SYSC-5606 Introduction to Mobile Communications antennas-sysc5606-F17.

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Types of antennas1

Wire antennas
There are various shapes of wire antennas such as straight wire, loop and helix.

Dipole Loop

Helix

Wire Antennas

Aperture antennas:
Some forms are the pyramidal horn, conical horn and rectangular waveguide. They
can be covered with a dielectric material for protection from the environment.

Pyramidal Horn
Conical Horn Rectangular Waveguide

Aperture Antenna Configurations

1. Main reference: Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design, 3rd Edition, Constantine A. Balanis (Arizona
State Univ.), ISBN: 978-0-471-66782-7

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Microstrip patch antennas

Popular for space born, and lately for commercial applications. Consist of a metallic
patch on a grounded substrate. The rectangular and circular patches are most com-
mon.

Rectangular patch
ground plane

Dielectric Substrate
Circular Patch

Rectangular and Circular Microstrip patch antennas

Array antennas
Many applications require radiation characteristics that can not be met by a single
element. In such cases, a number of elements in a certain electrical and geometrical
arrangement may be used to approximate the desired radiation characteristics.

Microstrip Patch Array

Aperture Array
Reflectors
directors

Slotted Waveguide Array

Yagi-Uda Array

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Reflector Antennas
These are used when very high gain is important..

Parabolic Reflectors

Corner reflector

Fundamental Parameters of Antennas

Radiation Pattern
An antenna radiation pattern is defined as A mathematical function or graphical
representation of the radiation properties of the antenna as a function of space coor-
dinates.

elevation plane

y
coordinate system for
antenna analysis r

x
azimuth plane

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Isotropic, Directional and Omni-directional Patterns

An isotropic radiator: a hypothetical lossless antenna having equal radiation in all

directions. Often taken as a reference for expressing the directive properties of
actual antennas.

A directional antenna is one having the property of radiating or receiving electro-

magnetic waves more effectively in some directions than others.

An omni-directional antenna is defined as an antenna whose radiation pattern is

essentially non-directional in a given plane (say the azimuth plane) and directional
in elevation.

Radiation Pattern Lobes

A radiation lobe is a portion of the radiation pattern bounded by regions of rela-
tively weak radiation intensity.

A major lobe is defined as the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum
radiation.

A side lobe is a radiation lobe in any direction other than the intended lobe.

A back lobe is a radiation lobe whose axis makes an angle of approximately 180
degrees with respect to the beam of the antenna.

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90
0.99667
120 60

0.7475

150 0.49834 30

0.24917

Radiation lobes of a 180 0

hypothetical antenna
pattern
210 330

240 300

270

linear plot of power pattern

1

0.9

0.8

0.7
radiation intens ity

0.6

Linear plot of a hypo- 0.5

thetical [abs(sinx/x)] 0.4

antenna pattern. 0.3

0.2

0.1

0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
azimuth in radians

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Field Regions

Far-Field Region

radiating near field region

R1 = 0.62(D3/)1/2
reactive near field
region
R2 = 2D2/
D R1

R2

Radiation Power Density

The quantity used to describe the power associated with an electromagnetic wave is
the instantaneous Poynting vector: w = e h where w is the instantaneous Poynt-
ing vector (W/m2), e is the instantaneous electric field vector (V/m) and h is the
magnetic field vector (A/m).
Example
The radial component of the radiated power density of an antenna is given by
sin
W rad = a r W r = a r A 0 ----------- W/m2
2
r
where a r is a unit radial vector, A0 is the peak value of the power density. Deter-
mine the total radiated power.
For a closed surface, choose a sphere of radius r. To find the total radiated power,
integrate the radial component, of the power density, over the surface of the
sphere.
2 sin
a r A 0 ----------- a r r sin d d = A 0
2 2
P rad =
0 0 2
r

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Radian and Steradian

The measure of a plane angle is a radian. One radian is defined as the plane angle
with its vertex at the centre of a circle of radius r that is subtended by an arc whose
length is r.
The measure of a solid angle is a steradian. One steradian is defined as the solid
angle with its vertex at the center of a sphere of radius r that is subtended by a
spherical surface area equal to that of a square with each side of length r.

Radiation Intensity
Radiation intensity in a given direction is defined as the power radiated from an
antenna per unit solid angle. The radiation intensity is a far-field parameter. In
mathematical form:
2
U = r W rad
where U is the radiation intensity (W/unit solid angle) and Wrad is the radiation den-
sity (W/m2). U is also related to the far-zone electric field of the antenna by:
2
r 2 2
U ------ E r + E r
2
where E and E are the far-zone electric field components, and is the intrinsic
impedance of the medium ( 120 for free space).
The total power is obtained by integrating the radiation intensity over the entire
solid angle of 4.
2
P rad = 0 0 U sin d d
where d = sin dd is the element of solid angle.
Example
For the previous example, the power intensity is given by:
2 sin
U = r A 0 ----------- = A 0 sin
2
r
and the radiated power can then be calculated as:
2
0 0
2 2
P rad = A 0 sin d d = A 0

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Directivity
This is defined as The ratio of the radiation intensity in a given direction from the
antenna to the radiation intensity averaged over all directions. If the direction is not
specified, the direction of maximum intensity is implied. In other words, the direc-
tivity of a non-isotropic antenna is equal to the ratio of its radiation intensity in a
given direction over that of an isotropic source.
U U 4U
D = ------- = ----------------- = -----------
U0 P rad P rad
----------
-
4
and when the direction is not specified, assume the direction of maximum directiv-
ity
U max 4U max
D max = ------------
- = -------------------
-
U0 P rad

Example

The radial component of the radiated power density of an infinitesimal dipole of

length L << is given by:
2
sin
W rad = a r W r = a r A 0 ------------------
2
r
where a r is a unit radial vector, A0 is the peak value of the power density, and is
the usual spherical coordinate. Determine the maximum directivity of the antenna,
and express the directivity as a function of the directional angles and .
2 2
The radiation intensity is given by U = r W r = A 0 sin , which has a maxi-
mum at. Therefore Umax = A0.
The total radiated power is given by:
2
0 0 A0 sin sin d d = A 0 ------
2 8
P rad =
3
Therefore, the maximum directivity is:
4U max 4A 0 3
D max = -------------------- = ------------------- = ---
P rad 2
A 0 ------
8
3

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and the directivity in any other direction is represented by:

2 2
D = D 0 sin = 1.5 sin

Another example

The directivity of a half-wave dipole is approximated by:

3
D = 1.67 sin
Therefore, the antennas maximum directivity is 1.67 (about 2.2 dB), and can be
represented graphically as shown.
90
1.67
120 60

1.1133

150 30

0.55667

180 0

210 330

240 300

270

Directivity pattern of a half-wave dipole.

Gain
This is directly related to directivity, but takes into account the antenna efficiency.
The absolute gain is defined as the ratio of the intensity in a given direction to the
radiation intensity that would be obtained if the power accepted by the antenna were
radiated isotropically. The radiation intensity corresponding to the isotropically
radiated power is equal to the power accepted (input) by the antenna divided by
. In other words:

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radiation intensity U
gain = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ = 4 ------------------
total input accepted power 4 P in

Reflection, con-
duction and
dielectric losses

Antenna

input terminals output terminals

(gain reference) (directivity reference)

Reference Terminals and losses of an antenna

Antenna Efficiency
The total antenna efficiency is used to account for losses at the input terminals and
within the structure of the antenna. Losses may be due to
1) reflections caused by mismatch between the transmission line and the antenna.
2) I2R losses (conduction and dielectric in the antenna structure).
The total efficiency can therefore be written as:
2
e o = e r e cd = 1 e cd
where is the reflection coefficient at the input terminals of the antenna, and is
given by:
Z in Z 0
= --------------------
Z in + Z 0
where Zin is the antenna input impedance, and Z0 is the characteristic impedance of
the transmission line.

Example

A lossless half-wave dipole antenna, with input impedance of 73 ohms, is con-

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nected to a transmission line whose characteristic impedance is 50 ohms. The

3
antenna pattern is given approximately by U = B 0 sin . Find the overall maxi-
mum gain of this antenna.

Half Power Beamwidth

Defined as In a plane containing the direction of the maximum of a beam, the
angle between the two directions in which the radiation intensity is one half the
maximum value of the beam.
There usually is a trade-off between the beam width and the sidelobe levels (nar-
rower beamwidth goes with higher sidelobe levels).
The resolution capability of an antenna (i.e. the ability to distinguish between two
sources) is approximated by half the first null beamwidth.

Bandwidth
Defined as The range of frequencies within which the performance of the antenna,
with respect to some characteristic, conforms to a specific standard
For broadband antennas, the bandwidth is usually expressed as the ratio of the
upper-to-lower frequencies of acceptable operation. For example a 10:1 bandwidth
indicates that the upper frequency is ten times greater than the lower operating fre-
quency.
For narrow-band antennas, the bandwidth is expressed as a percentage of the centre
operating frequency of the antenna. E.g. a 5% bandwidth, for an antenna operating
at 100 MHz indicates the antenna operation is acceptable over the range 97.5 to
102.5 MHz.

Polarization
Polarization of the radiated wave is defined as The property of an electromagnetic
wave describing the time varying direction and relative magnitude of the electric
field vector; specifically the figure traced as a function of time by the extremity of
the vector at a fixed location in space, and the sense in which it is traced, as
observed along the direction of propagation.
Polarization may be classified as linear, circular or elliptical.
If the vector that describes the electric field at a point in space as a function of time
is always directed along a line, the field is said to be linearly polarized.
For circular polarization, the circle is traced in a clockwise or counter-clockwise
sense. Clockwise rotation of the electric field vector is designated as right-hand

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polarization and counter-clockwise as left-hand polarization.

Polarization Loss Factor and Efficiencies

In general the polarization of the receiving antenna will not be the same as the
polarization of the incoming wave. This is generally stated as polarization mis-
match.
The amount of power extracted by the antenna under mismatch conditions will not
be maximum.
The polarization loss factor is defined as:
2 2
PLF = w a = cos p

where w and a are the unit vector of the incident wave, and unit vector (polariza-
tion vector) of the receiving antenna respectively. p is the angle between the two
unit vectors.
So if the antenna is polarization matched to the received wave, the PLF will be
equal to unity. For orthogonal polarizations, PLF = 0.

p p

PLF = 1 PLF = cos

2
p PLF = 0

PLF for transmitting and receiving aperture antennas

p
p

PLF = 1 PLF = cos p

2 PLF = 0

PLF for transmitting and receiving linear wire antennas

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Input Impedance
This is defined as the impedance presented by an antenna at its terminals, or the
ratio of voltage to current at a pair of terminals, or the ratio of the appropriate com-
ponents of the electric to magnetic fields at a point.
The maximum power delivered to the antenna occurs when the antenna impedance
presents a conjugate match to the source impedance. In this case, the power sup-
plied to the antenna will be equal to the power dissipated in the source resistance.
The input impedance of an antenna is generally a function of frequency. Thus the
antenna will be matched to the interconnecting transmission line and other associ-
ated equipment only within a bandwidth.

Antenna effective Areas

The effective area (in a given direction) is defined as the ratio of the available
power at the terminals of a receiving antenna, to the power flux density of a plane
wave incident on the antenna (from that direction), assuming the wave being polar-
ization matched to the antenna.

Friis Transmission Equation

(r, r)
(t, t)
Transmitting antenna
(Pt, Gt, Dt, ecdt, t, t)
^
Receiving antenna
(Pr, Gr, Dr, ecdr, r, r)
^

Geometrical Orientation of transmitting and Receiving antennas for Friis

transmission formula

This equation relates the received signal power to the transmitter power, and vari-
ous Tx and Rx antenna parameters as follows:

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Pt 2

P r = W t A r = ------------- G t ------ G r =
2 4
4R
Pt 2
2
------------- 1 t e cdt D t ------ 1 r e cdr D r t r =
2 2
2 4
4R
2
e cdt e cdr 1 t 1 r ---------- D t t t D r r t r P t
2 2 2
4R r

Pr 2
----- = e cdt e cdr 1 t 1 r ---------- D t t t D r r t r
2 2 2
Pt 4R r

When the Tx and Rx antennas are matched to their respective loads, and when the
polarization of the Rx antenna is matched to the polarization of the incident wave,
the above equation is reduced to:
Pr 2 2
----- = e cdt e cdr ---------- D t t t D r r = ---------- G t t t G r r
P 4R r 4R r
t

2
The factor ---------
- is known as the free space loss factor and it accounts for the
4R
spherical spreading of the energy by the antenna.

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Linear Arrays

Two Element Array

Two Infinitesimal Dipoles

z 1 r1
Equal magnitude excitations
r phase excitations differ by
d/2
r2

y

r1

z
1
d/2 r

Far Field Observation y

d/2 r2
2

phase = /2

phase = /2

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The total field at the observation point is given by:

total field = field due to the reference element Array factor

j --- + k --- cos j --- + k --- cos
d d
2 2 2 2 1
Array factor = e +e = 2 cos --- kd cos +
2
where k is the wavenumber and is given by
2
k = ------

The pattern of the array is obtained by the multiplication of the element pattern, and
that of the array factor.
By varying the relative phases of the feed current to the individual elements we are
able to place nulls in the radiation pattern in certain directions.
For example, to place a null in the = 450 direction, we simply set the relative

phase of the elements to = ---------- when the element spacing is /4.
2 2

N-Element Linear Array; Uniform Amplitude and Spacing

The array factor is obtained by assum-
ing all elements are point sources
z axis rN (which radiate uniformly in all direc-
N
tions).
The element spacing is fixed.
dcos()

r3

3
r2

d r1

1 y-axis
Far Field Geometry of N-element Array of isotropic sources.

An array of identical elements all of identical magnitude and each with a progres-

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sive phase is referred to as a uniform array.

The array factor for the geometrical configuration under consideration is:

sin ----
N
2
AF = ----------------------
sin ---
1
2
where it was assumed that the reference point is the physical center of the array.
= kd cos +
The maximum value of the array factor above is equal to N, the number of ele-
ments. For convenience, the normalized array factor is defined as:

sin ----
N
1 2
AF n = ---- ----------------------
N
sin ---
1
2

Broadside Array

In many applications it is desirable to have the maximum radiation of an array

directed normal to the axis of the array.
To optimize the design, the maxima of the single element and of the array factor
should both be directed toward q = 900.
For broadside radiation, (i.e. a maximum for the array factor when q = 900) b is set
to zero. In this case, the array factor becomes:

sin ---- kd cos

N
1 2
AF n = ---- ------------------------------------
N
sin --- kd cos
1
2

Example

Plot the array-factor patterns for a 10-element broadside array, with element spac-
ings of /4

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Broadside Array Pattern: lambda/wavelength=1/4

0 degrees

10 dB

20 dB

30 dB

90 degrees 90 degrees

180 degrees

Array Factor Pattern of a 10-Element Linear, Uniform

Amplitude Broadside Array. d = /4 and = 0.

Ordinary End-Fire Array

It is sometimes desirable to direct the maximum radiation along the axis of the
array, due for example to physical constraints.
To direct the maximum radiation towards = 00;
= kd cos + = kd + = 0 = kd
=0
If the maximum is desired toward = 1800, then:
= kd cos + = kd + = 0 = kd
= 180

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End-Fire Array Pattern: beta = kd

0 degrees

10 dB

20 dB

30 dB

90 degrees 90 degrees

180 degrees

Array Factor Pattern of a 10-Element Linear, Uniform

Amplitude End-Fire Array. d = /4 and = +kd.

Relating Power to Electric Field

P z

d

y
elevation plane
L r

x azimuth plane

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Consider a small linear radiator of length L, placed coincident with the z-axis, and
its centre is at the origin. If a current i0 flows through this antenna, it launches elec-
tric and magnetic fields that can be expressed as:
d
i 0 L cos 1 c jc t --c-
E r = -------------------- ----2- + -------------3- e
2 0 c d j c d

2 j c t ---
d
i 0 L sin j c c c c
E = ------------------2- -------- + ----2- + -------------3- e
4 0 c d d j c d

i 0 L sin j c c jc t --c-
d
H = ------------------- -------- + ----2- e
4c d d
with E = H r = H = 0 .
In the equations above, all 1 d terms represent the radiation field component, all
1 d 2 terms represent the induction field component and all the 1 d 3 represent the
electrostatic field compoent. At distances far away from the antenna only the radia-
tion field components are significant.
In free space, the Power flux density, in W/m2, is given by:
E2 Pt Gt EIRP
P d = --------- = -----------2- = -------------2-
4d 4d
The gain of an antenna is related to the effective aperture by:
4A e
G = ------------
2

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