INVITED

PAPER

Basic Properties and Design

Principles of UWB Antennas
Selection of suitable antennas from the many existing types, based on
understanding their characteristics, is essential for effective
ultrawide-band system design.
By Werner Wiesbeck, Fellow IEEE , Grzegorz Adamiuk, Student Member IEEE , and
Christian Sturm, Student Member IEEE

ABSTRACT | Basic principles for ultra-wide-band (UWB) to be considered. On the other hand, UWB systems are
radiation are presented and discussed in this paper. The often realized in an impulse-based technology, and
discussion starts with a description of the influence of antennas therefore the time-domain effects and properties have to
on UWB transmission. The parameters characterizing antennas be known as well [1]. Hence there is a demand for both a
in time and in frequency domain are specified. Since the frequency-domain representation and a time-domain
number of possible antenna structures is nearly unlimited, the representation of the system description. In the following,
focus will be on a classification according to different radiation these characterizations in the frequency domain and in the
principles. For each of these mechanisms, the typical advan- time domain are presented. All parameters are uniformly
tages and disadvantages are discussed, and an example used in the whole paper but may not be necessarily
antenna and its characteristics are presented. For a wireless compliant with the denotation presented in the cited
engineer, the problem to solve is the proper design of an literature. The coordinate system throughout this paper is
antenna with the desired radiation characteristics. The final as shown in Fig. 1.
outcome of this paper is that there exist numbers of UWB
antennas, but not each of them is suited for any application, A. UWB Frequency-Domain Signal Link
especially in view of radar and communication systems Characterization
requirements. For the frequency-domain description, it is assumed
that the transmit antenna is excited with a continuous-
KEYWORDS | Ultra-wide-band (UWB); UWB antenna character- wave signal with the frequency f . The relevant parameters
ization; UWB link; UWB transfer functions for the frequency-domain link description are:
/ amplitude of transmit signal UTx ðf Þ in [V];
/ amplitude of receive signal URx ðf Þ in [V];
I. UW B SI GNAL T RANS FER / radiated field strength at position r ETx ðf ; r; Tx ; Tx Þ
CHARACT E RI ZAT ION in [V/m];
Typically, narrow-band antennas and propagation are / transfer function of the transmit antenna
described in the frequency domain. Usually the charac- HTx ðf ; Tx ; Tx Þ in [m];
teristic parameters are assumed to be constant over a few / transfer function of the receive antenna
percent bandwidth. For ultra-wide-band (UWB) systems, HRx ðf ; Rx ; Rx Þ in [m];
the frequency-dependent characteristics of the antennas / characteristic transmit antenna impedance
and the frequency-dependent behavior of the channel have ZC;Tx ðf Þ in [];
/ characteristic receive antenna impedance ZC;Rx ðf Þ
in ½;
Manuscript received September 13, 2007; revised March 26, 2008. Current version / antenna gain Gðf ; ; Þ;
published March 18, 2009.
The authors are with the Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik, Universität / distance between Tx-Rx antennas rTxRx in [m].
Karlsruhe (TH), 76131 Germany (e-mail: [email protected]). The antenna transfer functions represent a two-
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/JPROC.2008.2008838 dimensional vector with two orthogonal polarization

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 Wiesbeck et al.: Basic Properties and Design Principles of UWB Antennas

description of a free space UWB propagation link is

given by (2)

URx ðf Þ ej!rTxRx =c0

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ HT
Rx ðf ; Rx ; Rx Þ 
ZC;Rx 2rTxRx c0
UTx ðf Þ
 HTx ðf ; Tx ; Tx Þ  j! pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi : (2)
ZC;Tx

Fig. 1. Coordinate system for UWB link and antenna characterization.

Two orthogonal polarizations are included in the Tx and
Rx transfer functions, as noted above. While in narrow-
band systems the radiation angles  and influence only
components HCo and HX . The dimension of the transfer the polarization, amplitude, and the phase of the signal,
functions is meter, and they are equivalent to effective they influence additionally the entire frequency-dependent
antenna heights, dependent on frequency [2]. The signal characteristics in UWB systems.
characteristic antenna impedances define the air interface For UWB links in rich scattering environments, e.g.,
reflection coefficients. HTx ðf ; Tx ; Tx Þ is the transfer indoor, the influence of the channel can be described by a
function that relates the transmit signal UTx ðf Þ to the frequency-dependent polarimetric channel transfer ma-
radiated field strength ETx ðf ; rÞ for an antenna in the trix [3].
transmit mode [see (1)]
B. Time-Domain Signal Link Characterization
For the time-domain description, it is assumed that the
transmit antenna is excited with a impulse. The elements
ETx ðf ; rÞ ej!rTxRx =c0 UTx ðf Þ of the UWB time domain link characterization are:
pffiffiffiffiffi ¼ HTx ðf ; Tx ; Tx Þ  j! pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi : (1)
Z0 2rTxRx c0 ZC;Tx / amplitude of transmit signal uTx ðtÞ in [V];
/ amplitude of receive signal uRx ðtÞ in [V];
/ impulse response of the transmit antenna
HRx ðf ; Rx ; Rx Þ is the transfer function that relates the hTx ðt; Tx ; Tx Þ in [m/ns];
received signal amplitude URx ðf Þ to the incident field / impulse response of the receive antenna
ERx ðf ; rÞ (in the frequency domain) for an antenna in hRx ðt; Rx ; Rx Þ in [m/ns];
the receive mode [see (2)]. The transfer functions are / radiated field strength eTx ðt; r; Tx ; Tx Þ;
reciprocal, HTx ¼ HRx , but the direction of the signal / distance between Tx-Rx antennas rTxRx in [m].
flow with respect to the coordinate system has to be In the time domain, the antenna’s transient response
taken into account. With these parameters, the Tx-Rx hðt; ; Þ becomes more adequate for the description of
link is given in Fig. 2, including the channel. The small impulse systems. The antenna’s transient response is
graphs symbolize the typical influence of the link dependent on time, but also on the angles of departure
contributions. The initial chirp and its derivative are Tx , Tx , respectively, angles of arrival Rx , Rx , and
sketched. polarization [4]. As a consequence, the antennas do not
In the frequency-domain description, the consecutive radiate the same pulse in all directions. This may cause
subsystem parameters are multiplied. The total analytical severe problems in communications and radar as well. It is

Fig. 2. Frequency-domain system link level characterization.

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very important to include in system descriptions the angular I I. UWB DEFINITIONS AND
behavior of the antennas since all transmitted or received ANTENNA PARAMETERS
paths, e.g., in indoor applications, are weighted by the The desired operating frequencies are given by:
antenna patterns and therefore contribute with different / U.S. FCC regulation [6] as 3.1 to 10.6 GHz;
time domain characteristics, e.g., polarization, amplitude, / European regulation [7] (2007j131jEC) as 6.0 to
phase, and delay to the received voltage uRx ðtÞ. In Fig. 3, the 8.5 GHz;
time-domain link level scheme is shown. The small graphs / special allocations, e.g., ground penetrating radar
symbolize the typical influence of the link contributions. The or wall radar;
initial pulse and its derivative are sketched. but not limited to these. A general definition of UWB is
Any antenna differentiates any signal, because anten- stated with the relative bandwidth
nas do not radiate dc signals. Equations (1) and (2) have,
after conversion to the time domain, the form presented in
(3) and (4), respectively. Fundamental operations like the 2ðfH  fL Þ=ðfH þ fL Þ > 0:2 (5)
multiplication in the frequency domain are substituted by
convolution in the time domain. Equation (3) relates the
radiated field strength eTx ðt; rÞ to the excitation voltage where fH and fL are the upper and lower band limits,
uTx ðtÞ and the transient response of the transmit antenna respectively. Relative bandwidths in excess of 100% are
hTx ðt; Tx ; Tx Þ [5]. In (4), again only free-space propa- possible for some antenna types.
gation is regarded (line of sight Tx-Rx)
A. Antenna Characterization Parameters
  In contrast to classic narrow-band antenna theory,
eTx ðt; rÞ 1 rTxRx where the antenna characteristics are regarded for only a
pffiffiffiffiffi ¼  t
Z0 2rTxRx c0 c0 small bandwidth, the characterization of antennas over an
@ uTx ðtÞ ultrawide frequency range requires new specific quantities
 hTx ðt; Tx ; Tx Þ  pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi (3) and representations [1], [8]. In this section, both time-
@t ZC;Tx
domain and frequency-domain representations are re-
uRx ðtÞ
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ hTRx ðt; Rx ; Rx Þ garded. Depending on the application, the relevant ones
ZC;Rx have to be selected. In general, the Fourier transforms
 
1 rTxRx forward and backward are the operations to switch from
  t
2rTxRx c0 c0 frequency domain to time domain, and vice versa.
@ uTx ðtÞ An impulse fed to an UWB antenna is subject to:
 hTx ðt; Tx ; Tx Þ  pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi : (4) / differentiation;
@t ZC;Tx
/ dispersion (energy storage);
/ radiation;
The delay time of the channel is taken care of by the / losses (dielectric/ohmic).
antenna spacing rTxRx . The transient response functions The antenna’s complete behavior, including frequency
are also reciprocal, hTx ¼ hRx , but the direction of signal dependency, can be described by the linear system theory.
flow with respect to the coordinate system has to be taken The characteristics are expressed either by a time-domain
into account. impulse response hðt; Tx ; Tx Þ or by the frequency-
The antennas are an essential part of any wireless domain transfer function Hðf ; Tx ; Tx Þ, as given earlier,
system, and their properties have to be carefully taken into both of which contain the full information on the antenna
account during all steps of the system design. For UWB radiation. The dispersion of the antenna can be analyzed
impulse systems, this is vital. by regarding the analytic impulse response, which is

Fig. 3. UWB system link level characterization in time domain.

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 Wiesbeck et al.: Basic Properties and Design Principles of UWB Antennas

width of the magnitude of the analytic envelope jhþ ðtÞj at

half maximum (FWHM). Analytically, it is defined as

FWHM ¼ t1 jjhþ ðt1 Þj¼p=2  t2 jt1 Gt2 ;jhþ ðt2 Þj¼p=2 in ns: (8)

The envelope width should not exceed a few hundred

picoseconds in order to ensure high data rates in
communications or high resolution in radar applications.

3) Ringing: The ringing r of a UWB antenna is

undesired and usually caused by resonances due to energy
storage or multiple reflections in the antenna. It results in
oscillations of the radiated pulse after the main peak. The
duration of the ringing r , which is defined as the time
until the envelope has fallen from the peak value pð; Þ
below a certain lower bound   pð; Þ, is measured as
follows:
Fig. 4. Characterization of the antenna time-domain transient
response (here: horn antenna).
r¼ ¼ t1 jhþ ðt1 Þ¼p  t2 jt2 G t1 ^hþ ðt2 Þ¼p in ns: (9)

calculated by the Hilbert transform H commonly used in The duration r of the ringing of a UWB antenna should
signal processing. be negligibly small, i.e., less than a few envelope widths
FWHM . The energy contained in ringing is of no use at all;
hþ ðtÞ ¼ ðhðtÞ þ jHfhðtÞgÞ: (6) it lowers the peak value pð; Þ. It can therefore be
eliminated by, e.g., absorbing materials.

The envelope jhþ ðtÞj of the analytic impulse response 4) Transient Gain: The transient gain gT ð; Þ is an
localizes the distribution of energy versus time and is integral quality measure that characterizes the ability of an
hence a direct measure for the dispersion of an antenna. antenna to radiate the power of a given waveform uTx ðtÞ
Typical examples of measured antenna impulse
responses hðtÞ and jhþ ðtÞj are shown in Fig. 4 for a given  2
polarization and direction ð; Þ of radiation with the  du ðtÞ
hðt; ; Þ  Txdt 
further characteristic parameters for the peak pulse value gT ð; Þ ¼ pffiffiffi 2
pð; Þ, the width of the pulse full-width at half-maximum k c0 uTx ðtÞk
(FWHM), and the ringing duration r . Note that all kHð!; ; Þj!UTx ðf Þk2
¼ pffiffiffi (10)
parameters are dependent on polarization and spatial k c0 UTx ðf Þk
2
coordinates rð; Þ.
Examples for specific quantities are given later for the
presented antennas. where the norm is defined by

1) Peak Value of the Envelope: The peak value pð; Þ of

Z1
the analytic envelope jhþ ðtÞj is a measure for the maximal
value of the strongest peak of the antenna’s time-domain k f ðxÞk ¼ j f ðxÞjdx: (11)
transient response envelope. It is mathematically defined as 1

m 5) Gain in Frequency Domain: The gain in frequency

pð; Þ ¼ maxjhþ ðt; ; Þj in : (7)
t ns domain is defined like in narrow-band systems. It can be
calculated from the antenna transfer function
A high peak value pð; Þ is desirable.
4f 2
2) Envelope Width: The envelope width describes the Gðf ; ; Þ ¼ jHðf ; ; Þj2 : (12)
broadening of the radiated impulse and is defined as the c20

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It is important that the transfer function is multi-

plied by f 2 .

6) Group Delay: The group delay g ð!Þ of an antenna

characterizes the frequency dependence of the time delay.
It is defined in frequency domain

d’ð!Þ d’ðf Þ
g ð!Þ ¼  ¼ (13)
d! 2df

where ’ðf Þ is the frequency-dependent phase of the

radiated signal.
Of interest is also the mean group delay  g , as it is a
single number for the whole UWB frequency range

Z!2 Fig. 5. Relative group delay g;rel ðfÞ of a Vivaldi antenna

1 and a Log-Per antenna.
g ¼ g ð!Þd!: (14)
!2  !1
!1

structures facilitates the charge acceleration over a very

A nondistorted structure is characterized by a constant wide bandwidth? The ultrawide bandwidth radiation is
group delay, i.e., linear phase, in a relevant frequency based on a few principles:
range. The nonlinearities of a group delay indicate the / traveling-wave structures;
resonant character of the device, which implicates the / frequency-independent antennas (angular constant
ability of the structure to store the energy. It results in structures);
ringing and oscillations of the antenna impulse response / self-complementary antennas;
hðtÞ [9]. A measure for the constancy of the group delay is / multiple resonance antennas;
the deviation from the mean group delay g , denoted as / electrically small antennas.
relative group delay g;rel ð!Þ (15) In most cases the radiation starts where the electric
field connects 180 out-of-phase currents with half a
g;rel ð!Þ ¼ g ð!Þ  g : (15) wavelength spacing. Many antennas radiate by a combi-
nation of two or more of the above principles and can
therefore not be simply classified.
Examples of the relative group delay of the Vivaldi In the following, the relationships between the radia-
antenna and the logarithmic periodic dipole array (Log- tion principles and the properties of the antennas are
Per) antenna (see Section III-A and D) in the frequency discussed. Each explanation of the radiation phenomenon
range from 3 to 11 GHz are shown in Fig. 5. In the case of is supported by an example of an antenna.
the Vivaldi antenna, which is a nonresonant structure, the
relative group delay shows only weak and slow oscillations A. Traveling-Wave Antennas
over the whole frequency band. On the other side, the Traveling-wave antennas offer for the guided wave a
relative group delay of the Log-Per antenna shows strong smooth, almost not recognizable transition with the fields
and sharp oscillations over the whole frequency band, accelerated to free-space propagation speed co . Typical
which results in an oscillation of the antenna impulse antennas are tapered wave guide antennas [12]Vfor
response hLogPer ðtÞ. For this antenna, the group delay is example, the horn antenna (see Fig. 4) or the Vivaldi
frequency dependent, and lower frequencies show a higher antenna (see Fig. 6). Other radiating traveling-wave
relative group delay. It is caused by the frequency- structures are, e.g., the slotted waveguide or the dielectric
dependent phase centers of the radiation. rod antenna. Here the focus will be on the Vivaldi antenna
as an example, for which different feed structures like
microstrip line, slot line, and antipodal can be applied.
III . UWB ANTENNA PRINCIPLES The Vivaldi antenna guides the wave from the feed in a
The radiation of guided waves has been discussed slot line to a wide-band taper. The exponential taper is a
intensively in the past. It is the common understanding priori wide-band, because it offers for all frequencies
that the key mechanism for radiation is charge acceleration within the given bandwidth the proper radiation condi-
[10], [11]. The question to answer for UWB is: what kind of tion. Other tapers, like polynomial tapers or any other

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 Wiesbeck et al.: Basic Properties and Design Principles of UWB Antennas

distortion compared to other UWB antennas. The high

peak value ðp ¼ 0:35 m/nsÞ and the short duration of the
transient response envelope [ðFWHM ¼ 135 psÞ; see
Fig. 4] stand for very low dispersion and ringing. The
ringing of the antenna is due to multiple reflections at the
substrate edges and parasitic currents along the outer
substrate edges. The ringing can be reduced by enlarging
the transverse dimensions of the antenna, by metal flares
or by chokes. Absorbing materials around the substrate
edges reduce the ringing without influencing the other
characteristics of the transient response. The slightly
Fig. 6. Aperture coupled Vivaldi antenna. (Left) Top view; asymmetric impulse response results from the feed line.
(right) bottom view with feed line. Substrate size 75  78 mm2 .
The frequency- and angle-dependent gain Gðf ;  ¼ 90-; Þ
in Fig. 8 is calculated from the measured directional
transfer function Hðf ;  ¼ 90-; Þ. The gain is quite
mathematical function that provides a smooth transition, constant versus frequency in the main beam direction.
can be used and optimized, regarding the input reflection The maximum gain Gmax is 7.9 dBi at 5.0 GHz; at the lower
coefficient and the radiation characteristics. A typical frequencies, close to 3 GHz, small resonances are visible.
structure is shown in Fig. 6, etched on a dielectric The average gain G in the FCC frequency band is 5.7 dBi.
substrate. The Vivaldi is fed at the narrow side of the slot. The main parameters of the Vivaldi antenna are summa-
For UWB, the major tasks are the wide-band frequency- rized in Table 1.
independent feed and slot-line terminations. The feed The Vivaldi antenna is well suited for direct planar
shown here is designed with a Marchand balun network integration and also for UWB antenna arrays for radar and
with aperture coupling. Nonresonant aperture coupling is communications. In the past it has been used for special
usually a good choice for UWB feed structures. This allows cases of high power radiation.
also for an impedance matching in a wide range. A stub,
and the slot line by a circular shaped cavity, terminate the B. Frequency-Independent Antennas
microstrip feed line. The antenna can be designed Rumsey investigated the fundamentals of frequency-
relatively compact. The propagation velocity v on the independent antennas in the 1960s [13]. He observed that
structure changes from the slot-line wave velocity vsl to c0 a scaled version of a radiating structure must exhibit the
at the end of the taper. It varies only slightly with same characteristics like the original one, when fed with a
frequency. The Vivaldi antenna’s time-domain transient signal whose wavelength is scaled by the same factor. As a
response in the E-plane is shown in Fig. 7. This, for consequence, if the shape of an antenna is invariant to
narrow-band antennas’ unusual representation, displays physical scaling, its radiating behavior is expected to be
the impulse distortion by the antenna in time t versus the independent of frequency. The typical realization is an
E-plane angle . The Vivaldi antenna has a rather low angular constant structure, which is described only by

Fig. 7. Measured impulse response jhþ ðt; Þj of the Vivaldi antenna of Fig. 6 in E-plane versus frequency.

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Fig. 8. Measured gain Gðf;  ¼ 90 ; Þ of the Vivaldi antenna of Fig. 6 in E-plane versus frequency.

angles. It must be noted that the independence from point impedance. In the case of an asymmetric feed line
frequency does not necessarily refer to the input imped- (like coaxial or microstrip lines), a balun transformer is
ance of the structure. In order to obtain a constant input needed. The bowtie antenna has for the FCC UWB
impedance, additional principles like those described in frequency band reasonable dimensions. The application of
Section III-C have to be applied. aperture feed and further optimizations allow very
The scaling usually involves constant angles. It is compact design.
possible to define a Btruncation principle[ to apply this The aperture coupled bowtie antenna consists of two
concept to the practical case, where the size of any physical triangular radiating patches, of which one serves as a
object is obviously finite [14]. In fact, provided that the ground plane for the tapered microstrip feed line that ends
overall current on the antenna tends to decrease due to the with a broadband stub (see Fig. 9). The feeding structure
radiation, when moving away from the feeding point, it is couples the energy from an asymmetric microstrip line to
possible to define a limited Bactive[ region, where the the radiating bowtie elements through the aperture formed
current falls below relevant values. If the actual, finite
antenna contains this area, it can be assumed that the
truncation of the geometry does not modify the behavior of
the antenna around the chosen wavelength. A typical
example of a frequency-independent antenna is the
biconical antenna [15].
A planar example of the biconical antenna is the bowtie
antenna. The antenna structure consists of two triangular
metal sheets (see Fig. 9). They are usually fed by a
symmetric line (twin line), which is matched to the feed

Table 1 UWB Parameters of the Vivaldi Antenna of Fig. 6 in

Main Beam Direction

Fig. 9. (Left) Aperture coupled bowtie antenna; bottom view with feed
line. (Right) Top view; symmetric fed bowtie antenna with balun.

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Fig. 10. Measured gain Gðf;  ¼ 90 ; Þ of an aperture coupled bowtie antenna in H-plane versus frequency.

by the tips of the triangles. Therefore the antenna is called small. Fig. 11 presents the measured impulse response
aperture coupled bowtie antenna. This feeding technique jhþ ðtÞj of the antenna in Fig. 9. The almost omnidirec-
is basically similar to the operation of the well-known tional radiation in H-plane is well visible, accompanied by
microstrip slot-line transitions with a Marchand balun. a small ringing of the antenna.
Almost no additional ringing is introduced by this coupling Other types of antennas with frequency-independent
mechanism. The pulses on the radiating elements are characteristics might be some versions of logarithmic-
traveling faster than those on the line, due to the lower periodic antennas or spiral antennas [16]. Although these
effective "r;eff . This is compensated by the fact that the stub antennas can show frequency-independent characteristics,
length is shorter than the length of the radiating elements. they are based on a different design principle, and their
The aperture-coupled bowtie antenna has a nearly properties are different compared to those described
omnidirectional radiation pattern in the H-plane (Fig. 10). above. In general, antennas may combine more than one
Therefore this type of antenna can find application, e.g., in radiation principle and may change the radiation principle
communications in mobile devices. It can be realized quite versus frequency.

C. Self-Complementary Antennas
Self-complementary antennas are characterized by a
self-complementary metallization [17]. This means that
metal can be replaced by dielectric and vice versa without

Fig. 11. Measured impulse response jhþ ðtÞj of the Fig. 12. Truncated fractal antenna to show the principle
bowtie antenna in H-plane. of self-complementary antennas.

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of the antenna are fed in the center with a symmetric line

with an impedance of ZL ¼ 60. When properly
designed, the logarithmic spiral antenna radiates where
the two arms are spaced by =2, i.e., where the
circumference is =2. By a proper dimensioning of the
structure, the antenna can be made broadband up to
several 100% bandwidth.
The principle of radiation can be seen by plotting the
current distribution into the antenna of Fig. 14. The
diameter of the outer arms reaches 40 cm in this case. In
Fig. 13. Self-complementary antennas. (Left) Two-arm logarithmic Fig. 14(a), the antenna is excited with the frequency of
spiral antenna and (right) sinuous antenna. 300 MHz and in (b) with 450 MHz. It can be noted that at
lower frequencies, where the wavelength is longer, the
high current amplitudes occur at a larger diameter on the
changing the antenna’s structure (Fig. 12). The behavior of spiral than in the case of the higher frequency of 450 MHz.
self-complementary structures can be analyzed by applying The Bvanishing[ of the currents outside of the maximum
Babinet’s principle [18]. This results in an invariant input currents indicates that energy has been radiated.
impedance of The logarithmic spiral antenna is a directional antenna
with two main beams orthogonal to the spiral plane. The
Zin ¼ ZF0 =2 ¼ 60 (16) radiated wave is circularly polarized, provided the pulse
length covers 360 of the radiating circumference. The
polarizations in the two main radiation directions are
with ZF0 being the free-space impedance. Self-comple- orthogonal to each other. One beam is usually suppressed
mentary structures only guarantee a constant input by absorbing material. It prevents propagation of the
impedance, but not necessarily constant radiation char- orthogonal polarization simultaneously.
acteristics independent from frequency. It is also possible The frequency dependence of the position of the
to design structures that are similar to self-complementary radiating area and therefore frequency-dependent time
structures but have an unbalanced ratio of metalized to delays result in a broadening and a smaller peak value of
nonmetalized areas. These structures exhibit an input the antenna impulse response, compared to, e.g., the
impedance that is nearly constant versus frequency but Vivaldi antenna.
different from ZF0 =2 [19]. For exact description of self- As another candidate for the visualization of the
complementary antennas, the reader is referred to [20]. characteristics of frequency-independent antennas, the
Typical candidates are the 90 bowtie antenna, the sinuous Archimedian spiral antenna is analyzed. This antenna has,
antenna, the logarithmic spiral antenna [21], or some compared to the logarithmic spiral antenna, constant line
fractal antennas [22]. width and spacing, and these are usually identical. Due to
An example of a two-arm logarithmic spiral antenna is the close separation of adjacent lines, they couple strongly.
shown in Fig. 13. This antenna realizes the principle of This causes the radiation where adjacent lines are in phase,
frequency independence; the metallization is only defined i.e., where the circumference is . To analyze the
by angles, and it follows Babinet’s principle. The two arms transmitted pulse characteristic, in the simulation tool a

Fig. 14. Current distribution on a logarithmic spiral antenna: (a) f ¼ 300 MHz and (b) f ¼ 450 MHz.

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Fig. 16. Log-Per antenna with a coaxial connector feeding

the inner triplate line.

Fig. 15. Simulation of the received electric field eRx ðtÞ from an
Archimedian spiral antenna (xy-plane) with linear polarized
electric field probes in x-, y-, z-direction; input pulse H in the H-plane. These values are quite constant over the
is a Gauss pulse with FWHM ¼ 88 ps. desired frequency range. As can be seen from Fig. 17, the
impulse response of the Log-Per antenna exhibits strong
oscillations. This can be explained by the consecutively
linearly polarized electric field probe is set in the far field excited ringing of coupled, resonating dipoles.
of the Archimedian spiral antenna. The electric field For reasons of comparison with other antennas, Fig. 17
probes are arranged along the x-, y-, and z-axis, whereas the shows the transient response hðt; Þ,  ¼ 0 versus the
antenna is positioned in the xy-plane. The received electric E-plane angle and time t. The broadening of the impulse
field eRx ðtÞ of a simulation of this configuration excited response compared to the Vivaldi antenna is obvious.
with a FWHM ¼ 88 ps Gauss pulse is shown in Fig. 15. Consequently, the peak value p of the antenna impulse
The radiated UWB signal has a strong, short peak with a response reduces to only 0.13 m/ns. It is due to the resonant
reasonable ringing. Since the radiated pulse is circularly structure of the radiating dipoles. Any UWB antenna with
polarized, both ex ðtÞ and ey ðtÞ components are present. resonant elements broadens the radiated impulse, i.e.,
The ez ðtÞ components are not excited since the radiated increases the FWHM and lowers the peak value p.
wave is a transverse electromagnetic mode wave. A Fig. 18 is a cut in the main beam of the transient
problem of all spiral antennas for UWB operation may response hðt; Þ,  ¼ 0. The resonant character of the Log-
be the rotation of the radiated field vector with frequency. Per antenna is even more obvious in this representation,
It has to be kept in mind that for a pulsed mode operation,
the pulse duration has to be sufficient in order to cover
360 of field vector orientation for circular polarization.

D. Multiple Resonance Antennas

Multiple resonance antennas are combinations of
multiple, narrow-band, radiating elements. Each ele-
mentVfor example, a dipoleVcovers a limited bandwidth,
e.g., 20% of the total UWB bandwidth. Typical candidates
are the Log-Per [23] and fractal antennas.
The planar Log-Per antenna (Fig. 16) consists of n
adjoining unit cells (dipoles), with the dimensions l of
adjacent cells scaled by logðl =lþ1 Þ ¼ constant [24]. Each
dipole is etched with one half on the top layer and the
other half on the bottom layer of the substrate. The
antenna is fed, for example, by a coaxial line via a triplate
line inside the structure at the high-frequency port. This
structure can be optimized for low return loss
ðS11 G  10 dBÞ in the whole FCC UWB frequency band.
The design of the antenna is compact (60  50  2 mm3 ), Fig. 17. Measured impulse response jhþ ðt; Þj,  ¼ 0
with 3 dB beamwidths 3 dB  65 in the E-plane and of the Log-Per antenna (Fig. 16) in the E-plane.

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Table 2 UWB Parameters of the Log-Per Antenna of Fig. 17 in

Main Beam Direction

The main parameters of the Log-Per antenna of Fig. 16

are shown in Table 2.
Fig. 18. Simulated impulse response of the Log-Per antenna
(Fig. 16) in the main beam direction.
E. Electrically Small Antennas
Electrically small antennas [25] are for any desired UWB
operation Bequally bad[ concerning impedance matching
and radiation. These antennas are far below resonance
where the characteristics are determined to FWHM ¼
805 ps and r¼0:22 ¼ 605 ps.
In Fig. 19, the gain Hðf ; Þ of the Log-Per antenna is a G 0 =5 (17)
shown. The antenna exhibits a relatively constant and
stable radiation pattern over the frequency range. The
collapse of the transfer function in main beam direction at which is specifying the antenna dimensions, a being the size
particular frequencies and simultaneous side radiation at of the radiating element (not the ground plane). Thus
the same frequencies can be noticed. This is due to the similar conditions for all frequencies exist. With a proper
excitation of higher order modes, e.g., -resonances, of the impedance transformation, the antennas can be made
B=2-dipoles.[ UWB. Typical candidates are the different types of D-dot
probe antennas, small monopole antennas [26], and the
Hertzian dipole.
In Fig. 20, a typical rotational symmetric UWB mono-
cone antenna with a height of 20 mm (=5 at 3 GHz) is
shown. The monocone antenna, as an asymmetric struc-
ture, does not require any balun for an asymmetric feed
line; however, it needs (in theory) an infinite ground
plane, which is cut for practical applications. For the
regarded bandwidth, monocone antennas with a ground
plane diameter larger than 40 mm (see Fig. 22) exhibit a
return loss below S11 G  10 dB. For smaller ground
planes, the matching becomes difficult for a 50  re-
ference impedance. The finite ground plane also affects
the stability of the radiation pattern versus frequency and
the impulse radiating properties. Just recently, an antenna
has been proposed that overcomes this problem by

Fig. 19. Measured transfer function jHðf; Þj of the Log-Per antenna Fig. 20. Monocone antenna with enlarged ground plane,
versus frequency in the E-plane. with d ¼ 80 mm diameter.

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Fig. 21. Planar monopole antennas. (Left) CPW fed; (right) microstrip
line fed with ground plane on the bottom side [28], [29].

compensating the dominating antenna capacity of electri-

cally small antennas by inductive coupling to sectorial
loops [27]. Fig. 23. Measured gain Gðf; Þ of monocone antenna versus
frequency in the E-plane.
The monocone properties can be well approximated by
the planar structures like planar monopoles (Fig. 21).
These are very well suited for short-range communica-
tions, as they can easily be integrated with different planar the omnidirectional character of the antenna, the small
lines and circuits. FWHM ¼ 75 ps value of the antenna impulse response,
The monocone antenna has an omnidirectional radia- and the nearly frequency-independent gain, the monocone
tion pattern in H-plane. The impulse response hðtÞ and antenna is often applied for channel measurements.
gain Gðf Þ for a monocone antenna with reduced ground In narrow-band operations, it is assumed that the
plane ðd ¼ 40 mmÞ are shown in the E-plane in Figs. 22 antenna radiates identical signals in all directions of the
and 23, respectively. It can be seen that the impulse antenna characteristic Cð; Þ. In ultra-wide-band, this
response is short, which indicates small ringing, and the cannot be taken for granted, as will be shown for the
antenna radiates over a wide elevation angle  from monocone antenna. Fig. 24 shows the impulse response of
10 G  G 90 with a relatively constant gain Gðf Þ. At the monocone antenna for ¼ const. versus the elevation
higher frequencies the radiation is more upwards and a angle . It can clearly be seen that the radiated signals are
second beam emerges from the ground plane. Because of elevation angle  dependent.

Fig. 22. Monocone antenna and its measured impulse response jhþ ðtÞj Fig. 24. Measured impulse response hðt; ; ¼ 90 Þ as a function of
in the E-plane (ground plane diameter d ¼ 40 mm). elevation  for the monocone antenna.

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Wiesbeck et al.: Basic Properties and Design Principles of UWB Antennas

In a multipath environment, these signals overlap at

the receiver, which may cause severe distortion. Proper
channel models can be used to study these effects [30].

IV. UWB ANTENNA SYSTEM ASPECTS

In practice from a system point of view, two cases for UWB
have to be distinguished:
/ multiple narrow bands, e.g., OFDM (ECMA-368
Standard); Fig. 25. Comparison of characteristic parameters of the presented
UWB antennas.
/ pulsed operation (IEEE 802.15.4a).
The first case can usually be treated like the well-known
narrow-band operations. The relevant criteria are well
covered by the frequency-dependent transfer function / Vivaldi antenna;
Hðf ; ; Þ. Antennas for these applications can be all / horn antenna.
earlier discussed types, especially also the Log-Per antenna. All antennas with resonances or spurious surface
The second case needs a closer look. If in a pulsed currents are bad candidates and should be disregarded
operation for radar or communications the full FCC for time-domain operation. Among them is definitely the
bandwidth from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz, i.e., 7.5 GHz, is Log-Per antenna.
coveredVfor example, with the derivative of the Gaussian For certain cases where circular polarization is
pulse with FWHM ¼ 88 psVthen the transient behavior, required, further restrictions hold. A logarithmic spiral
the impulse response hðt; ; Þ of the antenna, has to be antenna, e.g., can only radiate circular polarization if the
taken into account. In this case, the impulse distortion in pulse duration is longer than the equivalent circumference
the time domain and in the spatial domain have to be of the active radiating zone. For 88 ps pulses, this
examined for compatibility. An adverse behavior of the equivalent circumference should be less than 2.6 cm,
impulse response hðt; ; Þ, with the following problems: which may contradict the radiation requirement.
/ low peak magnitude pð; Þ; These statements make clear that for UWB in extension
/ very wide pulse width FWHM ; to research at the component level, also research on the
/ long ringing r system level has to be performed.
has influence on the system characteristics, for example, on:
/ the received signal strength uRx ðtÞ, ðS=NÞ;
/ the data rate in communications; V. CONCLUSION
/ the resolution in radar. Ultra-wide-band as an emerging technology requires for
These adverse effects set requirements for the antennas the antenna characterization a thorough knowledge of the
but also for the other UWB hardware front-end elements behavior in time domain, in frequency domain, and, in
like amplifiers, filters, equalizers, detectors, and so on. certain cases, in the spatial domain. It has been shown that
These requirements restrict the potential antennas to for ultra-wide-band, certain antenna classes can be defined
small antennas or traveling wave antennas. Candidates are: according to their radiating characteristics. In Fig. 25,
/ monocone antenna; typical, relevant data of the discussed UWB antennas are
/ bowtie antenna; compared. h

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Werner Wiesbeck (Fellow, IEEE) received the Grzegorz Adamiuk (Student Member, IEEE)
Dipl.-Ing. (M.S.E.E.) and Dr.-Ing. (Ph.D.E.E.) degrees received the Dipl.-Ing. degree in electrical engi-
from the Technical University Munich, Germany, in neering from Technical University of Gdansk,
1969 and 1972, respectively. Poland, and the Universität Karlsruhe (TH),
From 1972 to 1983, he was with AEG-Telefun- Germany, in 2006. He is currently pursuing the
ken in various positions, including that of Head of Ph.D.E.E. degree at the Universität Karlsruhe.
R&D of the Microwave Division in Flensburg and Since 2006, he has been with the Institut für
Marketing Director Receiver and Direction Finder Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik, Universität
Division, Ulm. During this period, he had product Karlsruhe, as a Research Associate. His main
responsibility for millimeter-wave radars, recei- research topic is UWB technology with focus on
vers, direction finders, and electronic warfare systems. From 1983 to UWB antennas and channel characterization.
2007, he was Director of the Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und
Elektronik, University of Karlsruhe (TH), where he had been Dean of the
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and is now Distinguished Scientist with
the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Research topics include electro-
magnetics, antennas, wave propagation, communications, radar, and
remote sensing. In 1989 and 1994, respectively, he spent a six-month
sabbatical with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. He is a
member of an Advisory Committee of the EU-Joint Research Centre
(Ispra/Italy). He is an advisor to the German Research Council (DFG), to
the Federal German Ministry for Research (BMBF), and to industry in
Germany.
Dr. Wiesbeck is an Honorary Life Member of IEEE GRS-S, a member of
the Heidelberger Academy of Sciences, and a member of acatech
(German Academy of Engineering and Technology). He is a member of
the IEEE GRS-S AdCom (1992–2000), Chairman of the GRS-S Awards
Committee (1994–1998, 2002-), Executive Vice President IEEE GRS-S
(1998–1999), President of IEEE GRS-S (2000–2001), Associate Editor Christian Sturm (Student Member, IEEE) received
IEEE-AP Transactions (1996–1999), and past Treasurer of the IEEE the Dipl.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering
German Section (1987–1996, 2003–2007). He has been General Chairman and information technologies from Universität
of the 1988 Heinrich Hertz Centennial Symposium, the 1993 Conference Karlsruhe (TH), Germany, in 2005.
on Microwaves and Optics (MIOP ’93), the Technical Chairman of Since February 2005, he has been with the
International mm-Wave and Infrared Conference 2004, Chairman of the Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik,
German Microwave Conference GeMIC 2006, and a member of the Universität Karlsruhe, as a Research Associate. His
scientific committees and Technical Program Committees of many main research areas are multiple antenna trans-
conferences. He has received many awards, most recently the IEEE mission systems and the propagation of ultra-
Millennium Award, the IEEE GRS Distinguished Achievement Award, the wide-band signals in indoor scenarios. He has
Honorary Doctorate (Dr. h.c.) from the University Budapest/Hungary, the experience in signal processing and antenna array processing tech-
Honorary Doctorate (Dr.-Ing. E.h.) from the University Duisburg/ niques. He is a Lecturer for the Carl-Cranz-Series for Scientific Education
Germany, and the IEEE Electromagnetics Award 2008. and for the European School of Antennas.

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