ENE/EIE 324 Telecommunication Laboratory

The Antenna Radiation Patterns

 Outline

 Introduction

 Antenna Terminologies

 Radiation Characteristics

 Experimental Procedures
Antennas :: 1st Chapter
Brought to you by
Asst. Prof. THORiN Theeradejvanichkul
Antennas :: Definition

 The antenna is a device which radiates or receives EM waves

 Antenna is the transition between a guiding device (transmission

lines, waveguide) and free space (or another unbounded
medium)

 It converts the energy of a guided wave into the energy of a free-

space wave ( or vice versa)

 At the same time, radiated power has a certain desired pattern of

distribution in space
 Radiation is caused by accelerated or decelerated charges (time-
varying current element)
Radiation Characteristics of a Dipole Ant
Double-layer Printed Yagi Antenna with Microstrip Feed
Field Radiation Zones
 Reactive Near Field

 Radiative Near Field (Fresnel)

 Radiative Far Field (Fraunhofer)

 Field Radiation Zones
 Reactive Near Field
• The region immediately surrounding the antennas, where the
reactive field dominates
• The angular field distribution is different at different distances from
the antenna.
• A region of sphere with the antenna at its center, and with a radius
•
rRNF  0.62 D  3

• where D is the largest dimension of the antenna and  is the

wavelength of the radiation
• r 1  jkr
• Phases of E and H fields are close to quadrature and e 1
• High reactive wave impedance
• High content of non-propagating stored energy near the antenna
 Radiative Near Field (Fresnel)
• Intermediate region between the reactive near-field and the far-field
regions
0.62 D   r  2 D 
3 2

• Radiation field is more significant

• Angular field distribution is still dependent on the distance from the ant
• Field expressions reduce to Fresnel Integrals
• Fields are predominantly in-phase
• Wavefronts are not yet spherical; pattern varies with distance
 Radiative Far Field (Fraunhofer)
r  2D2 
• Electric and Magnetic fields are in-phase
• Only the terms ~ 1/r are considered when r >> 1
 jkr
• Wavefront is spherical; field range dependence is e r
• Angular field distribution does not depend on the distance
from the source, i.e., the far-field pattern is established.
• The field is a TEM wave and Er and Hr terms are neglected
• Wave impedance is real ( E H   120  377 )
• Power flow is real; no stored energy
Field Radiation Zones
 Spherical Coordinate System




 
Angles and Solid Angles
Differential Solid Angle
 Definition

 The complex Poynting: S  P  1 E  H

*

2
1 *
 Average Power Flux Density is the real part of P: Pav  Re( E  H )
2
 The Radiated Power is the average power radiated by the antenna.
 rad   pav  dS 
1
2  Re E 
 H *
 dS
S S
 The Radiation Intensity (U): the power radiated within unit solid angle:
 rad d  rad
U  lim  , [W/sr]
 0  d
 A useful expression:
 rad   Ud , W
Directivity of an antenna::

 is the ratio of the radiation intensity in this direction and the radiation
intensity averaged over all directions.

 The radiation intensity averaged over all directions is equal to the total
power radiated by the antenna divided by 4

 If a direction is not specified, then the direction of maximum radiation is implied

 It can be defined as the ratio of the radiation intensity (RI) of the antenna in a
given direction and the RI of an isotropic radiator fed by the same amount of
power: U ( ,  ) U ( ,  )
D( ,  )   4
U av 
U max
 and Dmax  Do  4

 The directivity is a dimensionless quantity. The maximum directivity is always  1
Radiation Pattern Lobes
Yagi Antenna
Isotropic Radiator
Directional Radiator
Omnidirectional
Radiator
Pattern Beamwidth

 Half-Power Beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between 2 vectors,

originating at the pattern’s origin and passing through these points of
the major lobe where the radiation intensity is half its maximum.

 First-Null Beamwidth (FNBW) is the angle between 2 vectors,

originating at the pattern’s origin and tangent to the main beam at its
base. Often, the approximation FNBW  2 x HPBW is used.

 The HPBW is the best parameter to describe the antenna resolution

properties. In radar technology as well as in radio-astronomy, the antenna
resolution capability is of primary importance.
Anechoic Chamber
Monopole Antenna
Helical 200 MHz
Fields Derivation via a Vector Magnetic Potential
Differential Form of Maxwell’s Equations

B
 E   M Faraday’s Law
t
D
 H  J Ampere’s Law
t
  D  v Gauss’s Law

B  0 Gauss’s Law

 Vector Magnetic Potential
 In electrostatics, we have a scalar electric potential V that is related to E

E  V
 An analogous term for magnetic fields is the vector magnetic potential A

 This vector magnetic potential A is often used for antenna calculations.

 Recall, the point form of Gauss’s law for magnetic fields is B  0
because there are no physically existing magnetic charges.

 B is said to be solenoidal

 A vector identity states that the divergence of the curl of any vector A is 0
  (  A)  0
 We can therefore define B in terms of A as
B   A
Volume Current Density

 Let Q be an arbitrary volume

current source

 P is an observation point

 RPQ is the vector from the point

source to the observation point

 j  RPQ
e
A    JV (Q ) dV
4 RPQ
Surface Current Density
 j  RPQ
e
A    J S (Q ) dS
4 RPQ
 /2
J S ( x, y )  lim
 0 
 /2
JV ( x, y, z ) dz, A/m

Linear Current on a Thin Wire

 j  RPQ
e
A    I (Q ) dl
4 RPQ
I ( z )  lim
 x 0 
 
J V ( x, y, z )dxdy, A
 y 0 x y
 Far-field Approximation

 jkRPQ  jk ( r  r r ')
e e

RPQ r

where r is the position distance of the observation point,

r’ is the position vector from the origin to the source
r is the unit position vector of the observation point
 Field Determination
The vector magnetic potential is related to the magnetic flux density and the magnetic
field intensity as:
B  H   A
The corresponding electric field intensity can be found as:

E   ar  H
where  is the wave impedance in the medium and aris the direction of radiation energy
An Infinitesimal Dipole (or Hertzian Dipole)

An extremely short dipole with a uniform current distribution:

 j  RPQ
o I e
A z
4 
l
RPQ
dl

e j r
A  o I l z
4 r

This is an important result because the field radiated by any

complex antenna in a linear medium is a superposition of the
fields due to the current elements on the antenna surface.
The transformation from rectangular to spherical coordinates is given by:

 Ar   sin  cos  sin  sin  cos    Ax 

  
 A   cos  cos  cos  sin   sin    Ay 
 A    sin  cos  0   Az 
 
Applying the transformation matrix to the expression of A from previous
slide, we’ll get:

e j r
Ar  Az cos   o I l cos 
4 r
e j r
A   Az sin    o I l sin 
4 r
A  0
Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurement …
with Dreamcatcher
Objectives
 To familiarize with the ME 1300 transmitter and receiver modules

 To learn the usage of different antennas

 To measure and plot antenna radiation patterns

Equipment Required
 ME 1300 Training Kit

 RF Signal Generator (recommended model: Agilent N9310A)

 A pair of antennas:: TX and RX

 PC computer with RadPat software installed

The Equipment Setup
The Operation Block Diagram
The RadPat Software

 A tool to communicate with the RF detector

 Capable of rotating the receiver module antenna and displaying

the antenna angular position

 Allows the configuration of serial communications and detect

serial communication errors

 Capable of collecting measurement data from the RF detector

and displaying the data in a list

 Plotting antenna radiation pattern on the polar chart

 The RadPat
Graphical
interface:

 1. Rotator Control Tab

 2. Settings Tab
 3. Rotator Measurement Results Display panel
 4. Antenna Radiation Pattern Polar Chart
 5. Status Bar
The RadPat Software Configuration
 1. Communicates with the receiver module and the RF detector
 2. Open the RadPat software; click Settings at the menu bar, select Comport.
The dialog box will appear.
 3. In the ComPort tab, select the desired PC Comport and make sure that the
selected PC Comport matches the one set earlier for the PC
 4. Set the Baud Rate to 57600. To verify ComPort connection, click Check
ComPort Connection
 5. Click the Instrument tab and unselect Enable Instrument. The RF detector
will be activated when the Enable Instrument is unselected.
 6. In the RF signal generator, set Frequency to 915 MHz. This is the frequency of the
antenna-under-test (AUT)
 7. Set the RF signal generator Power Level to 5 dBm
 8. Click the Measurement tab. This allow you to change the measurement parameters
as shown below
 9. Deg/Step in the Rotator panel defines the turning angle of the rotator. The program
will observe and record the data for every step position defined in Deg/Step. The
minimum and maximum values are 5o and 30o, respectively. The default Deg/Step is 10.
 10. Radiation Pattern Plot defines the 0-dB reference value for the radiation
pattern. By default, it is set to -20 dBm
 11. Scale lets you adjust the resolution of the radiation pattern on the polar
chart. Set the resolution to 15 dB/Div
 12. Click Connect after configuring all the desired parameters. This will bring
the rotator back to its home position.
 13. The Info Display tab shows the information of the configured parameters
and the operations of RadPat.
 14. After the homing operation has completed, the window will return to the
RadPat main interface. Click Run at the menu bar to perform the Start, Pause,
Stop and Homing operations of the rotator.
 15. Click Graph at menu bar to Normalize or Undo the normalization of the
radiation pattern.
 16. RadPat allows you to save the plotted data and display the data when
necessary.
 To save data, click File at the menu bar, and then click Save As. Select the
desired directory to save the plotted data.
 To recall the saved data, click File at the menu bar, and then click Open. Select
the corresponding directory to retrieve the data
 17. You may click a particular plotted data in the DATA POINT panel. The
selected point in the radiation pattern will be indicated as a red circle
The Equipment Setup
The Radiation Pattern Measurement
 1. Set up the equipment as shown (in the previous slide)
 2. 915 MHz /2 dipole antennas are used for the measurement. Mount the
dipole antenna on the top connector of the fixed antenna holder on the
transmitter module (TX). This is the transmitting antenna. Orientate the antenna
for H-Plane (Azimuthal) radiation and broadside to the other AUT
 3. Use an RF coaxial cable to connect the RF OUT connector of an RF generator
to the RF IN connector of the transmitter module (TX)
 4. Mount the other 915 MHz dipole antenna (AUT) on the top connector of the
rotatable antenna holder on the receiver module (RX). This is receiving antenna.
Orientate the receiving antenna broadside to the transmitting antenna for H-
plane radiation and max reception
Side View

Transmitter Module Receiever Module

Top View
Top View
 5. Connect the RF IN connector and RF OUT connector on the receiver module
(RX) using a coaxial cable (to send the signal back to the RF detector).
 6. Adjust the distance between the antennas to 50 cm and make sure that they
are in the far-field region. Record the distance and the heights of the antennas in
the corresponding record form as given.
 7. Open the RadPat software and select the desired PC ComPort under Settings
> ComPort tab.
 8. Set Baud Rate to 57600 under Settings > ComPort tab. Click Instrument tab
and unselect Enable Instrument. The RF detector will be activated when Enable
Instrument is unselected.
 9. In the RF signal generator, set Frequency to 915 MHz. This is the frequency of
the AUT
 10. Set RF signal generator Power Level to 5 dBm
 11. Click the Measurement tab and set Deg/Step to 10, 0-dB Ref: to -20 dBm,
and Scale to 10 dB/Div
 12. Click Connect to bring the rotator back to its home position
 13. After homing operation, the window will return to the RadPad main
interface. Click Run at the menu to perform the Start, Pause, Stop and Homing
operations of the rotator.
 14. Click Run at the menu bar followed by Start to begin the antenna radiation
pattern plotting.
 15. Observe the plotting and record the received signal strength at each step
(e.g., 10o) in the corresponding record form as given
 16. Determine the value of max PR, based on the radiation pattern plotting and
calculate the Normalized (dB) value for each step
Table for filling in the results
 11. Repeat the experiment with the dipole antennas at 2.4 GHz
 12. Repeat the experiment with the dipole antenna at 915 MHz and another
dipole antenna at 2.4 GHz
 13. Repeat the experiment with the dipole antenna and the monopole antenna
at 915 MHz
 14. Repeat the experiment with the spiral antennas at 915 MHz
 15. Repeat the experiment with the dipole and the Yagi antennas at 915 MHz
 16. In your discussion, explain the difference between data collected from all
experiments
 References
 1. Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurement Laboratory Manual by
Dreamcatcher Asia, distributed by Acehub Vista Sdn. Bhd.
2nd More and MORE
based on such and such
 2nd order Active Low Pass Filter

The E-plane pattern of the slot and H-plane pattern of the dipole are omnidirectional,
while the slot H-plane pattern is the same as the dipole E-plane pattern.

As a result, the polarization of the radiation produced by a horizontal slot is vertical.

If a vertical slot is used, the polarization is horizontal. A second difference between the
slot antenna and its complementary dipole is that the direction of the lines of electric and
magnetic force abruptly reverse from one side of the metal sheet to the other. In the case
of the dipole, the electric lines have the same general direction while the magnetic lines
form continuous closed loops. When energy is applied to the slot antenna, currents flow
in the metal sheet. These currents are not confined to the edges of the slot but rather
spread out over the sheet. Radiation then takes place from both sides of the sheet. In the
case of the complementary dipole, however, the currents are more confined; so a much
greater magnitude of current is required to produce a given power output using the
dipole antenna.
Experimental Procedure
Experimental Setup
Our goal
 References
1. N. K. Nikolova, Lecture notes, McMaster University, Canada, 2014
2. S. M. Wentworth, Applied Electromagnetics: Early Transmission Lines Approach,
Wiley, 2018
 MORE LITERATURE SOURCES
Alternative sources:
1.J. D. Kraus and R. J. Marhefka, Antennas (for all Applications), 3rd ed.
McGraw-Hill, 2002. (the previous editions authored by Kraus only are fine,
too).
2.W. L. Stutzman and G. A. Thiele, Antenna Theory and Design, 2nd ed., 1998.
3.R. S. Elliot, Antenna Theory and Design, A Classical Reissue, 2003.
4.Elsherbeni and Inman, Antenna Design & Visualization Using MATLAB, 2006.
5.V. Fusco, Foundations of Antenna Theory and Techniques, Pearson, 2008.

On antennas and propagation:

1.R. E. Collin, Antennas and Radiowave Propagation. McGraw-Hill, 1985.
2.K. Siwiak, Radiowave Propagation and Antennas for Personal
Communications, 2nd ed. Artech House, 1998.
3.J. Doble, Introduction to Radio Propagation for Fixed and Mobile
Communications. Artech House, 1996.

On smart antennas:
1.T. K. Sarkar, M. C. Wicks, M. Salazar-Palma, R. J. Bonneau, Smart Antennas.
Wiley, 2003.
2. G. T. Okamoto, Smart Antenna Systems and Wireless LANs, Kluwer, 1999.