Lecture - 3

2.3 Sho
ort Dipole

50
0

10

A dipole is
i positioned symmetricallly about to orrigin with its length directeed along the z-axis. The cuurrent
distributio
on is shown in
n fig 2.2.

Fig 2.2:

Short dipole
d

2 | z' |
I z' I o 1
a ;
z

2 z'

I o 1 a z ; 2 z' 0

I 1 2 z' a ; 0 z'

o
2
z

or potential is obtained as
The vecto

z'

2
2

Ar

/2

jkR
0 2 e jkR
2 e
a z I 0 1 z'
dz' a z I 0 1 z'
dz'
4 l R

R
0

The overall length of the dipole is very small

. The distance R from the different positions on

10

the antenna to the observation point is not much different from the value r. 'r' is the distance between the
origin or center of antenna to the observation point. If we assume R r the maximum phase error

k
k
180 , at 00.

that can occur is emax

2
10
2
Smaller values of error occurs at other lengths. A maximum total phase error of

is acceptable since it

doesn't affect substantially the integral solution for the vector potential A. So the phase error obtained due
to the assumption of R r has a very little effect on the overall radiaton characteristics.
Now the vector potential can be reduced to

A a z Az a z

1
e jkr

I
0

2 4
r

(2.15)

Note that the result in (2.15) is exactly one-half of the result obtained for A of an infinitesimal dipole.
This is because we made the same approximation for R, as in the case of an infinitesimal dipole with
constant current distribution and we integrated a triangular function along , whose average is obviously

I av 0.5 I 0 .

Ashort dipole

1
Ainf initesimal dipole
2

(2.16)

The expression (2.15) is more accurate when the observation point is further away from the antenna. This
is also the region of most practical interest and it is designated as far-field region. Since the potential
function for the triangular distribution is one half of the corresponding one for the constant current
distribution, the corresponding fields of the small dipole are simply half those of infinitesimal dipole.

KI 0 e jkr
sin
8 r

KI 0 e jkr
H j j
sin Kr 1
8 r

Er E H r H 0

(2.17)

The normalized field pattern is same as that of infinitesimal dipole

E , sin

Since directivity of an antenna is controlled by the relative shape of the field or power
the directivity, and maximum effective area of this antenna are same as infinitesimal dipole.

pattern,

Since the field produced by short dipole is one-half those of the equivalent infinitesimal dipole,
the real power radiated by short dipole is one-fourth of the infinitesimal dipole.
Thus Prad for the short dipole is:

| I | 1
Prad 0 | I 0 |2 Rr
12
2
2

Rr Radiation resistance

2P

Rr rad2 20 2
| I0 |

(2.18)