Antennas & Wave Propagation

UNIT - I

Antenna Basics & Dipole antennas

Syllubus :

Antenna Basics & Dipole antennas: Definition of antenna, Radiation Mechanism – single wire,
two wire, dipoles, Antenna Parameters - Radiation Patterns, Main Lobe and Side Lobes, Beam
widths, Beam Area, Radiation Intensity, Beam Efficiency, Directivity, Gain and Resolution,
Aperture Efficiency, Effective Height and length, Antenna Theorems. Radiation – Basic Maxwell‘s
equations, Retarded potential-Helmholtz Theorem, Radiation from Small Electric Dipole, Quarter
wave Monopole and Half wave Dipole – Current Distributions, Field Components, Radiated power,
Radiation Resistance, Beam width, Natural current distributions, far fields and patterns of Thin
Linear Center-fed Antennas of different lengths, Illustrative problems.

1. Definition of antenna :

 By Webster‘s Dictionary :
An antenna is “a usually metallic device (as a rod or wire) for radiating or receiving radio
waves.”
 IEEE Standard :
The antenna or aerial as ―a means for radiating or receiving radio waves. In other words the
antenna is the transitional structure between free-space and a guiding device.
The guiding device or transmission line may take the form of a coaxial line or a hollow pipe
(waveguide), and it is used to transport electromagnetic energy from the transmitting source to the
antenna or from the antenna to the receiver. In the former case, we have a transmitting antenna and in
the latter a receiving antenna.

An antenna is basically a transducer. It converts radio frequency (RF) signal into an

electromagnetic (EM) wave of the same frequency. It forms a part of transmitter as well as the receiver
circuits. Its equivalent circuit is characterized by the presence of resistance, inductance, and capacitance.

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The current produces a magnetic field and a charge produces an electrostatic field. These two in turn
create an induction field.

An antenna can be defined in the following different ways:

1. An antenna may be a piece of conducting material in the form of a wire, rod or any
other shape with excitation.
2. An antenna is a source or radiator of electromagnetic waves.
3. An antenna is a sensor of electromagnetic waves.
4. An antenna is a transducer.
5. An antenna is an impedance matching device.
6. An antenna is a coupler between a generator and space or vice-versa.

2. Radiation Mechanism :
The radiation from the antenna takes place when the electromagnetic field generated by the
source is transmitted to the antenna system through the Transmission line and separated from the
Antenna into free space.

Radiation from a Single Wire

Conducting wires are characterized by the motion of electric charges and the creation of current
flow. Assume that an electric volume charge density, q v (coulombs/m3), is distributed uniformly in a
circular wire of cross-sectional area A and volume V.

Figure: Charge uniformly distributed in a circular cross section cylinder wire.

Current density in a volume with volume charge density qv (C/m3)
Jz = qv vz (A/m2) (1)

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Surface current density in a section with a surface charge density qs (C/m2)

Js = qsvz (A/m) (2)
Current in a thin wire with a linear charge density ql (C/m):
Iz = ql vz (A) (3)
To accelerate/decelerate charges, one needs sources of electromotive force and/or
discontinuities of the medium in which the charges move. Such discontinuities can be bends or open
ends of wires, change in the electrical properties of the region, etc.

In summary:

It is a fundamental single wire antenna. From the principle of radiation there must be some time
varying current.

For a single wire antenna,

 If a charge is not moving, current is not created and there is no radiation.
 If charge is moving with a uniform velocity:
a)There is no radiation if the wire is straight, and infinite in extent.
b) There is radiation if the wire is curved, bent, discontinuous, terminated, or truncated, as shown in
Figure.
 If charge is oscillating in a time-motion, it radiates even if the wire is straight.

Figure : Wire Configurations for Radiation

Radiation from a Two Wire
Let us consider a voltage source connected to a two-conductor transmission line which is
connected to an antenna. This is shown in Figure (a). Applying a voltage across the two conductor
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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.
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 magnetic field intensity. Associated with the magnetic
field intensity are magnetic lines of force which are tangent to the magnetic field. We have accepted
that electric field lines start on positive charges and end on negative charges.
They also can start on a positive charge and end at infinity, start at infinity and end on a
negative charge, or form closed loops neither starting or ending on any charge. Magnetic field lines
always form closed loops encircling current-carrying conductors because physically there are no
magnetic charges. In some mathematical formulations, it is often convenient to introduce equivalent
magnetic charges and magnetic currents to draw a parallel between solutions involving electric and
magnetic sources.

The electric field lines drawn between the two conductors help to exhibit the Distribution of
charge. If we assume that the voltage source is sinusoidal, we expect the electric field between the
conductors to also be sinusoidal with a period equal to that of the applied source. The relative
magnitude of the electric field intensity is indicated by the density (bunching) of the lines of force with
the arrows showing the relative direction (positive or negative). The creation of time- varying electric
and magnetic fields between the conductors forms electromagnetic waves which travel along the
transmission line, as shown in Figure 1.11(a).

The electromagnetic waves enter the antenna and have associated with them electric charges and
corresponding currents. If we remove part of b the antenna structure, as shown in Figure (b), free-space
waves can be formed by ― connecting the open ends of the electric lines (shown dashed). The free-
space waves are also periodic but a constant phase point P0 moves outwardly with the speed of light and
travels a distance of λ/2 (to P1) in the time of one-half of a period.

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It has been shown that close to the antenna the constant phase point P0 moves faster than the
speed of light but approaches the speed of light at points far away from the antenna (analogous to phase
velocity inside a rectangular waveguide).

Radiation from a Dipole

Now let us attempt to explain the mechanism by which the electric lines of force are detached
from the antenna to form the free-space waves. This will again be illustrated by an example of a small
dipole antenna where the time of travel is negligible. This is only necessary to give a better physical
interpretation of the detachment of the lines of force. Although a somewhat simplified mechanism, it
does allow one to visualize the creation of the free-space waves. Figure(a) displays the lines of force
created between the arms of a small center-fed dipole in the first quarter of the period during which
time the charge has reached its maximum value (assuming a sinusoidal time variation) and the lines
have traveled outwardly a radial distance λ/4.
For this example, let us assume that the number of lines formed is three. During the next quarter
of the period, the original three lines travel an additional λ/4 (a total of λ/2 from the initial point) and
the charge density on the conductors begins to diminish. This can be thought of as being accomplished
by introducing opposite charges which at the end of the first half of the period have neutralized the
charges on the conductors. The lines of force created by the opposite charges are three and travel a
distance λ/4 during the second quarter of the first half, and they are shown dashed in Figure (b).

Fig. Formation of electric field line for short dipole

The end result is that there are three lines of force pointed upward in the first λ/4 distance and
the same number of lines directed downward in the second λ/4. Since there is no net charge on the
antenna, then the lines of force must have been forced to detach themselves from the conductors and to
unite together to form closed loops. This is shown in Figure(c). In the remaining second half of the
period, the same procedure is followed but in the opposite direction. After that, the process is repeated
and continues indefinitely and electric field patterns are formed.

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3. Antenna Parameters :

To describe the performance of an antenna, definitions of various parameters are necessary.

Some of the parameters are interrelated and not all of them need be specified for complete description of
the antenna performance.
An antenna radiation pattern or antenna pattern is defined as ―a mathematical function or a
graphical representation of the radiation properties of the antenna as a function of space coordinates. In
most cases, the radiation pattern is determined in the far field region and is represented as a function of
the directional coordinates.

Often the field and power patterns are normalized with respect to their maximum value, yielding
normalized field and power patterns. Also, the power pattern is usually plotted on a logarithmic scale or
more commonly in decibels (dB). This scale is usually desirable because a logarithmic scale can
accentuate in more details those parts of the pattern that have very low values, which later we will refer
to as minor lobes.
For an antenna, the

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a. field pattern( in linear scale) typically represents a plot of the magnitude of the electric or
magnetic field as a function of the angular space.
b. power pattern( in linear scale) typically represents a plot of the square of the magnitude of the
electric or magnetic field as a function of the angular space.
c. power pattern( in dB) represents the magnitude of the electric or magnetic field, in decibels, as a
function of the angular space.

Below Figures a,b are principal plane field and power patterns in polar coordinates. The same pattern is
presented in Fig.c in rectangular coordinates on a logarithmic, or decibel, scale which gives the minor
lobe levels in more detail.
The angular beamwidth at the half-power level or half-power beamwidth (HPBW) (or −3-dB
beamwidth) and the beamwidth between first nulls (FNBW) as shown in Fig. ,are important pattern
parameters.
Dividing a field component by its maximum value, we obtain a normalized or relative field
pattern which is a dimensionless number with maximum value of unity.

The half-power level occurs at those angles θ and φ for which E θ(θ, φ)n = 1/√2=0.707. At
distances that are large compared to the size of the antenna and large compared to the wavelength, the
shape of the field pattern is independent of distance. Usually the patterns of interest are for this far-field
condition. Patterns may also be expressed in terms of the power per unit area [or Poynting vector S(θ,
φ)]. Normalizing this power with respect to its maximum value yields a normalized power pattern as a
function of angle which is a dimensionless number with a maximum value of unity.

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Radian and Steradian :

The measure of a plane angle is a radian. One radian is defined as the plane angle with its vertex
at the center of a circle of radius r that is subtended by an arc whose length is r. A graphical illustration
is shown in Figure (a). Since the circumference of a circle of radius r is C = 2πr, there are 2π rad (2πr/r)
in a full circle.

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The measure of a solid angle is a steradian. One steradian is defined as the solid angle with its
vertex at the center of a sphere of radius r that is subtended by a spherical surface area equal to that of a
square with each side of length r. A graphical illustration is shown in Figure (b). Since the area of a
sphere of radius r is A = 4πr2 , there are 4π sr (4πr2 /r2 ) in a closed sphere.

Beam Area (or beam solid angle):

In polar two-dimensional coordinates an incremental area dA on the surface of a sphere is the product of
the length r dθ in the θ direction (latitude) and r sin θ dφ in the φ direction (longitude), as shown in Fig.
Thus,
dA = (r dθ)(r sinθ dφ) = r 2 dΩ ……………….(1)
Where
dΩ = solid angle expressed in steradians (sr) or square degrees
dΩ = solid angle subtended by the area dA

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The area of the strip of width r dθ extending around the sphere at a constant angle θ is given by
(2πr sin θ)(r dθ). Integrating this for θ values from 0 to π yields the area of the sphere. Thus,

.…….(2)

where 4π = solid angle subtended by a sphere, sr. Thus,

1 steradian = 1 sr = (solid angle of sphere)/(4π)
= 1 rad2 =(180/π)2 deg2 = 3282.8064 square degrees ..…(3)
Therefore,
4π steradians = 3282.8064 × 4π = 41,252.96 ∼=41,253 square degrees
= 41,253 solid angle in a sphere ….(4)
The beam area or beam solid angle or Ω A of an antenna (Fig. 2–5b) is given by the integral of the
normalized power pattern over a sphere 4π sr.

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where dΩ= sin θ dθ dφ sr.

The beam area ΩA is the solid angle through which all of the power radiated by the antenna would
stream if P(θ, φ) maintained its maximum value over Ω A and was zero elsewhere. Thus the power
radiated = P(θ, φ) ΩA watts. The beam area of an antenna can often be described approximately in terms
of the angles subtended by the half-power points of the main lobe in the two principal planes.
Thus,

………(6)
where θHP and φHP are the half-power beamwidths (HPBW) in the two principal planes, minor lobes
being neglected.

Radiation Intensity :

The power radiated from an antenna per unit solid angle is called the radiation intensity U
(watts per steradian or per square degree). The normalized power pattern of the previous section can
also be expressed in terms of this parameter as the ratio of the radiation intensity U(θ, φ), as a function
of angle, to its maximum value. Thus,

Whereas the Poynting vector S depends on the distance from the antenna (varying inversely as
the square of the distance), the radiation intensity U is independent of the distance, assuming in both
cases that we are in the far field of the antenna.

Beam Efficiency :
The (total) beam area ΩA (or beam solid angle) consists of the main beam area (or solid angle) ΩM plus
the minor-lobe area (or solid angle) Ωm. Thus,
ΩA = ΩM + Ωm
The ratio of the main beam area to the (total) beam area is called the (main) beam efficiency εM. Thus,

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The ratio of the minor-lobe area (Ωm) to the (total) beam area is called the stray factor. Thus,

It follows that

DIRECTIVITY D AND GAIN G :

The directivity D and the gain G are probably the most important parameters of an antenna. The
directivity of an antenna is equal to the ratio of the maximum power density P(θ, φ) max (watts/m2) to its
average value over a sphere as observed in the far field of an antenna. Thus,

The directivity is a dimensionless ratio ≥1.

The average power density over a sphere is given by

Therefore, the directivity

And

where Pn(θ, φ) dΩ = P(θ, φ)/P(θ, φ)max = normalized power pattern

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Thus, the directivity is the ratio of the area of a sphere (4π sr) to the beam area Ω A of the antenna The
smaller the beam area, the larger the directivity D.
For an antenna that radiates over only half a sphere the beam area ΩA = 2π sr in fig and the directivity is
D = 4π/2π = 2 (= 3.01 dBi) (5)
where dBi = decibels over isotropic
Note that the idealized isotropic antenna (ΩA = 4π sr) has the lowest possible directivity D = 1.
All actual antennas have directivities greater than 1 (D > 1). The simple short dipole has a beam area
ΩA = 2.67π sr and a directivity D = 1.5 (= 1.76 dBi).
The gain G of an antenna is an actual or realized quantity which is less than the directivity D due
to ohmic losses in the antenna. In transmitting, these losses involve power fed to the antenna which is
not radiated but heats the antenna structure. A mismatch in feeding the antenna can also reduce the gain.
The ratio of the gain to the directivity is the antenna efficiency factor. Thus,
G = kD (6)
where k = efficiency factor (0 < k < 1), dimensionless
In many well-designed antennas, k may be close to unity. In practice, G is always less than D, with D its
maximum idealized value.
If the half-power beamwidths of an antenna are known, its directivity

Since (7) neglects minor lobes, a better approximation is a

If the antenna has a main half-power beamwidth (HPBW) = 20◦ in both principal planes, its directivity.
(9)

which means that the antenna radiates 100 times the power in the direction of the main beam as a non-
directional, isotropic antenna.
If an antenna has a main lobe with both half-power beamwidths (HPBWs) = 20◦, its directivity from (7)
is approximately

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which means that the antenna radiates a power in the direction of the main-lobe maximum which
is about 100 times as much as would be radiated by a non-directional (isotropic) antenna for the same
power input.
DIRECTIVITY AND RESOLUTION :
The resolution of an antenna may be defined as equal to half the beam width between first nulls
(FNBW)/2, for example, an antenna whose pattern FNBW = 2 ◦ has a resolution of 1◦ and, accordingly,
should be able to distinguish between transmitters on two adjacent satellites in the Clarke geostationary
orbit separated by 1◦.
Thus, when the antenna beam maximum is aligned with one satellite, the first null coincides with
the adjacent satellite. Half the beamwidth between first nulls is approximately equal to the half-power
beamwidth (HPBW) or

The product of the FNBW/2 in the two principal planes of the antenna pattern is a measure of the
antenna beam area. Thus,

It then follows that the number N of radio transmitters or point sources of radiation distributed
uniformly over the sky which an antenna can resolve is given approximately by

However

and we may conclude that ideally the number of point sources an antenna can resolve is
numerically equal to the directivity of the antenna or

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