Chapter One: Introduction to Antenna Systems

By:Molla Belete

University of Debre Tabor

[email protected]

May 29, 2021

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Outlines

1 Introduction

2 Types of Antennas

3 Electromagnetic Wave Radiation Mechanisms

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Introduction

The radiation or launching of waves into space is efficiently

accomplished with the aid of conducting or dielectric structures called
antennas
Any structure can radiate EM waves but not all structures can serve
as efficient radiators.
Antenna (aerial, EM radiator): a device which radiates or receives
electromagnetic waves.
The antenna is the transition between a guiding device (transmission
line, waveguide) and free space (or another usually unbounded
medium).
Its main purpose is to convert the energy of a guided wave into the
energy of a free space wave (or vice versa) as efficiently as possible,
while at the same time the radiated power has a certain desired
pattern of distribution in space.

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An antenna system can be represented by thevenin equivalent circuit.

The transmission line is represented by a line with characteristic

impedance Zc
The antenna is represented by a load ZA = (RL + Rr ) + jXA
connected to the transmission line
RL is used to represent the conduction and dielectric losses
associated with the antenna structure
Radiation resistance (Rr ), is used to represent radiation by the antenna
Reactance (XA ) is used to represent the imaginary part of the
impedance associated with radiation by the antenna
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Theoretically, energy generated by the source totally transferred to the
radiation resistance (Rr ) , which is used to represent radiation by the
antenna.
However, in a practical system there are conduction-dielectric losses (RL )
(due to the lossy nature of the transmission line and the antenna),
reflections (mismatch) losses at the interface between the line and the
antenna.
In the design of high power transmission systems the matching of the
antenna to the transmission line is an issue.
Specified by voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR)
Avoided because they may cause arching or discharge
The resistive/dielectric (RL ) losses are undesirable
They decrease the efficiency of the antenna.

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Types of Antennas
An ideal antenna is one that will radiate all the power delivered to it
from the transmitter in a desired direction or directions.
In practice, however, such ideal performances cannot be achieved but
may be closely approached.
Various types of antennas are available and each type can take
different forms in order to achieve the desired radiation characteristics
for the particular application
Wire Antennas

Used in: on
automobiles,
buildings, ships,
aircraft, spacecraft,
and so on

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Aperture Antennas

Very useful for aircraft and spacecraft

applications, because they can be very
conveniently flush-mounted on the skin of
the aircraft or spacecraft.
In addition, they can be covered with a
dielectric material to protect them from
hazardous conditions of the environment.

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Microstrip Antennas

Became very popular in the 1970s

primarily for spaceborne applications
Today they are used for government
and commercial applications
Consist of a metallic patch on a
grounded substrate

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Array Antennas

The radiation from the elements adds up to give a radiation

maximum in a particular direction or directions, minimum in others,
or otherwise as desired.

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Reflector Antennas

Because of the need to communicate

over great distances, sophisticated
forms of antennas had to be used in
order to transmit and receive signals
that had to travel millions of miles.
Antennas of this type have been built
with diameters of 305 m or even larger.
needed to achieve the high gain
required to transmit or receive signals
after millions of miles of travel

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Lens Antennas
Used to collimate incident divergent
energy to prevent it from spreading in
undesired directions.
They can be used in most of the same
applications as are the parabolic
reflectors, especially at higher
frequencies.
Their dimensions and weight become
exceedingly large at lower frequencies.
Lens antennas are classified according
to the material from which they are
constructed, or according to their
geometrical shape

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Brief historical notes

Several people and events have contributed on advancement of

technology from its early inception.

Formulates the mathematical model

of EM in his classical book ‘A
Treatise on Electricity and
Magnetism’, 1873
He showed that light is an EM wave,
and that all EM waves propagate
through space with the same speed

James Clerk Maxwell

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 Demonstrates in 1886 the first wireless EM
wave system: a -dipole is excited with a
spark; it radiates predominantly at; a spark
appears in the gap of a receiving loop some
20 m away

Heinrich Rudolph
Hertz

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 In 1894 he built the first radio receiver, a
version of “The Coherer“.
On 7 May 1895, A. S. Popov demonstrated
the possibility of transmitting and receiving
short, continuous signals over a distance up
to 64 meters by means of electromagnetic
waves.
In 1945, 7 May was declared ”Radio Day”
in Russia.
Alexander
Stepanovich
Popov

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 With his first experiments (1895) in
wireless telegraphy marked the beginning of
radio communication.
On December 12, 1901, a radio
transmission was broadcast from Cornwall,
England. In Newfoundland, using a wire
antenna kept aloft by a kite, he confirmed
the reception of these first transatlantic
Guglielmo Marconi
radio signals.
Showed that radio signals could propagate
far beyond the horizon.

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 The beginning of 20th century (until WW2)
marks the boom in wire antenna technology
(dipoles and loops) and in wireless
technology as a whole, which is largely due
to the invention of the DeForest triode
tube, used as radio frequency generator
De Forest grid Audion Radio links made possible up to UHF
from 1906 (about 500 MHz) and over thousands of
KM

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 WW2 marks a new era in wireless
communications and antenna
technology.
The invention of new microwave
generators (magnetron and
klystron) leads to the development
of the microwave antennas such as
waveguide apertures, horns,
reflectors, etc.

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 In 1924 Professor Hidetsugu Yagi
and his assistant, Shintaro Uda,
designed and constructed a sensitive
and highly- directional antenna
using closely-coupled parasitic
elements.
The antenna, which is effective in
the higher frequency ranges, has
been important for radar, television,
and amateur radio

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Electromagnetic Wave Radiation Mechanisms

How is radiation accomplished?

How are the electromagnetic fields generated by the source,
contained and guided within the transmission line and
antenna, and finally “detached” from the antenna to form a
free-space wave?
Radiation is produced by accelerated or decelerated charge
(time-varying current element).
The time-varying current element is the elementary source of EM
radiation. the same significance as the concept of a point charge in
electrostatics.

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Single Wire
let us consider conducting wires with;
Volume charge density qv (coulombs/m3 ), is distributed uniformly in a
circular wire of cross-sectional area A and volume V , moving in the z
direction with a uniform velocity vz (meters/sec)

The current density Jz (amperes/m2 ) over the cross

section of the wire is;

Jz = qv vz (1)

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 If the wire is made of an ideal electric conductor, the current
density Js (amperes/m) resides on the surface of the wire is;

Js = qs vz (2)

If the wire is very thin (ideally zero radius), then the current
in the wire is
Iz = ql vz (3)

Generally, Assume the existence of a piece of a very thin wire where

electric current can be excited.
dq ρl dl
I = = = ρl v (4)
dt dt
Where ρl is the linear charge density and v is the charge velocity.
The time derivative of the current becomes
dI dv
= ρl = ρl a (5)
dt dt
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 dI
l = lρl a (6)
dt
The fundamental relation of electromagnetic radiation. States that to
create radiation, there must be a time-varying current or an
acceleration (or deceleration) of charge.
To accelerate/decelerate charges, one needs sources of electromotive
force and/or discontinuities of the medium in which the charges
move.
Discontinuities can be bends or open ends of wires, change in the
electrical properties of the region, etc.
In summary:
1 If a charge is not moving, current is not created and there is no
radiation.
2 If charge is moving with a uniform velocity:
1 There is no radiation if the wire is straight, and infinite in extent.
2 There is radiation if the wire is curved, bent, discontinuous,
terminated, or truncated
3 If charge is oscillating in a time-motion, it radiates even if the wire is
straight and infinite in extent.
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Two-Wires
A voltage across the two-conductor transmission line creates an
electric field between the conductors

The electric field has associated with it electric lines of force which
are tangent to the electric field at each point and their strength is
proportional to the electric field intensity
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The electric lines of force have a tendency to act on the free electrons
(easily detachable from the atoms) associated with each conductor
and force them to be displaced
The movement of the charges creates a current that in turn creates a
magnetic field intensity.
Associated with the magnetic field intensity are magnetic lines of
force which are tangent to the magnetic field.
Magnetic field lines always form closed loops encircling
current-carrying conductors because physically there are no magnetic
charges

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 Thank You!!!

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