1

Introduction
1.1 Antenna Gain
1.2 Phased Array Antenna
1.3 Power Pattern
1.4 Beam Steering
1.5 Degree of Freedom
1.6 Optimal Antenna
1.7 Adaptive Antenna
1.8 Smart Antenna
1.9 Book Outline
References
Widespread interest in smart antennas has continued for several decades due to their use
in numerous applications. The first issue of IEEE Transactions of Antennas and Propagation,
published in 1964 [IEE64], was followed by special issues of various journals [IEE76, IEE85,
IEE86, IEE87a, IEE87b], books [Hud81, Mon80, Hay85, Wid85, Com88, God00], a selected
bibliography [Mar86], and a vast number of specialized research papers. Some of the
general papers in which various issues are discussed include [App76, dA80, dA84, Gab76,
Hay92, Kri96, Mai82, Sch77, Sta74, Van88, Wid67].
The current demand for smart antennas to increase channel capacity in the fast-growing
area of mobile communications has reignited the research and development efforts in this
area around the world [God97]. This book aims to help researchers and developers by
providing a comprehensive and detailed treatment of the subject matter. Throughout the
book, references are provided in which smart antennas have been suggested for mobile
communication systems. This chapter presents some introductory material and terminol-
ogy associated with antenna arrays for those who are not familiar with antenna theory.
1.1 Antenna Gain
Omnidirectional antennas radiate equal amounts of power in all directions. Also known
as isotropic antennas, they have equal gain in all directions. Directional antennas, on the
other hand, have more gain in certain directions and less in others. A direction in which
the gain is maximum is referred to as the antenna boresight. The gain of directional
antennas in the boresight is more than that of omnidirectional antennas, and is measured
with respect to the gain of omnidirectional antennas. For example, a gain of 10 dBi (some
times indicated as dBic or simply dB) means the power radiated by this antenna is 10 dB
more than that radiated by an isotropic antenna.
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An antenna may be used to transmit or receive. The gain of an antenna remains the
same in both the cases. The gain of a receiving antenna indicates the amount of power it
delivers to the receiver compared to an omnidirectional antenna.
1.2 Phased Array Antenna
A phased array antenna uses an array of antennas. Each antenna forming the array is
known as an element of the array. The signals induced on different elements of an array
are combined to form a single output of the array.
This process of combining the signals from different elements is known as beamforming.
The direction in which the array has maximum response is said to be the beam-pointing
direction. Thus, this is the direction in which the array has the maximum gain. When signals
are combined without any gain and phase change, the beam-pointing direction is broadside
to the linear array, that is, perpendicular to the line joining all elements of the array.
By adjusting the phase difference among various antennas one is able to control the beam
pointing direction. The signals induced on various elements after phase adjustment due to
a source in the beam-pointing direction get added in phase. This results in array gain (or
equivalently, gain of the combined antenna) equal to the sum of individual antenna gains.
1.3 Power Pattern
A plot of the array response as a function of angle is referred to as array pattern or antenna
pattern. It is also called power pattern when the power response is plotted. It shows the
power received by the array at its output from a particular direction due to a unit power
source in that direction. A power pattern of an equispaced linear array of ten elements
with half-wavelength spacing is shown in Figure 1.1. The angle is measured with respect
to the line of the array. The beam-pointing direction makes a 90 angle with the line of
the array. The power pattern has been normalized by dividing the number of elements in
the array so that the maximum array gain in the beam-pointing direction is unity.
The power pattern drops to a low value on either side of the beam-pointing direction.
The place of the low value is normally referred to as a null. Strictly speaking, a null is a
position where the array response is zero. However, the term sometimes is misused to
indicate the low value of the pattern. The pattern between the two nulls on either side of
the beam-pointing direction is known as the main lobe (also called main beam or simply
beam). The width of the main beam between the two half-power points is called the half-
power beamwidth. A smaller beamwidth results from an array with a larger extent. The
extent of the array is known as the aperture of the array. Thus, the array aperture is the
distance between the two farthest elements in the array. For a linear array, the aperture is
equal to the distance between the elements on either side of the array.
1.4 Beam Steering
For a given array the beam may be pointed in different directions by mechanically moving
the array. This is known as mechanical steering. Beam steering can also be accomplished
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by appropriately delaying the signals before combining. The process is known as electronic
steering, and no mechanical movement occurs. For narrowband signals, the phase shifters
are used to change the phase of signals before combining.
The required delay may also be accomplished by inserting varying lengths of coaxial
cables between the antenna elements and the combiner. Changing the combinations of
various lengths of these cables leads to different pointing directions. Switching between
different combinations of beam-steering networks to point beams in different directions
is sometimes referred to as beam switching.
When processing is carried out digitally, the signals from various elements can be
sampled, stored, and summed after appropriate delays to form beams. The required delay
is provided by selecting samples from different elements such that the selected samples
are taken at different times. Each sample is delayed by an integer multiple of the sampling
interval; thus, a beam can only be pointed in selected directions when using this technique.
1.5 Degree of Freedom
The gain and phase applied to signals derived from each element may be thought of as
a single complex quantity, hereafter referred to as the weighting applied to the signals. If
there is only one element, no amount of weighting can change the pattern of that antenna.
However, with two elements, when changing the weighting of one element relative to the
other, the pattern may be adjusted to the desired value at one place, that is, you can place
one minima or maxima anywhere in the pattern. Similarly, with three elements, two
positions may be specified, and so on. Thus, with an L-element array, you can specify L 1
positions. These may be one maxima in the direction of the desired signal and L 2
minimas (nulls) in the directions of unwanted interferences. This flexibility of an L element
array to be able to fix the pattern at L 1 places is known as the degree of freedom of the
array. For an equally spaced linear array, this is similar to an L 1 degree polynomial of
L 1 adjustable coefficients with the first coefficient having the value of unity.
FIGURE 1.1
Power pattern of a ten-element linear array with half-wavelength spacing.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
10
8
10
6
10
4
10
2
10
0
Angle in degree
P
o
w
e
r

R
e
s
p
o
n
s
e
Main Beam
Sidelobe
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1.6 Optimal Antenna
An antenna is optimal when the weight of each antenna element is adjusted to achieve
optimal performance of an array system in some sense. For example, assume that a
communication system is operating in the presence of unwanted interferences. Further-
more, the desired signal and interferences are operating at the same carrier frequency such
that these interferences cannot be eliminated by filtering. The optimal performance for a
communication system in such a situation may be to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR) at the output of the system without causing any signal distortion. This would
require adjusting the antenna pattern to cancel these interferences with the main beam
pointed in the signal direction. Thus, the communication system is said to be employing
an optimal antenna when the gain and the phase of the signal induced on each element
are adjusted to achieve the maximum output SNR (sometimes also referred to as signal
to interference and noise ratio, SINR).
1.7 Adaptive Antenna
The term adaptive antenna is used for a phased array when the weighting on each element
is applied in a dynamic fashion. The amount of weighting on each channel is not fixed at
the time of the array design, but rather decided by the system at the time of processing
the signals to meet required objectives. In other words, the array pattern adapts to the
situation and the adaptive process is under control of the system. For example, consider
the situation of a communication system operating in the presence of a directional inter-
ference operating at the carrier frequency used by the desired signal, and the performance
measure is to maximize the output SNR. As discussed previously, the output SNR is
maximized by canceling the directional interference using optimal antennas. The antenna
pattern in this case has a main beam pointed in the desired signal direction, and has a null
in the direction of the interference. Assume that the interference is not stationary but moving
slowly. If optimal performance is to be maintained, the antenna pattern needs to adjust so
that the null position remains in the moving interference direction. A system using adaptive
antennas adjusts the weighting on each channel with an aim to achieve such a pattern.
For adaptive antennas, the conventional antenna pattern concepts of beam width, side
lobes, and main beams are not used, as the antenna weights are designed to achieve a set
performance criterion such as maximization of the output SNR. On the other hand, in
conventional phase-array design these characteristics are specified at the time of design.
1.8 Smart Antenna
The term smart antenna incorporates all situations in which a system is using an antenna
array and the antenna pattern is dynamically adjusted by the system as required. Thus,
a system employing smart antennas processes signals induced on a sensor array. A block
diagram of such a system is shown in Figure 1.2.
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The type of sensors used and the additional information supplied to the processor
depend on the application. For example, a communication system uses antennas as sensors
and may use some signal characteristics as additional information. The processor uses
this information to differentiate the desired signal from unwanted interference.
A block diagram of a narrowband communication system is shown in Figure 1.3 where
signals induced on an antenna array are multiplied by adjustable complex weights and
then combined to form the system output. The processor receives array signals, system
output, and direction of the desired signal as additional information. The processor cal-
culates the weights to be used for each channel.
1.9 Book Outline
Chapter 2 is dedicated to various narrowband processors and their performance. Adaptive
processing of narrowband signals is discussed in Chapter 3. Descriptions and analyses of
FIGURE 1.2
Block diagram of an antenna array system.
FIGURE 1.3
Block diagram of a communication system using an antenna array.
Sensor 1
Sensor 2
Sensor L
Processor
Output
Additional
Information
Antenna 1
Antenna 2
Antenna L
Weight
Estimation
Output
Desired
Signal
Direction
+
Weights
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broadband-signal processors are presented in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, situations are
considered in which the desired signals and unwanted interference are not independent.
Chapter 6 is focused on using the received signals on an array to identify the direction of
a radiating source. Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 are focused on fading channels. Chapter 7
describes such channels and analyzes the performance of a single antenna system in a
fading environment. Chapter 8 considers multiple antenna systems and presents various
diversity-combining techniques.
References
App76 Applebaum, S.P., Adaptive arrays, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., 24, 585598, 1976.
Com88 Compton Jr., R.T., Adaptive Antennas: Concepts and Performances, Prentice Hall, New York,
1988.
dA80 dAssumpcao, H.A., Some new signal processors for array of sensors, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory,
26, 441453, 1980.
dA84 dAssumpcao, H.A. and Mountford, G.E., An overview of signal processing for arrays of
receivers, J. Inst. Eng. Aust. IREE Aust., 4, 619, 1984.
Gab76 Gabriel, W.F., Adaptive arrays: An introduction, IEEE Proc., 64, 239272, 1976.
God97 Godara, L.C., Application of antenna arrays to mobile communications. Part I: Performance
improvement, feasibility and system considerations, Proc. IEEE, 85, 10311062, 1997.
God00 Godara, L.C., Ed., Handbook of Antennas in Wireless Communications, CRC Press, Boca Raton,
FL, 2002.
Hay85 Haykin, S., Ed., Array Signal Processing, Prentice Hall, New York, 1985.
Hay92 Haykin, S. et al., Some aspects of array signal processing, IEE Proc., 139, Part F, 119, 1992.
Hud81 Hudson, J.E., Adaptive Array Principles, Peter Peregrins, New York, 1981.
IEE64 IEEE, Special issue on active and adaptive antennas, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., 12, 1964.
IEE76 IEEE, Special issue on adaptive antennas, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., 24, 1976.
IEE85 IEEE, Special issue on beamforming, IEEE J. Oceanic Eng., 10, 1985.
IEE86 IEEE, Special issue on adaptive processing antenna systems, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat.,
34, 1986.
IEE87a IEEE, Special issue on adaptive systems and applications, IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst., 34, 1987.
IEE87b IEEE, Special issue on underwater acoustic signal processing, IEEE J. Oceanic Eng., 12, 1987.
Kri96 Krim, H. and Viberg, M., Two decades of array signal processing: the parametric approach,
IEEE Signal Process. Mag., 13(4), 6794, 1996.
Mai82 Maillous, R.J., Phased array theory and technology, IEEE Proc., 70, 246291, 1982.
Mar86 Marr, J.D., A selected bibliography on adaptive antenna arrays, IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron.
Syst., 22, 781788, 1986.
Mon80 Monzingo, R. A. and Miller, T. W., Introduction to Adaptive Arrays, Wiley, New York, 1980.
Sch77 Schultheiss, P.M., Some lessons from array processing theory, in Aspects of Signal Processing,
Part 1, Tacconi, G., Ed., D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1977, p. 309331.
Sta74 Stark, L., Microwave theory of phased-array antennas: a review, IEEE Proc., 62, 16611701,
1974.
Van88 Van Veen, B.D. and Buckley, K.M., Beamforming: a versatile approach to spatial filtering,
IEEE ASSP Mag., 5, 424, 1988.
Wid67 Widrow, B. et al., Adaptive antenna systems, IEEE Proc., 55, 21432158, 1967.
Wid85 Widrow, B. and Stearns, S.D., Adaptive Signal Processing, Prentice Hall, New York, 1985.
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