UNIT-I

Antenna & Radiation Parameters

• Radiation Pattern, Radiation Intensity, Gain, Directivity, Effective
aperture, Radiation Resistance, Band width, Beam Efficiency. Matching,
Antenna noise temperature, Radiation from oscillating dipole, Half
wave dipole and Quarter wave monopole and its radiation parameters.
Introduction to Antennas
• Antennas are essential components in modern communication systems,
used for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves. They come
in various shapes and sizes and are designed to work with different
frequencies and applications.
• Basic Concepts An antenna is a transducer that converts electrical
signals into electromagnetic waves and vice versa. It is a passive
component that does not require any external power source to operate.
Antennas are classified based on their operating frequency, polarization,
and directionality.
Types of Antennas
There are several types of antennas, including:
1.Dipole Antennas: They are the most common type of antennas and are
widely used in radio and television broadcasting. They consist of two
conductive elements that are symmetrically arranged.
2.Patch Antennas: They are commonly used in wireless communication
systems, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They are flat and thin and are
suitable for applications where space is limited.
3.Yagi-Uda Antennas: They are directional antennas and are commonly used
for long-range communication. They consist of a driven element and one or
more parasitic elements that are arranged in a specific pattern.
4.Parabolic Antennas: They are highly directional and are used for satellite
communication and radar systems. They consist of a parabolic reflector and
a feed antenna that is located at the focal point of the reflector.
Monopole Antenna
Applications of Antennas
Antennas are used in various applications, including:
1.Communication Systems: Antennas are used in radio and television
broadcasting, mobile communication systems, satellite
communication, and radar systems.
2.Scientific Applications: Antennas are used in scientific research, such
as radio astronomy and space exploration.
 Basic antenna parameters:
• Radiation Pattern
• Radiation Intensity
• Beam width
• Radiation Power Density
• Directivity
• Antenna Efficiency and Gain
• Polarization
• Reciprocity
• Antenna Aperture
• Radiation – Basic Maxwell’s equations,
• Retarded potential-Helmholtz Theorem,
• Radiation from Small Electric Dipole,
• Quarter wave Monopole and Half wave Dipole – Current
Distributions,
• Natural current distributions,
• far fields and patterns of Thin Linear Center-fed Antennas of
different lengths,
• Illustrative problems
Radiation Pattern:
• The graphical representation of the radiation wave in a free
space is know as radiation pattern
• The radiation pattern of an antenna is a plot of the far-field
radiation from the antenna.
• More specifically, it is a plot of the power radiated from an
antenna per unit solid angle, or its radiation intensity U [watts
per unit solid angle.
Polar form
Rectangular form
Radiation Pattern
• Various parts of a radiation pattern are referred to as lobes,
which may be subclassified into major or main, minor, side and
back lobes.
• A major lobe is defined as the radiation lobe containing the
direction of maximum radiation.
• A minor lobe is any lobe except a major lobe.
• A side lobe is a radiation lobe in any direction other than the
lobe.
• A back lobe is a radiation lobe whose axis makes an angle of
approximately180° with respect to the beam of an antenna.
 Radiation Pattern
• The half-power beamwidth
(HPBW) is defined as the
angular measurement between
the directions in which the
antenna is radiating half of the
maximum value.
• The First-null beamwidth or
beam width between first
two nulls (FNBW) is defined
as the angular measurement
between the directions
radiating no power.
Radiation Pattern
• Normalizing this power with respect to its maximum value
yields normalized power pattern as a function of angle which
is a dimensionless number with a maximum value of unity.

Radiation Pattern of Hertzian Dipole

Beam Area:

• solid angle of (dΩ) :

Angle subtends from the center of the sphere area ds
ds = r2 sinθ dθ dφ
ds = r2 dΩ
• dΩ = solid angle subtended by ds,
• Area of the antenna can be found by integrating the
normalized power pattern
Radiation Intensity
• Radiation intensity in a given direction is defined as ”the power
radiated from an antenna per unit solid angle”.
• The radiation intensity is a far-field parameter and obtained by
multiplying the radiation density by the square of the distance.
• The power radiated from an antenna per unit solid angle is know as
radiation intensity.
 Radiation Intensity
• Hence Total power can be calculated as

• For an isotropic source,𝑈 will be independent of the angles 𝜃

and 𝜙. Thus above exp., can be written as
Directivity
• Directivity of an antenna defined as “the ratio of the radiation intensity
in a given direction from the antenna to the radiation intensity
averaged over all directions.
• The average radiation intensity is equal to the total power radiated by
the antenna divided by 4π.
• The directivity of a nonisotropic source is equal to the ratio of its
radiation intensity in a given direction over that of an isotropic source.
• In mathematical form, it can be written as
Directivity
• If the direction is not specified, it implies the direction of maximum
radiation intensity (maximum directivity) expressed as
Gain
• Gain of an antenna (in a given direction) is defined as the ratio of the
intensity, in a given direction, to the radiation intensity that would be
obtained if the power accepted by the antenna were radiated
isotropically.
• The radiation intensity corresponding to the isotropically radiated
power is equal to the power accepted (input) by the antenna divided by
4π.
• Inequation form this can be expressed as
Relative Gain
• Inmost cases we deal with relative gain, which is defined as “the ratio of the
power gain in a given direction to the power gain of a reference antenna in its
referenced direction.” The power input must be the same for both antennas.
• The reference antenna is usually a dipole, horn, or any other antenna whose
gain can be calculated or it is known. In most cases, however, the reference
antenna is a lossless isotropic source.
• Thus

• When the direction is not stated, the power gain is

usually taken in the direction of maximum radiation.
Beam Efficiency:

• Ratio of Main beam area (ΩM) to the Total beam area (ΩA)
Matching

• if a transmitter sees a poor match, then it will not operate effectively and in
some cases there could be a possibility of damage. Any radio communications
or broadcast transmitter operating at a reasonable power level will need to see
a good impedance match.
Bandwidth
• The bandwidth of an antenna is defined as “the range of frequencies within which
the performance of the antenna, with respect to some characteristic, conforms to a
specified standard.”
• The bandwidth can be considered to be the range of frequencies, on either side of
a center frequency (usually the resonance frequency for a dipole), where the
antenna characteristics (such as input impedance, pattern, beamwidth,
polarization, side lobe level, gain, beam direction, radiation efficiency) are within
an acceptable value of those at the center frequency.
• It is called the input bandwidth if the performance parameter corresponds to the
input characteristics. If the performance parameter refers to the pattern
characteristics, it is called the pattern bandwidth.
Effective Aperture/Area
• It is defined as the ratio of the available power at the terminals of a receiving
antenna to the power flux density of a plane wave incident on the antenna from that
direction, the wave being polarization-matched to the antenna.
• The effective aperture (also known as the effective area) of an antenna is the area
over which the antenna collects energy from the incident wave and delivers it to the
receiver load.
• If the direction is not specified, the direction of maximum radiation intensity is
implied. It is write as,
 Input Impedance
• Input impedance is defined as “the impedance presented by an antenna
at its terminals or the ratio of the voltage to current at a pair of terminals
or the ratio of the appropriate components of the electric to magnetic
fields at a point.”
Input Impedance
Input Impedance
Input Impedance
Input Impedance
 Radiation Resistance
• Radiation resistance is
the fictitious resistance
such that when
connected in series
with an antenna will
consume the same
power as actually
radiated by the
antenna. The total
power radiated by an
antenna is given by;
Radiation Resistance
• The radiation resistance is the part of an antenna’s feed point
resistance caused by the radiation of electromagnetic waves from the
antenna. The radiation resistance is determined by the geometry of the
antenna. The energy lost by radiation resistance is converted to
electromagnetic radiation.
Antenna Temperature
• Antenna Temperature is a measure of the noise being produced by
an antenna in a given environment. This is also called an Antenna
Noise Temperature.
• It is not the physical temperature of the antenna. This temperature
depends of the gain, radiation pattern and the noise that the antenna
picks up from the surrounding environment.
• It is given by

is the radiation pattern of the antenna.

is temperature distribution of the antenna based on its surroundings.
Oscillating Dipole
• Dipolstrahlung (uni-muenchen.de)

Key Words to understand:

• Harmonic Motion
• Equilibrium Position
• Coulomb’ Law
• Attractive Force and Repulsive force
Oscillating Dipole
Magnetic Vector Potential (A)
Radiation from an Oscillating Dipole
Rectangular to Spherical Co-ordinate System
Curl of A
 RADIATION FIELDS OF ALTERNATING CURRENT
ELEMENT

Derivation of radiation fields consists of the following

steps:
Radiation fields from a small current element
• Retarded magnetic vector potential is given as

• From the rectangular to the spherical coordinate system transformed,

the vector potentials are
Radiation fields from a small current element
• Submit the 𝐴𝑍 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝐴𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝜃 ,
Radiation fields from a small current element
𝜕
• By submitting and 𝐴𝜑 = 0,
𝜕𝜑
Radiation fields from a small current element
• From Maxwell’s equation, we obtain
Radiation fields from a small current element
Radiated Field or Far Field
• Field components which are inversely proportional to r contribute
towards the radiation field, the relevant expressions can be rewritten as
Power Radiated by a Current Element
• It can be noted that E has no φ component and H contains
only a ϴ component and thus,

• The power flow can be given by the Poynting vector P

 Power Radiated by a Current Element

• As the average power in the terms involving sin 2ωt’ and cos 2ωt’ over a
complete cycle is zero, 𝑃𝜃 represents the power which surges back and
forth in the θ direction and there is no net power flow in the direction of
propagation.
Power Radiated by a Current Element
Power Radiated by a Current Element
• Since sin 2ωt’ and cos 2ωt’ terms will not contribute towards
average power, all such terms can be eliminated. In view of the
remaining terms,

𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝜗 = 1 𝜀𝜇
Power Radiated by a Current Element
Power Radiated by a Current Element
Power Radiated by a Current Element
• The total radiated power P can be obtained by integrating the average
power over the entire surface of an imaginary sphere of radius r.
Power Radiated by a Current Element

• I represents the peak current. If P is to be obtained in terms of effective

current 𝐼𝑒𝑓𝑓 , the total power can be written as
Power Radiated by a Current Element
Power Radiated by a Current Element
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
1.A half-wave dipole antenna is a simple and widely used type of antenna that is
commonly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals.
2.The length of a half-wave dipole antenna is half of the wavelength of the
signal it is designed to transmit or receive.
3.The radiation pattern of a half-wave dipole antenna is omnidirectional in the
horizontal plane, meaning that it radiates equally in all directions
perpendicular to the axis of the antenna.
4.The performance of a half-wave dipole antenna can be optimized by using
appropriate impedance matching techniques, such as a balun or a matching
network, to ensure that the antenna is properly matched to the transmission
line or receiver.
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• The current distribution in a half-
wave dipole antenna is non-uniform,
with the current being maximum at
the center and gradually decreasing
towards the ends, following an
asymptotic current distribution
pattern.
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• The currents are given as

• The dipole or monopole is assumed to be located on a

perfectly conducting ground.
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• Current is assumed to be asymptotically distributed. Hence

• Since the current in the dipole is in the z-direction, the z component of

the differential vector magnetic potential is
•
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• The total vector potential at distant point P due to all such current
elements
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• At large distance of point P both R and r seemed to parallel,

• Hence in denominator R can be replaced by r but not in numerator as

R is involved with phase factor and hence the difference between R
and r is important.
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• But for a current element along Z-axis, from Maxwell equation
∇ × 𝐴 = 𝜇𝐻
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna

• This is the magnetic field intensity expression from the Half-Wave

Dipole Antenna. Then the electric field can be obtained from the well
known formula,
 Half-Wave Dipole Antenna

• This is the expression for the electric field intensity for the radiation
field of Half-Wave Dipole Antenna.
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• Since 𝐸𝜃 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝜑 are in time phase, therefore, the maximum value in
time of the Poynting vector is just the product of the peak values of
𝐸𝜃 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝜑 . i. e.
 Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
• Radiation resistance can be found by
utilizing the Poynting vector method.
• The elemental area of the spherical shell
is given by Eqn.,
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Half-Wave Dipole Antenna
Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna
Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna
• As the monopole is
fed with a perfectly
conducting plane at
one end, it radiates
only through a hemi-
spherical surface.
• Therefore, the total
radiated power is,
Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna
References
• K. D. Prasad, "Antenna and Wave Propagation," Satya Prakashan, 2011.
• John D. Kraus and Ronald J. Marhefka and Ahmad S.Khan, Antennas and wave
propagation, TMH, New Delhi, 4th Ed., (special Indian Edition), 2010.
• C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory-Analysis and Desgn, John Wiley & Sons, 2nd
Edition, 2001.
Web Sources:
• NPTEL :: Electrical Engineering - NOC:Antennas
• Antenna Theory - Fundamentals (tutorialspoint.com)
 UNIT-II
VHF,UHF&MWE ANTENNA-1
Folded Dipole antenna
Folded Dipole Antenna
 Example

• Folded Dipole
for FM
Applications
Parasitic Array elements
A parasitic element is an element, which depends on other’s
feed. It does not have its own feed. Hence, in this type of arrays
we employ such elements, which help in increasing the radiation
indirectly.
The main parts are −
•Driven element
•Parasitic elements
• Reflector
• Director
• Boom
YAGI-UDA ANTENNA
 Introduction of Yagi-Uda antenna
•Yagi-uda antenna is the most high gain antenna consisting of
1.Parasitic element
2.Active element
•Parasitic elements are two elements. They are
1.Reflector
2.Director
•A parasitic element which is placed front of the driven element is
known as director.
•A parasitic element which is placed back to the driven element is
known as reflector.
•The driven element is nothing but a folded dipole.
•It is also known as a super directive antenna.
FREQUENCY AND APPLICATION:
1) Its operating frequency range is in UHF.

2) It is mainly used for T.V transmission and Reception

ADVANTAGES OF YAGI-UDA ANTENNA :

1)It has a moderate gain of 7db

2) It is a directional antenna

3)Adjustable FBR ratio

4)Low cost
RADIATION PATTERN OF YAGI-UDA ANTENNA
HELICAL ANTENNA
 HELICAL ANTENNA
 It is a broad band UHF,VHF antenna used to provide
circular polarization.
 It consists of a helix of copper wire in the shape of
screw in contacts with a flat metal plate.
 Mode of operation
Normal mode
Axial mode
 Normal mode:
In normal mode, radiation pattern is similar to broad
side array
 Axial mode:
This mode produces broad and fair directional beam
in axial radiation and circular in polarization.
FREQUENCY AND APPLICATION:

Its operating frequency is in VHF range.

Helical antenna are used for transmitting

and receiving VHF signals through the
ionosphere.

Used in satellite communication and space

communication system.
Different helixs avilable in market:
RADIATION PATTERN OF HELICAL ANTENNA
TYPES OF HELICAL ANTENNA
 HORN ANTENNA
1. To minimize the reflections due to impedance mismatched
between wave guide and free space this Horn antenna is
designed.

2. Horn antenna is an open-out wave guide and it is capable for

radiating E.M into free space.

3. If ‘θ’ (flare angle) is very large the wave front on the mouth
of the horn will be large curve, there by decreased directivity
and increased beam width.

4. If ‘θ’ (flare angle) is very small the curve is very less, there by
decreased beam width and increased directivity.
HORN ANTENNA
TYPES OF HORN ANTENNA
RADIATION PATTERN OF HORN ANTENNA
 FREQUENCY AND APPLICATION
Frequency:
•Mainly used in UHF range.
•It is also used in micro wave range.

Application:
• It acts as a fed element in the parabolic reflector at
UHF and Micro wave frequency.
• Used as UHF transmitters and Receivers.
HORN ANT AS PARABOLIC ANTENNA
Design consideration of Pyramidal
Horn Antenna
• Suppose we have an E-plane sectoral horn with a source that
radiates cylindrical radiations as shown below:
Design consideration of Pyramidal
Horn Antenna
Design consideration of Pyramidal
Horn Antenna
Design consideration of Pyramidal
Horn Antenna
References
 K. D. Prasad, "Antenna and Wave Propagation," Satya Prakashan,
2011.
 John D. Kraus and Ronald J. Marhefka and Ahmad S.Khan,
Antennas and wave propagation, TMH, New Delhi, 4th Ed.,
(special Indian Edition), 2010.
 C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory-Analysis and Desgn, John Wiley &
Sons, 2nd Edition, 2001.

Web Sources:
NPTEL :: Electrical Engineering - NOC:Antennas
Horn Antenna (antenna-theory.com)
Helical Antenna : Design, Working, Modes, Advantages & Its Applications (elprocus.com)
 SIDDARTHA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(Autonomous)
DEPARTMENT OF ECE

Antennas and Wave Propagation (20EC0421)

B.Tech. III(ECE) / Semester: II

Handled by
Dr. D. REGAN
Professor/ECE
&
K. Bhaskar
Asst. Professor/ECE
• Micro strip Antennas – Introduction, features,
advantages and limitations, Rectangular patch
antennas – Geometry, characteristics of Micro
strip antennas, Introduction to Reflector Antenna,
parabola reflectors, pattern characteristics, Feed
Methods. Antenna Measurements – Introduction,
Concepts – Reciprocity, Near and Far Fields,
Coordination system, sources of errors, Patterns
to be Measured, Pattern Measurement
Arrangement, Directivity Measurement, Gain
Measurements (by comparison, Absolute).
 Introduction
• The microstrip antenna is also called as “patch
antenna” or “printed antenna” or “microstrip
patch antenna”.

• Antenna having a patch of conducting

material etched out on one side of a dielectric
substrate and other side connected to a
ground plane and patch is connected to feed
line.
• There are different types of microstrip antenna but
all of the type show the following features
1. A thin, flat metallic region which is commonly called
patch.
2. A dielectric substrate.
3. A ground plane which is much larger than the patch
of considering its dimensions.
4. A feed network which supplied power to the
antenna.
• Metallic patch suspended over a ground
plane.
• These are constructed on a dielectric substrate
using a process called lithography in which
patterns are printed on a substrate while
fabricated printed circuit boards or integrated
circuits.
SIDE VIEW
TOP VIEW
• One of the key drawbacks of such devices is
its narrow bandwidth.
• In order to achieve wider bandwidth a
relatively thick substrate is used. However the
antenna substrate supports tightly bound
surface wave modes which represent a loss
mechanism in the antenna.
• The loss due to surface wave modes increases
the substrate thickness.
 Features
• It is desirable to develop conformal microstrip
antennas which enjoy wide bandwidth, yet do
not suffer from loss attractive features of the
conventional microstrip patch antenna.
 Features
• The size of microstrip antenna is inversely
proportional to the frequency.

• Microstrip antenna has a very low profile they

are mechanically rugged and conformable so
they are mounted on exterior of aircraft,
spacecraft and incorporated in mobile radio
communication devices.
Features
 Features
• In the context of circular and rectangular horn
a hole is formed through the ground plane
and through the dielectric to allow access to
the bottom surface of the patch.
 Advantages
1. Light weight, smaller size and less volume.
2. Low profile, planar configuration which can be
made conformal. Hence they can be easily
molded to any desired shape and attached to
host surface.
3. Low fabrication cost and ease of production.
4. Linear and circular polarization are possible
5.Capable of operating in double or triple
frequency.
6.It can easily integrated with Microwave
monolithic IC design.
 Disadvantages
1. Low bandwidth, low efficiency and low gain
antennas with low power handling capabilities.
2. Narrow bandwidth when efforts to increase the
bandwidth results in additional complexity.
3. Practical limitation of Gain is 30 dB.
4. Antennas suffers from the effects of radiation
due to fields.
Poor isolation between radiating element and
feed-line.
 Disadvantages
5. Excitation of surface waves
6. Poor efficiency
7. Good quality substrate are expensive.
8. Sensitive to environmental factors such as
temperature and humidity.
Limitations can be overcome by using
1. Thick substrate.

2. Introducing parasitic patches either on the single

layer or on top of the main patch.
 Rectangular patch antennas
The rectangular shape is the most widely used
form for fabrication of Microstrip antenna.

The microstrip or patch antenna the microstrip

transmission line and the ground plane are
made up conducting materials.

“L” is universally taken as longer dimension,

which causes resonance at half frequency.
• At the end of L dimensions there are
radiating edges which cause single
polarization.
• At the end of W dimensions there are non-
radiating edges which cause cross
polarization.
Geometry
Geometry
 Geometry
• For Rectangular patch antenna
0.3333 λ0 < Length < 0.5 λ0
Thickness << λ0
• Height of dielectric substrate is
0.003 λ0 ≤ h ≤ 0.5 λ0
• Dielectric constant
2.2 ≤ εr ≤ 12
 Geometry

• If “W” is smaller then smaller the radiation if

“W” is larger then the radiation will be larger
and gain is high.

• When the patch is half of the wavelength the

electric field produced below the edges of “L”
dimensions are of opposite polarity.
 Geometry

• Microstrip patch antennas radiate primarily

because of the fringing fields between the
patch edge and ground plane.
 The field at the end can be resolved into
normal and tangential components with
respect to ground plane.
• Far field cancels in the normal direction.
• Tangential components are in phase and
resulting fields combine to give maximum
radiation pattern.
Trade off between the Antenna dimension
and performance

• Thick dielectric substrate having a low

dielectric constant provides good antenna
performance, better radiation and larger
bandwidth.

• Disadvantage:
It leads to larger antenna size.
• The centre frequency of operation of an
antenna is given by
c
fc 
2L r

1
c
 0 0
 1
fc 
2L  o R  O
• To obtain frequency of operation of a patch
antenna accurately, we should consider
dimension of “W”.

• So frequency of operation in an patch antenna

considers “L” and “W” is given by
 1

c  n  2  m  
2 2
f r ,nm      
2  r ,eff  L  2L  W  2W  

For a dominant mode (with n=1, m=0) the frequency of operation reduces to simply
 c
f r , nm 
2L  2L   R ,eff

The width “W” of the patch is very important parameter

as it controls the input impedance of an antenna .

For a square shape patch antenna L=W and the input impedance
is typically 300 ohms.

When the width is increased , input impedance decreases .

The width not only controls the input impedance but also the
radiation pattern of patch antenna.
Radiation pattern of Microstrip
antenna
• The expression for E-field component is Eθ and
Eɸ is given by

sinK sin  sin   / 2  KL  

E  cos   sin  cos   cos 
K sin  sin   / 2  2  

Where θ and ɸ are elevations and azimuth angles of radiation pattern while (K= 2π/λ)
 sinK sin  sin   / 2  KL  
E   cos   sin  cos   sin 
K sin  sin   / 2  2  

Thus the radiating field at any point is given by

E  ,    E  E
2 2
• Two radiating slots are equal in magnitude
and out of phase.

• Normalized radiation pattern for ɸ=0 and

ɸ=90 are shown.
 Characteristic of Microstrip antenna

1. Radiation pattern
2. Beam width
3. Directivity
4. Gain
5. Bandwidth
6. Quality factor
7. Efficiency
8. Polarization
9. Return loss
Beamwidth
Microstrip antenna has a very large beamwidth
in both Azimuth and Elevation angles.
Directivity
2 2 '2 2
2h E W K
D  o o
pr  o
Notations
h is thickness of substrate
Pr is radiated power
Ko Wave number
W’2 = W+h
Eo is magnitude of electric field intensity along z directed axis

ηo= 120π
W is width of patch in y axis
Gain
The gain of a rectangular MSA with air
dielectric is between 7 to 9 dB
Bandwidth
The impedance bandwidth of a patch antenna
is strongly influenced by the spacing between
patch and ground plane.
 S 1
Bandwidth 
Q0 S
S is Voltage Standing ratio

Q0 is the unloaded radiation quality factor

• Quality factor
Microstrip antenna have a very high quality
factor. The “Q” represents the losses
associated with antenna.
A large “Q” leads to narrow bandwidth and
low efficiency.
The value of “Q” can be reduced by increasing
thickness of dielectric substrate.
• Efficiency: The total loss factor of a microstrip
antenna is given by:
LT  LC  LD  LR
Lc : is the loss in conductor.
LD: is the loss in Dielectric
LR: is the loss in Radiation
• Radiation efficiency:
PR

PC  PD  PR

• PR is the radiated power

• PC is the power dissipated due to conductor
• PD is the power dissipated due to dielectric
• Polarization:
Patch antenna can be designed to have
vertical, horizontal, Right hand circular
polarization or Left hand circular polarization
using multiple feeds or a single feed point
with asymmetric patch structure.
• Return Loss:
• It is defined as the Fourier transform of the
incident pulse to the reflected pulse.
Introduction to reflector antennas
• It is a highly directional antenna.
• It is used for long distance communication.
• It consists of two elements

• Active element (Feed antenna or primary antenna)

• Passive element (Reflector antenna or secondary antenna)
• At microwave frequencies the physical size of
high gain antenna becomes so small that any
suitable shaped reflector can produce desired
directivity.
• In reflector antenna, another antenna is used
to excite it.
• Dipole , Horn and slot antenna used to excite
are called primary antennas.
• While reflector is called secondary antenna.
• In general reflector antenna has been
represented in any geometrical configuration.

• The most commonly used are plane reflector,

corner reflector and curved reflector.
• Antenna consist of a reflector to modify the
radiation pattern of a radiating element.

• Reflector antenna is an antenna used to

eliminate the backward radiation and to
increase signal radiation in a desired direction.
• Reflector is an element used to reflect the
electromagnetic waves.
• A beam of predefined characteristic is
produced by using large and suitable shaped
reflector surface.
Different types of Reflector Antenna
 Large flat sheet reflector
• The simplest type of reflector antenna is the
large flat sheet reflector antenna .
• A linear dipole is placed in front of the large
flat reflector such that backward radiations
are eliminated.
• In the forward radiation considerable gain is
possible with small separation between the
flat sheet and linear dipole which is used as a
driven element.
 Small flat sheet reflector
• The size of sheet is reduced the reflector antenna
has the same properties of large flat sheet
reflector.

Thin linear reflector antenna.

• In this type the size of the sheet is reduced
further then we reach the limiting condition and
the flat sheet turns out to be a thin linear
reflector antenna.
• Difference between large sheet and plain
reflector
The large sheet are not sensitive to small
frequency variations. while the thin reflector
are sensitive to frequency changes.
• Corner reflector
With two flat sheets intersecting at an angle “ɑ less than 180”. Sharp
radiation pattern from a corner reflector can be obtained.

Active Corner reflector

A corner reflector with feeding or exciting antenna is called Active

Corner reflect.

Passive Corner reflector

A corner reflector without feeding or exciting antenna is called passive

Corner reflect.

Incident wave is reflected back towards the source and is called

retroreflector.
• Parabolic reflector
It is possible to build antennas with many
wavelengths, parabolic reflectors can be used to
provide high directional pattern.

The parabola reflects the waves originating from a

source at the focus into parallel beams
the parabola transforms the curved wave
front from the feed antenna at the focus into
plane waves
• Elliptical reflector
• Produces a diverging beam with all reflected
waves passing through the second focus of the
ellipse.
Plane reflector or Flat sheet reflector
• The plane reflector is the simplest form of the
reflector antenna.
• When the plane reflector is kept in front of
the feed, the energy is radiated in the desired
direction.
• In this method the reflector is replaced by an
image of the antenna at a distance 2S from
the antenna.
• The main advantage of plane reflector over
dipole is the backward radiations are reduced
and gain in forward direction is increased.
• For an infinite plane reflector, assuming with
zero reflector losses the gain of λ/2 the dipole
antenna at a distance S is given by

R11  RLOSS
Gf  2 sin S R cos  
R11  RLOSS  R12
  2 
Sr  S
  

The gain of reflector relative to half wave dipole antenna

is a function of spacing between the flat sheet and half wave dipole.
When the spacing between the half wave dipole and infinite sheet decreases,
the gain increases

For decreasing the spacing the gain of field intensity is shown.

Region 1 :
It consists of totally illuminated. That it contains
direct rays and reflected rays.
Region 2 :
It consists of partially illuminated. That it
contains direct rays.
Region 3 :
It consists of not illuminated. That it contains
diffracted rays.
 Corner Reflector

• The disadvantage of plane radiation is that

there is a radiation in the back and side
directions.
• In order to overcome this limitation an
arrangement of two parallel reflectors to
form a corner with some angle is known as
corner reflector.
• The angle at which two plane reflectors are
joined is called included angle.

• In most application the included angle is 90

degree, the corner reflector is called square
corner reflector.
• The system efficiency depends on the spacing
between the vertex and the feed element.

• The spacing between the reflector and the

feed must be adjusted depending on the
included angle.
• In most of the corner reflectors, the feed
element is a dipole or an array of co-linear
dipole placed at a distance S.
 Parabolic reflector
• It converts circular waves into planar waves.

• A parabolic reflector follows the principle of

geometric optics.

• A parabola is defined as the locus of a point

which moves in such a way that its distance
from the fixed point plus its distance from a
straight line is constant.
FP1 + P1 P’= Constant
FP2 + P2 P’= Constant
FP3 + P3 P’= Constant
 Working principle

• According to the laws of reflection, the angle

of incidence is equal to angle of reflection.

• Therefore the reflected waves are parallel to

the parabolic axis.

• Parabolic reflector converts a spherical wave-

front from the focus point into a plane wave
front at the aperature.
• Paraboloid dish
• When the parabola is rotated in 360 degree
around the axis of parabola OO’ we get a
paraboloid antenna.

• It produces a parallel beam of circular cross

section.
• It consists of a primary antenna at the focal
point.
 Design Characteristics
• The ratio of focal length “f” to aperature size
“D” is known as [Aperature number].
• f/D---- Aperature number

• Parabolic reflector is designed by keeping the

mouth diameter fixed and varying the focal
length.
• If “f” is small

• The focus lies inside the aperature (f< D/4)

• In this case it is difficult to get uniform

illumination over the aperature.
• If “f” is large

• The focus lies beyond the mouth of aperature

(f>D/4)

• It is difficult to focus all the radiation from the

source on the reflector.
• Ideal case

• The focus should lie on the plane of aperature

f= D/4

• In this scenario maximum radiations can be

reflected.
SpillOver and Back lobe radiations
• Some of the desired rays from the primary
radiator are not captured by the reflector.
These rays constitute the spill over.

• Back lobe radiation

Some radiation from the primary radiator
occur in forward direction in addition to the
desired parallel beam.
• As it is in the form of backlobe of the primary
radiator it is known as backlobe radiations.

• Back-lobe radiations are not desirable as it can

interfere destructively with desired signal.
• Assuming the circular aperature is large the
BWFN is given as

• BWFN= 140λ/D

• The λ- is free space wavelength

• D is diameter of aperature.
• Half Power BeamWidth

• HPBW= 58λ/D degree

Directivity is given by
 Directivity is given by

4AO
D 
2
Ao Area of Aperature or capture Area

A, Actual Area

K constant depends on type of antenna

For isotropic source K=1
For dipole antenna K=0.65
• Effective Aperature Ao

• Ao= K A
• A is actual area of mouth.
• K constant depends on the type of antenna.
• For Isotropic antenna K=1
• For dipole antenna K=0.65
 Directivity
4AO
D
2

For a circular aperture

2
d 
Ao    
 2

2
 d 
D  9.87 
  
Gain

4Ao
G 

2
Effective Area

Ao  A
Notations
η- AperatureEfficiency

A is physical area

D 2
A
4
• A parabolic reflector antenna with diameter
1.8 m is designed to operate at frequency of 6
GHz and illumination efficiency of 0.65.
Calculate the FNBW and antenna gain.

• d = 1.8 m
• F = 6 GHz = 6× 109 Hz
• η=0.65
• The beam width of first null


BWFN  140  deg ree
d 

c

f

3  108
  0.05m
6  10 9
  0.05 
BWFN  140  deg ree
 1 .8 
BWFN  3.89
• For a paraboloid reflector power gain is given
by
4Ao
Gp 
 2
 Ao  A

 d 2

Ao  0.65 
 4 
  d 2 
4 0.65 
G  4 

2

0.65    1.8
2 2
Gp 
0.052
 G p  8314.1547
Gp in decibels

G p (indB )  10 log10 (8314.1547)

G p (indB )  39.1987
 Problem 2
• A parabolic dish provides a power gain of 50
dB at 10 GHz with 70% efficiency.
• Find out i) HPBW ii) BWFN iii) Diameter

• f =10 GHz= 10 × 10 9 Hz
• η= 70 %
• d=?
• λ= c/f
G p (indB )  10 log10 (G p )

50  10 log10 (G p )

5  log10 (G p )
 G p  100000

4Ao
Gp 

2

4KA
100000 

2
  d 2 
4K  
100000   4 
2

 2 0.7 d 2
100000 
2
  0.7 d
2 2
100000 
9  10  4

d  13.02701
2

d  3.6093m
• The beam width of first null


BWFN  140  deg ree
d 

 3 108 
 
BWFN  140 10  10 9
 deg ree
 3.6093 
 
 
BWFN  1.1636

Half Power BeamWidth

HPBW= 58λ/D degree

  3  108 
58 
9 
58  10  10 
HPBW    0.482
d 3.6093
• The feed-line (or feeder) is the cable (or)
other transmission line that connects the
antenna with transmitter or receiver.
 Feed Methods
A parabolic reflector antenna as a system consists of
two basic parts namely a source of radiation located
at the focus and a reflector.

The source placed at the focus is called primary

radiator, while the reflector is called secondary
radiator.

The primary radiator is called feed radiator or

simply feed.
 Feed system of Parabolic reflector
• Dipole feed
• End fire feed
• Horn Antenna
• Cassegrain feed
• Offset Feed
 Dipole feed
• This is the simplest form of feed system.
• Dipole antenna is the primary radiator which
is feed with a coaxial line.
• It is occasionally used.
• The feed-line (or feeder) is the cable (or)
other transmission line that connects the
antenna with transmitter or receiver.
 End fire pattern

• Double dipoles are suitably spaced and phased.

• This arrangement produces an end fire pattern.

 Horn feed system
• The most common radiation for paraboloid
reflector antenna is waveguide feed or Horn
feed.
• Waveguide horn is the primary radiator
pointing the paraboloid.
• For getting maximized beam pattern along the
parabolic axis, feed is placed at the focus
point.
Cassegrain feed
• In this feed system two radiators are being
used.

• The primary radiator is being placed at the

vertex of parabola.
• The second feed is the sub-reflector placed at
the focus of parabola.
• In this system paraboloic reflector is the main
reflector
• The radiations emitted from primary feeder
reach the sub-reflector.

• The sub-reflector reflects and illuminates the

main primary reflector.

• Then the main reflector reflects the rays

parallel to the axis.
 Advantages
• It reduces the spill over and thus minor lobes
radiation.

• The system has greater focal length than the

physcial focal length.
• Beam can be broaden by adjusting on the
reflector.
• System has ability to feed at a convinent
place.
 Dis advantages
• There is a region of blocked rays in front of the
Cassegrain reflector. Some of the radiation
from the parabolic reflector are obstructed or
blocked by the hyperboloid reflector creating
region of blocked rays. This is known as
“Aperture blocking”.
 Offset Feed system
• Suitably selecting primary antenna, correct
directional pattern for any arrangement can
be obtained.
• The parabolidal reflector can be fed using λ/2
antenna with a ground plane or a horn
antenna.
• To overcome the aperture blocking effect, the
offset feed synthesis is used.

• Here feed is placed at the focus in the system

and all the rays are properly collimated
without formation of the region of interest.
 Antenna Measurements
• Antenna measurements are needed to
establish the performance of an antenna like
the gain, pattern, polarization, and
bandwidth.
• Antenna measurements are carried out using
the test antenna in the receiving mode.
• The test antenna is affected due to reflections
from the ground and nearby objects such as
tall buildings, trees and hills.
 Antenna measurements are required
for the following purposes.
• 1. To verify the design
• 2. To control quality.
• 3. To analyze different parameters.
• 4. To find analytical and statistical errors.
• 5. To indicate actual performance.
• 6.To adjust critical components and dimensions.
• 7. To callibrate and store data for different types
of antenna.
 Drawbacks in measurement
• 1.Measurements are time consuming.
• 2. Measurements are expensive.
• 3. Open site measurements are not accurate.
• 4. It is difficult to bring large antennas to the
measuring site.
• 5. It is sometime difficult to provide far field distance.
• 6. For large antennas at high frequencies the pattern
measurement becomes very difficult because the
distance from far field region becomes too large even
outside ranges.
 Some of the instrumentation
techniques are
• Tapered anechoic chamber
• Compact and extrapolation ranges
• Improved polarization technique
• Near field probing technique
• Indirect measurement of antenna
characteristics
• Swept frequency techniques
• Automated test systems
 Basic concept of Antenna
Measurement
• The most common antenna measurement is
to measure its radiation properties like
directional pattern, gain or phase pattern in
the far field.
• The basic procedure is to place a transmitting
or receiving source antenna at different
locations with respect to (Antenna Under
Test) and get a number of sample patterns.
• To achieve different locations AUT is rotated.

• To ensure sharpness of the pattern sample

only one direct path should exist between the
AUT and source antenna.
 Reciprocity
• Generally antenna can either transmit or receive.
• There exist a reciprocal relationship between the
transmitting and the receiving properties of an
antenna.
• This reciprocal relationship is very useful for antenna
measurements.
• This relationship allows us to obtain the
characteristics of an antenna from transmitting test
or receiving test, whichever is most convenient
during measurement.
• It is necessary to study two important
consequences for antenna measurement:
• 1. The transmitting and receiving patterns are
same.
• 2. The power flow is the same in transmitting
and receiving mode.
 Statement

• If an EMF is applied at the terminal of

antenna1 and the current is measured at the
terminal of antenna2 , then an equal current
both in amplitude and phase will be obtained
at the terminal of antenna 1, when the same
emf is applied at the terminal of antenna 2.
• Reciprocal relationship following condition has
to be satisfied:
• The EMF at the terminals of transmitting and
receiving antennas should be of same
frequency.
• The power flow should be equal to that of
matched impedance.
• The medium should be linear, isotropic and
passive.
 Near and Far Fields
• There are three main regions
1. The region very close to antenna is called
reactive near field region.
2. The region next to reactive near field region
is called radiating near field region( or Fresnel
region).
3. The region located far away from the
antenna is called far field region (or
Fraunhofer region)
Near field and Far-field Regions
• Most of the times, the radiation pattern in the far field
are desired, the measurement is done in the far field.
• Advantages

1. Coupling and multiple reflections are least significant

in the far field region.
2. If a power pattern is required ,only power (amplitude)
measurement is needed
3. At any point in the far field region , the field pattern
measured is valid.
• The main disadvantage of the far field
measurement is that it requires large
distance between the transmitting and
receiving antenna.
• The distance may increase to such extent that
the result of the measurement in the far field
region suffers by atmospheric attenuation.
• The reactive near field region is not used for
antenna measurements because it is located
too close to AUT.
• Remaining choice for the antenna
measurement is the measurement the
radiating near field region.
Co-ordinate System for Antenna
Measurement
• According to IEEE standards, the spherical
coordinate system is used universally for
the antenna measurements.
• A coordinate system is a method for identifying
the location of a point on the Earth.
• The angle measured from the Z-axis is called
elevation angle (θ).
• The angle measured from the projection of the
radius vector to the horizontal X-Y plane is called
azimuth angle (ɸ).
• The peak radiation takes place along x-axis .
• When the source antenna moved along lines of
constant θ ,the cuts obtained are called conical
cuts or ɸ -cuts.

• When the source antenna moved along lines of

constant ɸ ,the cuts obtained are called great
circle cuts or θ -cuts.
• If the cut is taken along the equator with θ =π/2
,then such a cut is called θ–cut as well as ϕ-cut.
 Source of Error in Antenna
Measurement
• For the antenna measurement in far field
region, the plane wave with uniform phase
and amplitude is the ideal requirement.
• But practically there are deviations in the
plane wave.
• Due to finite distance between the antenna
under test and the source antenna,
amplitude tapers and phase curvature tapers
takes place.
• These error affect the main lobe of an antenna
significantly.
• Due to reflection from the surroundings,
ripple in amplitude and phase is observed.
• These ripples affect the accuracy of side lobe
significantly.
 Source of Error in Antenna
Measurement
• 1) Errors due to finite measurement distance
between antennas
• 2) Reflections from surroundings
• 3) Errors due to coupling in the reactive near field
• 4) Errors due to Misalignment of Antenna
• 5) Errors due to man made interference
• 6) Errors due to Atmospheric effects
• 7) Errors due to Cables
• 8) Errors due to impedance mismatch
• 9) Errors due to imperfections of instruments
 Errors due to finite measurement
distance between antennas
When the distance between the antennas is
very small , then the field received by AUT at
different points will be with different phases
causing quadratic phase error.
The quadratic phase error affects by reducing
the measured gain and increasing the side
lobes as compared to the ideal uniform plane
wave condition.
• Due to small distance between the antenna the
amplitude gets affected.
• The amplitude errors are of two types transverse
amplitude error and longitudinal amplitude error.
• transverse plane the amplitude of the field is small
at the edges of the AUT, while slightly greater away
from edges.
• Long end fire antennas are affected by Longitudinal
amplitude errors.
 Reflections from surroundings
• Reflection from surrounding is another
important source of error because reflections
causes amplitude ripple as well as phase
ripple.
• Ripple occur in a region , due to interference
between the direct wave and reflected wave.
• So due to very small reflections also very large
measurement errors may be caused.
 Errors due to coupling in the reactive
near field
• The reactive near field causes significant error
at low frequencies.
• If the distance is greater than 10 λ, then
coupling is negligible.
Errors due to Misalignment of Antenna
• Basically the antenna measurement is a 3
dimensional vector measurement so any
misalignment of the source causes amplitude
errors.

• Due to misalignment pattern cut cannot be

properly taken.
 Errors due to man made interference
• On outdoor ranges when man made
interference gets coupled with the receiver at
the same frequency as the measurement
frequency or any other frequency, harmonic
distortion takes place.
• On indoor ranges, in anechoic chambers, the
reflections from the walls, floor and ceiling are
significant.
 Errors due to Atmospheric effects

• Due to atmospheric effects, such as variations

of refractive index of atmosphere, multi-hop
propagation takes place which results in
significant amplitude variation during
measurement.
• At higher frequency, the attenuation of the
atmosphere is very high which results in
amplitude variations.
 Errors due to Cables
• If the cables used for connection do not have
proper shielding, leakage occurs and the cable
acts as an antenna producing measurement
errors.
• The incorrect use of cables also causes errors.
 Errors due to impedance mismatch
• If the antenna impedance does not match
with the instrument impedance, errors occurs
in gain measurements.
 Errors due to imperfections of
instruments
• Due to imperfection of the instrument such as
transmitter, receiver, positioner etc, the
measurement error occurs.
 Radiation Pattern Measurement
• It is measured at a fixed distance and at fixed
frequency.

• θ varies from 0 to π
• ɸ varies from 0 to 2π
• A plot of radiation characteristics of an
antenna as a function of θ and ɸ for constant
radial distance r and frequency f is called the
“Radiation pattern of an Antenna”.
• Radiation pattern is a Three dimensional
representation.
• But due to the practical difficulty a number of
two dimensional patterns are measured and
converted to three dimensional pattern is
constructed.
• In general , the minimum number of patterns
required to construct a three dimensional
pattern is 2 and they are selected from E
plane and H plane.

• The two dimensional pattern is generally

called pattern cut.
Horizontal antenna following pattern
is required
• The ɸ component of electric field is measured
as a function of ɸ in X-Y plane (θ=90, ɸ) and it
is called Eplane pattern.
• The ɸ component of electric field is measured
as a function of θ in X-Z plane (θ=0, ɸ) and it
is called H plane pattern.
 Vertical antenna following pattern is
required
• The θ component of electric field is measured
as a function of ɸ in X-Y plane (θ=90, ) and it is
called H plane pattern.
• The θ component of electric field is measured
as a function of ɸ in X-Z plane (ɸ =90,) and it
is called E plane pattern.
• We need two antenna to measure the radiation
pattern one will transmit and the other will receive.
• One is at the origin placed at a far distance away
from the first antenna.
• There are two procedures suitable for
Radiation Pattern Measurement.
• First Procedure is for Low Frequency Antenna
measurement
• Second Procedure is for High Frequency
Antenna measurement
Radiation Pattern Measurement Setup
 First Procedure
• Primary antenna is kept stationary, secondary
antenna is moved along the circular path with
uniform radius.
• Secondary antenna is a directional one it is always
aimed at the primary antenna.
• In this procedure, primary antenna is transmitting.
• The field strength readings and direction of
secondary antenna with respect to primary antenna
are recorded along the circle at different points.
• The plot of radiation pattern is either in polar form
or rectangular form.
 Second Procedure
• Both the antennas are at fixed position having
suitable spacing between them.
• Primary antenna is rotated and secondary antenna is
transmitting.
• So that field strength readings and direction of the
primary antenna with respect to secondary antenna
can be made.
• The readings are taken at a number of points
by stopping the rotation of primary antenna
for recording the readings or continous
reading can be taken if pattern recorder is
available.
• For radiation pattern measurement, primary antenna
is in transmitting mode secondary antenna is
AUT(receiving mode).
• The secondary is coupled with the rotating shift and
is rotated using rotatory mechanism.
• To measure the relative amplitude of the receiver
field an indicator is used along with the receiver.
• For E-plane pattern measurement, the
antenna support shaft is rotated with both
the antennas horizontal.
• For H-plane pattern measurement , the shaft
is rotated with both the antennas vertical.
Measurement of Antenna Gain

Maximum
radiation int ensityoftes tan tenna
Gain 
Maximumradiation int ensityofreferenceantenna
 Measurement of Antenna Gain

• Gain = Maximum Radiation Intensity of test antenna

Maximum Radiation Intensity of Reference antenna

Radiation intensity
It is defined as the power radiated from an antenna per unit solid
angle.

Basically, there are two standard methods used for the

measurement of gain of an antenna as such
Absolute Gain method
Comparison Method
 Absolute Gain method

• There are two methods with which the

calibration of standard antenna gain can be
done.

• Two antenna method

• Three Arbitrary antenna method
 Two antenna method

• The input of the transmitting antenna is

adjusted to an appropriate level and the
corresponding receiver readings level is
recorded.
• The attenuator dial setting and the power
bridge are recorded. Say it as Wt and
Pt1respectively.
• Now the transmitter is disconnected from the
antenna and is connected to the receiver
through pads.
• The attenuation dial is adjusted until the
receiver reads the same previous levels.
• The attenuator dial settings and the power
bridge readings are noted as Wr AND Pt2.
• If Pt1= Pt2
• Then no correction is needed.

• If drifting power is involved then correction is

needed.
 Friss transmission formula

  
2

PR  PT GT G R  
 4R 

 4R   PR 
(GT ) dB  (G R ) dB  20 log P 
  10 log 
    T 
Since two antennas are identical then

(GT ) dB  (G R ) dB

1   4R   PR  
(G ) dB   20 log    10 log 
 

2      T 
P
 Three Antenna method
• If we do not have two identical antenna we
can use three different antenna of Gain G1, G2
and G3.
G1 acts as a transmitter and G2 acts as a receiver.
 4R   PR 2 
G1 (dB )  G2 (dB )  20 log   10 log (1)
    PT 1 

G1 acts as a transmitter and G3 acts as a receiver.

 4R   PR 3 
G1 (dB )  G3 (dB )  20 log   10 log  ( 2)

    PT 1 

G2 acts as a transmitter and G3 acts as a receiver.

 4R   PR 3 
G2 (dB )  G3 (dB )  20 log   10 log (3)
    PT 2 
• By solving equations 1 , 2 and 3 we can solve
G1, G2, and G3 3 unknown gains of an
antenna.

•
Measurement of Gain by Direct Comparison method
• At first standard antenna is connected to the receiver with the
help of a switch S.
• The input of the transmitting antenna is adjusted to a
convenient level and the corresponding readings in the
receiver is recorded.
• The attenuator dial setting and Power bridge readings are also
recorded. Say it as W1 and P1 respectively.
• Now connect the test antenna whose gain is to be measured
in place of standard gain antenna.
• The attenuator dial is adjusted such that receiver indicates the
same previous readings as that of standard gain antenna.
• Let the attenuator dial setting W2 and power
bridge reading P2 noted.
• Case 1 When P1 =P2 ,then no correction need
to be applied then gain of test antenna
measurement with respect to standard
antenna is given by
• Gp= P2/ P1
• Case 2 When P1 not equal to P2 ,then
• By keeping switch at position 1,
  
2

PR 2  PT G1G 2  
 4R 
By keeping switch at position 2,

  
2

PR 3  PT G1G3  
 4R 

By ratio of PR2/ PR3

 PR 2 G2

PR 3 G3

 PR3 
G3  
 PR 
G 2
 2 
  PR3 
G AUT   Gref
 2
PR 
 Directivity Measurement
• Directivity is defined as the ratio of radiation
intensity in a given direction from the antenna
to the radiation intensity average over all
direction.
Pgivendirection
D
Paveragedirection

PRadiated
Paveragedirection 
4
 4Pgivendirection
D
Pradiated

Maximum directivity has to be calculated in case of direction is not given.

• So maximum directivity is defined as the
ratio of radiation intensity in maximum
direction to the radiation intensity of a
isotropic source.
• Basically directivity is an dimension less
quantity. The directivity can be expresesed in
terms of electric field intensity as follows
 4 E max
2

D  G D max  2 

  E  ,   sin dd
2

0 0

4
D  G D max 
2 
E  ,  
2

 E E
0 0
2
sin dd
max
 4
D  G D max  2 

  f  ,  sin dd
0 0

f(θ, ɸ) is the relative radiation intensity as a

function of space angles and θ and ɸ.
• The directivity can also be computed from
radiation pattern measurement.
• In one simplest methods, first two principal
patterns, namely E plane and H plane patterns
of the antenna can be measured.
• Then Half Power beam width of the Eplane
and Hplane patterns are determined.
 41253
D 
H 1 .H 2

H1 denotes Half power beamwidth in one plane degree

H2 denotes Half power beamwidth in a plane rigth angle to the other expressed
in degree
 Drawbacks
• Is least accurate in measurement.
• This method gives rough estimates of
directivity.
• The method proves to be suitable when
radiation pattern consists of one major lobe,
with negligible minor lobes.
• The Friis transmission formula is used
in telecommunications engineering, equating
the power at the terminals of a
receive antenna as the product of power
density of the incident wave and the effective
aperture of the receiving antenna under
idealized conditions given another antenna
some distance away transmitting a known
amount of power.
References
• K. D. Prasad, "Antenna and Wave Propagation," Satya
Prakashan, 2011.
• John D. Kraus and Ronald J. Marhefka and Ahmad S.Khan,
Antennas and wave propagation, TMH, New Delhi, 4th Ed.,
(special Indian Edition), 2010.
• C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory-Analysis and Desgn, John
Wiley & Sons, 2nd Edition, 2001.
Web Sources:
NPTEL :: Electrical Engineering - NOC:Antennas
Benefits, features, and application of a Microstrip antenna - Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing & PCB
Assembly - RayMing (raypcb.com)
Antenna Measurements (antenna-theory.com)
 UNIT-IV

Antenna Arrays:
• Point sources - Definition, Patterns, arrays of 2
Isotropic sources – Different cases,
• Principle of Pattern Multiplication, Uniform
Linear Arrays – Broadside Arrays, End-fire
Arrays, EFA with Increased Directivity,
Derivation of their characteristics and
comparison of BSA & EFA, Binomial Arrays,
Illustrative problems.
• Antenna Arrays:
Antenna Array is a radiating system in which several
antennas are spaced properly so as to get a greater
field strength at a far distance from the radiating
system.

The individual elements is generally called the

elements of an antenna array.
• If an array is arranged in one axis (X,Y or Z)
then it is said to be single dimensional array
or linear array.

• If an array is arranged in plane (XY YZ or XZ)

then it is said to be two dimensional array or
planar array.
• The total field produced by an antenna at a
far distance is the vector sum of fields
produced by the individual antennas of the
array.
• The antenna array is said to be linear if the
elements of an antenna are equally spaced
along a straight line.
• The linear antenna array is said to be uniform
linear array if all the elements are fed with a
current of equal magnitude with progressive
uniform phase shift along the line.
 Point sources
• At a sufficient distance (in the far field), the
radiated fields of an antenna are transverse
and the power flow is always radial.

• A point source is located at centre O with a

Radius R.
Instead of making field measurements around the observation circle with the
fixed antenna, the equivalent effect may be obtained by making the measurement
at a fixed point Q on the circle and rotating the antenna around the centre O.
 Power pattern

• The time rate of energy flow per unit area is

the pyonting vector or power density.
• For a point source pyonting vector “S” the has
only a radial component with no components
either in θ and ɸ directions.
• A source that radiated uniformly in all
directions is called “isotropic source”.

• A graph of Sr at a constant radius as a

function of angle is called poynting vector or
power density pattern usually called power
pattern.
 The three dimensional pattern for a
Isotropic source is sphere.

Two dimension pattern is circle.

Sr is represented in terms of “watts per square metre” in the absolute power pattern.
• If Sr is expressed in terms of values in some
reference direction then the graph is a
“relative power pattern”.
• The pattern radius is given by Sr/Srm

• Srm denotes maximum value of Sr.

• The maximum value of relative power pattern is unity.

• A power pattern of maximum unity is called normalized
power pattern.
 Array of Two isotropic point sources
• The pattern of any antenna can be regarded as
produced by (isotropic) point sources.
• Array of two isotropic point sources
Same amplitude and same phase
Same amplitude but opposite phase
Same amplitude and in phase qudrature
Same amplitude and any phase qudrature
Unequal amplitude and any phase
qudrature
Same amplitude and phase
• Consider two Isotropic point sources 1 and 2
having current supplied with equal amplitude
and same phase.
• Due to current supplied to both is equal,
Electric field magnitude by both elements will
be equal.
E1= E2= E0
• Total path difference is given by dCosɸ.
• Total Phase difference Ψ is given by

 2 
phase   d cos   d cos 
  
• So Electric field at source 1 = Eo e-jΨ/2
• So Electric field at source 2 = Eo ejΨ/2

• Point source 2 leads by phase Ψ/2

• Point source 1 lags by phase Ψ/2

• Total Electric field is given by

E= E1+E2
• E= Eo e-jΨ/2 + Eo ejΨ/2

• E= Eo(e-jΨ/2+ ejΨ/2)
Multiply and divide by 2

E= 2Eo(e-jΨ/2+ ejΨ/2)
2
E= 2Eo Cos(Ψ/2)
• To normalize the electric field
• En= 2 E0

E= En Cos(Ψ/2)

E= En Cos(βdCosɸ /2)
 Maxima direction
• The total field Cos(βdCosɸ/2) is maximum.
  d cos  
Cos    1
 2 

• Let the spacing between two point sources be

λ/2.
   
  cos  
Cos  2   1
 2 
 
 

 2  
 cos  
Cos   2   1
 2 
 
 

 
Cos  cos    1
 2 

ɸmax= 90 degree or 270 degree

 Minima direction
The total field strength Cos(  dCosɸ/2) is minimum.

  d cos  
Cos  0
 2 
Assuming d=λ/2 and β= 2π/λ

 
Cos  cos  min   0
2 
ɸmin= 0 degree or 180 degree
 Half power direction
• When the power is half, the voltage or current
is 1 times the maximum value.
2
   d cos   1
Cos 
 2  2

  1
Cos  cos  hppd  
2  2

ɸhppd is 60 degree or 120 degree

• The field pattern with ET against ɸ for d= λ/2,
then the pattern is bidirectional.
• The field pattern obtained is bidirectional and
it is a figure of 8.
• If the pattern is rotated by 360 degree about
axis it will represent a doughnut shaped
pattern.
 Same amplitude but opposite phase
• Consider two point sources separated by
distance d and supplied with currents equal in
magnitude but opposite in phase.

• The phase of current is opposite. The total

field at a far point P is given by
ET = -E1 + E2
•
• So Electric field at source 1 = -E0 e-jΨ/2
• So Electric field at source 2 = E0 ejΨ/2

• Point source 2 leads by phase Ψ/2

• Point source 1 lags by phase Ψ/2

ET = -E0 e-jΨ/2 + E0 ejΨ/2

• E= -Eo e-jΨ/2 + Eo ejΨ/2
• E= 2Eo(-e-jΨ/2+ ejΨ/2)

Multiply and divide by 2

ET= 2(jEo) (ejΨ/2 -e-jΨ/2)
2
ET= 2(jEo) sin(Ψ/2)
• ET= 2(jEo) sin(Ψ/2)

• ET=sin(( π/2)cos ɸ)
 Maxima direction

sin( (π/2)cos ɸ)= ±1

ɸmax= 0 degree and 180 degree

 Minimum direction

sin(( π/2)cos ɸ)= 0

ɸmax= 90 degree and 270 degree

 Half power direction

sin( (π/2)cos ɸ)= 1

2

ɸmax= 60 degree and 120 degree

 Same amplitude and in-phase
quadrature
• Consider two Isotropic point sources 1 and 2
having current supplied with equal amplitude
and in-phase quadrature.
• Due to current supplied to both is equal,
Electric field magnitude by both elements will
be equal.
• Due to current supplied to both is equal,
Electric field magnitude by both elements will
be equal.
E1= E2= E0
• So Electric field at source 1 = Eo e-j[ π/4+Ψ/2]
• So Electric field at source 2 = Eo ej [ π/4+Ψ/2]

• Point source 2 leads by phase Ψ/2

• Point source 1 lags by phase Ψ/2

• Total Electric field is given by

E= E1+E2
• E= Eo e-j[ π/4+Ψ/2]+ Eo ej[ π/4+Ψ/2]

• E= 2E0 [e-j[ π/4+Ψ/2]+ej[ π/4+Ψ/2]]

• En= 2E0=1

E = Cos[ π/4 + Ψ/2]

E= Cos[π/4]+ π/2 Cos ɸ

 Same amplitude and any-phase
quadrature
• Total Phase difference Ψ is given by

• E= Eo e-jΨ/2 + Eo ejΨ/2

• E= Eo(e-jΨ/2+ ejΨ/2)
Multiply and divide by 2

E= 2Eo(e-jΨ/2+ ejΨ/2)
2
E= 2Eo Cos(Ψ/2)
  2 
   d cos   d cos   
  

 d cos    
E  2 E 0 Cos 
 2 
Unequal amplitude and any phase
quadrature
• Electric field at source 2 is aE0
• Electric field at source 1 is

1 2
 E 0  E 0 Cos   E 0 Sin 
2 2
E

E 1 2

 E 2 0 1  Cos   Sin 
2 2

 E  E0
1
1  Cos  2
 Sin 
2

Angle with respect to source 1 is given by

E 0Sin
tan  
E 0  E 0Cos
 Pattern Multiplication
• The total field pattern of an array of non
isotropic but similar sources is the product of
individual sources and the pattern of an array
of isotropic point sources having the same
location, relative amplitude and phase of the
non isotropic point sources.

E  Ei      E a     E pi      E pa    
• Total field pattern(E)=(Multiplication of field pattern)× (Addition of phase pattern)

• Ei(θ, ɸ)--- Field pattern of individual source

• Ea(θ, ɸ)--- Field pattern of array of isotropic point sources
• Epi(θ, ɸ)--- phase pattern of individual source
• Epa(θ, ɸ)--- phase pattern of array of isotropic point sources
Examples: Array of 4 Isotropic point sources

• Array of 4 identical elements. Replacement of

array by two single antennas placed at a
distance “λ” apart.
X Y
• Pattern of X is a group pattern of 1 and 2.

• Pattern of Y is a group pattern of 3 and 4.

Multiplication of pattern example
 Pattern multiplication
Advantages
1. It helps to sketch the radiation pattern of
array antennas rapidly from the simple
product of element pattern and array
pattern.
2. It is a useful tool in design of antenna arrays.
Disadvantage: This principle is only applicable
for arrays containing identical elements.
 Uniform Linear Arrays
The antenna array is said to be linear
if the elements of an antenna are
equally spaced along a straight line.
The linear antenna array is said to be
uniform linear array if all the elements
are fed with a current of equal
magnitude with progressive uniform
phase shift along the line.
• At higher frequencies, for point to point
communications it is necessary to have a
single beam radiation.

• Such high directive single beam pattern can be

obtained by increasing the point sources in
the arrow form 2 to n.
 Array factor
• Array factor is the factor by which the
array increases the field strength over
that of a single element radiating the
same total power.
• Consider a linear array of “n isotropic sources”
which are spaced equally and are fed with in
phase current of equal amplitude E0.
• The total far field at a distant point P is
obtained by adding the fields of individual
sources.
 0 j j 2 j j  n 1
Et  E0 e  E0 e  E0 e  ................E0 e


Et  E0 1  e  e j 2 j
 ................e j  n 1

EQ1

Where Ψ= βdCosθ+ ɑ
Ψ Total phase difference of the fields at far point “P”.

ɑ Phase difference in point sources

 Multiplying EQ1 by ejΨ

Et e j
 E0 e  j
e 2 j
 ...............  e nj

EQ2
Subtracting Equation 2 from 1


Et  E 0 1  e  e j 2 j
 ................e j  n 1

Et e j
 E0 e  j
e 2 j
 ...............  e nj

 Et  Et e j

 E0 1  e nj


Et [1  e j
]  E0 1  e  nj

nj
1  e 
Et  E0  j 
1 e 
Total far field at a distant point P.
 1  e jn / 2e jn / 2 
Et  E0  j / 2 j / 2 
 1  e e 

 e jn / 2e  jn / 2  e jn / 2e jn / 2 

E t  E 0  j / 2  j / 2 j / 2 j / 2 
 e e  e e 

e jn / 2  e  jn / 2  e jn / 2 

E t  E 0 j / 2   j / 2 j / 2 
e  e  e 
 jn / 2 j / 2   jSinn / 2 
Et  E0 e e   jSin / 2 
 

jn / 2 j / 2  Sin(n / 2) 
Et  E0 e e  Sin( / 2) 
 

j( n1)  / 2  Sin(n / 2) 
Et  E0 e  Sin( / 2) 
 
   (n  1) / 2

 Sin(n / 2) 
j
Et  E0 e  
 Sin ( / 2 ) 

 Sin(n / 2) 
Et  E0   Cos  jSin 
 Sin( / 2) 
 Collinear Array
• Two or more elements of an antenna lie on a
straight line

• A Collinear array consists of two or more half-

wave dipoles, which are placed end to end.
These antennas are placed on a common line
or axis, being parallel or collinear.
• These arrays are also called as Omni-
directional arrays.
 Broadside Arrays
• It is an array system in which a number of
identical parallel antennas along a line
perpendicular to the array axis.

• Individual elements are equally spaced along a

line.
• Each element is fed with current of equal
magnitude and in phase current.
• It is a bidirectional pattern.
 End-fire Arrays
• It is similar to broadside array except individual
elements are fed with out of phase (180 degree
current).
• End fire array is one in which a number of identical
elements are fed with currents of equal magnitude
but their phases vary progressively along the line.
• The principal radiation(maximum radiation) coincides
with the direction of array.
• Radiation pattern is unidirectional.
1. Individual elements 1.It is similar to broadside
are equally spaced array except individual
along a line. elements are fed with
out of phase.

2. Direction o f maximum 2. Direction of maximum

radiation is radiation is along the
perpendicular to the direction of array axis.
direction of array axis.
 2
BWFN   2
d BWFN  2
nd
 Collinear Array
• These antennas are arranged coaxially, these
antennas are mounted end to end on a single
line.
• One antenna is stacked over another.
• The individual elements are fed with equal in
phase currents.
• It is a broadside radiation.
• The direction of maximum radiation is
perpendicular to the line of antenna.
 Derivation and Characteristics of
Broadside Array
• In broadside array the maximum radiation is
perpendicular to array axis 90 degree or 270
degree.

• Sources are in phase i.e ɑ=0 and Ψ= 0

• Ψ Total phase difference of the fields at point P.
• ɑ Phase difference of adjacent point sources
   d cos   
Maximum Radiation

 d cos  max  0
cos  max  0
  max  Cos 1 (0)


 max  90 or 270 0

Direction of Pattern maxima of major lobe

Direction of pattern maxima of minor
lobes
• a linear array of “n isotropic sources” which
are spaced equally and are fed with in phase
current of equal amplitude E0. The total far
field at a distant point P.

 Sin(n / 2) 
Et  E0  
 Sin ( / 2 ) 

Et is maximum when numerator is one

 Sin(n / 2)  1

(n / 2)  Sin 1 (1)


(n / 2)  (2 N  1)
2
 2
  2 N  1
2n


  2 N  1
n
 
d cos max min    2 N  1
n


d cos max min  2 N  1 
n

 1  
 max min 1
 cos   2 N  1   
 d n 
For a broad side array ɑ=0 and β= 2π/λ

  
 max min  cos  1
 2 N  1 
 2d n

 2 N  1 
 max min  cos 1

 2nd 
• Assume n=4, (4 Isotropic sources)
• N=1
and d=λ/2

 
1  2 N  1 
 
 max min  cos  
 2 4  
 2 
  2 N  1 
 max min  cos 1

 4 

If N=1

 3
 max min 1
 cos  
 4

 max min  41.4 0 or138.6 0

Direction of pattern minimum of
minor lobes
 Sin(n / 2) 
Et  E0  
 Sin ( / 2 ) 

Sin(n / 2)  0

(n / 2)  Sin 1 (0)

( n / 2)   N 
 2 N
 
n

2 N
dCos  min min or   
n

2 N
dCos  min min or  
n
  2 N 
Cos  min min or
1
  
d  n 

For a broadside array ɑ=0 and β= 2π/λ

N
Cos  min min or 
nd

 N 
 min min or  Cos  1

 nd 
• Assume n=4, (4 Isotropic sources)
• N=1
and d=λ/2
1  1
 min min or  Cos   
 2

 min min or  60 0 or120 0

• Assume n=2, (2 Isotropic sources)
• N=1
and d=λ/2
 min min or  Cos 1  1

 min min or  0 0 or180 0

  max major  90 or 270
0 0

 min major  41.4 or138.6

0 0

 min min or  60 or120 ,0 or180

0 0 0 0
 End fire array
• End fire array is one in which a number of
identical elements are fed with equal
magnitude but their phase vary progressively.
• The direction of maximum radiation is along
the array axis.
• Sources are in phase i.e ɑ is unequal to 0 and
Ψ= 0
• Ψ Total phase difference of the fields at point P.
• ɑ Phase difference of adjacent point sources
• βd Cosθ+ ɑ=0
θ=0
βd Cos(0)+ ɑ=0
ɑ= - βd
 βd Cos(0)+ ɑ=0

 2 

 2

  
Direction Pattern of major lobe

 max major  0 or180

0 0
Direction Pattern of maximum of
minor lobe
 Sin(n / 2) 
Et  E0  
 Sin( / 2) 

For maximum of minor lobes , Et is maximum

Sin(n / 2)  1
(n / 2)  Sin (1) 1

 2
   2 N  1
2 n

 
2 N  1
n
 • Ψ = βdcosθmax+ɑ
• For an end fire array ɑ=-βd

 dCos  max min  d  

2 N  1
n

Cos  max min 1  

2 N  1
 dn
  2 N  1 
 max min  1  Cos 1
 
  dn 

 2 N  1 
 max min  Cos 1
  1
  dn 
 If n=4 d= λ/2 and ɑ=-π β= 2π/λ N=1

 
 2  1  1
1 


 max min  Cos   1
 2  
 4

  2 


 3 
 max min  Cos 1
  1
 4 
 1 
 max min  Cos 1
 
4

 max min  75.5 0

If n=4 d= λ/2 and ɑ=-π β= 2π/λ N=2

 5 
 max min  Cos 1
  1
 4 
  1
 max min  Cos 1
 
 4

 max min  104.5 0

Direction Pattern of minimum of
minor lobe

 Sin (n / 2) 
Et  E 0  
 Sin ( / 2) 

n
Sin( )0
2

n
( )  Sin 1 (0)
2
 n
( )   N
2

N 2
 
n

N 2
dCos    
n
For end fire array
ɑ=-βd

N 2
dCos  d  
n

N 2
d Cos  1  
n
N 2
Cos    1
dn
  N 2 
  Cos  
1
 1
 dn 

If N=1,2,3

N=1
θ=600
N=2
θ=±900

N=3
θ=±1200
 EFA with Increased Directivity
• For end fire array is maximum at 0 degree or
180 degree.
• This array is used to improve directivity of an
array.
• Hanseen Woody and End fire array
ɑ=-βd
2 
 
 4


 
2
• The second element is having a phase shift of
90 degree with first element.
• The third element is having a phase shift of 90
degree with second element.
• The fourth element is having a phase shift of
90 degree with third element.
• ɑ=-(βd+π/n)
• “n”denotes the number of elements.
 2   
    
  4 n

  90  45
  135
• The second element is having a phase shift of
135 degree with first element.
• The third element is having a phase shift of
135 degree with second element.
• The fourth element is having a phase shift of
135 degree with third element.
 Binomial Arrays
• It is an array with non uniform amplitude.
• The amplitude are arranged such that the
radiation pattern has no minor lobes.
• The amplitude of excitation current are
proportional to the coefficient of a binomial
expression.
• Spacing between two consecutive elements
does not increase with (λ/2).
a  b  n 1
a n 1
 (n  1)a n2
b
n  1n  2  n 3 2
a b  ...........
2I
Electric field pattern is given by the equation .

 
E  Cos n  cos  
2 

Number of sources in the array is denoted by “n”.

• Length of the array is equal to

L  n  1
2

HALF POWER BEAMWIDTH

1.06
HPBW 
n 1

1.06
HPBW 
2L

• Directivity is given by

D  1.77 N
• Array factor is equal to

AF  1  z 
n 1

z=ejΨ
Advantages
1. No side lobes
2. Wide beams and larger HPBW
Disadvantages
1. Less directivity
2. Larger amplitude is required.
3. Low efficiency.
 Illustrative problems
• A broad side array operating at 10cm
wavelength consists of 4 half wave dipole
spaced 50 cm each element carries radio
frequency current in the same phase and
magnitude 0.25A. Calculate the radiated
power, half power beamwidth of major lobe.
• n= Number of elements= 4
• λ=0.1 m
• d= spacing between any two elements=50 cm
or 0.5 m
• I= 0.25 A
• Power radiated is given by

Prad  nI Rrad
2

Prad  40.25 73

2

Prad  18.25W
• Length of array is given by

L  nd

L  40.5

L2
 2
BWFN 
L

2  0 .1
BWFN   0.1radian
2
 BWFN
HPBW 
2

0 .1
HPBW   0.05radians
2
• Find the minimum spacing between the
elements in a broadside array of 10 isotropic
radiators to have directivity of 7dB.

• Gdmax= 7 dB
• Number of elements= 10
G D max  10 log10 G D max 

7  10 log10 G D max 

G D max  5.0118
 L  nd 
G D max  2   2 
   

 10  d 
5.0118  2 
  

d  0.25
• Hence to achieve maximum directivity of 7dB
with broadside array of 10 isotropic radiators,
the minimum distance between the elements
is 0.25 λ.
References
• K. D. Prasad, "Antenna and Wave Propagation," Satya
Prakashan, 2011.
• John D. Kraus and Ronald J. Marhefka and Ahmad S.Khan,
Antennas and wave propagation, TMH, New Delhi, 4th Ed.,
(special Indian Edition), 2010.
• C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory-Analysis and Desgn, John
Wiley & Sons, 2nd Edition, 2001.
Web Resources:
NPTEL :: Electrical Engineering - NOC:Antennas
Antenna Theory - Antenna Arrays (tutorialspoint.com)
 Wave Propagation: Different modes of wave
propagation, Structure of Ground wave propagation,
structure of Ionosphere, refraction and reflection of
sky waves by Ionosphere, ray path, Critical frequency,
MUF, LUF, OF, Virtual height and Skip distance,
Relation between MUF and Skip distance, Multi-HOP
propagation, Energy loss in Ionosphere, Illustrative
problems.
Propagation Modes
 Ground-wave (< 2MHz) propagation
 Sky-wave (2 – 30 MHz) propagation
 Line-of-sight (> 30 MHz) propagation

3
Ground Wave Propagation
 Follows the contour of the earth
 Can propagate considerable distances
 Frequencies up to 2 MHz
 Example
 AM radio
 submarine communication (long waves)

4
Sky Wave Propagation

5
Sky Wave Propagation
 Signal reflected from ionized layer of atmosphere back
down to earth
 Signal can travel a number of hops, back and forth
between ionosphere and the earth surface
 Reflection effect caused by refraction
 Examples
 amateur radio
 International broadcasts

6
Line-of-Sight Propagation

7
Line-of-Sight Propagation
 Transmitting and receiving antennas must be within line of sight
 Satellite communication – signal above 30 MHz not reflected
by ionosphere
 Ground communication – antennas within effective line of
sight due to refraction
 Refraction – bending of microwaves by the atmosphere
 Velocity of an electromagnetic wave is a function of the
density of the medium
 When wave changes medium, speed changes
 Wave bends at the boundary between mediums
 Mobile phone systems, satellite systems, cordless phones, etc.

8
Line-of-Sight Equations
 Optical line of sight
d  3.57 h
 Effective, or radio, line of sight


d  3.57  h
d = distance between antenna and horizon (km)
 h = antenna height (m) (altitude relative to a receiver
at the sea level)
 K = adjustment factor to account for refraction
caused by atmospherics layers; rule of thumb K = 4/3

9
Line-of-Sight Equations
 Maximum distance between two antennas for LOS
propagation:

3.57 h1  h2 
 h1 = height of antenna one
 h2 = height of antenna two

10
LOS Wireless Transmission
Impairments
 Attenuation and attenuation distortion
 Free space loss
 Atmospheric absorption
 Multipath (diffraction, reflection, refraction…)
 Noise
 Thermal noise

11
Attenuation
 Strength of signal falls off with distance over
transmission medium
 Attenuation factors for unguided media:
 Received signal must have sufficient strength so that
circuitry in the receiver can interpret the signal
 Signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error
 Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies, causing
distortion (attenuation distortion)

12
Free Space Path Loss
 Free space path loss, ideal isotropic antenna
Pt

 4d 
2

4fd 
2

Pr 2 c2

 Pt = signal power at transmitting antenna

 Pr = signal power at receiving antenna
  = carrier wavelength
 d = propagation distance between antennas
 c = speed of light ( 3  10 8 m/s)
where d and  are in the same units (e.g., meters)

13
Free Space Path Loss in dB
 Free space path loss equation can be recast (decibel
version):
Pt  4d 
LdB  10 log  20 log  
Pr   
 20 log    20 log d   21.98 dB

 4fd 
 20 log    20 log  f   20 log d   147.56 dB
 c 

14
Structure of Ground Wave Propagation
 Ground wave propagation of the wave follows the contour of
earth. Such a wave is called as direct wave. The wave
sometimes bends due to the Earth’s magnetic field and gets
reflected to the receiver. Such a wave can be termed
as reflected wave.
Structure of The Ionosphere :
 The region of the atmosphere extending from 30
miles to 300 miles above the surface of the earth

 Solar radiation causes atoms in the ionosphere to

become ionized
 Electrons freed up, resulting in weak conduction
 Regions
 The ionosphere organizes itself into regions or
“layers”

• Varies with amount of ionization

• D-region disappears at night
• E-region is like D and disappears at night

• F-region composed of F1 and F2 regions

during the day; re-combines at night
 Regions
• D-Layer
 30-60 miles altitude
 Rapidly disappears at Sunset
 Rapidly re-forms at Sunrise
 Absorbs long wavelength
radio waves
• 160m, 80m, and 40m generally
unuseable during the day
E-Layer
 60-70 miles altitude
• One hop up to 1,200 miles
 Acts similar to D-layer
• Lasts longer into the night
• Less absorption during the day
 Enables auroral propagation
at northern latitudes
 Sporadic-E skip
• 10m, 6m, and 2m
• F-Layer
 100-300 miles altitude
• One-hop up to 2,500 miles
 Can remain partially ionized
at night
 Splits into F1 and F2 layer
during the day
• F1 layer = 100-140 miles.
• F2 layer = 200-300 miles.
 Long-range HF propagation
 Diffraction, Refraction, Reflection, Absorption
 Diffract: To alter the direction of a wave as it passes by the
edges of obstructions

 Reflect: Bouncing of a wave after contact with a surface

 Refract: Bending of wave as it travels through materials
having different properties (e.g., densities)
 Absorption: Dissipation of energy of a wave as it travel
through a medium
The refraction and reflection in the
ionosphere
 Refraction
• Radio waves are refracted (bent) by the
ionosphere
 Refraction
• Radio waves are refracted (bent) in the
ionosphere
 The stronger the ionization, the more the waves
will be bent

 The higher the frequency (shorter wavelength),

the less the waves will be bent

 VHF and UHF are only slightly bent and almost

never enough to return Earth
 Refraction
• Critical angle
• Maximum angle at which radio waves
are bent enough to return to earth for a
given frequency
• Critical angle decreases with
increasing frequency
• One reason why a low angle of
radiation is important for working DX
Ray Path
 The path followed by a
wave is termed ray path.
Figure illustrates six
different paths followed
by a wave under
different conditions.
Critical frequency
Critical frequency, fc fc for a given layer is defined as
the highest frequency that will be reflected to earth by
that layer at vertical incidence. It is also defined as the
limiting frequency below which a wave is reflected and
above which it penetrates through an ionospheric layer,
when the waves are incident on the layer normally.
Lowest usable frequency
 LUF At certain low frequencies, the
combination of ionospheric absorption,
atmospheric noise, miscellaneous static and
receiver S/N requirements conspire to reduce
radio communications. The lowest frequency
that can be used for communication is called
LUF.
Maximum usable frequency
 MUF It is the highest frequency of wave that is
reflected by the layer at an angle of incidence other
than normal. MUF depends on time of day, distance,
direction, season and solar activity. MUF is the
highest frequency that can be used for sky-wave
communication between transmitter and receiver. The
common values of MUF range between 8 to 30 MHz.
However, it may even be 50 MHz at times.
MUF
Ray paths of MUF and fc
Optimum working frequency
 frequency of optimum traffic (FOT) The frequency of
wave which is normally used for ionospheric
communication is known as optimum working
frequency. It is generally chosen to be about 15% less
than the MUF. It is always desirable to use as high a
frequency as possible since the attenuation is
inversely proportional to the square of the frequency.
The frequency at which there is optimum return of
wave energy is called the optimum frequency (OF).
Virtual Height
 It is defined as the height
that is reached by a short
pulse of energy which has
the same time delay as
the original wave. Virtual
height of the layer is
always greater than the
actual height.
 Skip Distance
 The shortest distance from the
transmitter that is covered by a
f ixed frequency (> fc). When
the angle of incidence is large,
ray 1 returns to ground at a
long distance from the
transmitter. If the angle is
reduced, ray 2 returns to a
point closer to the transmitter.
So there is always a possibility
that short distances may not be
covered by sky-wave
propagation under certain
conditions.
Relation Between MUF and the Skip
Distance
Relation Between MUF and the Skip
Distance
 Multi-Hop Propagation
 Multi hop system is an
alternative for establishing the
communication.
 Also, if the frequency used
falls between critical
frequencies of E and F1 layers
and the receiver is beyond the
skip distance for E layer, two
or even three separate layers
may contribute to the
propagation of energy.
Energy Loss in Ionosphere
Some of the chief reasons for signals being attenuated include:
 Distance
 Attenuation by the ionosphere - chiefly the D region
 Reflection by surfaces on the ground that have poor reflectivity - for
multiple hops
 Polarization
 Other minor losses
 There are many different forms of loss encountered when using
ionospheric propagation. It is necessary to assess them all when
selecting a frequency, time of day, etc for planning a radio
communications link, broadcasting schedule, etc.
References
 K. D. Prasad, "Antenna and Wave Propagation," Satya
Prakashan, 2011.
 John D. Kraus and Ronald J. Marhefka and Ahmad
S.Khan, Antennas and wave propagation, TMH, New
Delhi, 4th Ed., (special Indian Edition), 2010.
Web Resources:
NPTEL :: Electrical Engineering - NOC:Antennas
Wave Propagation: Definition, EM Wave propagation, and Its Types
(elprocus.com)