Assosa University

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Post-Graduate Program

Advanced Antenna Systems

By: H/Maryam G.
Mar 7, 2023
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CHAPTER VI
Adaptive Antenna Systems, Log-Periodic Antennas &
Frequency Independent Antennas

➢ Log-Periodic Antennas
➢ Fractal Antennas
➢ Introduction to Smart Antennas

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Log - Periodic Antenna
➢ It is an array antenna which has structural geometry such that its impedance is
periodic with the logarithm of the frequency.
➢ It is a non-linear array in which the spacing of the elements as well as their
dimensions are unequal. However, excitation is uniform.
➢ It is basically called a frequency-independent antenna: The lowest frequency of
operation occurs when the largest element length is comparable to the
wavelength. For all frequencies above this, the pattern and impedance
characteristics are frequency independent.
➢ It can be used to receive a good number of TV channels without any
deterioration of the received field strength.
Salient Features
1. It is a frequency-independent antenna.
2. The input impedance variation of the antenna with the log of frequency is periodic
and hence the name. This is shown in Fig.
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3. It is a non-uniform array where the spacing b/n the elements are unequal.
4. Its impedance, directional patterns and directivity are constant with f.
5. The gain of a well-designed antenna lies between 7.5 and 12 𝒅𝑩𝒊 .
6. The frequency range, in which the log-periodic antennas operate is around 30
MHz to 3 GHz which belong to the VHF and UHF bands.
7. It has uni-directional characteristics.

Fig: Commercial log-periodic dipole

antenna (21 elements).

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Fig: Design curve for LPDA for given Directivity (Carrels graph).
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➢ The scale factor, 𝜏 lies between 0 and 1 for a given wedge angle, 𝛼. If 𝛼 is large, 𝜏
is small.
➢ The performance in terms of gain is improved if 𝜏 is small and 𝛼 is large.
➢ The analysis of log-periodic array is described in terms of three regions.

1. Capacitive:
▪ In this region, the elements are shorter than 𝜆Τ2 and they are capacitive.
▪ Hence the current leads the applied voltage by 90°. These elements produce small
backward radiation.
2. Resistive:
▪ Here the dipoles are of 𝜆Τ2 length and they are resistive.
▪ The currents are large and they are in phase with the voltage.
▪ These elements produce considerable forward radiation.

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3. Inductive:
▪ Here elements are of length > 𝜆Τ2 and the currents lag the voltage by 90°.
▪ The element reflects the incident wave in the backward direction.
➢ Large dipoles, acts as reflector to increase gain at lower frequencies and small
dipoles in front, which act as directors to increase gain at higher frequencies.
Design Procedure
➢ Assumes that: the directivity (in dB), input impedance Rin (real), diameter of
elements of feeder line (d) and the lower and upper frequencies of the
bandwidth are specified. It then proceeds as follows:
1. Given 𝐷0 (dB), determine 𝜎 and 𝜏.
2. Determine 𝛼.
3. Determine 𝐵𝑎 and 𝐵𝑑
4. Find 𝐿 and 𝑁 and determine spacing between elements, 𝑆𝑛
5. Finally, evaluate overall average characteristic impedance, (𝑧𝑜 )𝑎𝑣

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➢ The active region bandwidth is given by:

➢ When the designed bandwidth is assumed to be greater than the desired bandwidth,
it is given by:

𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙
here, 𝑩 = 𝒇𝒎𝒊𝒏
is desired bandwidth.
➢ Total length of the array is:

here,

➢ The number of elements in the array is:

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➢ The average characteristic impedance, (𝑧𝑜 )𝑎𝑣 is:

𝐿𝑛
(𝑧𝑜 )𝑎𝑣 = 120 𝑙𝑛 − 2.25
𝑑𝑛

where 𝑑𝑛 , = diameter of the 𝑛𝑡ℎ dipole.

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➢ Another parameter that is usually associated with a log-periodic dipole
array is the spacing 𝜎 factor defined by:

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Fractal Antennas
➢ A fractal antenna is an antenna that uses a fractal, self-similar design to maximize
the effective length, or increase the perimeter (on the outer structure), of
material that can receive or transmit electromagnetic radiation within a given
total surface area or volume.
➢ Fractal antennas are also referred to as multilevel and space filling curves, but
the key aspect lies in their repetition of a motif over two or more scale sizes, or
"iterations".
➢ For this reason, fractal antennas are very compact, multiband or wideband, and
have useful applications in cellular telephone and microwave communications.
➢ One of the main objectives in wireless communication systems is the design of
wideband, or even multiband, low profile, small antennas.
➢ Applications of such antennas include personal communication systems, small
satellite communication terminals, unmanned aerial vehicles, and many more.

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➢ In order to meet the specification that the antenna be small, some severe
limitations are placed on the design, which must meet the fundamental limits of
electrically small antennas.
➢ It was pointed out that the bandwidth of an antenna enclosed in a sphere of
radius r can be improved only if the antenna utilizes efficiently, with its
geometrical configuration, the available volume within the sphere.
➢ For planar geometries, the bandwidth of the antenna can be improved as the
geometry of the antenna best utilizes the available planar area of a circle of
radius r that encloses the antenna.
➢ Another antenna that can meet the requirements of utilizing the available space
within a sphere of radius r more efficiently is a fractal antenna.
➢ Fractal antennas are based on the concept of a fractal, which is a recursively
generated geometry that has fractional dimensions, as pioneered and advanced
by Benoit B. Mandelbrot.

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➢ He was able to show that many fractals exist in nature and can be used to
accurately model certain phenomena.
➢ In addition, he was able to introduce new fractals to model more complex
structures, including trees and mountains, that possess an inherent self-similarity,
self scaling and self-affinity in their geometrical shape.
➢ Fractal concepts have been applied to many branches of science and engineering,
including fractal electrodynamics for radiation, propagation, and scattering.
➢ These fractal concepts have been extended to antenna theory and design, and
there have been many studies and implementations of different fractal antenna
elements and arrays and many others.
➢ The theory of the basics and advances of fractal antennas is well documented in
some of the stated references and others, instead, a qualitative discussion will be
given here.
➢ Fractals can be classified in two categories as: Deterministic and Random Fractals.

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1. Deterministic: are those that are generated of several scaled-down and rotated
copies of themselves.
▪ Such fractals can be generated using computer graphics requiring particular
mapping that is repeated over and over using a recursive algorithm.
2. Random Fractals: also contain elements of randomness that allow simulation of
natural phenomena.

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Example:
1. Design a log-periodic dipole antenna which covers (54 to 216) MHz TV channels. The
desired directivity is 7.5 dB and the input impedance is 50 ohms (ideal for a match to
50 ohm coaxial cable). The elements should be made of aluminum tubing with 0.75 in.
outside diameter for the largest element and the feeder line and 0.19 in. for the
smallest element.
Solution:
Step 1: Determine 𝜎 and 𝜏 for the desired directivity: For directivity = 8 dB, optimum value
of 𝜎 and 𝜏 are: 𝜎 = 0.149 and 𝜏 = 0.822.
Step 2: Determine wedge/ included angle 𝛼.

Step 3: Determine active and designed bandwidth. 𝐵𝑎 and 𝐵𝑑

= 7.66
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Step 4: Total length of the array and total number of elements in the array:
; N = 11.39 (11 or 12 elements)

❖ Longest dipole length is calculated corresponding to lowest frequency = 54 MHz.

𝐿1 = 0.5𝜆𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 0.5 5.55 = 𝟐. 𝟕𝟖 𝑚

❖ Again the shortest dipole length is calculated corresponding to highest frequency = 216 MHz.
= 0.5𝜆𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝟎. 𝟔𝟗𝟒 𝑚

❖ Length of other elements is calculated by scaling the largest dipole length (2.78 m) until the smallest
dipole length (0.694 m) is obtained using:

❖ Note: One or two elements can be added at both ends in order to improve the performance at the cut-off.
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 ❖ Then, determine the spacing between elements (𝑆𝑛 ) using element lengths:
𝑆1 = 0.828 𝑚, 𝑆2 = 0.682 𝑚, 𝑆3 = 0.560 𝑚,
𝑆4 = 0.459 𝑚, 𝑆5 = 0.378 𝑚, 𝑆6 = 0.310 𝑚,
𝑆7 = 0.256 𝑚, 𝑆8 = 0.210 𝑚.

Step 5: Finally, the average characteristic impedance:

𝐿𝑛
(𝑧𝑜 )𝑎𝑣 = 120 𝑙𝑛 − 2.25 ; 𝐿𝑛 = 2.78 𝑚, 𝑑𝑛 = 0.75 𝑖𝑛.
𝑑𝑛
= 328.2 Ω

2.

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Smart Antenna
➢ The Smart Antenna was developed for "Military Communications" and
"Intelligence gathering".
➢ New opportunities were created for smart antenna in the year 1990 by
satellite broadcasting industries.
➢ A smart Antenna consist of an antenna array, that changes the array pattern
in response to signal environment to improve the performance of a
communication channel.
➢ Smart antenna is not smart, it is the digital signal processing, along with the
antennas, which makes the system smart.
➢ Smart antenna has become due to its tremendous potential to enhance
performance of the next generation wireless communication systems such
as Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE advanced and WLAN.
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Smart Antenna
➢ A Smart Antenna system combines an antenna array with a digital signal
processing capability to transmit and receive in an adaptive manner.

Fig: Human analogy Fig: Electrical equivalent

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Smart Antenna
➢ Smart antennas (also known as adaptive array antennas, digital antenna
arrays, multiple antennas and, recently, MIMO) are antenna arrays with
smart signal processing algorithms used to identify spatial signal signatures
such as the direction of arrival (DOA) of the signal.
➢ Because smart antenna can focus their radiation pattern toward the desired
users while rejecting unwanted interferences:
▪ They can provide greater coverage area for each base station.
➢ Moreover, because smart antennas have a higher rejection interference, and
therefore lower bit error rate (BER), they can provide a substantial capacity
improvement.
➢ Smart antenna systems can generally be classified as:
1. Switched Beam or
2. Adaptive Array
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Switched-Beam Systems
➢ A switched-beam system is a system that can choose from one of many
predefined patterns in order to enhance the received signal (see Figure
below), and it is obviously an extension of cell sectoring as each sector is
subdivided into smaller sectors.
➢ As the mobile unit moves throughout the
cell, the switched-beam system detects the

Fig: Switched-beam system.

signal strength, chooses the appropriate
predefined beam pattern, and continually
switches the beams as necessary.
➢ The overall goal of the switched-beam
system is to increase the gain according to
the location of the user.
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Adaptive Array Systems
➢ Adaptive array systems provide more degrees of freedom since they have
the ability to adapt in real time the radiation pattern to the RF signal
environment.
➢ In other words, they can direct the main beam toward the pilot signal.

Fig: switched-beam scheme Fig: adaptive array scheme.

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Adaptive Array Antennas
➢ Has become a core system component in future generation mobile
networks.
➢ Adaptive array allow the antenna to steer the beam to any direction of
interest while simultaneously nulling interfering signals.
➢ Adaptive antennas can track and locate signals.
Direction of Arrival (DOA) Estimation
➢ It is direction of arrival.
➢ The smart antenna estimates the direction of arrival of the signal, using
technique such as MUSIC(Multiple Signal Classification) estimation of signal
parameters via Matrix pencil method or one of their derivatives.
➢ They involve finding a spatial spectrum of the antenna and calculating the
DOA from the peaks of this spectrum.
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Advantages of Smart Antenna Application Areas
➢ Reduction in co-channel ➢ Mobile communications.
interference. ➢ Cellular and wireless network.
➢ Range improvement. ➢ Satellite communication.
➢ Increase in capacity. ➢ Wireless sensor network.
➢ Reduction in transmitted power. ➢ Military.
➢ Reduction in handoff. ➢ Electronic warfare

Future Scope
➢ In mobile handsets to achieve much better performance.
➢ 4G system with 1 Gbit/s data rate and frequency 20-100 Mhz.
➢ Detect malignant tumors.

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Any Questions?

Class END

Thank You!
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