What is an Antenna?

An antenna is defined by the IEEE as a transmitting

or receiving system that is designed to radiate or receive
electromagnetic waves . An antenna can be of any
shape or size. A list of some common types of antennas is
wire, aperture, microstrip, reflector, and arrays. Each
antenna configuration has a radiation pattern and design
parameters, in addition to their benefits and drawbacks.
In this section we will describe common antenna types
and their benefits and drawbacks. In addition, we will
discuss fundamental parameters of each antenna
configuration.





Types of Antennas

The IEEE Standard of Terms for Antennas has not
been updated since 1983 and the terms/definitions do
not describe many of the new antennas discovered
since, according to David V. Thiel of the Griffith
University .
He proposes antennas should be grouped by
categories. The following are the proposed grouping:
wire antennas (e.g., dipoles and loops), aperture
antennas (e.g., pyramidal horns), reflector antennas
(e.g., parabolic dish antennas), microstrip antennas (e.g.,
patches), dielectric antennas (e.g., dielectric resonant
antennas), and active integrated antennas, lens
antennas (sphere), and antenna arrays.




Wire Antenna
A wire antenna is an antenna that is made of a
conductive wire. Wire antennas can come in different
configurations and some of these configurations are
dipoles, helix, and loop . Wire antennas can be seen
everywhere in daily lives. Some examples of wire
antennas are on automobiles as radio antennas, and on
buildings as transmitting or receiving antennas. Figure 3
shows an example of a wire antenna of a car.







Example of Wire Antenna

Wired antennas have an omni-directional radiation
pattern and the monopole antenna, a type of wire
antenna, comes standard with wireless routers.

Dipole Antenna


A dipole defined by the Merriam Webster Diction is
a pair of equal and opposite electric charges or


magnetic poles of opposite signs separated especially by
a small distance .

A simple design and radiation pattern of a
dipoleantenna can be shown as:-





Figure 4 Dipole Antenna and Radiation
Pattern




A simple design of a dipole antenna is to make the
length of the antenna /2, where wavelength is equal
to the speed of light over the center frequency the
antenna is mean to operate at. At the feed of a center
fed dipole, the current is at its peak and lowest at the
ends of conductors, or wings. Table 1 shows as the
length of the dipoles in terms of , the directivity of the
antenna corresponding to the length.



There is an increase in gain with each increase in


length. In order to achieve a significant gain, the dipole
length must be large in compared to the wavelength.
Trying to achieve high gain at lower frequencies is an
issue because the antenna can be massive, heavy, and
costly. The radiation pattern of a typical dipole can be
seen as:-


Dipole Radiation
Pattern




The radiation pattern of a dipole is in all directions.
In addition, the radiation pattern looks similar to that of
a donut. There are many different variations of dipole
antennas and some common types are biconical,
bowtie, and blade dipoles.

Biconical Dipoles

Biconical dipoles are defined as two conical
conductors that have are symmetrical about an axis and
vertex . An example of a biconical dipole can be seen as-


Biconical Dipole

Biconical dipoles are considered part of the


broadband dipole, being able to operate at a wide range
of frequencies. The dipole feed is located at the center
where both the cones meet. The antenna radiation
pattern is similar to that of a regular dipole and the only
real difference is the allowable bandwidth of this
antenna is considerably higher than the dipole and can
commonly achieve bandwidths of four to one.
Sometimes these cones are made out of a solid
metal conductor which can be heavy and costly.

Bowtie Antennas

Bowtie Antenna is another broadband antenna. It
also has a similar omnidirectional radiation pattern
compared to the traditional dipole. A design of a bowtie
antenna is seen as







Bowtie Dipole

Instead of being constructed with a conductor
sheet, bowtie antenna can constructed using a wire to
form the same shape. This is beneficial because it is
lower in because less is being used metal and decreases
wind resistances. The bow tie antenna is center fed like
a dipole. Figure shows an illustration of a wire bowtie
antenna.




Wire Bowtie
Antenna

As you can see, the metal used to construct this
dipole is significantly less than a tradition bowtie
antenna constructed from sheet metal. This method will
lower production cost and decrease the weight of
antenna.

Helix Antenna

A helix antenna is defined as an antenna whose
configuration relates to a helix . The helix antenna is
relatively light weight because it is constructed using a


metal conductor wire, a center support the helix
structure, and is usually attached to a ground plane at
the base. An example of a helix antenna is seen in















Basic Helix Antenna
Configuration

The lossless gain of a Helix Antenna is given by N=
Number of turns
C=
Circumference
of Helix S =
spacing
between turns
Equation 7.





N= Number
of turns
C=Circumferen
ce of Helix
S = spacing
between turns
The gain is dependent of the number of turns, the
circumference of the helix, the spacing between turns,
and the wavelength. Designers can increase the gain of
the antenna by adding additional turns which will
increase the length of the antenna. Another key
characteristic is the input impedance of the antenna.
This can be obtained using the equation:-


C =Circumference of
helix






The resistance of the antenna is dependent of the
circumference of the helix and the wavelength. The
following Figure shows a basic configuration of a helix
antenna.

















Figure:-Basic Helix Antenna
Configuration

The coaxial cable is connected to the feed is label as
C, R is the reflector base, B is the center support, E is the
support for the helix, and S is the wire of the helix
antenna that is radiating or receiving electromagnetic
waves. Other design parameters that needs to be


consider when designing a helix antenna are the pitch
angle (arctan (S/ pi*D)), the total length of the antenna
(NS), and total length of wire (N*Length of one turn)

There are two operational modes for a helix
antenna: axial mode, and normal mode. In normal
mode the spacing between helixes and the diameter of
the helixes are small in comparison with the wavelength.
The radiation pattern is along the helical direction and it
is similar to that of a dipole. In axial mode, the antenna
functions like a directional antenna and the spacing
between elements is /4. The antenna radiates at the
top of the helix along the axis of the antenna. The
radiation pattern of both operation modes can be seen
in




Radiation Pattern of Helix Antenna


Loop Antenna
The IEEE Standard Definitions of Terms for
Antennas defines a loop antenna as an antenna whose
configuration is that of a loop [5]. This loop can be in
the shape of a square, rectangle, circle trip, and many
other geometric shapes. There are two different


categories to loop antennas: electrically small or
electrically large . Electrically small antennas are defined
as antennas that loop length is less than one-tenth of
wavelength. Wavelength, , is the ratio of the speed of
light over the frequency at which the antenna is
designed to operate at. Small loop antennas are
sometimes called the magnetic loop because it acts like
an inductor.

Electrically large loop antennas are defined as
antennas that have a loop length of approximately .
Figure shows examples of loop antennas.






Loop Antenna Example

The radiation pattern of a loop antenna is
omnidirectional which is similar to the dipole. Radiation
pattern of small circular and rectangular loop antenna:-






Aperture antennas


An aperture antenna is an antenna that contains an
opening in which electromagnetic waves are transmitted
or received through . Aperture antennas can be many
different shapes. Popular configurations of an aperture
antenna are waveguides and horns . Aperture antennas
are used widely in aircrafts because the can be covered
with a dielectric. This dielectric protects the antenna
from the environments that an aircraft is exposed to. A
waveguide is an antenna that guides an electromagnetic
wave. It consists of a conductive wall that is hollow in the
inside for the wave to travel. A horn antenna is an
antenna consisting of a waveguide section in which the


cross-sectional area increases towards an open end
which is the aperture. A typical horn antenna is



Example of a Horn
Antenna [


There are three types of horn antennas:

1) E-plane sectoral horn,
2) H-plane sectoral horn, and
3) pyramidal horn
H-Plane Sectoral horn has a wider width to of the
aperture while E-Plane Sectoral horn has a wider
height. The pyramidal horn has approximately equal


width and height.








E-Plane Horn (Left), H-Plane Horn (Middle), Pyramidal
Horn (Right)


Reflector Antenna
Reflector antennas redirect electromagnetics and
refocus it in a certain direction. This type of antenna is
commonly used for space crafts for long distance
communication . Several common types of reflector
antennas are the plane reflector, the corner reflector,
and the parabolic reflector. A plane reflector is flat


reflector made of a conductor. The electromagnetic
waves redirects concept can be compared to sunlight
hitting a mirror.

A corner reflector usually consists of two plane
reflectors joined together at an angle. Typically these
two plane reflector joins together to form a 90 degree
angle. Figure 16 shows the concept of a 90 degree
corner reflector.



Concept of Corner Reflector [24]



Parabolic reflectors are shaped like a parabola.
Electromagnetic waves can be focused into a beam and
aimed at locations with accuracies. Because of this
characteristic, parabolic are commonly used by dish TV
companies, and satellite communication. Figure shows
an example of a parabolic antenna.

















The losses gain or directivity of a reflector antenna
can be found by knowing the wavelength and the cross-
sectional aperture.

The following Equation is the equation for the
directive for a reflector antenna.





Directivity of a reflector antenna


The true gain of a reflector antenna takes into
account radiation, aperture taper, spillover, and
achievement losses. Taking those factors into
consideration, the gain of a reflector antenna can be
found using eqn:-










Microstrip Antenna
The microstrip antenna, sometimes called a patch
antenna, is defined as an antenna which consists of a
thin metallic conductor bonded to a thin grounded
dielectric substrate . Microstrip antennas are low
profile, small in volume, and have low production cost .
The feed can be connected directly to the conductor on


the same substrate. The antenna design can be printed
onto ceramic substrate which eliminates the need for
an adhesive to bond the conductor to the substrate.
shows a single rectangular patch antenna configuration.



Basic Patch Antenna Design




The patch antenna can operate from the ranges from
1GHz to 6GHz. At lower frequency the antenna can be
large in size and may not be practical.


To design an antenna to resonance at a desired
frequency, Equation 11 can be used


.




h = Height of dielectric substrate

W = the width of the patch

R = Relative Dielectric of substrate



There are many different variations of shape for patch antennas radiating
element. Some common shapes are square, circle, ellipses, triangle, circular ring,
and dipole. The more commonly used shapes are square, rectangle, dipole, and
circle are used because they are easier to analyze than other shapes.



Antenna function




Space wave










Guided wave
Transformation of a guided EM wave (in
waveguide/ transmission line ) into an
EM wave freely propagating in space (or
vice versa)
Transformation from time-function into
RF wave (= vectorial field dependent
on time and 3 space-dimensions)
The specific form and direction of the
wave is defined by the antenna
structure and the environment








Transmission line
Power transport medium the transition ideally without
power reflections (matching devices!)
Radiator
Must radiate efficiently must be of a size
comparable with the half-wavelength
Resonator
Unavoidable - for broadband applications
resonances must be attenuated





Monopole (dipole over plane)
Sharp
transition
region




Uniform wave
traveling
along the line
Thin radiator






High-Q
Narrowband


Smooth
transition
region



Low-Q
Broadband

Thick
radiator


If there is an inhomogeneity (obstacle, or sharp transition),
reflections, higher field- modes and standing wave appear.

With standing wave, the energy is stored in, and oscillates from
electric energy to magnetic one and back. This can be modeled
as a resonating LC circuit with

Q = (energy stored per cycle) / (energy lost per cycle)





Dipole, Slot & INF antennas
Slot antenna: a slot is cut from a large (relative to the slot length)
metal plate.
The center conductor of the feeding coaxial cable is
connected to one side of the slot, and the outside conductor
of the cable - to the other side of the slot.
The slot length is some (/2) for the slot antenna and (/4) long
for the INF antenna.
The INF and the slot antennas behave similarly.
The slot antenna can be considered as a loaded version of
the INF antenna. The load is a quarter-wavelength stub, i.e. a
narrowband device.
When the feed point is moved to the short-circuited end of
the slot (or INF) antenna, the impedance decreases. When it
is moved to the slot center (or open end of the INF antenna),
the impedance increases



Antennas for laptop applications








Patch and slot antennas derived
from printed-circuit and micro-strip
technologies
Ceramic chip antennas are typically
helical or inverted-F (INF) antennas,
or variations of these two types with
high dielectric loading to reduce the
antenna size






Patch and slot antennas are
Cheap and easy to fabricate and to mount
Suited for integration
Light and mechanically robust
Have low cross-polarization
Low-profile - widely used in antenna arrays
spacec

rafts, satellites, missiles, cars and other mobile

applications





Aperture-antenna
Aperture antennas





Power
absorbed: P
[watt]
Effective
aperture:
A[m
2
]
EM wave

Power density:
PFD [w/m
2
]
A = A*PFD
derived from waveguide
technology (circular,
rectangular)
Can transfer high
power (magnetrons,
klystrons)
Above few GHz
The aperture concept is
applicable also to wired
antennas. For instance,
the max effective aperture
of linear /2 wavelength
dipole antenna is
2
/8





Leaky-wave antennas
Derived from millimeter-
wave guides (dielectric
guides, microstrip lines,
coplanar and slot lines).
For frequencies > 30 GHz,
including infrared
Subject of intensive study.
Note: Periodical
discontinuities near the end
of the guide lead to
substantial radiation
leakage (radiation from the
dielectric surface).






Image Theory


Antenna above perfectly
conducting plane surface
Tangential electrical field
component = 0
vertical components:
the same direction
horizontal
components:
opposite directions
The field (above the ground)
is the same as if the ground
is replaced by an mirror
image of the antenna


+





-


Elliptical polarization:
change of the rotation
sense!





The Arecibo Observatory Antenna System
The worlds
largest single
radio telescope

304.8-m
spherical
reflector
National
Astronomy and
Ionosphere
Center (USA),
Arecibo,
Puerto Rico





The Arecibo Radio Telescope












[Sky & Telescope





Lens antennas





Lenses play a similar role to that of reflectors in reflector
antennas: they collimate divergent energy
Often preferred to reflectors at frequencies > 100 GHz.





Radiation pattern
The radiation pattern of antenna is a representation (pictorial or
mathematical) of the distribution of the power out-flowing (radiated)
from the antenna (in the case of transmitting antenna), or inflowing
(received) to the antenna (in the case of receiving antenna) as a
function of direction angles from the antenna
Antenna radiation pattern (antenna pattern):
is defined for large distances from the antenna,
where the spatial (angular) distribution of the radiated
power does not depend on the distance from the
radiation source
is independent on the power flow direction: it is the
same when the antenna is used to transmit and when it
is used to receive radio waves
is usually different for different frequencies and different
polarizations of radio wave radiated/ received



Power- or
field-strength meter

Turntable


ant

Generator




Power pattern vs. Field pattern


Anten
under
test


A
U
T


Large
dist




Auxiliary
antenna
The power pattern is the
measured (calculated) and plotted
received power: |P(, )| at a
constant (large) distance from the
antenna
The amplitude field pattern
is the measured
(calculated) and plotted
electric (magnetic) field

The power pattern and the field
patterns are inter-related for plane
wave:
P(, ) = (1/q)*|E(, )|
2
=
q*|H(, )|
2

P = power
E = electrical field
component; H = magnetic
field component vector
q = 377 ohm (free-space,
plane wave impedance)
intensity, |E(, )| or
|H(, )| at a constant (large)
distance from the
antenna







Reference antenna (/2 dipole)


Reference antenna (/2 dipole)













Biquad


Biquad antenna





Cantenna




Cantenna
3-D pattern





3-D pattern


Antenna radiation
pattern is
3-dimensional
The 3-D plot of antenna
pattern assumes both
angles and varying,
which is difficult to produce
and to interpret
2-D pattern





Two 2-D patterns


Usually the antenna pattern is
presented as a 2-D plot, with
only one of the direction
angles, or
varies
It is an intersection of the 3-D
one with a given plane
usually it is a = const
plane or a = const plane
that contains the patterns
maximum
Example: a short dipole on z-

axis

Principal patterns




Principal patterns are the 2-D patterns of linearly polarized
antennas, measured in 2 planes
1. the E-plane: a plane parallel to the E vector and
containing the direction of maximum radiation, and
2. the H-plane: a plane parallel to the H vector,
orthogonal to the E-plane, and containing the
direction of maximum radiation





Example





Isotropic antenna
Isotropic antenna or isotropic radiator
is a hypothetical (not physically
realizable) concept, used as a useful
reference to describe real antennas.
Isotropic antenna radiates equally in
all directions.
Its radiation pattern is represented by a
sphere whose center coincides with
the location of the isotropic radiator.





Directional antenna
Directional antenna is an antenna, which radiates (or receives)
much more power in (or from) some directions than in (or from)
others.
Note: Usually, this term is applied to antennas whose directivity
is much higher than that of a half-wavelength dipole.





Omnidirectional antenna
An antenna, which has a non-
directional pattern in a plane
It is usually directional in
other planes





Pattern lobes



Pattern lobe is a portion of the
radiation pattern with a local
maximum
Lobes are classified as:
major, minor, side lobes,
back lobes.





Pattern lobes and beam widths








Example






Beamwidth
Half-power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between two vectors
from the patterns origin to the points of the major lobe where the
radiation intensity is half its maximum
Often used to describe the antenna resolution properties
Important in radar technology, radioastronomy, etc.
First-null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angle between two vectors,
originating at the patterns origin and tangent to the main beam at
its base.
Often FNBW 2*HPBW













Volts


Equivalent half-power beamwidth
representations of an antennas radiation
pattern.





Anisotropic sources: gain






Hypotheti
c
isotropic
antenna
Hypotheti
c
directiona
l antenna
Every real antenna radiates more
energy in some directions than in
others (i.e. has directional properties)
Idealized example of directional
antenna: the radiated energy is
concentrated in the yellow region
(cone).
Directive antenna gain: the power flux
density is increased by (roughly) the
inverse ratio of the yellow area and the
total surface of the isotropic sphere
Gain in the field intensity may
also be considered - it is equal to
the square root of the power
gain.






Plane angle: radian


Angle in radians,
= l

/ r; l

= *r
l
l

is the length of the arc segment
supported by the

angle in a circle of radius r.
r
There are 2t rad in a full
circle
1 rad = (360 / 2t) deg






Solid angle: steradian
Solid angle in steradians (sr),
O = (S
O
)/r
2
; S
O
= Or
2


S
O
is the spherical surface area supported
by the solid angle O in a sphere of radius r
The steradian is the area cut out by
the solid angle, divided by the
spheres radius squared -
squared radian.

If the area is S, and the radius is d,
then the angle is S/d
2
steradians.
The total solid angle (a full sphere)
is thus 4t steradians.







As one radian is 180/ = 57.3
degrees, the total solid angle is 4t x
(57.3)
2
~ 41253 square degrees,
one steradian is 3282.806 square
degrees, and one square degree is
about 305 x 10-6 steradians








Antenna gain measurement


Reference
antenna
Measuring
equipment
Actual
antenna
Measuring
equipment




P
o
= Power
delivered to
the reference
antenna
S
0
= Power
received
(the same in
both steps)
P = Power
delivered to
the actual
antenna
S = Power
received
(the same in
both steps)
Step 1:
reference
Step 2: substitution


Antenna Gain = (P/P
o
)
S=S0






Antenna Gains G
i
, G
d

Unless otherwise specified, the gain refers to the direction of
maximum radiation.
Gain is a dimension-less factor related to power and usually
expressed in decibels
G
i
Isotropic Power Gain theoretical concept, the
reference antenna is isotropic
G
d
- the reference antenna is a half-wave dipole





Typical Gain and Beamwidth


Type of antenna G
i
[dB] BeamW.
Isotropic 0
360
0
x360
0

Half-wave Dipole 2
360
0
x120
0

Helix (10 turn) 14
35
0
x35
0

Small dish 16
30
0
x30
0

Large dish 45
1
0
x1
0





Gain, Directivity, Radiation Efficiency


The radiation intensity, directivity
G(0, ) = qD(0, )
and gain are measures of the
ability of an antenna to
concentrate power in a particular
direction.
Directivity relates to the power
radiated by antenna (P
0
)
Gain relates to the power
delivered to antenna (P
T
)
q =
P
T

P
0

q: radiation efficiency (0.5
- 0.75)





Antenna gain and effective area


Effective area: Measure of the effective absorption area
presented by an antenna to an incident plane wave.
Depends on the antenna gain and wavelength
2

A
e
= q
4t
G(u , ) [m
2
]

Aperture efficiency: q
a
= A
e
/ A
A: physical area of antennas aperture, square meters







e.i.r.p.
Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (in a given
direction):

e.i.r. p. = PG
i





The product of the power supplied to the antenna and the
antenna gain (relative to an isotropic antenna) in a given
direction





Linear Polarization







In a linearly polarized
plane wave the direction of the E (or
H) vector is constant .






Polarization ellipse
E
x

The superposition of two
coherent plane-wave
M
components results in an
E
y
elliptically polarized wave




N
The polarization ellipse is

defined by its axial ratio
N/M (ellipticity), tilt angle
and sense of rotation





Elliptical Polarization




LHC



Ex = cos
(wt) Ey =
cos (wt)
Ex = cos (wt)
Ey = cos
(wt+pi/4)
Ex = cos
(wt) Ey = -
sin (wt)
Ex = cos (wt)
Ey = cos
(wt+3pi/4)






Ex = cos (wt)
Ey = -cos
(wt+pi/4)
RHC

Ex = cos
(wt) Ey =
sin (wt)


:





At any moment in a chosen reference point in space, there is
actually a single electric vector E (and associated magnetic vector
H).
This is the result of superposition (addition) of the instantaneous
fields E (and H) produced by all radiation sources active at the
moment.
The separation of fields by their wavelength, polarization, or
direction is the result of filtration.





Polarization Efficiency


The power received by an antenna
from a particular direction is maximal if the polarization of the
incident wave and the polarization of the antenna in the wave
arrival direction have:
the same axial ratio
the same sense of polarization
the same spatial orientation
.


2



Polarization filters/ reflectors


Wall of thin parallel wires (conductors)


|E
1
|>0
|E

| = 0
|E
1
|>
0
|E
2
| ~ |E2|

Vector E ,, wires Vector E wires


Reflectin
g


Wire distance ~ 0.1
Transparent

At the surface of ideal conductor the tangential electrical field
component = 0


G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r


Transmitting antenna equivalent circuit



Transmitter
Transm. line


Radio wave


jX
G
R
G



V
G


jX
A
R
r
R
l

The transmitter with the transmission line is
represented by an (Thevenin) equivalent
generator
The antenna is represented by its input
impedance

(which is frequency-dependent and is

influenced by objects nearby) as seem
from the generator

jX
A
represents energy stored in electric
(E
e
) and magnetic (E
m
) near-field
components; if |Ee| = |E
m
| then X
A
= 0
(antenna resonance)
R
r
represents energy radiated into space
(far-field components)
R
l
represents energy lost, i.e. transformed



2





Power vs. field strength


P
r
=
E
E =
Z
0

P
r
Z
0


E = E
2
+ E
2

u
E
H =
Z
0

Z
0
= 377 ohms

for plane wave in free
space


A
n
t
e
n
n
a


Receiving antenna equivalent circuit


Radio
wave
Antenna
Transm.lin
e


Receiver



jX
A
R
r
R
l

V
A




jX
L
R
L

The antenna with the transmission line is
represented by an (Thevenin) equivalent
generator


The receiver is represented by its input
impedance as seen from the antenna
terminals (i.e. transformed by the
transmission line)


V
A
is the (induced by the incident wave)
voltage at the antenna terminals determined
when the antenna is open circuited











Power transfer




1


0.5



0










0.1 1
10
RA / RG; (XA+XG = 0)
The maximum power is
delivered to (or from) the
antenna when the antenna
impedance and the impedance
of the equivalent generator (or
load) are matched






When the impedances are matched
Half of the source power is delivered to the load and half is
dissipated within the (equivalent) generator as heat
In the case of receiving antenna, a part (P
l
) of the power
captured is lost as heat in the antenna elements, the other part
being reradiated (scattered) back into space
Even when the antenna losses tend to zero, still only half of
the power captured is delivered to the load (in the case of
conjugate matching), the other half being scattered back into
space



Satellite antennas (TV)

Not an array!



Owens Valley Radio
Observatory Array







The Earths
atmosphere
is
transparent
in the
narrow
visible-light
window
(4000-7000
angstroms)
and the
radio band
between 1
mm
and 10 m.







New Mexico Very Large Array


27 antennas along 3 railroad tracks provide baselines up to 35 km.
Radio images are formed by correlating the signals garnered by
each antenna.



























R Struzak



2 GHz adaptive antenna array
A set of 48 2
GHz antennas











Switched beam antennas
Based on switching function between
separate directive antennas or
predefined beams of an array
Space Division Multiple Access
(SDMA) = allocating an angle
direction sector to each user
In a TDMA system, two users will be
allocated to the same time slot and
the same carrier frequency
They will be differentiated by different
direction angles





Adaptive (Intelligent) Antennas
Array of N antennas in a linear,
circular, or planar configuration
Used for selection signals from
desired sources and suppress
incident signals from undesired
sources
The antenna pattern track the
sources
It is then adjusted to null out the
interferers and to maximize the signal
to interference ratio (SIR)
Able to receive and combine
constructively multipath signals

|
Relative
distance, Br








Field impedance



100



10



1



0.1



0.01



Short
dipole











Small
loop
Field
impedanc e
Z = E/H
depends
on the
antenna
type and
0.01 0.1 1 10
100
Distance / (lambda/ 2Pi)
on distance





Far-Field, Near-Field

Near-field region:
Angular distribution of energy depends on
distance from the antenna;
Reactive field components dominate (L, C)
Far-field region:
Angular distribution of energy is
independent on distance;
Radiating field component dominates (R)
The resultant EM field can locally be treated as
uniform (TEM)








The EM field at large distances from an antenna can be treated
as originated at a point source - fictitious volume-less emitter.
The EM field in a homogenous unlimited medium at large
distances from an antenna can be approximated by an uniform
plane TEM wave