Antennas

Antenna - a device used to efficiently transmit and/or receive electromagnetic waves.

Antenna Types
Wire antennas (monopoles, dipoles, loop, etc.) Aperture antennas (sectoral horn, pyramidal horn, slots, etc.) Reflector antennas (parabolic dish, corner reflector, etc.) Lens antennas Microstrip antennas Antenna arrays

Antenna Performance Parameters

Radiation pattern - angular plot of the radiation. Omni directional pattern - uniform radiation in one plane Directive patterns - narrow beam(s) of high radiation Directivity - ratio of antenna power density at a distant point relative to that of an isotropic radiator [isotropic radiator - an antenna that radiates uniformly in all directions (point source radiator)]. Gain - directivity reduced by losses. Polarization - trace of the radiated electric field vector (linear, circular, elliptical). Impedance - antenna input impedance at its terminals. Bandwidth - range of frequencies over which performance is acceptable (resonant antennas, broadband antennas). Beam scanning - movement in the direction of maximum radiation by mechanical or electrical means. Other system design constraints - size, weight, cost, power handling, etc.

Antenna Radiation Patterns

Antenna Pattern is a graphical representation of the antenna radiation properties as a function of position (spherical coordinates). Common Types of Antenna Pattern Power Pattern - normalized power vs. spherical coordinate position. Field Pattern - normalized E-Field or H-Field vs. spherical coordinate position.

Antenna Field Types Reactive field - the portion of the antenna field characterized by standing (stationary) waves which represent stored energy. Radiation field - the portion of the antenna field characterized by radiating (propagating) waves which represent transmitted energy.

Antenna Field Regions Reactive Near Field Region - the region immediately surrounding the antenna where the reactive field (stored energy standing waves) is dominant. Near-Field (Fresnel) Region - the region between the reactive nearfield and the far-field where the radiation fields are dominant and the field distribution is dependent on the distance from the antenna. Far-Field (Fraunhofer) Region - the region farthest away from the antenna where the field distribution is essentially independent of the distance from the antenna (propagating waves).

Antenna Pattern Definitions

Isotropic Pattern - an antenna pattern defined by uniform radiation in all directions, produced by an isotropic radiator (point source, a non-physical antenna which is the only non-directional antenna). Directional Pattern - a pattern characterized by more efficient radiation in one direction than another (all physically realizable antennas are directional antennas). Omnidirectional Pattern - a pattern which is uniform in a given plane.

Principal Plane Patterns - the E-plane and H-plane patterns of a linearly polarized antenna. E-plane - the plane containing the electric field vector and the direction of maximum radiation. H-plane - the plane containing the magnetic field vector and the direction of maximum radiation. Antenna Pattern Parameters Radiation Lobe - a clear peak in the radiation intensity surrounded by regions of weaker radiation intensity. Main Lobe (major lobe, main beam) - radiation lobe in the direction of maximum radiation. Minor Lobe - any radiation lobe other than the main lobe. Side Lobe - a radiation lobe in any direction other than the direction(s) of intended radiation. Back Lobe - the radiation lobe opposite to the main lobe. Half-Power Beamwidth (HPBW) - the angular width of the main beam at the half-power points. First Null Beamwidth (FNBW) - angular width between the first nulls on either side of the main beam.

Directivity (D) - the ratio of the radiation intensity in a given direction from the antenna to the radiation intensity averaged over all directions. The directivity of an isotropic radiator is equal to 1.

Antenna Efficiency When an antenna is driven by a voltage source (generator), the total power radiated by the antenna will not be the total power available from the generator. The loss factors which affect the antenna efficiency can be identified by considering the common example of a generator connected to a transmitting antenna via a transmission line as shown below.

Zg - source impedance ZA - antenna impedance Zo - transmission line characteristic impedance Pin - total power delivered to the antenna terminals Pohmic - antenna ohmic (I2R) losses [Conduction loss + dielectric loss] Prad - total power radiated by the antenna The total power delivered to the antenna terminals is less than that available from the generator given the effects of mismatch at the source/T-line connection, losses in the Tline, and mismatch at the T-line/antenna connection. The total power delivered to the antenna terminals must equal that lost to I2R (ohmic) losses plus that radiated by the antenna. Pin = Prad + Pohmic Prad Pin This is usually less than unity because of the conduction, dielectric and reflection losses. Antenna Radiation Efficiency (Are) is thus defined as:

Antenna Gain The definitions of antenna directivity and antenna gain are essentially the same except for the power terms used in the definitions. Directivity [D] - ratio of the antenna radiated power density at a distant point to the total antenna radiated power (Prad) radiated isotropically. Gain [G] - ratio of the antenna radiated power density at a distant point to the total antenna input power (Pin) radiated isotropically.

Thus, the antenna gain, being dependent on the total power delivered to the antenna input terminals, accounts for the ohmic losses in the antenna while the antenna directivity, being dependent on the total radiated power, does not include the effect of ohmic losses.

Antenna Impedance The antenna impedance is a complex term defined in terms of resistive (real) and reactive (imaginary) components. ZA = RA +jXA RA - Antenna resistance dissipation or ohmic losses + radiation XA - Antenna reactance - energy storage in the antenna near field The antenna resistance (RA) is defined as the sum of two resistances which separately represent the ohmic losses and the radiation. RA = Rr +RL Rr - Antenna radiation resistance (radiation) RL - Antenna loss resistance (ohmic loss) The typical transmitting system can be defined by a generator, transmission line and transmitting antenna as shown below.

The generator is modeled by a complex source voltage Vg and complex source impedance Zg.

Antenna Loss Resistance The antenna loss resistance (conductor and dielectric losses) for many antennas is typically difficult to calculate. In these cases, the loss resistance is normally measured experimentally. However, the loss resistance of wire antennas can be calculated easily and accurately. Assuming a conductor of length l and cross-sectional area A which carries a uniform current density, the DC resistance is RDC = l/A where is the conductivity of the conductor.

At high frequencies, the current tends to crowd toward the outer surface of the conductor (skin effect). The HF resistance can be defined in terms of the skin depth . = l ; (f)

where is the permeability of the material and f is the frequency in Hz.

The skin depth for copper ( = 5.8107 s/m, = 0= 410-7 H/m) may be written as:

Antenna Polarization The polarization of a plane wave is defined by the figure traced by the instantaneous electric field at a fixed observation point. The following are the most commonly encountered polarizations assuming the wave is approaching. The polarization of the antenna in a given direction is defined as the polarization of the wave radiated in that direction by the antenna. Note that any of the previous polarization figures may be rotated by some arbitrary angle.

Aperture A useful parameter calculating the receive power of an antenna is the effective area or effective aperture. Assume that a plane wave with the same polarization as the receive antenna is incident upon the antenna. Further assume that the wave is traveling towards the antenna in the antenna's direction of maximum radiation (the direction from which the most power would be received). Then the effective aperture parameter describes how much power is captured from a given plane wave. Let p be the power density of the plane wave (in W/m^2). If Pt represents the power (in Watts) at the antennas terminals available to the antenna's receiver, then:

Hence, the effective area simply represents how much power is captured from the plane wave and delivered by the antenna. This area factors in the losses intrinsic to the antenna (ohmic losses, dielectric losses, etc.).

A general relation for the effective aperture in terms of the peak antenna gain (G) of any antenna is given by:

Effective aperture or effective area can be measured on actual antennas by comparison with a known antenna with a given effective aperture, or by calculation using the measured gain and the above equation. Effective aperture will be a useful concept for calculating received power from a plane wave. To see this in action, go to the next section on the Friis transmission formula. Antenna Temperature This is a parameter that describes how much noise an antenna produces in a given environment. This temperature is not the physical temperature of the antenna. Moreover, an antenna does not have an intrinsic "antenna temperature" associated with it; rather the temperature depends on its gain pattern and the thermal environment that it is placed in. Antenna temperature is also sometimes referred to as Antenna Noise Temperature.

Antenna Arrays
An antenna array (often called a 'phased array') is a set of 2 or more antennas. The signals from the antennas are combined or processed in order to achieve improved performance over that of a single antenna. The antenna array can be used to: increase the overall gain provide diversity reception cancel out interference from a particular set of directions "steer" the array so that it is most sensitive in a particular direction determine the direction of arrival of the incoming signals to maximize the Signal to Interference Plus Noise Ratio (SINR)

Demerits of the Antenna arrays

Cost Size Complexity

Array Design Variables

General array shape (linear, circular, planar, etc.). Element spacing. Element excitation amplitude. Element excitation phase. Patterns of array elements.

Types of Arrays
Active and Passive Arrays An active array is one in which an active element (oscillator ,amplifier ,or mixer) is connected to the path of each radiator. These elements, along with the radiator, form the array module. Active antenna arrays are categorized as receiving, transmitting, and transceiving. Active antenna array advantages include the capability to increase radiated power, decrease thermal losses, increase reliability, and reduce the length of the paths between radiators and transceiving circuits. A passive array is one in which all elements are excited from a common oscillator or connected to a common receiver. Therefore, an immutable part of a passive array is the feed network connecting the elements. Passive antenna arrays are categorized as receiving, transmitting, and transceiving. They are finding wide use in variable purpose radars. Linear Arrays A linear array is one consisting of a group of identical elements placed in one dimension along a given direction. Linear arrays may have equidistant or nonequidistant element spacings. They are used in the analysis of the directional properties of arrays in antenna theory, and as building blocks for forming an array of arrays. Planar Arrays A planar array has all elements located in a single plane occupying a definite area. Planar arrays have different configurations of elements. rectangular, triangular, or hexagonal, in which the elements are positioned at the vertices of the rectangles, right triangles, regular hexagons and also at the center of the hexagon . Adaptive Arrays An adaptive array consists of an N-element array (usually in the receiving mode), where the useful signal is maximized based on an analysis of the signal to interference ratio. An important aspect of adaptive arrays is the appropriate choice of weighting coefficients W(t), which are placed between the antenna elements and a combining network. In the general case, the vector W(t) must have the capability of changing the amplitude and phase of the received signal from each element. The rates of change must correspond to the rates of change of the signal to interference ratio, and the range of change must correspond to the dynamic range of the levels of signal and interference, and the range of phase relationships between the different array elements. The criteria for array performance in suppression of interference may be: The maximum ratio of signal to interference at the output of the array.

The minimum mean square deviation of the received signal from the given reference level at the output of the array Minimum interference power at the array output The maximum probability of detection of the desired target signal

Cylindrical Arrays A cylindrical array is one whose radiators are positioned on a cylindrical surface. The radiators used are wire and slot dipoles, open ended waveguides and horns, and spiral and dielectric rod antennas. The selection of the type of radiators depends on the wavelength and the required bandwidth, on the application and the operating conditions, and on the construction requirements of the array. To obtain a narrow beamwidth, the number of elements must be close to 104. Cylindrical arrays are used in cases where azimuthal scanning with a constant beam shape and gain is required.

Antenna Size
Electrical Size of an Antenna - the physical dimensions of the antenna defined relative to wavelength. Electrically small antenna - the dimensions of the antenna are small relative to wavelength. Electrically large antenna - the dimensions of the antenna are large relative to wavelength.