Yagi Uda Antenna

Mark Asmuth
Kenneth Morgan
Christopher Payne
Outline
Description
History
Theory of Operation
Design / Optimization / Results
Recent Developments
Closing Remarks
Background
Directional antenna (beam antenna)
Linear array of parallel dipole
One reflector in rear (longer than feed)
One driven element
One of more directors in Tx / Rx direction
Low Impedance and narrow BW
Reconfigurable operation
Electrical breaks on elements
Extends functionality
Common Uses
Directional communication
Amateur radio on HF / VHF / UHF bands
Radio and television broadcasts


Reflector element
Driven element
Directors
Main Lobe Direction
~
1
10

1
4

History - Inventors
Hidetsugu Yagi
Jan. 1886 Jan. 1976
Studied in Japan, England,
America, and Germany
Professor at Tohoku Imperial
Univ.
Published first English reference
on antenna in 1928
Awarded Japans Order of
Cultural Merit in 1956

Shintaro Uda
Jun. 1896 Aug. 1976
Studied in Japan and America
Assistant of Yagi (graduate
student at time of publication)
Invented Yagi - Uda antenna in
1926
Published report with Yagi on
wave projector antenna in
Japanese publication
History Yagi Uda Antenna
Motivated by need for better communication between
islands and ships
Point-to-point radio communication benefit from
directive antennas
Focus on short wave communication with directive
antennas
Patented by Yagi and Uda in 1926
US patent issued in 1932 assigned to Radio Corporation
of America
Uda visits US in 1951 and astonished at ubiquity of Yagi-
Uda antennas for home television reception
History World War II
Extensively used for airborne radar
Japanese radar engineers unaware of design until late in
war
Japanese military officials aware of design after Battle of
Singapore
Captured notes from British radar technician
Intelligence officers did not recognize Yagi as Japanese name
British technician acknowledge Yagi as Japanese professor
Yagi express frustration over poor cooperation between
military services and civilian experts
Gento Sato noted irony of America use of Yagi antennas
on atomic bombs to determine height of explosion
History Military Platforms
Vertically polarized antennas on Lichtenstein radar-
equipped German Ju 88R-1 fighter-bomber
British Short Sunderland (Flying Porcupine)






Arrays also seen on Grumman F4F, F6F, TBF Avenger,
P-61 and many other aircraft
Theory of Operation Driven Element
Driven element is the only dipole excited by source
current
Length of dipole antenna slightly less than half-
wavelength (0.48-0.50 wavelengths)
Near-field equation used to calculate induced current
from driven element to parasitic elements
Driven element no longer point source
Alternate shapes of basic elements
Circular loops
Folded dipole
Typical dipole gain: 2.2 dB
Theory of Operation Parasitic Element
Parasitic elements re-radiate power
received from driven element
through mutual coupling
Parasitic element slightly larger or
smaller length than driven element
Reflector elements larger than half-
wavelength have inductive reactances
Lags in phase from driven current
Driven element smaller than half-
wavelength have capacitive reactances
Leads in phase from driven current
Parasitic element acts as dipole short
circuited at feed point
Reflects all incident power 180 degrees
out of phase
Total phase shift = 180 degrees
reflection + reactance phase shift
(lag/lead) + finite distance delay
between driven element and director
Typical Yagi antenna gain: 10-20 dB













Forward shift = 180 reflection 70
reactance = 110 degree shift
Backward shift = 110 degree shift +
(35 degree time delay)*2 = 180
degree shift
Theory of Operation 2 Element Array
Case 1: Driven Element +Larger
Antenna
Larger antenna is reflector
Length usually between 0.52-
0.48 wavelengths
More reflectors minimally
increases performance
Average number of reflectors: 1
Case 2: Driven element+Shorter
Antenna
Shorter antenna is director
Director length usually 0.4-0.48
wavelengths
Length not necessarily same for
each director
More directors considerably
increases performance
Average number of directors: 6-
12
Theory of Operation Element Spacing
Separation of directors usually 0.3-0.4 wavelengths
Not necessarily uniform for optimal designs
Separation of reflector usually 0.2-0.3 wavelengths
Theory of Operation - Optimization
Characteristics of interest
Forward and backward gain
Input impedance
Bandwidth
Front/Back Ratio
Magnitude of minor lobes
Yagi-Uda parameters computer-
generated
Integral equation-moment
method used to find electric field
and current distributions
Optimization procedure
determined by adjusting
geometrical parameters of array
Spacing between elements
Length and radius of elements
Number of directors
Typical gain of Yagi-Uda
antennas
3 element: 7 dBi
4 element: 9 dBi
6 element: 10.5 dBi
8 element: 12.5 dBi
12 element: 14.5 dBi
15 element: 15.5 dBi
18 element: 16.5 dBi









Source: Antenna Engineering Handbook (Johnson)
Optimization
Table from Yagi Antenna Design by P. Viezbicke from the National Bureau of Standards, 1968
Yagi Uda FEKO Model
Yagi antenna
One reflector element
One driven element
Two director elements
Simulated as wire elements
Center frequency 1 GHz
Center frequency irrelevant
20 MHz bandwidth (arbitrary)
OptFEKO
Parameters
Dipole length
Spacing
Optimization goals
Main lobe minimum
Back lobe maximum
VSWR maximum
Design / Optimization
0 = 0.475
1 = 0.453
2 = 0.446
0 = 0.3
1 = 0.3
2 = 0.3
3 = 0.446
Original
0 = 0.484
1 = 0.468
2 = 0.458
0 = 0.295
1 = 0.235
2 = 0.320
3 = 0.446
Optimum
= 1 10
4

Radiation Pattern
Original Design - Gain (dB) Optimum Design Gain (dB)
Far Field Gain Polar Plot
Far Field Gain Linear Plot
Yagi Antenna Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
(VSWR)
Assumes 50 transmission line
= 0.6 = 36%
= 0.556 = 30.9% .
= 0.5 = 25% .
= 0.429 = 18.4% .
= 0.333 = 11.1% .
Recent Developments
Wideband microstrip Yagi
Uda Antenna
Developed by J. Juang from
C.I.T. Jet Propoulsion
Laboratory
Yagi Uda directionality
implemented as a patch antenna
Primary use in vehicle mounted
systems and SHF systems
(WLAN)
Low profile, lightweight,
inexpensive, simple fabrication
Electronically-steerable
Yagi smart antenna arrays
Beam can be steered from 0 to
360 degrees in horizontal plane
Low power consumption and
cost
Recent Developments
Vertically stacked Yagi Uda antenna
Reduces side lobes
Wide illuminating areas with high gain
Developed for long range meteor burst communication
K3CR (PSU amateur radio club)

Closing Remarks
Multi-element directional antenna
Extensive use in WWII for communication and radar
systems
Use in commercial communication (radio and television)
Basic operation mechanisms
Potential for optimization of desired parameters
Recent developments and continuing usage
Sources
[1] D. M. Pozar, Beam Transmission Of Ultra Short Waves: An Introduction
To The Classic Paper By H. Yagi, Proc. IEEE, vol. 85, no. 11, pp. 18571863, 1997.
[2] H. Yagi, Beam Transmission of Ultra Short Waves, Proc. Inst. Radio
Eng., vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 715740, 1928.
[3] D. K. Cheng, Gain optimization for Yagi-Uda arrays, IEEE Antennas
Propag. Mag., vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 4246, 1991.
[4] Y. Kuwahara, Multiobjective optimization design of Yagi-Uda antenna,
IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 53, no. 6, pp. 19841992, 2005.
[5] J. Lei, G. Fu, L. Yang, and D. -m. Fu, Optimization of a wideband
vertically stacked Yagi-Uda antenna array, in International Conference on
Microwave and Millimeter Wave Technology, 2008. ICMMT 2008, 2008, vol. 3,
pp. 11101113.
[6] J. Huang, Planar microstrip Yagi array antenna, in Antennas and
Propagation Society International Symposium, 1989. AP-S. Digest, 1989, pp. 894
897 vol.2.
[7] H. Liu, S. Gao, and T.-H. Loh, Small Director Array for Low-Profile Smart
Antennas Achieving Higher Gain, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 61, no. 1, pp.
162168, 2013.