Chapter - 1

Antenna Introduction
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 Outline
➢Introduction to Antennas
➢Dipole, Monopole, Loop and Slot Antennas
➢Linear and Planar Arrays
➢Microstrip Antennas
➢Helical Antennas
➢Horn Antennas
➢Reflector Antennas
➢Yagi-Uda and Log-Periodic Antennas
1.2
 Reference Books
1. C.A. Balanis, Antenna Theory – Analysis and Design, John
Wiley, 2005.
2. J. D. Kraus and R.J. Marhefka, Antennas, McGraw Hill, 2003.
3. G. Kumar and K. P. Ray, Broadband Microstrip Antennas,
Artech House, 2003.
4. J. R. James and P. S. Hall, Handbook of Microstrip Antennas,
Peter Peregrinus, 1989.
5. W. L. Stutzman and G. A. Thiele, Antenna Theory and Design,
John Wiley, 2012.
6. R. C. Johnson, Antenna Engineering Handbook, McGraw
Hill,1993

1.3
Antennas in Wireless Communication Systems

Modulating Transmitter
Signal
Impedance
Modulator Amplifier Matching
Network
Carrier
Signal

Receiver

IF Filter Display
RF Mixer device/
and Demodulator
Amplifier speaker
Amplifier

LO

1.4
 Antennas for Various Applications
➢ MW Radio – Frequency : 530 to 1620 kHz (use λ/4
monopole antenna)
➢ Cell Phones – CDMA, GSM900, GSM1800, 3G, 4G,
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth (use monopole, normal mode helical,
microstrip antenna, etc.)
➢ Cell Towers (use monopole, dipole, microstrip antenna
arrays, etc.)
➢ Satellite and Defense Communications (use microstrip,
horn, spiral, helical, reflector, Yagi-Uda, log-periodic
antennas, etc.)
1.5
 Antenna Radiation Pattern
z
Radiation Pattern:
Isotropic (HPBW) Major Lobe
(FNBW)
Omni-directional
Directional

Polarization: Minor Lobes Side Lobe

Linear (H or V) y
Elliptical
Circular Back Lobe

1.6
 Antenna Fundamentals
Directivity of the Antenna
41253 4πA𝑒𝑓𝑓
𝐷 = = Gain = η D
𝜃𝐸 𝜃𝐻 λ2

Reflection Coefficient and VSWR

𝑍𝐴 − 𝑍0
𝛤=
𝑍𝐴 + 𝑍0
Vmax 1 + |𝛤| Bandwidth of Antenna:
VSWR = = Frequency range over
Vmin 1 − |𝛤|
which VSWR < 2

1.7
 Link Budget
Transmitting Receiving
antenna antenna
r
Aet Aer
Transmitter Receiver

Friis Transmission Equation

2
𝜆
𝑃𝑟 = 𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 Watt
4𝜋𝑟

1.8
 Dipole Antennas

Folded Broadband Dipole

Radiation pattern of a dipole antenna Antenna for RF Harvesting

Chip
Microstrip line fed
Dipole Antenna
Dipole Antenna for RFID
1.9
Monopole Antennas
Short monopole
current
h
Quarter-wave
monopole current

Image currents

Broadband triangular
monopole antenna used
for RF Harvesting from
cell phone

1.10
 Loop Antennas

Small circular loop antenna multi-turn loop antenna

equivalent to magnetic dipole
[C.A. Balanis, Antenna Theory – Analysis and Design, John Wiley, 2005]

1.11
 Slot Antennas

Centre-fed Slot Antenna Off-centre-fed slot Antenna

P. K. Mishra, D. R. Jahagirdar and G. Kumar, “A broadband cavity-backed slot antenna design with small cavity height and analysis on large
ground plane”, National Conference on Communication (NCC), Kanpur, India, Feb.-March 2014.
1.12
 Linear and Planar Antenna Arrays

Linear Antenna Array Planar Antenna Array

Amplitude and phase of each element, spacing between the elements,
choice of element and feed network determine performance of array.
1.13
 Microstrip Antennas
Y
Microstrip Antennas (MSA):
➢ Different Shapes
Top ➢ Broadband
View
W X ➢ Compact
x
➢ Multi-band
L
➢ Dual polarization
Side r h ➢ Circular Polarization
View
Ground Plane Co-axial Feed
➢ Linear and Planar Arrays
(series and parallel feeds)
Rectangular Microstrip Antenna
On Finite Ground Plane

1.14
Microstrip Antenna – VSWR Plot

Bandwidth for
VSWR < 2 is from
1.76 to 1.855 GHz
(95 MHz)
% BW = 5%

1.15
Microstrip Antenna – Radiation Pattern

Radiation Pattern
at 1.8 GHz

Front to Back Ratio

F/B = 15 dB

1.16
Microstrip Antenna Array

16 x 16 array
with feed network
at 35 GHz

1.17
Space Fed MSA Array

Top View

Side View

Ground Plane
1.18
 Helical Antennas

NORMAL AXIAL CONICAL

MODE MODE MODE

C = πD << λ C = πD = λ C = πD = nλ
1.19
Pyramidal and Conical Horn Antennas

Pyramidal Horn Antenna

Microstrip Antenna Integrated

with Conical Horn Antenna
1.20
 Reflector Antennas
Reflector Antennas:
Planar
Corner
Feed Aperture
Parabolic

Higher gain but occupies

large space
1.21
 Yagi – Uda Antennas

Fed Dipole Directors

Reflector

1.22
Log-Periodic Antenna

1 l2 l𝑛+1 R2 R𝑛+1
= = = =
 l1 l𝑛 R1 R𝑛
d2 d𝑛+1 s2 s𝑛+1
= = = =
d1 d𝑛 s1 s𝑛
1.23
 CONCLUSIONS
➢Antenna technology is rapidly changing.
➢Requirement for innovative thinking to meet the
challenges – broad-band, multi-band, compact,
high efficiency, multi-polarization, MIMO, smart
antennas, etc.
➢Design is the most important thing.
➢Requires precision manufacturing.
➢Low cost without sacrifice in performance.

1.24
 Chapter - 2
Antenna Fundamentals
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3-D Radiation Pattern of Antenna

Isotropic Radiation Omni-Directional Directional Radiation

Pattern Radiation Pattern of λ/2 Pattern of Microstrip
D = 1 = 0dBi Dipole Antenna Antenna Array
D = 1.64 = 2.1dBi D = 500 = 27dBi

2.2
 2-D Radiation Pattern of Antenna
z
Beamwidth between first
(HPBW) Major Lobe nulls (FNBW) ~ 2.25 x
(FNBW) HPBW (Half Power
Beamwidth)

Side Lobe Level (SLL)

Minor Lobes Side Lobe < 20 dB for satellite and
y high power applications

Back Lobe Front to Back Ratio

x
(F/B) > 20 dB

2.3
 Directivity of Antenna
Directivity of an antenna is the ratio of radiation density in the direction of
maximum radiation to the radiation density averaged over all the directions.
U m = DU o
maximum radiation intensity 𝑈max
𝐷 = =
average radiation intensity 𝑈0
𝑈max 4𝜋 𝑈max 4𝜋 𝑈max 4𝜋 Uo
𝐷 = = = =
P𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑈max 𝛺𝐴 𝛺𝐴 [where, ΩA is beam solid angleሿ
4𝜋
2𝜋 𝜋
1
𝛺𝐴 = න න 𝐹(𝜃, 𝜙)sin𝜃𝑑𝜃𝑑𝜙 [where, F θ, ϕ ≃ |E o (θ, ϕ)|2 + |E o (θ, ϕ)|2
𝐹(𝜃, 𝜙)|max 0 0
θ ϕ

4𝜋 [where, θE , θH are in radianሿ

𝐷 ≃
𝜃𝐸 𝜃𝐻

Example: For Infinitesimal Dipole,

2.4
 Directivity and Gain of Antenna
Directivity of Large Antenna Directivity of Small Antenna
32400 41253
𝐷 = where, θE a𝑛𝑑 θH are in degree 𝐷 =
𝜃𝐸 𝜃𝐻 𝜃𝐸 𝜃𝐻

4 𝐴𝑒𝑓𝑓 Directivity is proportional to the Effective Aperture

𝐷 =
λ2 Area of Antenna

Gain = η D where η is Efficiency of Antenna

Practice Problem: Find the gain in dBi of a parabolic reflector

antenna at 15 GHz having diameter of 1m. Assume efficiency is
0.6. What will be its gain at 36 GHz?
Hint: Aperture Area of parabolic reflector antenna = π r2
2.5
 Polarization of Antenna
Orientation of radiated electric field vector in the main beam of the antenna.
𝐸𝜃 𝐸𝜃 𝐸𝜃

𝐸𝜙 𝐸𝜙 𝐸𝜙

𝐸 = 𝑎𝜃 𝐸𝜃 cos𝜔𝑡 + 𝑎𝜙 𝐸𝜙 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝛼 ൯

𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑒 1: 𝛼=0 or 𝜋 Wave is Linearly Polarized

𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑒 2: 𝛼= ± 𝜋/2 and E𝜃 = 𝐸𝜙 Wave is Circularly Polarized

𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑒 3: 𝛼= ± 𝜋/2 and E𝜃 ≠ 𝐸𝜙 Wave is Elliptically Polarized

2.6
 Axial Ratio of Antenna
Major Axis of Polarization
Axial Ratio (AR) =
Minor Axis of Polarization

AR = 1, Circular Polarization
1<AR<∞, Elliptical Polarization
AR = ∞, Linear Polarization

Axial Ratio Bandwidth:

Frequency range over which
Axial Ratio Plot of Circularly
AR < 3 dB Polarized MSA
Bandwidth for AR < 3dB =
380MHz (13%)
2.7
Input Impedance and VSWR of Antenna
Input Impedance Reflection Coefficient
𝑍𝐴 = 𝑅𝐴 + 𝑗𝑋𝐴 and VSWR
RA represents power loss from the 𝑍𝐴 − 𝑍0
antenna and XA gives the power 𝛤=
𝑍𝐴 + 𝑍0
stored in the near field of the antenna
𝑅𝐴 = 𝑅𝑟 + 𝑅𝐿 Vmax 1 + |𝛤|
VSWR = =
Radiation Efficiency Vmin 1 − |𝛤|
𝑅𝑟 𝑅𝑟
𝑒𝑟 = =
𝑅𝐴 𝑅𝑟 + 𝑅𝐿

Practice Problem: Calculate Reflection Coefficient and VSWR for

impedance ZA = 10, 30, 50,100 Ω.
2.8
Input Impedance Plot on Smith Chart
Example: If antenna impedance 𝑍𝐴 = (20+j30)𝛺, calculate Γ and VSWR.
𝑍𝐴 = 20𝛺 + 𝑗30𝛺, Z0 = 50𝛺
𝑍𝐴 20 + 𝑗30
𝑍𝐴𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑚 = = = 0.4 + 𝑗0.6
𝑍0 50
𝑍𝐴 − 𝑍0 𝛤 = 0.56
𝛤= ∠112°
𝑍𝐴 + 𝑍0
20 + 𝑗30 − 50
𝛤= ≃ −0.2 + 0.52j VSWR = 3.55
20 + 𝑗30 + 50
= 0.56∠112°
1 + |𝛤|
VSWR =
1 − |𝛤|
1+0.56 Normalized Input Impedance Plot
VSWR = ≃3.55
1−0.56 on Smith Chart gives Γ and VSWR
2.9
 Microstrip Antenna at 5.8 GHz

MSA design at 5.8 GHz Input Impedance Plot on |S11| Plot

with RT Duroid 5880 Smith Chart normalized BW for |S11| ≤ -10 dB
Substrate height =0.8 mm with 50 ohm is 85 MHz (1.5%)

2.10
Microstrip Antenna Radiation Pattern and Gain

Radiation Pattern Antenna Gain Plot Radiation and Antenna

HPBW (H-plane) = 88° For 1dB Gain Variation, Efficiency Plots
HPBW (E-plane) = 80° BW = 126MHz

2.11
Microstrip Antenna Array – Millimeter Wave

Gain Plot
8x8 EMCP MSA Array at millimeter wave
Gain = 24 dBi = 250
For 1dB Gain
Variation,
BW = 5.4 GHz
P. Mathur and G. Kumar, “Improved performance of Microstrip Antenna Arrays through Electromagnetic Coupling at Ka-band,” 2016
Loughborough Antennas & Propagation Conference, Loughborough, UK, 2016, pp. 1-4.

2.12
Radiation Pattern of 8x8 MSA Array

Main Beam

Side Lobe
Level
Cross
Polar

Cartesian Plot Polar Plot

32400
HPBW = 8.8° 𝐹𝑁𝐵𝑊 D=
≃ 2.27 8.8°x8.8°
FNBW = 20° 𝐻𝑃𝐵𝑊 ≃ 413 = 26.1dBi
whereas, simulated
directivity is 25.8dBi
2.13
 Link Budget
Transmitting Receiving
antenna antenna
r
Aet Aer
Transmitter Receiver

𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡 Wattൗ
𝑃𝑑 = Power Density
4𝜋𝑟 2 𝑚2
𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑟 𝐴𝑒𝑟 4𝜋𝐴𝑒𝑡
𝑃𝑟 = 𝑃𝑑 𝐴𝑒𝑟 = Watt 𝐺𝑡 =
4𝜋𝑟 2 𝜆2
2
𝜆
𝑃𝑟 = 𝑃𝑡 𝐺𝑡 𝐺𝑟 Watt
4𝜋𝑟 Friis Transmission Equation
2.14
 Power Density
Example: A GSM1800 cell tower antenna is transmitting
20W of power in the frequency range of 1840 to 1845MHz.
The gain of the antenna is 17dBi. Find the power density at
a distance of (a) 50m and (b) 300m in the direction of
maximum radiation.
Pt Gt Wattൗ 2 𝐺 = 17𝑑𝐵𝑖 = 50
Power density: Pd = 4πr2 m 𝑡

20 × 50
(a)r = 50m Pd = = 31.8m WΤm2
4π × 502

20 × 50
(b)r = 300m Pd = = 0.88m WΤm2
4π ×3002

2.15