Antenna gain-to-noise-temperature

Antenna gain-to-noise-temperature (G/T) is a figure of merit in the characterization of antenna performance,

where G is the antenna gain in decibels at the receive frequency, and T is the equivalent noise temperature of
the receiving system in kelvins. The receiving system noise temperature is the summation of the antenna noise
temperature and the RF chain noise temperature from the antenna terminals to the receiver output.

Antenna temperature (Tant) is a parameter that describes how much noise an antenna produces in a given
environment. Antenna noise temperature is not the physical temperature of the antenna but rather an
expression of the available noise power at the antenna flange. Moreover, an antenna does not have an intrinsic
"antenna temperature" associated with it; rather the temperature depends on its gain pattern and the thermal
environment that it is placed in. Antenna temperature is also sometimes referred to as Antenna Noise
Temperature. To define the environment, we'll introduce a temperature distribution - this is the temperature in
every direction away from the antenna in spherical coordinates. For instance, the night sky is roughly 4 K; the
value of the temperature pattern in the direction of the Earth's ground is the physical temperature of the Earth's
ground. This temperature distribution will be written as TS(θ, φ). Hence, an antenna's temperature will vary
depending on whether it is directional and pointed into space or staring into the sun.

For an antenna with a radiation pattern given by G(θ, φ), the noise temperature is mathematically defined as:

[1]

This states that the temperature surrounding the antenna is integrated over the entire sphere, and weighted by
the antenna's radiation pattern. Hence, an isotropic antenna would have a noise temperature that is the average
of all temperatures around the antenna; for a perfectly directional antenna (with a pencil beam), the antenna
temperature will only depend on the temperature in which the antenna is "looking".

The noise power PN (in watts) received from an antenna at temperature TA can be expressed in terms of the
bandwidth, B, that the antenna (and its receiver) are operating over:

,[2]

where k is the Boltzmann constant (1.380 648 52(79) × 10−23 J/K). The receiver also has a temperature
associated with it, TE, and the total system temperature T (antenna plus receiver) has a combined temperature
given by T = TA + TE. This temperature can be used in the above equation to find the total noise power of the
system. These concepts begin to illustrate how antenna engineers must understand receivers and the associated
electronics, because the resulting systems very much depend on each other.

A parameter often encountered in specification sheets for antennas that operate in certain environments is the
ratio of gain of the antenna divided by the antenna temperature (or system temperature if a receiver is
specified). This parameter is written as G/T, and has units of dB·K−1 .

G/T Calculation

G/T is the figure of merit for a satellite system.

G is the Receive antenna gain.

T is the system noise temperature.
System noise temperature = antenna noise temperature + Receiver noise temperature (LNA)

Antenna noise temperature is the noise power seen at the receive output of the antenna. (To LNA)

If we are not measuring with an LNA or Receiver then

System noise temperature = antenna noise temperature.

This is not a representative value for calculating G/T since the G/T relates to the receive performance of both
antenna and receiver.

Selection of antenna aperture

Satellite antenna aperture is closely related to the quality factor (G/T value) of the earth station. The G/T value
and satellite power demand, i.e. equivalent rent bandwidth, is a logarithmic linear relationship. So the value of
equivalent rent bandwidth increases with the narrowing of antenna aperture.

Therefore, when selecting the earth station aperture, it is not a case of the smaller, the better. The earth station
aperture should make a compromise between the space overhead (equivalent rent bandwidth) and ground
overhead (antenna aperture) in order to make the system achieve optimum allocation.

Achievable G/T with current VSAT antenna in C & Ku Bands (Elevation Angle E=35 Degree)

Diameter G/T
3.8m 21.7
7.5m 25.3
11m 31.7

References
1. [1]
2. [1]

[1] p. 32, Thomas A. Milligan, Modern Antenna Design, 2nd Edition, IEEE Press [2] p. 32, Thomas A.
Milligan, Modern Antenna Design, 2nd Edition, IEEE Press

This article incorporates public domain material from the General Services Administration document:
"Federal Standard 1037C" (https://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/fs-1037c.htm).
Tartle Info Library (https://web.archive.org/web/20130203210118/http://tartle.info/17e62166fc8586dfa4d1bc0
e1742c08b0/43antenna-gain-to-noise-temperature.html)

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This page was last edited on 9 January 2021, at 18:07 (UTC).

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