Lecture-1

3. Aperture Antennas
3.1 Introduction
As we have studied in the previous chapters, in order to determine the radiation characteristics of
antennas, the knowledge of current distribution on it is required. For wire antennas and its
variants, the current distribution is known. So it is easy to find the far-field from this
information. For many configurations, however, the current distribution is not known exactly and
only physical intuition can provide a reasonable approximation to it. This is evident in aperture
antennas. Therefore alternate methods are used to compute the radiation characteristics of this
category of antennas. This chapter deals with the discussion on the method of computing the farfield quantities for aperture antennas.
Aperture antennas emit electromagnetic waves through an opening (or aperture). Aperture
antennas can be used directly in applications such as a source antenna for radiation pattern
measurements or as an accurate gain standard. They also find use, either alone or in an array, in
point-to-point radio communication links and are widely used as feeds in reflector antenna
systems. They are also used in aircraft and spacecraft application because they can be easily
mounted on the body of the aircraft and spacecraft. For an aperture antenna to be efficient and
have high directivity, it has to have an area comparable or larger than 2. Obviously, these
antennas are impractical at low frequencies.
The radiation fields from aperture antennas, such as slots, open-ended waveguides, horns,
reflector and lens antennas, are determined, not from the current distribution, but from the
approximate knowledge of the fields on or in the vicinity of the antenna structure. One such
technique is known as the Field Equivalence Principle.
3.2 Field Equivalence Principle
The starting point of the field equivalence principle is the Huygens principle stated for light
waves. This states that "each point on a primary wave front can be considered to be a new source
of a secondary spherical wave and that a secondary wave front can be constructed as the envelop
of these secondary spherical waves."

Fig
g. 1: Huygen
ns Principle
matical form
m referred to as the ffield equivaalence
Huygens principle evolved intto a mathem
e
principle. This
T
states thhat "a field iin a lossy reegion is uniqquely
principle or simply equivalence
specified
d by the surfface within the region plus
p
the tanngential com
mponents of the electric field
over the boundary, or
o the tangen
ntial compon
nents of the magnetic fiield over thee boundary oor the
former ov
ver part of th
he boundary
y and the lattter over the rrest of the boundary". T
This means thhat, if
the tangeential electricc and magneetic fields arre completelyy known oveer a closed ssurface, the ffields
in the sou
urce free reg
gion can be determined.
d
The equivalence prin
nciple follow
ws from the uniqueness
u
ttheorem in m
mathematics which states that
a solutio
on that satisfies a differential
d
equation (ffor examplee, Maxwelll's equationns in
electromagnetic prob
blems) and th
he boundary
y conditions, is unique.
n
use thiss concept to setup equiv
valent currennt relations ffor use in annalyzing apeerture
We can now
antennas. Because the
t actual sources,
s
such
h as antennnas are repllaced by eqquivalent soources
(fictitious currents), that
t is why the
t name equ
uivalence pri
rinciple.
The equ
uivalence prrinciple is developed
d
by
b considerring an actu
tual radiatinng source w
which
electricallly is repressented by th
he current deensities J annd M, as shhow in Fig 3.2. The soources
radiates field E1 and
d H1 everyw
where. In thiis original pproblem, thee field that ssatisfy Maxw
well's
equationss in the regiion exterior to volume V and that satisfy bounndary condittions along S are
unique. As
A long as the sourcess exterior to
o V and thee boundary conditions along S aree not
changed,, the solution
n (E1, H1) wiill not chang
ge.

Fig.3.2 Actual problem

3.2.1 Equ
uivalent Prob
blem
An equiv
valent probleem of the oriiginal probleem [Fig. 3.2]] is shown inn Fig. 3.3

Fig. 3.3 Equivalent

E
problem
p
In this eq
quivalent pro
oblem, the original
o
sourrces (e.g., th e antenna sttructure) havve been remooved,
altering the
t fields intternal to S, denoted
d
as E and H. In oorder for the fields externnal to S to reemain

the same, equivalent sources (currents) must be introduced to satisfy the discontinuity of the
fields across S. These equivalent currents are found from the boundary conditions

J s n H1 H

3.1(a)

M s n E1 E

3.1(b)

So the original problem can now be viewed as these equivalent sources radiate into an
unbounded space.