Directivity and

gain in
antenna
Rohit Nair
Electronics and communication engineering
Lovely Professional University
What is an antenna?
An antenna is a passive structure that
serves as transition between a
transmission line and air used to
transmit and receive electromagnetic
waves.
Source

Tx
Receiver
Circuit
Rx
Outline
Antenna parameters
Solid angle, O
A
and Radiation intensity, U
Radiation pattern, P
n
, sidelobes, HPBW
Far field zone, r
ff
Directivity, D or Gain, G
Antenna radiation impedance, R
rad
Effective Area, A
e

All of these parameters are expressed in terms of a
transmission antenna, but are identically
applicable to a receiving antenna.
Solid Angle
s
1
= r du s
2
= r sin u d
s = ur dA = s
1
s
2
dA = r
2
sin u d du
= r
2
d
u = angle of plane d = steredian
Area of sphere:
= 4tr
2

total Angle : = 2t [radianes] total angle: =4t [rad
2
]
=4t [sr]
1 steradian (sr) = (1 radian)
2

Radiation Intensity
Is the power density per solid angle:
vector. Poynting as known
also density power the is
] [W/m

Re
2
r
2
r H*} {E
where
r U
r
=
=
P
P [W/sr]
Total radiated power by antenna
Can be calculated as;
[W]
[W]
}
}
=
O =
dS P
or
d U P
r rad
rad
P
Radiation Pattern
Radiation pattern is
the 3D plot of the
gain, but usually the
2D horizontal and
vertical cross sections
of the radiation
pattern are
considered.

Refers to the variation
of the relative
amplitude of the
radiation as a function
of direction.
) , (
) , (
) , (
) , (
) , (
max max
| u
| u
| u
| u
| u
U
U
F
n
= =
P
P
Field pattern:
Where U is the radiation
intensity to be defined later.
) , (
) , (
) , (
max
| u
| u
| u
E
E
E
n
=
Power pattern:
Total solid angle of an antenna
z
y
x
A
Patrn


|P |
n
[sr] ) , (
4
A
O = O
}}
d F
n
t
| u
O
A
Is as if you changed the
radiation pattern
beam of an antenna
into a pencil beam
shape and find out
whats the equivalent
solid angle occupied by
this pattern.
Isotropic antenna
Its an hypothetic antenna,
i.e., it does not exist in real
life, yet its used as a
measuring bar for real
antenna characteristics.

Its a point source that
occupies a negligible space.
Has no directional
preference.

Its pattern is simply a sphere
so it has O
A
= O
isotropic
= 4t
|steradians|.
t | u u
t
u
t
|
t
4 sin ) 1 (
) 1 (
0
2
0
4
isotropic
=
O = O
} }
}}
= =
d d
d
Sidelobes
Antennas sometimes show side lobes in
the radiation pattern.

Side lobes are peaks in gain other than
the main lobe (the "beam").

Side lobes have bad impact to the
antenna quality whenever the system is
being used to determine the direction of a
signal, for example in RADAR systems.
Sidelobes of dipole arrays
sidelobe
Gain or Directivity
An isotropic antenna and a practical antenna
fed with the same power. Their patterns
would compare as in the figure on the right.
Directivity and Gain
All practical antennas radiate more than the
isotropic antenna in some directions and less in
others.
Gain is inherently directional; the gain of an
antenna is usually measured in the direction
which it radiates best.

ave ave
/U U D D
max max max
/ ) , ( = = = P P | u
If lossless antenna, G=D
Gain or Directivity
Gain is measured by comparing an
antenna to a model antenna,
typically the isotropic antenna which
radiates equally in all directions.
rad
AVE
P
r
dA
A
D
) , ( 4
1
/ ) , (
2
| u t | u
| u
P
P
) , P(
P P = = =
}}
/ / 4
4
A isotropic A
max
O O = O = = t
t
rad
o
P
U
D
Antenna gain
Sources of Antenna System Loss
1. losses due to impedance mismatches
2. losses due to the transmission line
3. conductive and dielectric losses in the antenna
4. losses due to polarization mismatches

Directivity
For an antenna with a single main lobe
pointing in the z-direction , O
A
can be
approximated to the product of the HPBW

yz xz
yz xz A
D
then
| |
t
t
| |
4
/ 4
A
~ O =
~ O
The Directivity:
Beamwidth, HPBW
Is the distance in radians o degrees
between the direction of the
radiation pattern where the radiated
power is half of the maximum.
Can be found by solving F
n
(u,|)=.5

D
HPBM
dB - .
dB - .
o

70
shape; beam" pencil " for
3 707 0 log 20
3 5 0 log 10
~
=
=
APPLICATIONS
Application to several research
projects: CASA, NASA-FAR,
NASA-TCESS
Show results from undergrads
working in NASA and NSF
projects
Relation to Grad students