Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Introduction:
In wireless communication systems, signals are radiated in space as an electromagnetic
wave by using a receiving transmitting antenna and a fraction of this radiated power is
intercepted by using a receiving antenna. Thus, an antenna is a device used for radiating
or receiver radio waves. An antenna can also be thought of as a transitional structure
between free space and a guiding device (such as transmission line or waveguide).
Usually antennas are metallic structures, but dielectric antennas are also used now a day.
In our discussion we shall consider only metallic antennas. Here we shall restrict our
discussion to some very commonly used antenna structures. Some of the most commonly
used antenna structures are shown.
Fundamental of Radiation:
Radiation is the process of emitting energy from a source. Electromagnetic radiation can
be at all frequencies except zero (DC), but radiation at various frequencies may take
different forms. At relatively lower frequencies it is in the form of electromagnetic waves,
in the visible domain the emission is in the form of light and at still higher frequencies it
may be in the form of ultra violet or X-ray radiation. The energy associated with the
radiation depends on the frequency.
Time varying currents radiate electromagnetic waves. A time varying current generates
time varying electric and magnetic fields. When such fields exist, power is generated and
propagated. Although, theoretically any structure carrying time varying current can
radiate electromagnetic waves, all structures are not equally efficient in doing that. While
in many applications we try to reduce the radiation, when radiation is intended, launching
of waves into space is accomplished with the aid of specially designed structures called
antennas. If the time varying current density established on an antenna structure is
unknown, the radiated fields can be calculated without great difficulty. A more difficult
problem is determination of current density J on an antenna such that the resultant field
will satisfy the required boundary conditions on the antenna surface.
In many practical antenna structures it is often possible to estimate the current
distribution with sufficient accuracy to obtain good approximation of radiated fields.
However, in order to calculate the impedance properties of an antenna, the current
distribution is required to be known with higher accuracy.
As we have mentioned that if the time varying current density J on the antenna is known,
the radiated E and H fields can be determined. However, it is often advantageous to
compute the radiated fields in an indirect manner, by introducing potential functions. We
illustrate the procedure below.
In a region not containing tree charges, for time harmonic case we can write Maxwell's
equations as:
H J j E ................................ (7.1a)
E j H ..................................... (7.1b)
E 0 ................................................ (7.1c)
H 0 ............................................... (7.1d)
A curl tree vector function can be expressed as the gradient of a scalar function.
Therefore we assume,
E j A = - .. (7.4)
From equation (7.3) and (7.1a),
A B H J j E
2
Or, . A A J j j A
A = -j . (7.6)
which is known as Lorentz condition, we can simplify equation (7.5) as
2 A 2 A J
Equation (7.&) can be solved to determine A and when A is known we can find,
H
1
A . (7.8)
. A
j
. A
E j A
. (7.9)
j
E j A
From equations (7.7) - (7.9) we find that both E and H can be computed when the vector
potential A is known.
Radiated field of a Herzian dipole: In the previous section we have outlined the
procedure for computing the electric magnetic field distribution of a known current
density J. In this section we consider the radiation from a shaft current filament. We
consider an ideal short linear element (the length of the element dl << operating
wavelength) with current considered uniform over its length. More complex antennas can
be considered to be made up of a large number of such differential antennas with proper
magnitude and phase of their current. For current element under consideration, by
continuity, equal and opposite time varying charges must exist on both ends of dl/2 so
that such elements are also called a Herzian dipole.
Fig 7.2
As shown in the Fig 7.2, the current element is located at the origin and oriented in the zdirection. We consider the time harmonic case where the current varies sinusoid ally with
time and I represents the current phasor. For a z-directed current density located in free
space, from equation (7.7) we can write
2 Az k02 Az J z (7.10)
In the source free region the wave equation reduces to
2 Az k02 Az 0 ............................ (7.11)
Since the current element is infinitesimally small, it can be regarded as a point source so
that away from the source Az will be a function of r only. Therefore equ.(7.11) can be
written as:
1 2 Az
2
r
k0 Az 0 .............. (7.12)
2
r r
r
If we substitute Az
Az
r 1
r 2
r
r
, then
r
2 Az
r
r
r r
r
r 2 r
1 2 Az
1 2
or, 2 r
r r
r
r r 2
Therefore, Eqn.(7.12) can be written as
1 2
k02 0
2
r r
r
Or,
2
k02 0 (7.13)
2
r
jk r
jk r
Equation (7.13) has solution of the form C1e 0 and C1e 0 where C1 and C2 are
jk r
constants. Out of these two solutions, C1e 0 represents a wave solution which
represents an outward traveling wave. Therefore we consider this solution.
e jk0 r
Hence, Az C1
. (7.14)
r
r
In the static case, 0 and k0 0 and Eqn(7.14) simplifies to
Az
C1
. ............. .................................................(7.15)
r
0
4
Jz
dv ' ................................................. (7.17)
r
v'
Both (7.15) and (7.17) represents the solutions of the equation (7.10) for k = 0.
From (7.14) and (7.15) we observe that time varying soln (7.14) is obtained by
multiplying static case solution (7.15) by multiplying the factor e jk0 r . In an analysis
manner we can write the time varying solution from (7.17) as,
0 J z e jk0r
Az
dv ' ....................................... (7.18)
4 V' r
If the current densities were in x or y direction similar expression could be obtained.
Therefore, in general we can write:
A 0
4
e jk0 r
J r dv ' ........................................ (7.19)
V'
If the source is placed at a position (x', y', z') instead of origin, the vector potential at a
point (x, y, z) can be written as
0
e jkR
A x, y , z
J x ', y ', z '
dv ' ......... (7.20)
4 V
R
Where R
x x '
y y ' z z '
2
Returning back to our problem of computation of radiated field for the current element I
dl, we observe that the current I is assumed to be constant over the length of the dipole
and J z dv ' can be replaced with Idz ' . Further, dl being very small r R , and hence, we
can write
I
Az 0 e jk0r
4 r
A a3
dl
2
dz '
dl
2
jk0 r
0 Idl e
4 r
r
k02 jk0 1
j0 Idl
j0 Idl
jk0 1 jk0r
E
cos
e
a
sin
and
2 2 .
2 k0
r 2
4 k0
r
r
r
r
(7.23b)
H
e jk0 r
a .. (7.24a)
4 r
e jk0r
a .. (7.24b)
4 r
We find that the radiated field has transverse components only and they satisfy the
relation
E 0 ar H ..................................................... (7.25a)
1
H ar E ....................................................... (7.25b)
0
I 0 dl k02 sin 2
1
The Poynting vector of the radiation field Pav Re E H
a r is
32 2 r 2
2
The terms varying as 1/r2 and 1/r3 in reactive field for r 0 . These fields do not
contribute to the radiated power; rather they represent stored electric and magnetic energy
in space in the vicinity of the antenna and account for the reactive past of the impedance
seen looking into the antenna terminals. Therefore, in antenna impedance calculation, the
near fields are to be taken into account.
Basic Antenna Parameters:
An antenna does not radiate uniformly in all directions. For the sake of a reference, we
consider a hypothetical antenna called an isotropic radiator having equal radiation in all
directions. A directional antenna is one which can radiate or receive electromagnetic
waves more effectively in some directions than in others. The relative distribution of
radiated power as a function of direction in space (i.e., as function of and ) is called the
radiation pattern of the antenna. Instead of 3D surface, it is common practice to show
planar cross section radiation pattern. E-plane and H-plane patterns give two most
important views. The E-plane pattern is a view obtained from a section containing
maximum value of the radiated field and electric field lies in the plane of the section.
Similarly when such a section is taken such that the plane of the section contains H field
and the direction of maximum radiation.
A typical radiation patter plot is shown in fig (7.3).
Fig 7.3(a) shows a typical radiation pattern plot in polar coordinates and Fig 7.3(b) shows
the same in rectangle coordinates.
The main lobe contains the direction of maximum radiation. However in some antennas,
more than one major lobe may exist. Lobe other than major lobe are called minor lobes.
Minor lobes can be further represent radiation in the considered direction and require to
be minimized.
HPBW or half power beam width refers to the angular width between the points at which
the radiated power per unit area is one half of the maximum.
Similarly FNBW (First null beam width) refers to the angular width between the first two
nulls as shown in Fig 7.3. By the term beam width we usually refer to 3 dB beam width
or HPBW.
Directivity and gain:
We have already mentioned that an antenna does not radiate uniformly in all directions.
Directivity function D , describes the variation of the radiation intensity. The
directivity function D , is defined by
D , =
dPr
gives the amount of power radiated per unit solid
d
angle. Had this power beam uniformly radiated in all directions then average power
P
radiated per unit solid angle is r .
4
If Pr is the radiated power, the
dPr
dPr
D , d 4 d ............................. (7.27)
Pr
Pr
4
The maximum of directivity function is called the directivity.
In defining directivity function total radiated power is taken as the reference. Another
parameter called the gain of an antenna is defined in the similar manner which takes into
account the total input power rather than the total radiated power is used as the reference.
The amount of power given as input to the antenna is not fully radiated.
Pr Pin (7.28)
where is the radiation efficiency of the antenna.
The gain of the antenna is defined as
G , 4
G , D ,
The maximum gain function is termed as gain of the antenna.
Another parameter which incorporates the gain is effective isotropic radiated power or
EIRP which is defined as the product of the input power and maximum gain or simply the
gain. An antenna with a gain of 100 and input power of 1 W is equally effective as an
antenna having a gain of 50 and input power 2 W.
Radiation resistance:
The radiation resistance of an antenna is defined as the equivalent resistance that would
dissipate the same amount power as is radiated by the antenna. For the elementary current
element we have discussed so far. From equation (7.26) we find that radiated power
density
I 0 dl k02 sin 2
Pav
ar
32 2 r 2
2
Radiated power
2
I 0 dl 2 k02 2
Pr
sin 2 r 2 sin d d
2 2
32 r 0 0
2
2
I 0 dl 2 k02 2
d sin 3 d
2
32
0
0
I 0 k0 dl
................................... (7.29)
P
12
2
Further,
Pav . a r r 2 d
I 0 k0 dl sin 2
dP
(7.30)
r
d
32 2
2
D , 1.5sin 2
Directivity D D ,
max
which occurs at
.
2
Rr 0
6
dl
2 .
0
Substituting 0 ; 120
480 3 dl
Rr
6 0
dl
Rr 80 .. (7.32)
0
2
For such an elementary dipole antenna the principal E and H plane pattern are shown in
Fig 7.4(a) and (b).
4
Aem
2
E2
and the term Aem is called the maximum effective aperture of the
20
is related to the directivity of the antenna D as,
If the antenna is lossy then some amount of the power intercepted by the antenna will be
dissipated in the antenna.
From eqn. (7.28) we find that
G D
Therefore, from (7.34),
G
4
4
Aem 2 Ae ....................................................(7.35)
2
Ae
A
Voc
m .. (7.36)
E
E
j
H
A ............................................(7.37 f )
The relationship stated above equation (7.37a) - (7.37f) may be verified for a Herzian
dipole using equations (7.22), (7.24a) and (7.24b).
Half Wave Dipole Antenna:
Let us consider linear antennas of finite length and having negligible diameter. For such
antennas, when fed at the center, a reasonably good approximation of the current is given
by,
I 0 sin k
I z '
I sin k
0
l
z'
2
0 z'
l
z'
2
l
2
l
z' 0
2
This distribution assumes that the current vanishes at the two end points i.e., z ' l / 2 .
The plots of current distribution are shown in the figure 7.7 for different 'l'.
This distribution assumes that the current vanishes at the two end points i.e. z ' l / 2 .
The plots of current distribution are shown in the figure 7.7 for different 's'.
For a half wave dipole, i.e., l / 2 , the current distribution expressed as
I I 0 cos k0 z '
z ' 0 .. (7.39)
4
4
From Fig 7.8(b), for the far field calculation, R r z 'cos for the phase variation and
R r for amplitude term.
dA a 3
0 I 0 e jk0 rr
cos k0 z ' e jk0 z 'cos dz ' ............................ (7.42)
4
r
Therefore the vector potential for the half wave dipole can be written as:
A = a3
A a3
0 I 0 e jk0 r
4
r
0 I 0 e
4
r
jk0 rr
/4
/ 4
cos
2
................................ (7.43)
k0 sin 2
2 cos
From (7.37b),
2
r
k0 sin 2
jI 0
I 00 e jk0r
/ 2 cos . (7.44)
j
cos
2 r
sin
Similarly from (7.37c)
E 0 ........................................................................ (7.45)
and H 0 .(7.47)
The radiated power can be computed as
Pr
2 EH r
sin d d
0 0
I
0 20
8
cos cos
2
sin
0 0
sin d d
36.565 I 0 . (7.48)
Therefore the radiation resistance of the half wave dipole antenna is 36.565 2 =
73.13
Further, using Eqn(7.27) the directivity function for the dipole antenna can be written as
cos / 2 cos
D , 1.64
sin
. (7.49)
Thus directivity of such dipole antenna is 1.04 as compared to 1.5 for an elementary
dipole. The half power beam width in the E-plane can be found to be 780 as compared to
900 for a horizon dipole.
Quarter Wave Monopole Antenna:
A quarter wave monopole antenna is half of a dipole antenna placed over a grounded
plane. The geometry of such antennas is shown in Fig 7.9(a) and equivalent half wave
dipole is shown in fig 7.9(b).
If the ground plane is perfectly conducting, the monopole antenna shown in Fig 7.9(a)
will be equivalent to a half wave dipole shown in Fig 7.9(b) taking image into account.
The radiation pattern above the grounded plane ( in the upper hemisphere) will be same
as that of a half wave dipole, however, the total radiated power will be half of that of a
dipole since the field will be radiated only in the upper hemisphere.
An ideal quarter wave antenna mounted over a perfectly conducting ground plane has
radiation resistance 36.56, half that of a dipole antenna, radiating in free space. The
directivity of such antennas become double of that of dipole antennas.
Quarter wave monopole antennas are often used as vehicle mounted antennas, the evhicle
providing required ground plane for the antenna. For quarter-wave antennas mounted
above earth, the poor conductivity of the soil results in excessive power loss from the
induced amount in the soil.
The effect of poor ground conductivity is taken care of by installing a ground screen
consisting of radial wires extending outward from the antenna base for a distance of .....
Such arrangement is shown in Fig 7.10.
Fig 7.10: Grounded screen for improving performance of monopole antennas operating
near earth surface.
Small Loop Antennas:
Loop antennas may take many different forms such as circle, square, rectangle etc. Loop
antennas are generally classified into two categories viz, electrically small and
electrically large antennas. Electrically small antennas are those whose overall length is
less than one tenth is number of terms in the loop times the circumference of the loop.
Here we shall keep our discussion confined to small loop antennas only.
a ' a X sin ' a 4 cos ' . For this current element the vector potential by equation
(7.21)
dA
jk R
0
e 0
I 0 0 d ' a x sin ' a 4 cos '
.. (7.50)
4
R
Where,
R
Rr
1 0 2 0 sin cos '
r
r
1/ 2
0 I 0 0 2
jk0
a x sin ' a 4 cos ' e r 0 sin cos ' d '
4 r '0
0 I 0 0 jk0 r 2
e
a x sin ' a 4 cos ' 1 jk0 0 sin cos ' d
4 r
' 0
{By approximating e
very small as 0 0 )
0 I 0 0 e jk0r
A
4
r
a
'
jk
sin
a
sin
'
a
X sin ' a 4 sin
X
4 cos ' cos 'sin ' sin sin ' d
0 0
'
0 I 0 0 e jk0 r
sin
cos
jk0 0 sin
a 4 2
a X 2
4
r
2
2
0 I 0 0 e jk0 r
jk0 0 sin a
4
r
jk0 r
0
2 e
A jk0
I 0
sin a . (7.51)
4
r
Using (7.37c) and (7.37e), the radiated field components can be written as
E k0
H
2 0
is
0
0
e jk0 r
M
sin a .........................................(7.52a)
4
r
k0 0
e jk0 r
M
sin a .........................................(7.52b)
0 4
r
E H*
2 k02 0
2 sin
M
ar
2
0 4
r
1
Re
2
2
2
2 k02 0
2 sin 2
M
r
sin
2
0 0 0 4
r
M 2 2 k02 0
3
2 sin d
2 4
0
M 20 k04
................................................(7.53)
12
If the antenna consists of N number of turns; the radiation resistance increases by a factor
of N2 .
Small loop antennas are often used as receiving antennas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let the electric field radiated by an element, when placed at the origin and with an unity
excitation is given by
E r f ,
e jk0 r
..(7.54)
4 r
The distance from the ith element to the far field point of interest is Ri r a r .ri for phase
variation and Ri r for amplitude variation.
The total electric field at the point P is given by
E r Ci e ji f ,
jk0r N
i 1
f ,
jk0 r a r .ri
Ci e
i 1
j i k0 ar .ri
.(7.55)
As can be seen from (7.56), the total radiation field is given by the product of the
N
j
radiation field of the reference element and the term Ci e i k0 a r .r .
i 1
The term F ,
Ci e
i 1
j i k0 ar .ri
pattern of an array is the product of the function of the individual element with
the array pattern function. This termed as principle of pattern multiplication.
If we consider isotropic elements then f , 1 ; hence the radiation pattern of the
array depends only on the array factor F , . Further, it is worth mentioning here that
while discussing the properties of array we are neglecting the effect of radiation of one
element on the source distribution of the other, i.e., we assume that mutual coupling
effect among the elements of the array are neglected. Such effects are included when very
accurate characterisation of arrays is required.
Two element array:
In equation (7.57) we derived the expression for the array factor for an N- element array.
To simplify our discussion, let us consider a two-element array. Further, we consider the
elements are to be isotropic point sources. The array configuration under consideration is
shown in Fig. 7.13.
F ,
d
jk0 d a X .a r
2
j1 jk0 2 a X .a r
j 2
C1e e
C2e e
k0d
jk d sin cos
j1 j 2 sin cos
C1e e
C2e j 2 e 0 2
F ,
F , e
j d sin cos
j d sin cos
. Fig 7.14 (a) Fig 7.14(d) show the
2
d
nature of variation of the array factor as a function of
.
d
0.5 , the maximum radiation take place in a direction
perpendicular to array axis( broad side direction) and no radiation along the axis of the
d
array (endfix) for 0.5 the radiation increases along the array axis.
Case 2:
Point sources have equal amplitude and opposite phase.
For this case let C1 C2 1
2 / 2
And 1 / 2
F , e
d
j sin cos
2
j sin cos
2
d
2 cos sin cos ..................................(7.57)
2
Once again we plot array pattern on the xy plane, i.e.,
(a)
d
0.25
(b)
(c)
d
0.50
d
0.75
(d)
d
1.00
(a)
d
0.25
(b)
d
0.75
(c)
d
0.50
(d)
d
1.00
F , I0 e
j id k0 id a x . a r
i 0
N
w
i 0
1 w N 1
.(7.59)
1 w
1 e
I 0e
N 1 d k0 d cos
1 e
d k0 d cos
N
j d k0 d cos
2
If we define u k0 d cos
N 1
sin
d k0 d cos .. (7.60)
2
d k0 d cos
sin
N 1
sin
u u0
sin u u0
..(7.61)
The function defined by equation (7.64) is a periodic function whose peak value occurs at
u u0 m is an integer. The peak value is N 1 I .
u u0 and when ever
0
2
Since cos lies in the range 1 cos 1 , the corresponding range of u,
k0 d u k0 d is the physical space or visible region. The plot of array factors F u as
a function of u is shown in Fig 7.17.
..
As we can see from Fig 7.17, along with the major lobe, in the visible space there are
several smaller maxima. These smaller maxima corresponds to ride lobes.
Broad side Case:
If 0 , i.e., all the elements are in the same phase, then the maximum occurs at u = 0
i.e., cos 0 .
. Thus the maximum radiation occurs broad side to array axis. If we consider
2
the pattern in the y plane for which / 2 . Then cos sin cos 0 / 2 .
i.e., maximum radiation is along y-axis.
i.e.,
process of realizing a specified pattern is known as array pattern synthesis or simply array
synthesis.