AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Radiation from a current element in free space

The electromagnetic field radiated in the space by a short dipole can be calculated by using the retarded
potential. A short dipole is an alternating current element. It is also called an oscillating current
element.In general, a current element IdL is nothing but an element of length dL carrying filamentary
current I. This length of a thin wire is assumed to be very short, so that the filamentary current can be
considered as constant along the length of an element. To calculate the electromagnetic field due to an
alternating current element we consider spherical co-ordinate system. Consider that an alternating current
element IdLcos ωt is located at the centre as shown in the Fig. 1.

Fig1: Electromagnetic field at point P when a current element is placed at origin.

The aim is to calculate electromagnetic field at point P placed at a distance R from the origin.The current
element IdLcos ωt is placed along the z-axis.
The vector potential Ā is given by,

Here the vector potential is retarded in time by r/v sec, where v is the velocity of propagation. As the
current clement is placed along the z-axis, the vector potential will also have only one component in
positive z-direction. Hence we can write,

From equation (2) it is clear that the component of vector potential Az can be obtained by integrating the
current density J over the volume. Now this current is assumed to be constant along the length dL, the
integration of J over the length dL gives value IdL. Thus mathematically we can write.

Substituting the value of integration from equation (3) in equation (2), the vector potential in z- direction is
given by,

Now the magnetic field is given by

In spherical co-ordinate system, the curl of Ā, must find the component of Ā in r, θ and ϕ directions.
From the Fig. 1, it is clear that,

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Hence is given by,

Now note that Aϕ=0 and because of symmetry ∂/∂ϕ=0 as no variation along ϕ direction. Thus first two
terms in equation (7) can be neglected being zero.

Putting values of Aθ and Aɳ, from equation (5), we get,Substituting value of AZ,

Hence the magnetic field is given by,

Putting value of (∆ x Ā) from equation (9) we get,

Equation (10) indicates that the magnetic field exists only in ϕ direction.

Let (t- r/v) = tˊ, substituting the value in equation (11), we get,

After calculating the magnetic field, now let us calculate the electric field given by,

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Separating variables & integrating with respect to corresponding variables, we get,

Let us calculate each term of separately.

From the definition of curl of a vector, the component in direction is given by

But ∂/∂ϕ=0

Substituting value of Hϕ from equation (12),

Let us calculate the component in direction

But again ∂/∂ϕ=0

Substituting value of Hɳ from equation (11),

Finally the component of in direction is zero.

From equation (13), the component of in direction is given by

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Putting value of from equation (14),

Put (t- r/v) = tˊ

Similarly from equation (13), the component of in direction is given by,

Substituting the value of from equation (15),

Significance of field components:

The significance of each term in the expressions for the field components are describing as follows. Let
us rewrite the expressions for the field components. There is only one component for the magnetic field,
in direction given by,

There are two components for the electric field, in and direction, given by,

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Consider expression for the component Hɸ.

1. The first term varies inversely with distance r. This term is called radiation or distant field.
2. The second term varies inversely with the square of distance r. This term is called induction field.
When distance r is small, the points are very close to the current element and the induction field term is
dominating. But when the points are far away from the current element, then for such larger distances
induction field term is negligible as compared to the radiation field.
3. The amplitudes of both the terms in Hϕ have equal amplitudes. The condition at which the
amplitudes are equal is given by
1/r2 = ω/rv
r = v / ω = v / 2πf = (v/f) / 2π = λ / 2π = λ/6
4. In the induction field term t is replaced by the retarded time t ɳ. The term can be written
as

Basically this expression is similar to the expression for the magnetic field strength due to the current
element derived from Bio-Savart law, extended for alternating current Icos ωt.
5. For steady currents, the radiation field term is absent.
6. The radiation field term indicates flow of energy away from the current element while the
induction field term indicates the energy stored in the field during one quarter of the cycle which is
returned back during next cycle.
Now consider the expressions of the components Er and Eθ.
1. The component Eθ has both the induction field and radiation terms along with a term which varies
inversely with the cube of a distance r.
2. The component Er, has only induction term along with a term which varies inversely with the cube
of a distance r.
3. In both the field component expressions the term which varies inversely with cube of a distance r
is called electrostatic field or simply electric field.
The Hertzian dipole – Radiation between a current element and Electric dipole:
Hertzian dipole is nothing but an infinitesimal current element IdL. Actually such a current element does
not exist in the real life, but it serves as block in electric field of the alternating current element contains the
terms of building calculating the field of a practical antenna using integration. It that the field of an electric
dipole which correspond to observe.
A Hertzian dipole consisting two equal and opposite charges at the end of the current element separated by
a short distance dL is as shown in the Figure.

The wire between the two spheres where charges can accumulate is very thin as compared to the radius of -
spheres. Thus the current I is uniform through the wires. Also the distance dL is greater as compared to the
radii of the spheres.
i = I cos w t
Then the charge accumulated at the ends of the element and current flowing through the wire are related to

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

each other by the expression,

dq =I cosϖt dt
Substituting the value of q in terms of current I we will get

Chain of Hertzian dipoles and charge and current distributions on linear antenna

When such Hertzian dipoles are connected end to end forming a practical antenna, it is observed that the
positive charge at one end of the dipole gets cancelled by the equal and opposite charge at lower end of the
next dipole. Hence when the current is uniform along the antenna, then there is no charge accumulation at
the ends of the dipole which indicates that 1/r3 term is absent and only induction and radiation fields are
present. The chain of Hertzian dipole forming part of antenna is as shown in figure
But if the current through antenna is not uniform throughout then - there is a accumulation of charge as
shown in the Figure These charges causes stronger electric field component normal to the surface of the
wire.

Power Radiated by a Current Element:

Consider a current element placed at a centre of a spherical co-ordinate system. Then the power radiated per
unit area at point P can be calculated by using Poynting theorem. The power flow per unit area is given by
Poynting vector.
According to Poynting theorem, the instantaneous power is given by,

The components of the Poynting vector are given by,

Pr=EθHϕ

But we know that when current element is placed at the origin, then the Eϕ component of the
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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

electric field is zero. In other words, the Poynting vector will have only θ and r components.
Let us rewrite the field components of the electric and magnetic fields due to the current element,
replacing v by c for the propagation in free space,

The θ component of the instantaneous Poynting vector is given by

Using property 2 sinθcosθ = sin2θ,

Consider middle term inside the second square bracket,

Putting value of the term considered back in the original expression,

The average value of sin2ωt' and cos2ωt' terms over a complete cycle is zero. This clearly indicates that
for any value of r, the average of Pθ is always zero over a complete cycle. Thus there will be the power
flow back and forth in θ-direction only. Hence in θ-direction, there is no net or average flow of power.
Let us calculate now radial component of the Poynting vector,

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Rearranging the terms,

Again the average value of the sin2ωt' and cos 2ωt' terms is zero over a complete cycle. Hence the
average radial power is given by

But for free space intrinsic impedance ηo= 1/εc

The power component Pθ represented by equation (3) is in radial direction. Hence it is called radial power.
Equation (5) Pr represents the average power flow. The radiation terms in the expressions of the fields
contribute to this average power flow. When the point is away from the current element at far distance, the
radiation term contributes to the average power. But when the point is very close to the current element, the
terms related to the induction and electrostatic fields are dominent and only 1/r terms contribute to the
average power flow. From the expressions of Eθ and Hɳ, the amplitudes of the radiation fields only can be
obtained. The amplitude from Eθ component is given by,

Similarly amplitude from Hɳ component is given by,

The radiation terms of Eθ and Hɳ are in time phase and are related by

The total power radiated by the current element can be obtained by integrating the radial
Poynting vector over a spherical surface. Consider a spherical shell with the current element IdL
placed at the centre of the spherical co-ordinate system as shown in the Fig. 19. The point P at which
power radiated is to be calculated is independent of an azimuthal angle ɳ so the element of area ds on

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

the spherical shell is considered as strip.

Fig 2 Element of area on spherical shell in the form of strip

The element of area ds is given by
ds = 2 π r2sinθ dθ …(9)
The total power radiated is calculated by integrating average radial power over the spherical surface,

In spherical co-ordinate system, θ varies from 0 to π. Hence putting limits of integration as,

Using the reduction formula for calculating integral,

Hence n is 3 i.e. odd, hence we can write,

Substituting this value in the expression of power, we get,

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

The power represented by equation (12) is in terms of maximum or peak current. We know that,

Thus the power can be expressed in terms of effective current as

For free space ɳo = 120π and

Substituting values of ɳo and ω2/c2 in above equation (13), we get,

Equation (14) is another form of the power radiated in terms of the effective current. As we know that
the power is in the form of I2R. Thus the coefficient of power in the equation (14) is nothing but the
resistance. This resistance is called radiation resistance of the current element, represented by Rrad.

Short Linear Antennas:

The current element that we have considered previously is not a practical, but it is hypothetical. It is
useful in the theoretical calculations such as the components of the fields, radiation of power etc. The
practical example of the centre-fed antenna is an elementary dipole.

The length of such centre-fed antenna is very short in wavelength. The current amplitude on such antenna is
maximum at the center and it decreases uniformly to zero at the ends. The current distribution of short
dipole is as shown in the Figure.

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Current distribution of short dipole

If we consider same current I flowing through the hypothetical current element and the practical short
dipole, both of same length, then the practical short dipole radiate only one-quarter of the power that
is radiated by the current element. This is because the field strengths at every point on the short dipole
reduce to half of the values for the current element and hence the power density reduces to one
quarter. So obviously for same current, the radiation resistance for the short dipole is ¼ times. Hence the
radiation resistance is given by

R rad (short dipole) = ]=

R rad (short dipole) = 200(L/λ) 2

Another practical example of an antenna is a monopole or short vertical antenna mounted on a reflecting
plane as shown in the Figure.

Let the monopole is of length h. Again if we consider same current I flows through a monopole of length h
and a short dipole of length / = 2h then the field strength produced by both the antennas is same above the
reflecting plane. But the monopole radiates only through the hemispherical surface above the plane. So the
radiated power of a monopole is half of that radiated by a short dipole. Hence the radiation resistance of a
monopole is half of the radiation resistance of the short dipole.

R rad (monopole) = R rad (shortdipole) = ]= = 400(h/λ) 2

Current distribution of monopole

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

The half wave dipole and monopole

In order to calculate the radiated electromagnetic field of longer antenna, the the discussion in the current
distribution along the antenna must be known. As boundary solving the Maxwell's previous sections, the
current distribution can be obtained by equations for the time varying fields with the proper boundary
conditions. But it is observed that the actual calculation of the current distribution of the cylindrical antenna
is very difficult and complicated task. The mathematical expressions obtained by solving the Maxwell's
equations with appropriate boundary conditions are very complicated. Hence, in general it is a common
practice to approximate the current distribution that is more or less same as the real distribution and from
that approximate field expressions are calculated. Such field expressions can then be represented by
comparatively simpler expressions. Obviously the accuracy of the fields calculated with approximate current
distribution assumption depends on the fact that how good an assumption is made for the current
distribution. The centre fed antenna as an open circuited transmission line that is opened out, with a current
distribution of sinusoidal type with current nodes at ends is studied in the last section. This assumption is the
outcome of Abraham's work on the thin ellipsoids and it is observed that this assumption holds good for the
thin antennas only.

A very commonly used antenna is the half wave dipole with a length one half of the free space
wavelength of the radiated wave. It is found the linear current distribution is not suitable for this antenna.
But when such antenna is fed at its centre with the help of a transmission line, it gives a current distribution
which is approximately sinusoidal, with maximum at the centre and zero at the ends. The UHF and VHF
regions, the dimensions of the half wave dipole make it most suitable as an antenna or as an antenna system
element.

The half wave dipole can be considered as a chain of Hertzian dipoles. For the uniform current
distribution, the positive charges at the end of one Hertzian dipole gets cancelled with an equal negative
charge at the opposite end of the adjacent dipole. But when the current distribution is not constant (i.e.
sinusoidal as assumed here), the successive dipoles of the chain have slightly different current amplitudes,
where adjacent charges are not cancelled completely.
Power Radiated by the Half Wave Dipole and the Monopole
A dipole antenna is a vertical radiator fed in the centre. It produces maximum is the overall length.

The vertical antenna of height H =L/2 produces the radiation characteristics above the plane which is similar
to that produced by the dipole antenna of length L = 2H. The vertical antenna is referred as a monopole.

In general antenna requires large current to radiate large amount of power. To generate such a large current
at radio frequency it is practically impossible. In case of Hertzian dipole the expressions for E and H are
derived assuming uniform current throughout the length. But we have studied that at the ends of the antenna
current is zero. In other words the current is not uniform throughout the length as it is maximum at centre
and zero at the ends. Hence practically Hertzian dipole is not used. The practically used antennas are half
wave dipole (λ / 2) and quarter wave monopole (λ / 4).

The half wave dipole consists two legs each of length L/2. The physical length of the half wave dipole at the
frequency of operation is λ/2 in free space.

The quarter wave mono pole consists of single vertical leg erected on the perfect ground i.e. on the perfect
conductor. The length of the leg of the quarter wave monopole is λ/4.

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Assumed sinusoidal current distribution in half wave dipole

Assumed sinusoidal current distribution in quarter wave monopole

The above expression indicates the magnetic field radiation of the half wave dipole or quarter wave

monopole
QUARTER WAVE MONOPOLE AND HALF WAVE DIPOLE:

A half-wave dipole and a quarter-wave monopole are shown. The currents are given as
I = im sin β(h − z) for z > 0 and i = im sin β(h + z) for z < 0 (1)

The dipole or monopole is assumed to be located on a perfectly conducting ground. The field is to be

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

obtained at a point which is so distantly located that the distances r and R can be considered to bear the
following relation.
R = r for the estimation of amplitude and R = r − z cos for the estimation of phase. (2) Since the current in
the dipole is in the z-direction, the z component of the differential vector magnetic potential is

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

The total radiated power P is given by ∮ . Thus

where Rrad = 36.5Ω is the radiation resistance of a quarter-wave monopole. The

radiation resistance of a half-wave dipole is twice of the above, i.e., 73 Ω.
Quarter Wave Antenna
 It is quarter wave length long & is a vertical radiator.
 It is simplest to construct.
 Radial buried ground system is used (would be 450 from the horizontal). These 450 drooping
radials simulate an artificial ground & lead to an antenna impedance of about 50Ω.
 If this antenna is grounded then it is also called as half wave Marconi antenna.
 Used for AM broadcasting
Half Wave Antenna
 It is used at 30MHz.
 Input impedance is nominally 50Ω.
 Each of the conductor forms an arm (i.e. λ/4 long) for a total span of λ/2 with small gap
between center.
.

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

 Also known as periodic antennas.

Fig 22 Radiation pattern
 Current and voltage distribution in resonant antennas are shown as-

Fig 23 Current & voltage distribution

Non resonant Antenna

 Length of resonant antenna is other than multiple of λ/2.
 At one end of the antenna, it is excited and other end is terminated.
 It operates over range of frequencies.
 Has wide bandwidth and also called non-periodic antenna.
 No backward or reflected wave exists. Hence radiation pattern is unidirectional.
 Example- Long wire antenna, V antenna, Inverted antenna etc.

Fig 24 Non resonant antenna

LOOP ANTENNAS
It is nothing but a radiating coil of any shape with one or more turns carrying RF current.
Loop Antennas
All antennas discussed so far have used radiating elements that were linear conductors. It is also possible to
make antennas from conductors formed into closed loops. There are two broad categories of loop antennas:
1. Small loops which contain no morethan 0.086λ wavelengths of wire
2. Large loops, which contain approximately 1 wavelength of wire.

Loop antennas have the same desirable characteristics as dipoles and monopoles in that they are inexpensive
and simple to construct. Loop antennas come in a variety of shapes (circular, rectangular, elliptical, etc.) but
the fundamental characteristics of the loop antenna radiation pattern (far field) are largely
independent of the loop shape.

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Just as the electrical length of the dipoles and monopoles effect the efficiency of these antennas, the
electrical size of the loop (circumference) determines the efficiency of the loop antenna.
Loop antennas are usually classified as either electrically small or electrically large based on the
circumference of the loop.
electrically small loop = circumference λ/10
electrically large loop - circumference λ
The electrically small loop antenna is the dual antenna to the electrically short dipole antenna when oriented
as shown below. That is, the far-field electric field of a small loop antenna is identical to the far-field
magnetic field of the short dipole antenna and the far-field magnetic field of a small loop antenna is identical
to the far-field electric field of the short dipole antenna.
SMALL LOOP ANTENNAS A small loop antenna is one whose circumference contains no more than
0.085 wavelengths of wire. In such a short conductor, we may consider the current, at any moment in
time to be constant. This is quite different from a dipole, whose current was a maximum at the feed point
and zero at the ends of the antenna. The small loop antenna can consist of a single turn loop or a multi-turn
loop as shown below:

The radiation pattern of a small loop is very similar to a dipole. The figure below shows a 2-dimensional
slice of the radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop. There is no radiation from a
loop

When the loop is oriented vertically, the resulting radiation is vertically polarized and vice versa:

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

The input impedance of a small loop antenna is inductive, which makes sense, because the small loop
antenna is actually just a large inductor. The real part of the input impedance is very small, on the order of 1
ohm, most of which is loss resistance in the conductor making up the loop. The actual radiation resistance
may be 0.5 ohms or less. Because the radiation resistance is small compared to the loss resistance, the small
loop antenna is not an efficient antenna and cannot be used for transmitting unless care is taken in its design
and manufacture.
While the small loop antenna is not necessarily a good antenna, it makes a good receiving antenna,
especially for LF and VLF. At these low frequencies, dipole antennas are too large to be easily constructed
(in the LF range, a dipole's length ranges from approximately 1600 to 16,000 feet, and VLF dipoles can be
up to 30 miles long!) making the small loop a good option. The small loop responds to the magnetic field
component of the electromagnetic wave and is deaf to most man-made interference, which has a strong
electric field. Thus the loop, although it is not efficient, picks up very little noise and can provide a better
SNR than a dipole. It is possible to amplify the loop's output to a level comparable to what one might
receive from a dipole.
When a small loop is used for receiving, its immunity and sensitivity may be improved by paralleling a
capacitor across its output whose capacitance will bring the small loop to resonance at the desired receive
frequency. Antennas of this type are used in AM radios as well as in LF and VLF direction finding
equipment used on aircraft and boats.
The field pattern of a small circular loop of radius a may be determined very simple by considering a square
loop of the same area, that is.
d2 = π a2 …(1)
where d = side length of square loop
It is assumed that the loop dimensions are small compared to the wavelength. It will be shown that the far-
field patterns of circular and square loops of the same area are the same when the loops are small but
different when they are large in terms of the wavelength.

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

If loop is oriented as in fig.2.6.2, its far electric field has only an EΦ component. To find the far-field pattern
in the yz plane, it is only necessary to consider two of the four small linear dipoles (2 and 4). A cross section
through the loop in the yz plane is presented in Fig.2.6.3. Since the individual small dipoles 2 and 4 are
nondirectional in the yz plane, fee field pattern of the loop in this plane is the same as that for two isotropic
point sources. Thus,
EΦ = -EΦ0 ejψ/2 + EΦ0 e-jψ/2 …(2)
Where EΦ0 = electric field from individual dipole and
ψ = (2πd/λ)sin θ = dr sin θ …(3)
It follows that
EΦ = -2j EΦ0 sin(drsin θ/2) …(4)

The factor j in (4) indicates that the total field EΦ is in phase quadrature with the field EΦ0 be
individual dipole.
However, the length L of the short dipole is the same as d, that is, L = d.

Small loop EΦ = (120π2Isin θA)/rλ2

This is the instantaneous value of the EΦ, component of the far field of a small loop of area A. The peak
value of the field is obtained by replacing [I] by I0, where I0 is the peak current in time on the loop.

Compare far fields of small loop and short dipole

It is of interest to compare the far-field expressions for a small loop with those for a short electric dipole.
The comparison is made in table. The presence of the operator j in the dipole expressions and its absence in
the loop equations indicate that the fields of the electric dipole and of the loop are in time-phase quadrature,
the current I being in the same phase in both the dipole and loop. This quadrature relationship is a
fundamental difference between fields of loops and dipoles.

Field Electric Dipole Loop

Electric Eθ = (j 60 π[ I ] sin θ L)/(r λ) EΦ = (120 π2[ I ] sin θ A) / (r λ2)

Magnetic HΦ = (j [ I ] sin θ L) / (2r λ) Hθ = (π [ I ] sin θ A) / (r λ2)

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

Advantages
1. A small loop is generally used as magnetic dipole.
2. A loop antenna has directional properties whereas a simple vertical antenna not has the same.
3. The induced e.m.f around the loop must be equal to the difference between the two vertical sides only.
4. No e.m.f is produced in case of horizontal arms of a loop antenna.
5. The radiation pattern of the loop antenna does not depend upon the shape of the loop (for small
loops).
6. The currents are at same magnitude and phase, throughout the loop.
Disadvantages
1. Transmission efficiency of the loop is very poor.
2. It is suitable for low and medium frequencies and not for high frequencies.
3. In loop antenna, the two nulls of the pattern result in 180° ambiguity.
4. Loop antennas used as direction finders are unable to distinguish between bearing of a distant
transmitter and its reciprocal bearing.

Far Field Patterns of Loops of 0.1λ, λ and 3λ/4 diameters

(i) Field patterns of 0.1λ

(ii) Field pattern of λ

(iii) Field pattern of 3λ/2 Diameter

LARGE LOOP ANTENNAS A large loop antenna consists of approximately 1 wavelength of wire. The
loop may be square, circular, triangular or any other shape. Because the loop is relatively long, the current

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AWP Lecture Notes Unit I Dipole & Loop Antennas

distribution along the antenna is no longer constant, as it was for the small loop. As a result, the behavior of
the large loop is unlike its smaller cousin.
The current distribution and radiation pattern of a large loop can be derived by folding two half wave dipoles
and connecting them as shown in the diagrams below:
We begin with two λ/2 dipoles separated by λ/4. RF is fed in center of dipole. The resulting current
distribution is shown below as a pink line. Note that the current is zero at the dipoles' ends,

Now each dipole is folded in towards the other in a "U" shape as shown below. The current distribution has
not changed - the antenna current is still zero at the ends.
Since the current at the ends is zero, it would be OK to connect the ends to make a loop as shown below.

We have now created a square loop of wire whose circumference is 1 wavelength. From an electrical point
of view, we have just shown that the large loop is equivalent to two bent dipole antennas. The radiation
pattern of a loop antenna is shown below:

A horizontal slice of the radiation pattern in the XY plane is highlighted in red. It is similar to the figure-8
pattern of a dipole. It is possible to create either horizontally or vertically polarized radiation with a large
loop antenna. The polarization is determined by the location of the feed point as shown below. If the feed
point is in a horizontal side of the loop, the polarization is horizontal. If the feed point is in a vertical side of
the loop, the polarization is vertical.

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