Linear Wire Antennas

Ranga Rodrigo
August 24, 2010

Lecture notes are fully based on Balanis [?]. Some diagrams and text are directly
from the books.

Contents
1 Infinitesimal Dipole 1

2 Small Dipole 7

3 Finite-Length Dipole 9

Wire antennas, linear or curved, are some of the oldest, simplest, cheap-
est, and in many cases the most versatile for many applications.

1 Infinitesimal Dipole

An infinitesimal linear wire (l ) is positioned symmetrically at the ori-

gin of the coordinate system and oriented along the z axis.

The spatial variation of the current is assumed to be constant and given

by
I (z 0 ) = a z I 0
where I 0 is a constant.

1
 The source only carries an electric current I e . I m and the potential func-
tion F are zero. To find A we write
e j kR 0
Z
A(x, y, z) = I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 ) dl .
4 C R
where
(x, y, z) : Observation point coordinates.
(x 0 , y 0 , z 0 ) : Coordinates of the source.
R : The distance from any point on the source to the observation point.
C : Path along the length of the source.

I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 ) = a z I 0 .
x 0 = 0, y 0 = 0, z 0 = 0, for the infinitesimal dipole.
q q
R = (x x ) + (y y ) + (z z ) = x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = r (constant).
0 2 0 2 0 2

d l 0 = d z 0.
I 0 j kr l /2 I 0 l j kr
Z
A(x, y, z) = a z e d z 0 = a z e .
4 l /2 4
z

(x, y, z)

(x 0 , y 0 , z 0 )

2
 1
Next: H A : H A = A, E A : H A = J + j E A . Transformation from

rectangular to spherical coordinates:

sin cos sin sin cos

Ar Ax
A = cos cos cos sin sin A y
A sin cos 0 Az

A x = 0, A y = 0, A z 6= 0.

I 0 l e j kr
A r = A z cos = cos .
4r
I 0 l e j kr
A = A z sin = sin .
4r
A = 0.

a r a 1 a

A = (A sin ) A + A r (r A ) + (r A ) Ar
r sin r sin r r r
1 a

H= (r A ) Ar
r r

Hr = H = 0.
k I 0 l sin

1
H = j 1+ e j kr .
4r j kr
1
E =EA = H.
j

I 0 l cos

1
Er = 1+ e j kr .
2r 2 j kr
k I 0 l sin

1 1
E = j 1+ e j kr .
4r j kr (kr )2
E = 0.

The E and H components are valid everywhere except on the source itself.

3
 z

ar , E r , H r
a , E , H

a , E , H

Power Density and Radiation Resistance

For a lossless antenna, the real part of the input impedance is designated
as the radiation resistance, that power is transferred from the guided wave
to the free space wave.

1 1
W = E H = (a r E r + a E ) a H .
2 2
1
= a r E H a E r H .
2
I 0 l 2 sin2

1
Wr = 1 j .
8 r2 (kr )3
k|I 0 l |2 cos sin

1
W = j 1+ j .
162 r 3 (kr )2

The complex power moving int eh radial direction

Z 2 Z
P= W ds = (a r Wr + a W ) a r r 2 sin d d
S 0 0
Z 2 Z
= Wr r 2 sin d d
0 0
I 0 l 2

1
= 1 j .
3 (kr )3

4
The transverse component W does not contribute to the integrals. Thus P
does not represent the total complex power radiated by the antenna. W is
purely imaginary, and does not contribute to any real radiated power. It con-
tributes to the imaginary (reactive) power.
The reactive power density, which is most dominant for small values of kr ,
has both radial and transverse components. It merely changes between out-
ward and inward directions to form a standing wave at a rate twice per cycle. It
also moves in the transverse direction.
Time average power radiated is
I l 2
p rad = 0 .
3
For large values of kr (kr 1), the reactive power diminishes. For free space
' 120,
2 2
2 l 2 l
R rad = = 80 . .
3

Near-Field Region kr 1

I 0 l e j kr
Er ' j cos .
2kr 3
I 0 l e j kr
E ' j sin .
4kr 3
E = Hr = H = 0.
I 0 l e j kr
H ' sin .
4r
E r and E are in time-phase. E r and E are in time-phase quadrature with H .
Therefore, there is no time-average power flow associated with them.

Intermediate-Field Region kr > 1

I 0 l e j kr
Er ' cos .
2kr 2
k I 0 l e j kr
E ' j sin .
4kr
E = Hr = H = 0.
k I 0 l e j kr
H ' j sin .
4r

5
E r and E approach time-phase quadrature. They form a rotating vector whose
tip traces and ellipse in a plane parallel to the direction of propagation: cross
field.

Far Field kr 1

k I 0 l e j kr
E ' j sin .
4kr
E r ' E = Hr = H = 0.
k I 0 l e j kr
H ' j sin .
4r
The ratio of E to H is equal to

E
Zw = ' .
H

where Z w is the wave impedance and is the intrinsic impedance (377 ' 120
for free-space.) E - and H -field components are perpendicular to each other,
transverse to the direction of propagation, and r variations are separable from
those of and . This relationship is applicable in the far-field region of all
antennas of finite dimensions.

Directivity
The average power density

k I 0 l 2 sin2

1
1 2
W av = Re E H = a r |E | = a r .
2 2 2 4 r 2

The radiation intensity

k I 0 l 2 2 r 2

2
2
U = r Wav = sin = E (r, , ) .
2 4 2

The maximum value occurs at = /2:

k I 0 l 2

Umax = .
2 4

Umax 3
D 0 = 4 = .
P rad 2

6
The maximum effective aperture

2 32

A em = D0 = .
4 8

1
P rad = |I 0 |2 R rad .
2
2 l 2

R rad = .
3

2 Small Dipole
The current distribution of the infinitesimal dipole (l < /50) is I 0 , a constant.
For a small dipole (/50 l /10) the triangular current distribution approx-
imation must be used.
z

I0
|I |

The current distribution is

(
a z I 0 1 2l z 0 , 0 z 0 2l ,

0 0 0
I e (x , y , z ) =
a z I 0 1 + 2l z 0 , 2l z 0 0.

2 0 e j kR 0 2 0 e j kR 0
Z 0 Z l /2
A(x, y, z) = a z I0 1 + z d z + a z I0 1 z dz .
4 l /2 l R 0 l R
Because the overall length of the dipole is small, the value of R for different
values of z 0 along the length of the wire are not much different from r .

7
 z

P (r, , )
0
R
l /2 d z0
r
z0

l /2
= 0
y

kl
Maximum phase error due to the assumption R ' r is 2
= 10 = 18 for /10.

1 I 0 e j kr

A = a z A z = a z ,
2 4r
which is one half of that obtained in the previous section for the infinitesimal
dipole.

Far-Zone Fields, kr 1

k I 0 l e j kr
E ' j sin .
8kr
E r ' E = Hr = H = 0.
k I 0 l e j kr
H ' j sin .
8r
Directivity and the maximum effective area are the same as for the infinitesimal
dipole.
2
2P rad 2 l
R rad = = 20
|I 0 |2
which is 1/4 of the value for the infinitesimal dipole.

8
3 Finite-Length Dipole
We can analyze the radiation characteristics of a dipole with any length us-
ing magnetic vector potential A. For a thin, center-fed finite-length dipole
(l /10, d ), the approximate current distribution can be written as
h i
a z I 0 sin k l z 0 , 0 z 0 l ,
I e (x 0 = 0, y 0 = 0, z 0 ) = h 2 i 2
a z I 0 sin k l + z 0 , l z 0 0.
2 2

In the far field, we have, z 0 r , ' 0 . For amplitude: R ' r . For phase:
R ' r z 0 cos .

z z

P (r, , ) P (r, , )
0 R
R 0
l /2 d z0 d z0
r
z0 z0 r

l /2 y y
= 0 = 0
x
x

kl
Maximum phase error due to the assumption R ' r is 2
= 10 = 18 for /10.

e j kR 0
Z
A(x, y, z) = I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 ) dl .
4 C R
e j kR
Z
I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 )e j kz cos d z 0 .
0
A(x, y, z) =
4r C
The finite dipole antenna is subdivided into a number of infinitesimal dipoles
of length z 0 . For an infinitesimal dipole of length d z 0 positioned along the
z-axis at z 0
j k I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 )e j kR
d E ' sin d z 0 .
4R
d E r ' d E = d Hr = d H = 0
j k I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 )e j kR
d H ' sin d z 0 .
4R

9
Using the far field approximation

j k I e (x 0 , y 0 , z 0 )e j kr
sin e j kz cos d z 0 .
0
d E '
4r
Summing the contribution from all the infinitesimal elements

l /2 ke j kr l /2
Z Z
0 0 0 j kz 0 cos 0
E = d E = j sin I e (x , y , z )e dz
l /2 4r l /2

Simplifying

kl kl

I0e j kr cos
cos cos
2 2
E ' j .
2r sin

kl kl

I 0 e j kr cos 2 cos cos 2
H ' j .
2r sin

Power Density, Radiation Intensity, and Radiation Resistance

1 1 h i
W av = Re E H = Re a E a H
2 2
1
= Re a E a E /

2

10