Current and.

Voltage Distribution
When an RF signal voltage is applied at some point on an antenna, voltage and
current will result at that point. Traveling waves are then initiated, and standing
waves may be established, which means that voltage and current along the antenna
are out of phase.
The radiation pattern depends chiefly on the antenna length measured in
wavelengths, its power losses, and the terminations at its end (if any). In
addition, the thickness of the antenna wire is of importance. For this discussion
such antennas may be assumed to be lossless and made of wire whose diameter is
infinitely small.
Figure 9-4 shows the voltage and current distribution along a half-wave dipole. We
can recognize the similarity to the distribution of voltage and current on a
section of A/4 transmission line open at the far end. These voltage and current
characteristics are duplicated every A/2 length, along the antenna (Figure 9-5).
By referring to Figure 9-4, it will become apparent that to connect a transmission
line to this antenna configuration, we must observe the impedance at the connection
points. The impedance varies along the length of the antenria, being highest where
the current is lowest, and lowest where the current is highest (at the center). At
the center of a half-wave antenna the impedance is approximately 73 and increases
to about 2500 at either end.
In order to achieve maximum power transfer, this antenna must be connected to a 72
transmission line. This method of connection, the transmission line to the antenna,
is sometimes referred to as center or current fed:

PROPAGATION OF MICROWAVE
Microwaves travel solely by line-of-sight paths; unlike lower frequency radio
waves, they do not travel as ground waves which follow the contour of the Earth, or
reflect off the ionosphere (skywaves).[6] Although at the low end of the band they
can pass through building walls enough for useful reception, usually rights of way
cleared to the first Fresnel zone are required. Therefore, on the surface of the
Earth, microwave communication links are limited by the visual horizon to about
30�40 miles (48�64 km). Microwaves are absorbed by moisture in the atmosphere, and
the attenuation increases with frequency, becoming a significant factor (rain fade)
at the high end of the band. Beginning at about 40 GHz, atmospheric gases also
begin to absorb microwaves, so above this frequency microwave transmission is
limited to a few kilometers. A spectral band structure causes absorption peaks at
specific frequencies (see graph at right). Above 100 GHz, the absorption of
electromagnetic radiation by Earth's atmosphere is so great that it is in effect
opaque, until the atmosphere becomes transparent again in the so-called infrared
and optical window frequency ranges.
The short wavelengths of microwaves allow omnidirectional antennas for portable
devices to be made very small, from 1 to 20 centimeters long, so microwave
frequencies are widely used for wireless devices such as cell phones, cordless
phones, and wireless LANs (Wi-Fi) access for laptops, and Bluetooth earphones.
Parabolic ("dish") antennas are the most widely used directive antennas at
microwave frequencies, but horn antennas, slot antennas and dielectric lens
antennas are also used. Flat microstrip antennas are being increasingly used in
consumer devices. Another directive antenna practical at microwave frequencies is
the phased array, a computer-controlled array of antennas that produces a beam that
can be electronically steered in different directions.
At microwave frequencies, the transmission lines which are used to carry lower
frequency radio waves to and from antennas, such as coaxial cable and parallel wire
lines, have excessive power losses, so when low attenuation is required microwaves
are carried by metal pipes called waveguides. Due to the high cost and maintenance
requirements of waveguide runs, in many microwave antennas the output stage of the
transmitter or the RF front end of the receiver is located at the antenna.

REFRACTION
However, electromagnetic waves propagating within the earth's atmosphere do not
travel in straight lines but are generally bent or refracted. One effect of
refraction is to extend the distance to the horizon, thus increasing the coverage.
Bending, or refraction, of radar waves in the atmosphere is caused by the variation
with altitude of the velocity of propagation, or the index of refraction defined as
the velocity of propagation in free space to that in the medium.
The decrease in refractive indexrwith altitude means that the velocity of
propagation increases with altitude, causing radio waves to bend downward.
Refraction is troublesome primarily at low angles of elevation, especially at or
near the horizon.
DIFFRACTION
The ability of electromagnetic waves to propagate around the earth's curvature by
diffraction depends upon the frequency, or more precisely, upon the size of the
object compared with the wavelength. The lower the frequency, the more the wave is
diffracted.
The mechanism of diffraction is especially importan~ at very low frequencies (VLF)
where it provides world-wide communications.

ATMOSPHERIC ATTENUATION
The reduction with distance from the source of the intensity of an acoustic or an
electromagnetic signal propagating through the atmosphere caused by interaction of
the signal with gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, aerosols, or hydrometeors.
In general, scattering and absorption account for attenuation.
For sound, absorption is usually more important than scattering; it depends on
temperature and humidity, and generally increases with increasing acoustic
frequency. The main atmospheric constituents that absorb radar energy are oxygen,
water vapor, and liquid hydrometeors. Absorption is often neglected at wavelengths
of 10 cm and longer, but becomes increasingly important at shorter wavelengths. The
contribution of scattering to radar attenuation also increases with decreasing
wavelength. For lidar, scattering by molecules, aerosols, and hydrometeors
dominates the attenuation, although gaseous absorption is significant at certain
spectral bands and is exploited by differential absorption lidar (DIAL) to measure
molecular concentrations.
The attenuation of the atmospheric gases decreases with increasing altitude.

GROUND PLANE
In electrical engineering, a ground plane is an electrically conductive surface,
usually connected to electrical ground. The term has two different meanings in
separate areas of electrical engineering. In antenna theory, a ground plane is a
conducting surface large in comparison to the wavelength, such as the Earth, which
is connected to the transmitter's ground wire and serves as a reflecting surface
for radio waves. In printed circuit boards, a ground plane is a large area of
copper foil on the board which is connected to the power supply ground terminal and
serves as a return path for current from different components on the board.
In telecommunication, a ground plane is a flat or nearly flat horizontal conducting
surface that serves as part of an antenna, to reflect the radio waves from the
other antenna elements. The plane does not necessarily have to be connected to
ground.[clarification needed] Ground plane shape and size play major roles in
determining its radiation characteristics including gain.
For a monopole antenna, the Earth acts as a ground plane to reflect radio waves
directed downwards, making them seem to come from an image antenna.
To function as a ground plane, the conducting surface must be at least a quarter of
the wavelength (?/4) of the radio waves in diameter. In lower frequency antennas,
such as the mast radiators used for broadcast antennas, the Earth itself (or a body
of water such as a salt marsh or ocean) is used as a ground plane. For higher
frequency antennas, in the VHF or UHF range, the ground plane can be smaller, and
metal disks, screens and wires are used as ground planes. At upper VHF and UHF, the
metal skin of a car or aircraft can serve as a ground plane for whip antennas
projecting from it. In microstrip antennas and printed monopole antennas an area of
copper foil on the opposite side of a printed circuit board serves as a ground
plane. The ground plane need not be a continuous surface. In the ground plane
antenna style whip antenna, the "plane" consists of several wires ?/4 long
radiating from the base of a quarter-wave whip antenna.

The radio waves from an antenna element that reflect off a ground plane appear to
come from a mirror image of the antenna located on the other side of the ground
plane. In a monopole antenna, the radiation pattern of the monopole plus the
virtual "image antenna" make it appear as a two element center-fed dipole antenna.
So a monopole mounted over an ideal ground plane has a radiation pattern identical
to a dipole antenna. The feedline from the transmitter or receiver is connected
between the bottom end of the monopole element and the ground plane. The ground
plane must have good conductivity; any resistance in the ground plane is in series
with the antenna, and serves to dissipate power from the transmitter.

CLUTTER SIGNAL
Clutter is a term used for unwanted echoes in electronic systems, particularly in
reference to radars. Such echoes are typically returned from ground, sea, rain,
animals/insects, chaff and atmospheric turbulences, and can cause serious
performance issues with radar systems.

The basic types of clutter can be summarized as follows:

Surface Clutter � Ground or sea returns are typical surface clutter.

Returns from geographical land masses are generally stationary, however, the effect
of wind on trees etc means that the target can introduce a Doppler Shift to the
radar return. This Doppler shift is an important method of removing unwanted
signals in the signal processing part of radar system. Clutter returned from the
sea generally also has movement associated with the waves.

Volume Clutter � Weather or chaff are typical volume clutter.

In the air, the most significant problem is weather clutter. This can be produced
from rain or snow and can have a significant Doppler content.

Point Clutter � Birds, windmills and individual tall buildings are typical point
clutter and are not extended in nature. Moving point clutter is sometimes described
as angels. Birds and insects produce clutter, which can be very difficult to remove
because the characteristics are very much like aircraft.
Clutter can be fluctuating or non-fluctuating. Ground clutter is generally non-
fluctuating in nature because the physical features are normally static. On the
other hand, weather clutter is mobile under the influence of wind and is generally
considered fluctuating in nature.

Clutter can be defined as homogeneous if the density of all the returns is uniform.
Most types of surface and volume clutter are analysed on this basis, however, in
practice this simplification does not hold good in all cases. Non-homogeneous
clutter is non uniform clutter where the amplitude of the clutter varies
significantly from cell to cell. Typically non-homogeneous clutter is generated by
tall buildings in built up areas.

Sea-Clutter
Sea-clutter are disturbing radar-echoes of sea wave crests. This clutter gets also
a Doppler- speed by the wind. This means, the scenario �moves away�, i.e. changes
with time, while for ground clutter it stays the same. Therefore, in practice, Sea-
clutter is very difficult to control without some loss in detection.