) can be found to be 90
0
in the E plane.
Effective Area of an Antenna:
An antenna operating as a receiving antenna extracts power from an incident
electromagnetic wave. The incident wave on a receiving antenna may be assumed to be a
uniform plane wave being intercepted by the antenna. This is illustrated in Fig 7.5. The
incident electric field sets up currents in the antenna and delivers power to any load
connected to the antenna. The induced current also re-radiates fields known as scattered
field. The total electric field outside the antenna will be sum of the incident and scattered
fields and for perfectly conducing antenna the total tangential electric field component
must vanish on the antenna surface.
Fig 7.5: Plane wave intercepted by an antenna
Let P
inc
represents the power density of the incident wave at the location of the receiving
antenna and P
L
represents the maximum average power delivered to the load under
matched conditions with the receiving antenna properly oriented with respect to the
polarization of the incident wave.
We can write,
L em inc
P A P
................................ (7.33)
where
2
0
2
inc
E
P

and the term A

em
is called the maximum effective aperture of the
antenna. A
em
is related to the directivity of the antenna D as,
2
4
em
D A

If the antenna is lossy then some amount of the power intercepted by the antenna will be
dissipated in the antenna.
From eqn. (7.28) we find that
G D
Therefore, from (7.34),
( )
2 2
4 4
em e
G A A

....................................................(7.35)

e em
A A
is called the effective aperture of the antenna ( in m
2
).
So effective area or aperture A
e
of an antenna is defined as that equivalent area which
when intercepted by the incident power density P
in
gives the same amount of received
power P
R
which is available at the antenna output terminals.
If the antenna has a physical aperture A then aperture efficiency
e
a
A
A

Effective length/height of the antenna:
When a receiving antenna intercepts incident electromagnetic waves, a voltage is induced
across the antenna terminals. The effective length he of a receiving antenna is defined as
the ratio of the open circuit terminal voltage to the incident electric field strength in the
direction of antennas polarization.
oc
e
V
h m
E
.. (7.36)
where V
oc
= open circuit voltage
E = electric field strength
Effective length he is also referred to as effective height.
Antenna Equivalent Circuit:
To a generator feeding a transmitting antenna, the antenna appears as a lead. In the same
manner, the receiver circuitry connected to a receiving antenna's output terminal will
appear as load impedance. Both transmitting and receiving antennas can be represented
by equivalent circuits as shown by figure 7.6(a) and figure 7.6(b).
Fig 7.6 (a): Equivalent circuit of a T
x
antenna
V
g
= open circuit voltage of the generator
Z
g
= antenna impedance
Z
0
= Characteristics impedance of the transmission line connecting generator to the
antenna.
P
inc
= Incident power to the antenna terminal
P
refl
= Power reflected from the antenna terminal.
P
in
= Input power to the antenna
X
A
= Antenna reactance
R
l
= Loss resistance of the antenna
R
r
= Radiation resistance
( )
A l r A A A
Z R R jX R jX + + +
antenna impedance.
Fig 7.6 (b): Equivalent circuit of receiving antenna
.
h
e
= effective length
E = incident field strength
V
oc
= h0 E open circuit voltage
Z
load
= Input impedance of the receiver.
R
e
, R
r
and X
A
as defined earlier.
From equation (7.7) to (7.9) we have seen that solution for E and H can be obtained
provided solution of A is unknown for a given J. Further while computation of radiated
fields for a Herzian dipole, in equation (7.23a) and (7.23b) we have neglected the higher
order terms of
1
n
r
and retained only those terms having
1
r
variation. In fact, once A is
known the radiation field components can be completed for the far field region as:
0......................................................(7.37 )
............................................(7.37 )
.............................................(7.37 )
r
E a
E j A b
E j A c

;
;
;
0...............................................................(7.37 )
...........................................(7.37 )
............................................(7.37
r
H d
E
j
H A e
E j
H A f

;
)
The relationship stated above equation (7.37a) - (7.37f) may be verified for a Herzian
dipole using equations (7.22), (7.24a) and (7.24b).
Half Wave Dipole Antenna:
Let us consider linear antennas of finite length and having negligible diameter. For such
antennas, when fed at the center, a reasonably good approximation of the current is given
by,
Fig 7.7: Current distribution on a center fed dipole antenna
( )
0
0
sin ' 0 '
2 2
'
sin ' ' 0
2 2
l l
I k z z
I z
l l
I k z z
1 _

1
, ]

'
1 _

+
1

, ]
This distribution assumes that the current vanishes at the two end points i.e., ' / 2 z l t .
The plots of current distribution are shown in the figure 7.7 for different 'l'.
This distribution assumes that the current vanishes at the two end points i.e. ' / 2 z l t .
The plots of current distribution are shown in the figure 7.7 for different 's'.
For a half wave dipole, i.e., / 2 l , the current distribution expressed as
0 0
0 0
cos ' '
4 4
I I k z z

.. (7.39)


From equation (7.21) we can write
( )
0
0
3
' '
4
jk R
I z dz e
d a
R

A (7.40)
From Fig 7.8(b), for the far field calculation, ' cos R r z for the phase variation and
R r for amplitude term.
( )
0
0
'cos 0
3
' '
4
jk R
jk z
I z dz
e
d a e
r

A
..................... (7.41)
Substituting ( )
0 0
' cos ' z I k z I
from (7.39) to (7.41) we get
0
0
' cos 0 0
3
0
cos ' '
4
jk rr
jk z
I e
d a k z e dz
r

A ............................ (7.42)
Therefore the vector potential for the half wave dipole can be written as:
Fig 7.8(a): Half wave dipole
Fig 7.8(b): Far field approximation for half wave
dipole
0
0
0
/ 4
' cos 0 0
3
0
/ 4
0 0
3
2
0
cos ' d '
4
2cos cos
2
................................ (7.43)
4 sin
jk r
jk z
jk rr
I e
a k z e z
r
I e
a
r k

_

,

A=
A

From (7.37b),
( )
( )
0
0 0
2
0
cos / 2cos
sin
2 sin
jk r
I e
E j
r k

_


,
( )
0
0
0 2
0 0
cos / 2cos
2 sin
jk r
k e
jI
k r k

( )
0
0 0
/ 2cos
cos
2 sin
jk r
I e
j
r

. (7.44)
Similarly from (7.37c)
0 E

........................................................................ (7.45)
and from (7.37e) and (7.37f)
( )
0
0
cos / 2cos
2 sin
jk r
jI e
H
r

................................ (7.46)
and
0 H

.(7.47)
The radiated power can be computed as
( )
2
2
0 0
2
2
2
0 0
2
0 0
1
sin
2
cos cos
2
sin d d
8 sin
r
P r d d
I

1 _

1
,
1
1
1
]


E H
2
0
36.565 I . (7.48)
Therefore the radiation resistance of the half wave dipole antenna is
36.565 2
=
73.13
Further, using Eqn(7.27) the directivity function for the dipole antenna can be written as
( )
( )
2
cos / 2cos
, 1.64
sin
D

1
]
. (7.49)
Thus directivity of such dipole antenna is 1.04 as compared to 1.5 for an elementary
dipole. The half power beam width in the E-plane can be found to be 780 as compared to
900 for a horizon dipole.
Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna:
A quarter wave monopole antenna is half of a dipole antenna placed over a grounded
plane. The geometry of such antennas is shown in Fig 7.9(a) and equivalent half wave
dipole is shown in fig 7.9(b).
Fig 7.9 (a): Quarter wave monopole (b) Equivalent Half wave dipole
If the ground plane is perfectly conducting, the monopole antenna shown in Fig 7.9(a)
will be equivalent to a half wave dipole shown in Fig 7.9(b) taking image into account.
The radiation pattern above the grounded plane ( in the upper hemisphere) will be same
as that of a half wave dipole, however, the total radiated power will be half of that of a
dipole since the field will be radiated only in the upper hemisphere.
An ideal quarter wave antenna mounted over a perfectly conducting ground plane has
radiation resistance 36.56, half that of a dipole antenna, radiating in free space. The
directivity of such antennas become double of that of dipole antennas.
Quarter wave monopole antennas are often used as vehicle mounted antennas, the evhicle
providing required ground plane for the antenna. For quarter-wave antennas mounted
above earth, the poor conductivity of the soil results in excessive power loss from the
induced amount in the soil.
The effect of poor ground conductivity is taken care of by installing a ground screen
consisting of radial wires extending outward from the antenna base for a distance of .....
Such arrangement is shown in Fig 7.10.
Fig 7.10: Grounded screen for improving performance of monopole antennas operating
near earth surface.
Small Loop Antennas:
Loop antennas may take many different forms such as circle, square, rectangle etc. Loop
antennas are generally classified into two categories viz, electrically small and
electrically large antennas. Electrically small antennas are those whose overall length is
less than one tenth is number of terms in the loop times the circumference of the loop.
Here we shall keep our discussion confined to small loop antennas only.
radial wires of length
buried below grounded
surface

Fig 11: Small Current loop
Small loops are usually not used as transmitting antennas as they have radiation
resistance smaller compared to ..... dipoles. However many unintentional sources of
radiation such as transformers, inductor, printed circuit boards etc essentially behave as
small loop antennas. A small loop of current is also called a magnetic dipole and its
magnetic dipole moment is equal to the product of the area with the current it carries.
Thus for these types of small current loops, the shape of the loop is not important. For a
given current, it is the area of the loop that determines the magnitude of the radiated
fields.
Fig. 11 shows a small current loop of radius peaced on the xy plane with its axis oriented
in the z direction. The loop carries a current I0.
For
0 0
<<
, the loop may be treated as a point source. As shown in Fig11, the
elementary current element placed at
'
has a vector orientation
4 ' sin ' cos ' X a a a

+
. For this current element the vector potential by equation
(7.21)
0
0
4
0 0
' sin ' cos '
4
jk R
x
e
d I d a a
R

_
+

,
A .. (7.50)
Where,
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
2 2 2
0 0
2 2
0 0
sin cos cos sin sin sin cos 0
2 sin cos cos ' sin sin '
R r r r
r r


+ +
+ +
Since
0
r >>
in the far field
For amplitude variation, we assume R r >> and for phase variation
( ) ( )
1/ 2
2
0 0
0
1 2 sin cos ' sin cos ' R r r
r r


1
_
+
1

,
1
]
( ) ( )
0
2
0 0 0
4
0
' 0
sin ' cos ' sin cos ' d '
4
jk
x
I
a a e r
r

_
+

,

A
( ) ( )
0
2
0 0 0
4
0 0
' 0
sin ' cos ' 1 sin cos ' d
4
jk r
x
I
e a a jk
r

_
+ +

,

{By approximating
( )
( )
0 0
sin cos '
0 0
1 sin cos '
jk
e jk

+ since
0
0 0
0
2
k

is
very small as
0 0
<<
)
( )
0
2
0 0 0
4 4
0 0
'
sin ' sin ' sin sin ' cos ' cos ' sin ' sin sin ' d '
4
jk r
X X
I e
a a jk a a
r
A

1 _ _
+ + + +

1
, , ]

0
0 0 0
4
0 0
cos sin
sin 2 2
4 2 2
jk r
X
I e
jk a a
r

1
]

0
0 0 0
0 0
sin
4
jk r
I e
jk a
r

( )
0
2 0
0 0
sin
4
jk r
e
I a
r
A jk

. (7.51)
Using (7.37c) and (7.37e), the radiated field components can be written as
0
0
0
sin
4
jk r
e
M a
r
k

E .........................................(7.52a)
0
0 0
0
sin
4
jk r
k e
M a
r

H
.........................................(7.52b)
[ By Bionomial expansion after
neglecting
2
0
r
_

,
w.r.to 1]
where
2
3
0 0
, M I a M

M
is the dipole moment of the loop.
The field radiated by a small loop antenna is dual of that small dipole antenna, i.e., a
short current filament, the role of electric and magnetic fields are interchanged.
From (7.52),
2
2 2 2
2 0 0
2
0
sin
4
r
k
M a
r

_


,
E H*
Therefore the radiated power
2
2 2 2 2
2 2 0 0
2
0 0 0
2
2 2 2
3 0 0
0
2 4
0 0
1 sin
Re sin d d
2 4
2 sin d
2 4
................................................(7.53)
12
r
k
P M r
r
M k
M k

1
_

1

,
1
]
_

The radiation resistance of a loop antenna can be found be

4
6 0
0
320
r
R

,
If the antenna consists of N number of turns; the radiation resistance increases by a factor
of N
2
.
Small loop antennas are often used as receiving antennas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction to Antenna Arrays:
An antenna array is an assembly of radiating elements. Radiation pattern of a single
element is relatively wide, each element provides low values of directivity. However, in
many applications we require antennas with very high directive characteristics. The
directive characteristics of the antennas can be improved by increasing the electrical size
of the antenna. One way to increase the dimension of the antenna without necessarily
increasing the size of the individual elements is to form an array of antenna elements. The
total field of the array is determined by the vector addition of the fields radiated by the
individual elements. The elements of the array need not be identical, but it is often
convenient and simpler to design such arrays when the individual elements are
considered to be identical. Therefore, here we will consider an array with identical
elements. In designing arrays we have several controls such as geometrical configuration
of the overall array, distance between the elements, excitation (amplitude and phase) and
pattern of individual elements.
Array of identical elements:
In this section we establish the basic methodology for analyzing an array of identical
elements.
Fig. 7.12: A general N element array.
As shown in fig 7.12, let us consider an array of N identical elements. The position vector
of the i
th
element is given by
i
r
. The excitation of i
th
element is given
i
j
i
Ce

where
i
C
and
i

are respectively the relative amplitudes and phases.

Let the electric field radiated by an element, when placed at the origin and with an unity
excitation is given by
( ) ( )
0
,
4
jk r
e
r

E r f ..(7.54)
The distance from the i
th
element to the far field point of interest is
. r
i i
R r a

r
for phase
variation and
i
R r
for amplitude variation.
The total electric field at the point P is given by
( ) ( )
( )
0
0
0
.
1
.
1
,
,
r
i
i
r
i i
jk r a
N
j
i
i
jk r
N j k a
i
i
e
r Ce
r
e
Ce
r

_


,
_


,

r
r
E f
f
.(7.55)
As can be seen from (7.56), the total radiation field is given by the product of the
radiation field of the reference element and the term
0
1
.
N
j
r
i i
i
Ce k a

_
+

,

r
.
The term
( )
0
.
1
,
r i i
N j k a
i
i
F Ce


_


,

r
....(7.56) is called the array
factor of the antenna array.
The directivity of the array ( ) ( ) ( )
2 2
, , , D F f . Thus we find that the radiation
pattern of an array is the product of the function of the individual element with
the array pattern function. This termed as principle of pattern multiplication.
If we consider isotropic elements then ( ) , 1 f
; hence the radiation pattern of the
array depends only on the array factor ( ) , F
. Further, it is worth mentioning here that
while discussing the properties of array we are neglecting the effect of radiation of one
element on the source distribution of the other, i.e., we assume that mutual coupling
effect among the elements of the array are neglected. Such effects are included when very
accurate characterisation of arrays is required.
Two element array:
In equation (7.57) we derived the expression for the array factor for an N- element array.
To simplify our discussion, let us consider a two-element array. Further, we consider the
elements are to be isotropic point sources. The array configuration under consideration is
shown in Fig. 7.13.
Fig 7.13: Two element array of isotropic point sources.
For this array, from (7.57) the array factor is given by
( )
0
0
1 2
.
.
2
2
1 2
,
X r
X r
d
d
jk a a
jk a a
j j
F C e e C e e


_


,

+
( )
0
0
1 2
sin cos sin cos
2 2
1 2
,
k d
d
j jk
j j
F C e e C e e




+
We now consider some specific cases.
Case -1:
Point sources have same amplitude and phase.
For this case we consider
1 2
1 C C
&
1 2
0
( )
sin cos sin cos
,
d d
j j
F e e



_ _


, ,

+

sin cos 2cos
d

_ _

, ,

Let us plot the array pattern on xy plane i.e.,

2

. Fig 7.14 (a) Fig 7.14(d) show the

nature of variation of the array factor as a function of
d

.
It can be seen that for 0.5
d

, the maximum radiation take place in a direction

perpendicular to array axis( broad side direction) and no radiation along the axis of the
array (endfix) for 0.5
d

> the radiation increases along the array axis.

Case 2:
Point sources have equal amplitude and opposite phase.
For this case let
1 2
1 C C
And
1 2
/ 2 / 2
( )
sin cos sin cos
2 2
,
2cos sin cos ..................................(7.57)
2
d d
j j
F e e
d

_ _ _ _
+ +

, , , ,
+
_
+

,
Once again we plot array pattern on the xy plane, i.e.,
2

. The same is shown in Fig

7.15(a) to Fig 7.15(d).
It can be seen from Fig 7.14(b) and Fig 7.15(b), that for / 2 d spacing, broadside
pattern is obtained for elements having same phase while end side pattern is obtained
when the elements are excited in the opposite phase.


(a) 0.25
d

(b) 0.75
d

(c) 0.50
d

(d) 1.00
d

Fig 7.14: Plot of ( ) / 2, vs F
for different values of / d , the elements excited in
the same phase.
(a) 0.25
d

(b) 0.75
d

(c) 0.50
d

(d) 1.00
d

Fig 7.15: Plot of ( ) / 2, vs F
for different values of / d , the elements excited in
different phase.
Uniform One dimensional array:
So far, we have considered the behavior of arrays having only two elements. Let us now
consider a uniform array having N +1 point sources. Each antenna element is assumed to
have same amplitude
0 i
C I
and a progressive phase shift of d between two elements
whered is the separation between the elements. Thus, with reference to the Fig 7.1b, the
ith element has a phase
i
id
.
Fig7.16: Uniform linear array
( )
( )
0
0
.
0
0
cos
0
0
,
...................................(7.58)
x r
N
j id k id a a
i
N
j id k id
i
F I e
I e

_
+

,

Where
cos sin cos
Using the relation
1
0
1
1
N N
i
i
w
w
w
+

.(7.59)
For a G.P. , from (7.61) we can write
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
0
0
0
1 cos
0
cos
0
cos
2
0
0
1
,
1
1
sin cos
2
cos
sin
2
N d k d
d k d
N
j d k d
e
F I
e
N
d k d
I e
d k d






+ +
+
+

+ _
+
' ;
,

+
' ;

.. (7.60)
If we define
0
cos u k d
and
0
u d
, then from (7.63) we can write array field pattern
F
to be
( )
( )
( )
( ) { }
0
0
0
1
sin
2
sin
N
u u
F U I
u u
+
+
' ;

+
..(7.61)
The function defined by equation (7.64) is a periodic function whose peak value occurs at
0
u u
and when ever
( )
0
2
u u
m
+
is an integer. The peak value is ( )
0
1 N I +
.
Since
cos
lies in the range
1 cos 1
, the corresponding range of u,
0 0
k d u k d
is the physical space or visible region. The plot of array factors ( ) F u
as
a function of u is shown in Fig 7.17.
..
As we can see from Fig 7.17, along with the major lobe, in the visible space there are
several smaller maxima. These smaller maxima corresponds to ride lobes.
Broad side Case:
If 0 , i.e., all the elements are in the same phase, then the maximum occurs at u = 0
i.e.,
cos 0
.
i.e.,
2

. Thus the maximum radiation occurs broad side to array axis. If we consider
the pattern in the y plane for which / 2 . Then
cos sin cos 0 / 2 >
.
i.e., maximum radiation is along y-axis.
End fire Case:
If
0
u
is chosen to be
0
k d
, then the beam maximum is formed along
0
u k d
, i.e.,
cos 1, i.e., =0
maximum of the array pattern is formed along the array axis.
Array pattern synthesis:
So far we have discussed the nature of the pattern produced by the arrays in which the
excitations (amplitude and phase) of the elements are specified. Alternatively, if we have
an array pattern specified a priori, the same can be approximately realized (synthesis) by
proper choice of element spacing, amplitudes and phases of the individual elements. This
process of realizing a specified pattern is known as array pattern synthesis or simply array
synthesis.