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Antenna

HALF WAVE DIPOLE

RADIATION PATTERN OF HALF

WAVE DIPOLE
Dipoles
have
an
radiation
pattern,
doughnut symmetrical
about the axis of the
dipole. The radiation
is maximum at right
angles to the dipole,
dropping off to zero
on the antenna's axis.

FOLDED DIPOLE
Folded antenna is a single antenna
but it consists of two elements.
First element is fed directly while
second one is coupled inductively at
its end.
Radiation pattern of folded dipole is
same as that of dipole antenna i.e
figure of eight (8).

LOOP ANTENNA
Radiation pattern of loop
antenna is a doughnut
pattern.
Can be circular or square
loop
No radiation is received
normal to the plane of loop
and null is obtained in this
direction.
Application:
Used
for
direction finding applications

TURNSTILE ANTENNA
A turnstile antenna is a set of two
dipole antennas aligned at right
angles to each other and fed 90
degrees out-of-phase.
The name reflects that the antenna
looks like a turnstile when mounted
horizontally.
When mounted horizontally the
antenna is nearly omnidirectional on
the horizontal plane.

 When mounted vertically the

antenna is directional to a right
angle to its plane and is
circularly polarized.
The turnstile antenna is often
used
for
communication
satellites
because,
being
circularly
polarized,
the
polarization of the signal doesn't
rotate when the satellite rotates.

RHOMBIC ANTENNA

YAGI-UDA ANTENNA

RADIATION PATTERN YAGI

UDA

Radiation Patterns

Omni-Directional

Radiates RF energy in all directions from antenna

RF Energy
Antenna
Top View

RF Basics - OmniDirectional Antennas

Omni-Directional Antenna

Radiates RF energy in all directions from antenna

Usually used at the Master and Repeater Nodes

Omni-directional
Antenna Vertical
Polarized

360 degrees

Top View
Radiation Pattern
Vertical Polarization

Side View
Radiation Pattern
Vertical Polarization

RF Basics - Antenna Gain

As Antenna Gain increases the Antenna Pattern
becomes more directional
Omni- Directional Antenna Shown Below
3 dB Points

360 degrees

Remains
Unchanged

Top View
Radiation Pattern
Vertical Polarization

Vertical Beam
Width (degrees)

Side View
Radiation Pattern
Vertical Polarization

Radiation Patterns

Directional

Compresses RF Energy in one direction

RF Energy

Antenna
Top View

RF Basics - Directional
Directional
Antennas
Radiates RF energy in one direction

Usually used at Remote Nodes in a Point to Multi-point system or Point

to Point Site

3 dB Points
3 dB Points

Vertical Beam
Width
(degrees)

Horizontal
Beam Width
(degrees)

Back Lobe
Back Lobe
Top View Radiation
Pattern Vertically
Polarized

Side View
Radiation Pattern
Vertically Polarized

RF Basics - Antenna Gain

As Antenna Gain increases the Antenna Pattern becomes more

directional

Directional Antenna Shown Below

3 dB Points
3 dB Points

Horizontal Beam
Width (degrees)

Vertical Beam
Width (degrees)
Back Lobe
Back Lobe
Top View
Radiation Pattern
Vertically Polarized

Side View
Radiation Pattern
Vertically Polarized

Antenna Polarization

Vertical Or Horizontal Polarization

Polarization is the radiating element referenced to earth

All nodes must be the same polarization

Cancellation of signal if mismatched

Vertical Polarization for Most Radio Applications

Mixture of Omni and Directional Antennas
No Horizontal Polarization of Omni-Directional

Directional Antenna
Vertical Polarized

Omni-directional Antenna
Vertical Polarized

Antenna Types

1/2 Wave Antenna

Close to Isotropic Radiation

Approximately 3 dB gain

No ground planes needed

Antenna Types
Cone of Silence

1/4 Wave Antenna

Unity Gain

Requires Ground Planes

Cone of Silence above

and below antenna

Cone of Silence

Continuation.

DISCONE ANTENNA,HELICAL
ANTENNA,UHF&MICROWAVE
ANTENNA

DISCONE ANTENNA

It is characterized by very wide

bandwidth, covering
approximately a 10:1 frequency
range, and an Omnidirectional
pattern in the horizontal plane.

The signal is vertically polarized,

and the gain is comparable to that
of dipole.

DISCONE ANTENNA

The feedpoint
impedance is
approximately 50-ohm
The feedpoint is located
at the intersection of
the disk and the cone.
The disk-cone
combination acts as a
transformer to match
the feedline impedance
to the impedance of the
free space , which is
377-ohms.

DISCONE ANTENNA

Typically the length

measured along the
surface of the cone is
about one-quarter
wavelength at the
lowest operating
frequency.
The wide bandwidth of
the discone makes it a
very popular antenna
for general reception in
the VHF and UHF
ranges.
It is a favorite for the
scanners.

DISCONE ANTENNA

These receivers can

tune automatically to
a large number f
channels in
succession and are
often used for
monitoring
emergency services.
The discone can be
used for transmitting,
but seldom

HELICAL ANTENNA

A HELIX is simply a
spiral. A quarter-wave
monopole antenna
can be shortened and
wound into a helix.
This is common
rubber ducky
antenna used with
many handheld
transceivers.
Sometimes it is called
a helical antenna, and
it certainly is helical in
shape.

HELICAL ANTENNA

Helical Antennas are

often used with VHF
satellite
transmissions. Since
they respond to any
polarization angle,
they avoid the
problem of Faraday
rotation, which makes
the polarization of
waves received from a
satellite impossible to
predict.

HELICAL ANTENNA

15 NS (D)
G
2

The GAIN of the

Helical Antenna is
PROPORTIONAL to
the number of turns.

HELICAL ANTENNA

15 NS (D)
G
2

Where:
G= gain (as ratio, not in
dB), with respect to an
isotropic radiator
N= number of turns in
the helix, N>3
S= turn spacing in
4
meters, S
D= diameter
of the helix
in meters, D

= wavelength

HELICAL ANTENNA
for the major lobe, the
3dB beamwidth (in
degrees) is
approximately

52

NS

HELICAL ANTENNA
EXAMPLE: A helical antenna with eight turns is to be
constructed for a frequency of 1.2GHz.

(a). Calculate the optimum diameter and spacing for

the antenna and find the total length of the antenna.

(b). calculate the antenna gain in dBi.

[C]. Calculate the beamwidth.

ANS.:

(a). 0.08m, 0.0625m

(b). 14.8dBi

[C]. 36.6 degrees

UHF AND MICROWAVE

PARABOLIC
ANTENNA
ANTENNA

- An antenna that provides extremely high gain and directivity and

very popular for microwave radio and satellite communications
link.

2 MAIN PARTS OF
PARABOLIC ANTENNA
1. Parabolic Reflector
2. Feed Mechanism

PARABOLIC ANTENNA

An antenna that provides extremely high gain and

directivity and very popular for microwave radio
and satellite communications link.
-

A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a

parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the crosssectional shape of a parabola, to direct the
radio waves.
The most common form is shaped like a
dish and is popularly called a dish
antenna or parabolic dish.

 PARABOLIC ANTENNA
The main advantage of a parabolic antenna is that it has
high directivity. It functions similarly to a searchlight or
flashlight reflector to direct the radio waves in a narrow
beam, or receive radio waves from one particular direction
only.
Parabolic antennas have some of the highest gains, that is,
they can produce the narrowest beamwidths, of any antenna
type
In order to achieve narrow beamwidths, the parabolic
reflector must be much larger than the wavelength of the
radio waves used,[2] so parabolic antennas are used in the
high frequency part of the radio spectrum, at UHF and
microwave (SHF) frequencies, at which the wavelengths are
small enough that conveniently-sized reflectors can be used.

PARABOLIC ANTENNA
Parabolic antennas are used as:
high-gain antennas for point-to-point communications
, in applications such as microwave relay links that
carry telephone and television signals between
nearby cities, wireless WAN/LAN links for data
communications, satellite communications and
spacecraft communication antennas.
They are also used in radio telescopes.
The other large use of parabolic antennas is for radar
antennas, in which there is a need to transmit a
narrow beam of radio waves to locate objects like
ships, airplanes, and guided missiles.[2
With the advent of home satellite television receivers,
parabolic antennas have become a common feature
of the landscapes of modern countries.

 PARABOLIC ANTENNA
The parabolic antenna was invented by German
physicist Heinrich Hertz during his discovery of
radio waves in 1887. He used cylindrical parabolic
reflectors with spark-excited dipole antennas at
their focus for both transmitting and receiving
during his historic experiments.

PARABOLIC ANTENNA
The parabolic antenna was invented by German
physicist Heinrich Hertz during his discovery of
radio waves in 1887. He used cylindrical
parabolic reflectors with spark-excited dipole
antennas at their focus for both transmitting
and receiving during his historic experiments.

2 MAIN PARTS OF
PARABOLIC ANTENNA
1. Parabolic Reflector
2. Feed Mechanism

2 MAIN PARTS OF
PARABOLIC ANTENNA
A typical parabolic antenna consists of a
metal parabolic reflector with a small
feed antenna suspended in front of the
reflector at its focus,[2] pointed back
toward the reflector.

PARABOLIC REFLECTOR
The reflector is a metallic surface formed into
a paraboloid of revolution and usually
truncated in a circular rim that forms the
diameter of the antenna.
In a transmitting antenna, radio frequency
current from a transmitter is supplied through
a transmission line cable to the feed
antenna, which converts it into radio waves.
The radio waves are emitted back toward the
dish by the feed antenna and reflect off the
dish into a parallel beam.

PARABOLIC REFLECTOR
In a receiving antenna the incoming
radio waves bounce off the dish and are
focused to a point at the feed antenna,
which converts them to electric currents
which travel through a transmission line
to the radio receiver.

PARABOLIC ANTENNA

Feed Mechanism

Part of a parabolic antenna that houses the primary antenna

which radiates electromagnetic waves toward the
reflector.

The primary antenna(feed antenna) is placed at the focus at the

paraboloid for best result in transmission or reception. There are
different feed mechanisms by using which parabolic can be
illuminated.

Feed Mechanism

3 primary types of feed

mechanism for parabolic
antennas

1. Center feed
2. Horn Feed
3. Cassegrain feed

Feed Mechanism

CENTER FEED PARABOLIC ANTENNA

3 primary types of feed

mechanism for parabolic
antennas
1. Center feed
2. Horn Feed
3. Cassegrain feed

HORN FEED
E-plane beamwidth
E Half-power(degrees)
56
E
H Half-power H-plane beamwidth
d
E
(degrees)
56

dE
E-plane mouth

H
dimension(meters)
d
H
d H-plane mouth dimension

Reflector
It is a passive device that simply
reflects the energy radiated by the
feed mechanism into a concentrated,
highly directional emission in which
the individual waves are all in phase
with each other.

SPILLOVER

The energy near the edge of the parabolic dish that

does not reflect but rather is diffracted around the
edge of the dish.

NUMERICAL APERTURE
Determines the angular aperture of
the reflector, which indirectly
determines how much the primary
radiation is reflected by the parabolic
dish

PARABOLIC ANTENNA
BEAMWIDTH

70

D

Beamwidth between half-power points

(degrees)
Antenna mouth
diameter or diameter
of the dish

0 2
0

The beamwidth between nulls in the

radiation pattern(degrees)

PARABOLIC ANTENNA GAIN

D
G
2
G= gain as a power
ratio (not in
2

decibels)
D= diameter of the dish
= free-space wavelength
=efficiency

D
G
2

Power gain in decibel form:

G(dB)= 20 log f(MHz) + 20 log D(m)- 42.2

EXAMPLE:

For a 2-m-diameter parabolic reflector with 10W of

power radiated by the feed mechanism operating at
6GHz with a transmit antenna efficiency of 55% and
an aperture efficiency of 55%, determine

a. Beamwidth
b. Transmit power gain
ANS. 1.75 degrees
ANS. 39.4dB

EXAMPLE:

A parabolic antenna has a diameter of 3m, an

efficiency of 60%, and operates at a frequency of
4GHz. Calculate its gain and beamwidth.

ANS. Beamwidth= 1.75 degrees

ANS. Gain(ratio)= 9475

ANS. Gain(dBi)= 39.8dBi

Parabolic Antenna Capture

Area

The effective area in a receiving parabolic antenna.

It can be calculated by comparing the power

received with power density of the signal being
received.

Capture Area is expressed mathematically as:

Ac kA

Ac= capture area(square meter)

A= actual area (square meter)

k = aperture efficiency, a constant that is dependent on the type

of antenna used configuration (approximately 0.55 for a
paraboloid fed by a half-wave dipole)

Power Gain of a Receive

4AAntenna
4kA
Parabolic
c
A

Power Gain of a Receive Parabolic

Antenna with an efficiency of 0.55
D
A p 5.4

A p ( dB ) 10 log

D
5.4

EXAMPLE:

For a 2-m-diameter parabolic reflector with 10W of

power radiated by the feed mechanism operating at
6GHz with a transmit antenna efficiency of 55% and
an aperture efficiency of 55%, determine

a. Receive power gain

b. EIRP
ANS. 39.4dB
ANS. 79.4dBm

Name

57
Isotropic

Shape

Gain (over Beamwidth

isotropic)
-3 dB
0 dB

360

2.14 dB

55

Turnstile

-0.86 dB

50

Full Wave
Loop

3.14 dB

200

Yagi

7.14 dB

25

Helical

10.1 dB

30

Parabolic
Dipole

14.7 dB

20

Horn

15 dB

15

Biconical
Horn

14 dB

360x200

Dipole

Radiation Pattern

Major
Difference Between Antennas And Transmission
58
Lines
transmission line uses conductor to carry voltage &
current
radio signal travels through air (insulator)
antennas are transducers
- convert voltage & current into electric & magnetic field
- bridges transmission line & air
- similar to speaker/microphone with acoustic energy

WAVEGUIDES

MICROWAVE DEVICES

Introduction
Microwaves have frequencies > 1 GHz
approx.
Stray reactances are more important as
frequency increases
Transmission line techniques must be
applied to short conductors like circuit
board traces
Device capacitance and transit time are
important
Cable losses increase: waveguides often
used instead

WAVEGUIDES
-It is essentially a
pipe through which an
electromagnetic wave
travels. As it travels
along the guide, it
reflects from the
walls.
- It is a hallow
structure that has no
center conductor but
allows waves to
propagate down its
length.

WAVEGUIDES
-are very practical
means of transmitting
electrical energy at
microwave frequencies,
as they have much
lower losses than
coaxial cable. They are
not very useful at lower
frequencies because
they must be too large
in cross section

WAVEGUIDES
-are generally useful
over only a 2:1
frequency range. They
have a lower cutoff
frequency that depends
on their dimensions,
and they exhibit
dispersion due to
multimode propagation
at high frequencies.

 RECTANGULAR
WAVEGUIDE
- Rectangular waveguide
of brass or aluminum,
sometimes silver-plated on
the inside.
- Most common waveguide

CIRCULAR and
ELLIPTICAL CROSS
SECTION are also
used

Modes

Waves can propagate in various ways

Time taken to move down the guide varies with the

mode

Each mode has a cutoff frequency below which it

wont propagate

It is desirable to have only one mode propagating in

a waveguide.

Multimode Propagation

 MULTIMODE
PROPAGATION
(a). for each different mode, the
ray strikes the walls of the
waveguide at a different angle. As
the angle a ray makes with the
wall of the guide becomes larger,
the distance the ray must travel
to reach the far end of the guide
becomes greater. Through
propagation in the guide are at
the speed of light, the greater
distance traveled causes the
effective velocity down the guide
to be reduced.
(b). If another pulse follows
close behind, there may be
interference between the two.
(C). The effect just described is
called DISPERSION

Dispersion limits the usefulness of waveguides with pulsed

signals and other types of modulation. Because of dispersion, it is
undesirable to have more than one mode propagating.

Each mode has a cutoff frequency below which it will not

propagate.

Single mode propagation can be achieved by using only the mode

with the lowest cutoff frequency. This mode is called the
DOMINANT MODE.

Mode Designations
Modes are designated as transverse electric (TE) or
transverse magnetic (TM) according to the pattern of
electric and magnetic fields within the waveguide.
Recall TEM which electric field and magnetic field are
perpendicular to the direction of travel.
When these waves travel diagonally along the
waveguide, reflecting from wall to wall, only one
component---either the electric or the magnetic field---can remain transverse to the direction of travel.
The term TE means that there is no component of the
electric field along the length of the guide.

Rectangular Waveguides

TE10 is the dominant mode

1 half cycle along long dimension (a)

No half cycles along short dimension (b)

Cutoff for a = c/2

Modes with next higher cutoff frequency are TE01

and TE20

Both have cutoff frequency twice that for TE10

Cutoff Frequency

Cutoff frequency for the ,

2a

TE10

Where
c a= longer dimension of the waveguide cross section

cutoff wavelength in the dielectric material that fills the

waveguide (usually air)

Assuming that the waveguide has an air dielectric, the cutoff

frequency can be found as follows

c
fc
2a

Example#1:

Find the cut-off frequency for the TE10 mode in an

air-dielectric waveguide with an inside cross section
of 2cm by 4cm. Over what frequency range is the
dominant mode the only one will operate

Ans. Cutoff freq=3.75GHz, dominant mode=7.5GHz

TWO(2) VELOCITIES IN A
WAVEGUIDE

Group Velocity

Which is lower than the speed of light, is the speed

at which signals travel down the guide.

The Phase Velocity

- Which is greater than the speed of light, is used for

calculating the wavelength in the guide.

Group velocity

fc

v g c 1
f

g Guide wavelength

Example 2

Find the group velocity

for the waveguide in
example#1,
at
a
frequency of 5GHz.
Ans. 198x106 m/s

Phase Velocity

vp

c
fc

1
f

Relationship between
phase and group velocity

The speed of light is the geometric mean of the two

v p vg c

Example # 3

Find the phase velocity for the waveguide used in

example #1 and #2 at a frequency of 5GHz

ans. 4.54x108 m/s

Characteristic Impedance

Like any transmission line, the waveguide has a characteristic

impedance.

Characteristic Impedance

Z0

377

1
Z0

2a
377

fc
f

EXAMPLE#4:
Find the characteristic impedance of the waveguide used in
Example#1, at a frequency of 5Ghz.
Ans. 570 ohms

Guide Wavelength

fc

1
f

Free-space

wavelength
g Guide wavelength

Conventional Transmission
line and the Waveguides

Coaxial Cable

WAVEGUIDES