Antenna Systems

In radio engineering, an antenna (American English) or

aerial (British English) is the interface between radio waves
propagating through space and electric currents moving in
metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver.

In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an electric

current to the antenna's terminals, and the antenna radiates
the energy from the current as electromagnetic waves (radio
waves).

In reception, an antenna intercepts some of the power of a

radio wave in order to produce an electric current at its
terminals, that is applied to a receiver to be amplified.
Antennas are essential components of all radio equipment.
An antenna is an array of conductors (elements), electrically connected to the
receiver or transmitter. Antennas can be designed to transmit and receive radio
waves in all horizontal directions equally (omnidirectional antennas), or
preferentially in a particular direction (directional, or high-gain, or "beam"
antennas). An antenna may include components not connected to the
transmitter, parabolic reflectors, horns, or parasitic elements, which serve to
direct the radio waves into a beam or other desired radiation pattern. Strong
directivity and good efficiency when transmitting are hard to achieve with
antennas with dimensions that are much smaller than a half wavelength.

The first antennas were built in 1888 by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in
his pioneering experiments to prove the existence of waves predicted by the
electromagnetic theory of James Clerk Maxwell. Hertz placed dipole antennas
at the focal point of parabolic reflectors for both transmitting and receiving.
Starting in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi began development of antennas practical
for long-distance, wireless telegraphy, for which he received a Nobel Prize.
 Antenna Parameters
• Radiation Pattern
– Directivity
– Gain
– Planes ( E or H, Elevation or Azimuth)
– Lobes
• Input Impedance
• Link Budget
 Antenna Types
• Dipole
• Folded Dipole
• Monopole
• ARRAYS: Yagi-Uda (parasitic arrays)
• Phased Arrays
• Loop *Ground Plane
• Helical *Discone
• Turnstile
• Microstrip Patch
• Dish
 Monopole Antenna

• ¼ wavelength fed at one end

• Fed with unbalanced feedline with ground conductor
connected to earth ground.
• In practice it usually requires an array of radials to develop
a better ground plane. (Marconi antenna)
• When used at low frequencies the field should be
vertically polarized and antenna could be a tower.
• The tower is ground insulated and fed at a point above
ground with a Gamma match. Z increases upward.
Monopole Antenna
 Dipole Antenna
A dipole antenna commonly consists of two identical
conductive elements such as metal wires or rods. The
driving current from the transmitter is applied, or for
receiving antennas the output signal to the receiver is taken,
between the two halves of the antenna.
 Folded Dipole Antenna

• Same length as 1/2 wave dipole

• Parallel conductors joined at each end separated by an appropriate
spacing.
• 300 ohm radiation resistance: Even though current is same magnitude
but out of phase with respect to the wire, in SPACE the currents are
actually in the same direction due to FOLDING of antenna.
• Given the same conditions a dipole and folded dipole radiate the same
amount of power.
• The current at the feedpoint of the folded dipole is only half the total
current.
If the power is the same as the 1/2 wave dipole and current is reduced by half due
to folding then feedpoint voltage must be doubled.

I
P  VI  2V  
2
R V / I
4V
R  I / 2 
2V
 4R
I
The result of twice the voltage and half the current is a feedpoint impedance
that is four times that of a dipole.
 Ground Plane Antenna

• Can use a COUNTERPOISE system of radials cut

to ¼ wavelength to develop ground plane elevated
above earth.
• If used in a mobile application the roof of the
vehicle can serve as a ground plane.
• At low frequencies a whip antenna can be used
with a loading coil.
 Loop Antenna

• Typically a receiving antenna.

• Uses an air core with radiation in the plane of the
loop.
• A ferrite core loopstick is also used typically in
A.M receivers.
• Radiation is in same plane as the loop but
broadside to the loopstick
• Can also be used as a coil in the R.F. tuned circuit.
 5/8th wavelength Antenna

• Application as a mobile or base station antenna..

• Omnidirectional response in horizontal plane.

• Advantage is realized in the concentration of low angle
radiation in horizontal direction.
• Does not require as good a ground plane because feedpoint
Z at 5/8th wavelength is higher therefore lower current.
• Z is lowered to match 50 ohm feedline by matching
section.
 Helical Antenna

• Helix is spiral
• An example: ¼ wavelength dipole shortened into
helix (rubber ducky) for handheld transeivers.
• Typically several wavelengths long and used with
a ground plane.
• Circumference is ½ wavelength and the turns are
¼ wavelength apart.
• Application: VHF satellite transmission. (cross
polarization)
 Discone Antenna

• Widebandth – 10:1 range.

• Omnidirectiional in horizontal plane.
• Vertically polarized.
• Gain is similar to a dipole. Z approaches 50 ohms.
• Application: RX scanner antenna for VHF and
UHF.
• Can also be used for TX.
 Parasitic Array – Yagi-Uda
• Array antennas can be used to increase directivity.
• Parasitic array does not require a direct connection to each
element by a feed network.
• The parasite elements acquire their excitation from near
field coupling by the driven element.
• A Yagi-Uda antenna is a linear array of parallel dipoles.
• The basic Yagi unit consists of three elements:
• 1. Driver or driven element
• 2. Reflector
• 3. Director
 Yagi-Uda Antenna
• Develops an endfire radiation pattern.
• Optimum spacing for gain of a reflector and driven
element is 0.15 to 0.25 wavelengths
• Director to director spacings are 0.2 to 0.35 wavelengths
apart.
• Reflector length is typically 0.5 wavelengths or 1.05 that
of the driven element.
• The driven element is calculated at resonance without the
presence of parasitic elements.
• The directors are usually 10 to 20% shorter than at
resonance.
 Yagi-Uda antennas

• Gain is related to boom length and number of directors.

• Max directivity of a 3 element Yagi is 9 dBi or 7dBd.
• Addition of directors up to 5 or 6 provides significant
increase in gain. Addition of more directors has much less
impact on gain.
• Increasing N from 3 to 4 results in 1 dB increase.
• Adding a director to go from 9 to 10 presents a 0.2 dB gain
improvement.
• Adding more reflectors has minimal impact on gain
however does impact on feedpoint Z and the backlobe.
 Yagi-Uda

• Metal booms can be implemented because voltage is at

zero midway through the element.
• Other factors that effect resonant lengths:
• 1. A comparatively large boom will require
parasitic elements to increase their length.
• 2. Length to diameter ratio of the elements.
 Log-periodic antenna

A log-periodic antenna (LP), also known as a log-periodic

array or log-periodic aerial, is a multi-element, directional antenna
 designed to operate over a wide band of frequencies. It was
invented by John Dunlavy in 1952.
One large application for LPDAs is in rooftop terrestrial 
television antennas, since they must have large bandwidth to cover
the wide television bands of roughly 54–88 and 174–216 MHz in the 
VHF and 470–890 MHz in the UHF while also having high gain for
adequate fringe reception. One widely used design for television
reception combined a Yagi for UHF reception in front of a larger
LPDA for VHF.
 L1 L2 L3
    ......
L2 L3 L4
where L is respective element lengths


D1 D2 D3
   ..... L1 
D2 D3 D4  tan
where D represents spacings between elements 2 D1 2
and apex of angle clo sin g them.
D1 is shortest.

Alpha is the angle of the apex of tapered elements and is

typically 30 degrees.
 Phased Array Antennas

Monopole Array
Collinear Array
Broadside Array
Endfire Array
 Collinear Array

• Two or more half wavelength sections.

• A broadside array because the axes of the elements are
along same line.
• Half wave sections are linked by ¼ wave transmission
lines. They develop a phase reversal to keep all dipoles in
phase.
• Usually vertical with an omnidirectional pattern in the
horizontal plane with a narrow angle of radiation in the
vertical.
• What would be a good application for this system?
 Multi-Element Broadside and Endfire Arrays
A broadside array is a one or two dimensional array in which the
direction of radiation (main lobe) of the radio waves is perpendicular to
the plane of the antennas. To radiate perpendicularly, the antennas must
be fed in phase.

• BROADSIDE elements are spaced ½ wavelength apart.(180 degree

phase shift.
• In order to maintain a broadside presentation of the field the elements
are fed out of phase.
• ENDFIRE elements are also ½ wavelength apart Elements are fed in
phase.
• Radiation from all elements sum of the end.
 Parabolic Reflector

• Gain is a function of parabolic reflector diameter,

surface accuracy and illumination of the reflector
by the feed mechanism.(focal point)
• Optimum illumination occurs when the power at
the reflector edge is 10 dB less than at the centre.
• F/D ratios of 0.4 to 0.6 will deliver maximum
gains.
• A collimated beam of radiation will be produced.
  2 D 2
G
2
where G is the power RATIO with respect to isotropic
radiator
  efficiency
  free space wavelength

70
 Beamwidth
D
f = focal point
2
D
f  D = dish diameter
16d D = depth from plane at mouth of dish to vertex.
 Microstrip Antennas
• MICROSTRIP LINE:
• In a microstrip line most of the eletric field lines are concentrated
underneath the microstrip.
• Because all fields do not exist between microstrip and ground plane we
have a different dielectric constant than that of the substrate. It is less,
depending on geometry.
• The electric field underneath the microstrip line is uniform across the line. It
is possible to excite an undesired tranverse resonant mode if the frequency
or line width increases. It now behaves like a resonator consuming power.
• A standing wave develops across its width as it acts as a resonator. The
electric field is at a maximum at both edges and goes to zero in the centre.
 Microstrip antennas

• Microstrip discontinuities can be used to advantage.

• Abrupt truncation of microstrip lines develop fringing fields storing
energy and acting like a capacitor because changes in electric field
distribution are greater than that for magnetic field distribution.
• The line is electrically longer than its physical length due to
capacitance.
• For a microstrip patch the width is much larger than that of the line the
fringing fields also radiate.
• An equivalent circuit for a microstrip patch illustrates a parallel
combination of conductance and capacitance at each edge.
• Radiation from the patch is linearly polarized with the E field lying in
the same direction as path length.
 o

 re
where o is free space wavelength
 re  relative dielectric cons tan t


L  0.5o /  re
  12 H  
1 / 2

 effr  0.5 r  1   r  11   

  W  
W = 0.5 to 2 X L
 Matching Techniques

• Balun
• Lumped components
• Gamma Match
• Delta Match
• Loading Coil
• Capacitive Hat
Essential Antenna Performance Specifications

• Gain and Directivity

• Bandwidth
• Field Patterns
• Beamwidth
• Impedance
• Front to Back Ratio
• Polarization