EEE:464 Wireless Communication

Lecture 3
Instructor: Shahwaiz Iqbal
Wireless Communication, Introduction
to Antenna theory
 Contents
• Wireless Communication: Introduction
– Wireless Transmission waves
– General frequeny ranges
– Gain and Loss
– The decibel
• Antenna theory
– Introduction and Definition
– Function and purpose
– Antenna types – passive and active
– Radiation Resistance
– Shapes and types
– How antenna works
– Antenna gain
 Wireless Communication
• Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical
conductor. This type of communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.
Wireless transmission waves
Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless
communication
 Radio Waves
• Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio and

television, and paging systems. They can penetrate through walls.

• Highly regulated. Use omni directional antennas
 Microwaves
• Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular
telephones, satellite networks, and wireless LANs.
• Higher frequency ranges cannot penetrate walls.
• Use directional antennas - point to point line of sight communications.
 Infrared

• Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed

area using line-of-sight propagation.

 General Frequency Ranges
• Microwave frequency range
– 1 GHz to 40 GHz
– Directional beams possible
– Suitable for point-to-point transmission
– Used for satellite communications
• Radio frequency range
– 30 MHz to 1 GHz
– Suitable for omnidirectional applications
• Infrared frequency range
– Roughly, 3x1011 to 2x1014 Hz
– Useful in local point-to-point multipoint applications within
confined areas
 Terrestrial Microwave Antennas
• Description of common microwave antenna
– Parabolic "dish", 3 m in diameter
– Fixed rigidly and focuses a narrow beam
– Achieves line-of-sight transmission to receiving antenna
– Located at substantial heights above ground level
• Applications
– Long haul telecommunications service
– Short point-to-point links between buildings
 Satellite Microwave Communication
• Description of communication satellite
– Microwave relay station
– Used to link two or more ground-based microwave
transmitter/receivers
– Receives transmissions on one frequency band (uplink), amplifies or
repeats the signal, and transmits it on another frequency (downlink)
• Applications
– Television distribution
– Long-distance telephone transmission
– Private business networks
 Gain and Loss
• Understanding RF signal transmission involves:
– The strength or the power with which the transmitter is sending the
signal
– The amount of reduction in signal strength caused by cables,
connectors, and other components
– The transmission medium (atmosphere or free-space)
– The minimum strength of the signal required by the receiver to be able
to properly recover the data sent by the transmitter
 Gain and Loss (continued)
• Amplifier boosts the power of a signal
– The effect is called a gain
• Cables and connectors offer a resistance to the flow of electricity
– They tend to decrease the power of a signal (loss)
• Signal power changes logarithmically
• Gain and loss are relative concepts
– Need to know the power level of the signal at two different points
Gain and Loss (continued)

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 The Decibel
• Decibel (dB)
– Ratio between two signal levels
– Makes it much simpler to express and calculate power gain or loss
• Tens and threes of RF mathematics
– A gain of 3 dB (+3 dB) means the signal is two times bigger (twice the
power)
– A gain of 10 dB (+10 dB) means the signal is 10 times bigger (10 times
the power)
– The same applies for loss
 The Decibel (continued)
• dBm
– Relative way to indicate an absolute power level in the linear Watt scale
– 1 mW = 0 dBm
• Isotropic radiator
– Theoretical perfect sphere that radiates power equally in all directions
– Provides a reference point for representing the gain of an antenna
• Usually expressed in dB isotropic (dBi)
 The Decibel (continued)
• For microwave and higher frequency antennas
– Gain is usually expressed in dB dipole (dBd)
• Dipole
– The smallest, simplest, most practical type of antenna that can be made
• But that also exhibits the least amount of gain
– Has a fixed gain over that of an isotropic radiator of 2.15 db
The Decibel (continued)
 Electromagnetic - Field Fundamentals
• 1831 Faraday demonstrates electromagnetic induction
• 1864 J. Maxwell proposes his theory of electromagnetic fields, wave
Equations
• 1873 J. Maxwell introduced and developed a new theory called Maxwell
Equations.
• 1888 H. Hertz demonstrates the wave character of electrical transmission
through space.
• Maxwell Equations, together with the wave equation are a set of partial
differential equations, that in principle provides an exhaustive solution to
all the problems in electromagnetic fields and thus in radio propagation.
• But, due to complexity, these equations are only used in simple and ideal
cases.
• Maxwell equations provide little intuitive understanding of real life
problems.
• Radio engineers tend to use rather simple models that give a coarse
description of the physical phenomenon
Antenna Theory
 Introduction

• An antenna is an electrical conductor or system of conductors

– Transmission - radiates electromagnetic energy into space
– Reception - collects electromagnetic energy from space
• In two-way communication, the same antenna can be used for transmission
and reception
 Antenna Definition

• An antenna is a circuit element that provides a transition form a

guided wave on a transmission line to a free space wave and it
provides for the collection of electromagnetic energy.
• In transmit systems the RF signal is generated, amplified, modulated
and applied to the antenna
• In receive systems the antenna collects electromagnetic waves that are
“cutting” through the antenna and induce alternating currents that are
used by the receiver
 Intended & unintended radiators

• Antennas intended to produce specified EM field

– Radio communication antennas; Measuring antennas; EM sensors,
probes; EM applicators (Industrial, Medical, Scientific)
• Radiators not intended to generate any EM field, but producing it as an
unintended side-effect
– Any conductor/ installation with varying electrical current (e.g.
electrical installation of vehicles)
– Any slot/ opening in the screen of a device/ cable carrying RF
current
– Any discontinuity in transmission medium (e.g. conducting
structures/ installations) irradiated by EM waves
– Stationary (e.g. antenna masts or power line wires); Time-
varying (e.g. windmill or helicopter propellers); Transient
(e.g. aeroplanes, missiles)
Antenna purpose
• Transformation of a guided EM wave in
transmission line (waveguide) into a freely
propagating EM wave in space (or vice versa)
with specified directional characteristics
– Transformation from time-function in
one-dimensional space into time-function
in three dimensional space
– The specific form of the radiated wave is
defined by the antenna structure and the
environment
 Antenna functions

• Transmission line
– Power transport medium - must avoid power reflections
• Radiator
– Must radiate efficiently
• Resonator
– Unavoidable - for broadband applications resonances must be
attenuated
 Antenna Types
• Passive antennas
– The most common type
– Constructed of a piece of metal, wire, or similar conductive material
– Does not amplify the signal in any way
– Directional gain
• Passive antennas radiate the RF energy supplied by the transmitter
in one direction
• Exhibits an effective gain that is similar to amplification of the
signal
 Antenna Types (continued)
• Active antennas
– Essentially passive antennas with an amplifier built-in
– Amplifier is connected directly to the piece of metal that forms the
antenna itself
– Most active antennas have only one electrical connection
• RF signal and the power for the amplifier are supplied on the same
conductor
 Radiation Resistance

• Radiation resistance Rr
– a fictitious resistance ,when used to replace an antenna, would
dissipate the same amount of power the antenna radiates.
• Mathematically Rr = P/ i2
– where P = power radiated by antenna
– i = antenna feed point current
• E.g, If radiated power = 10W, antenna current = 0.447A, find the
radiation resistance.
– Sol: Rr = 10/(0.447)2 = 50 ohms
 Radiation Resistance
• Antenna presents an impedance at its terminals
Z A  RA  jX A

• Resistive part is radiation resistance plus loss resistance

R A  RR  RL
The radiation resistance does not correspond to a real resistor
present in the antenna but to the resistance of space coupled
via the beam to the antenna terminals.
 Antenna Efficiency
• Antenna Efficiency(η)
– antenna efficiency(η) is defined as η= Pr/(Pr+ Pd)
– where Pr = power radiated by antenna
– Pd = power dissipated in antenna
• Alternatively
– η = Rr/( Rr+ Re )
– where Rr = radiation resistance
– Re = effective antenna resistance
 Isotropic Radiator
• Isotropic source/radiator
– An isotropic radiator is one which would radiate equally well in all
direction
– true isotropic radiator can not be found in practical antenna.

• Isotropic radiator
– can be approximated by an omnidirectional antenna .
 Reciprocity

• An antenna ability to transfer energy form the atmosphere to its

receiver with the same efficiency with which it transfers energy from
the transmitter into the atmosphere

• Antenna characteristics are essentially the same regardless of whether

an antenna is sending or receiving electromagnetic energy
 Antenna Sizes and Shapes
• Size and shape of an antenna depend on:
– Frequency on which the antenna will transmit and receive
– Direction of the radiated electromagnetic wave
– Power with which the antenna must transmit
• Antenna size is inversely proportional to the wavelength it is designed to
transmit or receive
– Lower frequency signals require larger antennas

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 Antenna Sizes and Shapes (continued)
• Omnidirectional antennas
– Used to transmit and receive signals from all directions with relatively
equal intensity
– Longer omnidirectional antennas have a higher gain
• Directional antennas
– Transmit a signal in one direction only
– Yagi antenna emits a wider, less focused RF beam
– Parabolic dish antenna emits a narrow, more concentrated beam of RF
energy
Antenna Sizes and Shapes (omni
directional antenna)

• omi directional antennas for use in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks

• Manetic mount – improving signal reception over antennas that are
built
inside notebook computers – used for office environment
• Blister antennas – when neither necessary or diserable to hide the
Antenna Sizes and Shapes
 Antenna Sizes and Shapes
(Directional antenna)

• yagi antenna emits a wider, less focused RF beam

• Used for medium distance upto 16 miles
• Encased model – 2.4GHz WLAN
• Open – paging system
 Antenna Sizes and Shapes (continued)
• Patch antennas
– Emit an RF energy beam that is horizontally wide but vertically taller
than that of a yagi antenna
– Considered a semi-directional antenna
– Often used to send RF energy down a long corridor
– Some are designed for installation on building walls
• To send an RF signal in one direction away from the structure
– One common application for patch antennas is in cellular telephony
Antenna Sizes and Shapes (continued)
Antenna Sizes and Shapes (continued)
 How Antennas Work

• Understanding antennas requires in-depth knowledge of physics,

mathematics, and electronics
 Wavelength
• Length of a single RF sine wave
• Determines the size of an antenna
• Full-wave antenna
– Antenna transmits and receives a signal most efficiently at a specific
frequency
• When it is as long as the full length of the wave
– In most cases, this is not practical
• For practical reasons, antennas are more commonly:
– Half-wave antennas, quarter-wave antennas, or eighth-wave antennas
 Antenna Performance

• Antenna performance
– A measure of how efficiently an antenna can radiate an RF signal
• Design, installation, size, and type of antenna can affect its performance
 Radiation Patterns

• Antenna pattern
– Graphic developed by measuring the signal radiating from the antenna
– Indicates the direction, width, and shape of the RF signal beam coming
from the antenna
• Antennas emit signals in two dimensions
– Horizontally and vertically
• Antenna specifications almost always state the vertical beam angle that a
particular antenna emits
 Radiation Patterns
• Radiation pattern
– Graphical representation of radiation properties of an antenna
– Depicted as two-dimensional cross section
• Beam width (or half-power beam width)
– Measure of directivity of antenna
• Reception pattern
– Receiving antenna’s equivalent to radiation pattern
Radiation Patterns (continued)
Radiation Patterns (continued)
 Induction & Radiation Fields

• Induction Field( Near Field )

– is the field pattern close to the antenna
– energy is returned to antenna in the second half cycle of excitation
similar to inductor that stores & releases energy
– The region located less than one wavelength from the source is
called the Near-field

• Radiation Field( Far Fields )

– the field pattern at great distance
– power radiated outward and never returned to antenna
– antenna radiation patterns are quoted in radiation field
 Quantification of Near Field
• The near field is defined as the region area within a distance R given
below:

– R = D2/λ
– where D = antenna diameter
– λ = wavelength
– note : antenna diameter and wavelength are in the same dimensio
n unit
 Polarization
• Polarization is the direction of the electric field and is the same as the
physical attitude of the antenna
– A vertical antenna will transmit a vertically polarized wave
• The receive and transmit antennas need to possess the same polarization
 Antenna Polarization

• Antenna polarization
– Orientation of the wave leaving the antenna
• Vertical polarization
– Sine waves travel up and down when leaving antenna
• Horizontal polarization
– Sine waves travel from side to side on a horizontal plane
• Most efficient signal transmission and reception is experienced when both
antennas are equally polarized
Antenna Polarization
 Omni directional antenna
• An antenna, which has a non-directional pattern in a plane
– It is usually directional in other planes
 Pattern lobes

• Pattern lobe is a portion of the radiation pattern with a local maximum.

• Lobes are classified as: major, minor, side lobes, back lobes.
Pattern lobes and beam widths

56
 Beamwidth

• Half-power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between two vectors from the
pattern’s origin to the points of the major lobe where the radiation intensity
is half its maximum
• Often used to describe the antenna resolution properties
» Important in radar technology, radioastronomy, etc.
• First-null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angle between two vectors,
originating at the pattern’s origin and tangent to the main beam at its base.
» Often FNBW ≈ 2*HPBW

Property of R Struzak
Example
 Front-to-Back Ratio
• The direction of maximum radiation is in the horizontal plane is considered to
be the front of the antenna, and the back is the direction 180º from the front
• For a dipole, the front and back have the same radiation, but this is not always
the case
 Major and Minor Lobes
• In the previous diagram, the antenna has one major lobe and a number
of minor ones
• Each of these lobes has a gain and a beamwidth which can be found
using the diagram
 Types of Antennas
• Isotropic antenna (idealized)
– Radiates power equally in all directions
• Dipole antennas
– Half-wave dipole antenna (or Hertz antenna)
– Quarter-wave vertical antenna (or Marconi antenna)
• Parabolic Reflective Antenna
 Isotropic Antenna

• A theoritical Antenna (isotropic) has a perfect 3600 vertical and horizontal

beamwidth
• This is reference for all antennas
 Dipole
• To obtain omnidirectional gain from an isotropic antenna, the energy lobes
are pushed in from the top and bottom and forced out in doughnut type
pattern
• The higher the gain, the smaller the verticla beamwidth, and more the
horizontal lobe area
• This is typical dipole pattern. Gain of dipole is 2.14dBi (0dBd)
 Directional Antenna

beamwidth
Max power
• A Radiated energy is
focused in a specific
direction

antenna
2 dipole Power 3dB down
from maximum
point A
 Directional Antennas
• For directional antennas, the lobes are pushed in a certain direction,
causing the energy to be condensed in a particular area
• Very litle energy is in the back side of a directional antenna
 High Gain Omnidirectionals

• High gain omnidirectional antennas will creat more coverage area in far
distances, but the energy level directly below the antenna will become
lower, and coverage here may be poor.
 Half-wave Dipole (Hertz)
Antenna

• An antenna having a physical length that is one-half wavelength of the

applied frequency is called a Hertz antenna or a half-wave dipole
antenna.
• Hertz antennas are not found at frequencies below 2MHz because of
the physical size needed of the antenna to represent a half-wave
 Signal Strength and Direction
• Distance between the transmitter and receiver
– Determines the strength of the signal
• Transmitters produce a finite amount of RF energy
– For most applications, active antennas can be extremely expensive
• Omnidirectional antenna divides strength of signal in a 360-degree circle
around the antenna
• Free space loss
– RF waves tend to spread away from the source of the signal (the
antenna)
 Antenna Gain
• Antenna gain
– Power output, in a particular direction, compared to that produced in
any direction by a perfect omnidirectional antenna (isotropic antenna)
• Effective area
– Related to physical size and shape of antenna
 Antenna gain measurement

Reference Measuring Actual Measuring

antenna equipment antenna equipment

Po = Power S0 = Power P = Power S = Power

delivered to received delivered to received
the reference (the same in the actual (the same in
antenna both steps) antenna both steps)
Step 1: reference
Step 2: substitution

Antenna Gain = (P/Po) S=S0

 Antenna Gains Gi, Gd

• Unless otherwise specified, the gain refers to the direction of maximum

radiation.
• Gain is a dimension-less factor related to power and usually expressed in
decibels
• Gi “Isotropic Power Gain” – theoretical concept, the reference antenna is
isotropic
• Gd - the reference antenna is a half-wave dipole
 Typical Gain and Beamwidth

Type of antenna Gi [dB] BeamW.

Isotropic 0 3600x3600

Half-wave Dipole 2 3600x1200

Helix (10 turn) 14 350x350

Small dish 16 300x300

Large dish 45 10x10

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 Antenna gain and effective area

• Measure of the effective absorption area presented by an antenna to an

incident plane wave.
• Depends on the antenna gain and wavelength

2
Ae   G ( ,  ) [m 2 ]
4

Aperture efficiency: a = Ae / A
A: physical area of antenna’s aperture, square meters
 Power Transfer in Free Space
 : wavelength [m]
• PR: power available at the
receiving antenna
• PT: power delivered to the
PR  PFD  Ae transmitting antenna
  GR  • GR: gain of the transmitting
2
G P
  T T2  
antenna in the direction of the
 4r  4 
2
receiving antenna
   • GT: gain of the receiving
 PT GT GR  
 4r  antenna in the direction of the
transmitting antenna
• Matched polarizations
 Feed and line matching

• The antenna impedance must be matched by the line feeding

it if maximum power transfer is to be achieved
• The line impedance should then be the complex conjugate of
that of the antenna
• Most feed line are essentially resistive
 Signal transmission, radar echo
• Transmitting antenna Aet , Pt , Gt , 
• Receiving antenna Aer , Pr , Gr

2
Gt Pt 2Gr   
Pr    Gt Gr Pt
4  r 4
2
 4  r 

S, power density Effective receiving area

Gt Pt  Gr 2 2
Radar return Pr   Pt Gt Gr 
4  r 4  r 4
2 2
 4  r
3 4

S, power density Reflected Effective receiving area

power density

  radar cross section (area)

 e.i.r.p.
• Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (in a given direction):
• The product of the power supplied to the antenna and the antenna gain (relative to an
isotropic antenna) in a given direction

•
e.i.r. p.  PG
i
Equal to the transmitted output power minus cable loss plus the transmitting antenna
gain.
• Pout Output power of transmitted in dBm
• Ct Transmitter cable attenuation in dB
• Gt Transmitting antenna gain in dBi
• Gr Receiving antenna gain in dBi
• Pl Path loss in dB
• Cr Receiver cable attenuation is dB
• Si Received power level at receiver input in dBm
• Ps Receiver sensitivity is dBm

Si = Pout - Ct + Gt - Pl + Gr - Cr
e.i.r.p = Pout - Ct + Gt
End