• Effective aperture

In receiving mode, the maximum power received in a

receiving antenna is PAm . Consider this power to be that
intercepted from the incoming wave by a maximum
effective area Aem .

Aem If the power density

of the incoming wave
is S, then Prec = S Aem .
S Aem is called maximum
effective aperture of the
antenna.

4π
Aem is related to directivety by D = λ 2 Aem .

4π 4π 4π
Since G = er D = er λ 2 Aem = λ 2 (er Aem ) = λ 2 Ae

Ae = er Aem is called effective aperture of the antenna.

Example: The effective aperture of a 1.22m-diameter
parabolic reflector antenna is 55% of the physical
aperture area. Compute the gain in dB at 2GHz, 4GHz,
and 8GHz.
Solution:
Ae = 0.55 × π × (1.22 / 2) 2 = 0.643m 2
At 2GHz, λ = 3 × 10 /(2 × 10 ) = 0.15m
8 9

4π Ae 4π × 0.643
G= = = 359.1 (25.55dB)
λ2 0.152
At 4GHz, λ = 3 × 10 /(4 × 10 ) = 0.075m
8 9

4π Ae 4π × 0.643
G= = = 1436.5 (31.57 dB)
λ2 0.0752
At 8GHz, λ = 3 × 10 /(8 × 10 ) = 0.0375m
8 9

4π Ae 4π × 0.643
G= = = 5746 (37.59dB)
λ2 0.03752
Observations: When frequency doubles, the gain will
increase by about 6 dB.

Example: An antenna has directivity of 16dB. Derive an

expression for the maximum effective aperture for this
antenna in terms of wavelength.
Solution:
4π Aem
Using the relation: D =
λ2
For D=16dB, D = 1016 /10 = 39.8
Dλ 2 39.8 2
Aem = = λ = 3.17λ 2
4π 4π
 • Communication link: The relation of received power
as a function of the transmitted power and antenna
parameters.

R
Rx
Tx

Let the transmitted power be Pt , then the power density

at the receiving antenna is S = Gt Pt / ( 4π R ) .
2

The receiving antenna has an effective aperture of Aer ,

hence the received power is Prec = SAer = S (Gr λ 2 / 4π ) .
Substitute in the expression for S, we have
( ) (
Prec = S Gr λ 2 / 4π = Gt Pt / 4π R 2 ) (G λ
r
2
/ 4π )
or
Gr Gt λ 2
Prec = Pt
( 4π R )
2

In dB format:

Prec ( dBm) = Pt ( dBm) + Gt ( dB) + Gr ( dB)

− 20 log R (km) − 20 log f ( MHz ) − 32.44
Example: DBS receiving:

f = 12.45GHz
Pt = 20.8dBW
R Gt = 34.2dB
Gr = 34.0dB
R = 38km
Prec (dBW ) = 20.8 + 34.2 + 34.0
− 20 log 38
− 20 log(12450)
− 32.44
= −116dBW

Example 2: A cellular telephone base station transmitter at

850MHz delivers 20W into a 10-dB gain antenna.
Computer the power available in watts from a 3-dB gain
mobile receiving antenna 20km away.

Solution:

Pr (dBW ) = 10 log(20) + 10 + 3 − 20 log 850 − 20 log 20 − 32.44

= 13.01 + 13 − 58.59 − 26.02 − 32.44
= 91.02 dBW
Pr = 9.55 × 10−10 (W )