A Brief Introduction to Antennas

& Transmission Lines

Prof. John Vesecky

Outline of Presentation
Maxwells Equations & EM Waves
EM Spectrum
Antenna Characterization
Dipoles and Monopoles
End Fires (Yagis & Log-Periodics)
Apertures (Parabolic Reflectors)
Patches & Arrays
Transmission Lines
Friis Equation

 I. Outline for Wire, Aperture and Patch

Antennas
EM Spectrum
Antenna Characterization
Dipoles and Monopoles
End Fires (Yagis & Log-Periodics)
Apertures (Parabolic Reflectors)
Patches & Arrays

EM waves in free space

v2 = 1/(oo) so v = 3 x 108 m/s
o = 8.855 x 10-12 Farads/m
o = 1.2566 x 10-6 Henrys/m

EM waves in free space propagate

freely without attenuation
What is a plane wave?
Example is a wave propagating
along the x-direction
Fields are constant in y and z
directions, but vary with time and
space along the x-direction
Most propagating radio (EM)
waves can be thought of a plane
waves on the scale of the
receiving antenna

E & H fields and

Poynting Vector for Power Flow
Power flow in the EM field
P=ExH

(P is Poynting vector)

In free space E and H are perpendicular

P is perpendicular to both E and H

Plane wave radiated by an antenna

P = E x H -> Eo Ho Sin2(t-kx)
P = [Eo2/] Sin2(t-kx)
Pavg = (1/2) [Eo2/] in W/m2
= impedance of free space
= 377

Electromagnetic Spectrum

After Kraus & Marhefka, 2003

Frequencies & Wavelengths

After Kraus & Marhefka, 2003

RF Bands, Names & Users

After Kraus & Marhefka, 2003

Radiation from a Short Antenna Element or Hertzian Dipole

Using the Electrodynamic
Retarded Potential A (Vector) we
can derive (see Ramo et al., 1965
or Skilling, 1948, Ulaby, 2007 or
any EM theory book)
E and H fields associated with a
small element of current of length
l (<< ) that has the current
varying as
i = I Sin (t)
This could be a wire or charge
moving in space, e.g. in the
plasma of the ionosphere or a star
or nebula
E and H fields at r could be in the
r, or directions

Radiation from a Short Antenna Element or Hertzian Dipole

A(r) = (o/4) (e-jkr/r)V [J (e-jkr/r)] dv
H = (1/o) curl A
H = (Io l k2/4) e-jkr [j/(kr) + 1/(kr)2] sin
Hr = 0 and H = 0
E = (1/jo) curl H
Er = (2Io l k2/4) o e-jkr [1/(kr)2 - j/(kr)3]
E = (Io l k2/4) o e-jkr [j/kr + 1/(kr)2 - j/(kr)3]
o = Sqrt(o/o) = 377

Radiation from a Short Antenna Element

Terms that fall off as 1/r3 or 1/r2 are small at any
significant distance from an antenna
Remaining radiation terms fall off only as 1/r
and thus transmit energy for long distances also
E and H fields are in phase
When one is in the near field the 1/r3 or 1/r2
the other terms are important

Antenna Field Zones

The dividing line
Rule of Thumb is R
= 2L2/
The near field or
Fresnel zone is r < R
The far field or
Fraunhofer zone is
r>R

Intuitive
Picture of
Radiation

Intuitive Picture of Radiation

Polarization of EM Waves

AR = Axial Ratio

Simple Dipole Antenna

Antenna Characterization
Directivity

Power Pattern
Antenna Gain
Effective Area
Antenna Efficiency

Antenna Directivity
An omnidirectional antenna radiates power
into all directions (4 steradians) equally
Typically an antenna wants to beam
radiation in a particular direction
Directivity
D = 4/, is the antenna beam
solid angle
What would be for one octant
(x,y,z all > 0) ?

Normalized Antenna Power Pattern

Pn(, ) =
S()/S()max
S()
= Poynting vector
magnitude
= [E2 + E2]/
= 376.7 free
space)

After Kraus (2003)

Antenna Gain
Gain is like directivity, but includes losses as well
G() /() is nondimensional - accounts for losses
dB = 10 log(x/xref) -- always refers to power
Gain for Typical Antenna with significant
directivity
G() 2500/( ), taking into account
beam shape and typical losses

Estimating Effective Antenna Area & Gain

Definition: G = (4 Ae)/2
Ae = A, where A is the physical area
and is the antenna efficiency
To get the average power available at the antenna
terminals we use
Pav,Ant = Pav,Poynting (Average Poynting Flux) Ae
A crude estimate of G can be obtained by letting
(/d), where d is the antenna dimension along the
direction of the angle -- big antenna means small
and G() /()

Radiation Resistance & Antenna Efficiency

Radiation resistance (Rrad) is a fictitious resistance,
such that the average power flow out of the antenna is
Pav = (1/2) <I>2 Rrad
Using the equations for our short (Hertzian) dipole we
find that
Rrad = 80 2 (l/)2 ohms
Antenna Efficiency
= Rrad/(Rrad+ Rloss)
where Rloss = ohmic losses as heat
Gain = x Directivity --- G = D

Antenna Family

Short Dipole Antenna Analysis

Consider a finite, but short antenna with
l << situated in free space
Current is charging the uniformly
distributed capacitance of the antenna wire
& so has a maximum at the middle and
tapers toward zero at the ends
Each element dl radiates per our radiation
equations (previous slide), namely
In the far field
E = ( I dl sin/(2 r )) cos {[t-(r/c)]}
The direction is in the same plane as the
element dl and the radial line from antenna
center to observer and perpendicular to r

Short Dipole Antenna Result

The resultant field at the observer at r is the sum of the
contributions from the elemental lengths dl
Each contribution is essentially the same except that the current I varies
Radiation contribution to the sum is strongest from the center and
weakest at the ends

This can be summarized as the rms field strength in volts per

meter as
E,rms = [ Io le sin/(2 r )] -- V/m
What do you think the effective length le & current Io are?
The radiated power is
Pav = (E,rms)2/(2

Modifications for Half Wavelength Dipole

For antennas comparable in
size to
Current distribution is not linear
Phase difference between
different parts of the antenna

Current distribution on
/2 dipole
Antenna acts like open circuit
transmission line with uniformly
distributed capacitance
Sinusoidal current distribution
results

Fields from /2 Dipole

To take account of the phase
differences of the contributions
from all the elements dl we
need to integrate over the entire
length of the antenna as shown
by the figure (from Skilling,
1948)
E = /4 ( Io sine/2 re ) cos
kx cos [t-(re/c)] dx
Integral is from -/4 to /4, i.e.
over the antenna length

Result of integration
E = (Io/2r) cos [t-(r/c)]
{cos [( /2) cos] / sin}
We know that Er = E= 0 as for
the Hertzian dipole

/2 and Dipole Antenna Pattern (E-field)

Monopole over a Conducting Plane -- /4 Vertical

/4 Vertical over Ground Plane & Real Earth

Solid line is for perfectly conducting Earth

Shaded pattern shows how the pattern is modified by a more
realistic Earth with dielectric constant k = 13 and conductivity G =
0.005 S/m

Yagi - Uda
Driven element induces currents in
parasitic elements
When a parasitic element is slightly
longer than /2, the element acts
inductively and thus as a reflector -current phased to reinforce radiation in
the maximum direction and cancel in
the opposite direction
The director element is slightly shorter
than/2, the element acts inductively
and thus as a director -- current phased
to reinforce radiation in the maximum
direction and cancel in the opposite
direction
The elements are separated by
0.25

3 Element
Yagi
Antenna
Pattern

2.4 GHz Yagi with 15dBi Gain

G 1.66 * N (not dB)
N = number of
elements
G 1.66 *3 = 5
= 7 dB
G 1.66 * 16 =
27 = 16 dB

Log-Periodic Antennas

A log periodic is an extension of the Yagi idea to a broad-band,

perhaps 4 x in wavelength, antenna with a gain of 8 dB
Log periodics are typically used in the HF to UHF bands

Parabolic Reflectors
A parabolic reflector
operates much the same
way a reflecting
telescope does
Reflections of rays from
the feed point all
contribute in phase to a
plane wave leaving the
antenna along the
antenna bore sight (axis)
Typically used at UHF
and higher frequencies

Stanfords Big Dish

150 ft diameter dish
on alt-azimuth mount
made from parts of
naval gun turrets
Gain 4 A/2
2 x 105 53 dB
for S-band (l 15 cm)

Patch Antennas

After Kraus & Marhefka, 2003

Radiation is from two slots on left and right edges of patch where
slot is region between patch and ground plane
Length d = /r1/2 Thickness typically 0.01
The big advantage is conformal, i.e. flat, shape and low weight
Disadvantages: Low gain, Narrow bandwidth (overcome by fancy
shapes and other heroic efforts), Becomes hard to feed when complex,
e.g. for wide band operation

Patch Antenna Pattern

Array Antennas

Patch Antenna Array for Space Craft

The antenna is composed
of two planar arrays, one
for L-band and one for Cband.
Each array is composed of
a uniform grid of dualpolarized microstrip
antenna radiators, with
each polarization port fed
by a separate corporate
feed network.
The overall size of the
SIR-C antenna is 12.0 x
3.7 meters
Used for synthetic aperture
radar

Very Large Array

Organization:
National Radio
Astronomy
Observatory
Location:Socorro NM
Wavelength:
radio 7 mm and larger
Number & Diameter
27 x 25 m
Angular resolution:
0.05 (7mm) to 700
arcsec
http://www.vla.nrao.edu/

Radio Telescope Results

This is a false-color image of the radio galaxy

3C296, associated with the elliptical galaxy
NGC5532. Blue colors show the distribution
of stars, made from an image from the
Digitized Second Palomar Sky Survey, and
red colors show the radio radiation as imaged
by the VLA, measured at a wavelength of
20cm. Several other galaxies are seen in this
image, but are not directly related to the radio
source. The radio emission is from relativistic
streams of high energy particles generated by
the radio source in the center of the radio
galaxy. Astronomers believe that the jets are
fueled by material accreting onto a supermassive black hole. The high energy particles
are confined to remarkably well collimated
jets, and are shot into extragalactic space at
speeds approaching the speed of light, where
they eventually balloon into massive radio
lobes. The plumes in 3C296 measure 150 kpc
or 480,000 light years edge-to-edge diameter
(for a Hubble constant of 100 km/s/Mpc).
Investigator(s): J.P. Leahy & R.A. Perley.
Optical/Radio superposition by Alan Bridle

Impedance Matching

SWR = (1 + ||)/ (1 - ||)

Friis Transmission Formula

Pr = Pt {(Aet Aer)/(2 r2)}
S/N = Signal to noise ratio = Pr/(kTsysB)
where Tsys = system noise temperature, typically 10s to
1000s of K depending on receiver characteristics
k = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K
B = bandwidth in Hz

References 1
Balanis, C.A., Antenna Theory, Analysis and Design, 2nd ed.,
Wiley (1997)
Cloude, S., An Introduction to Electromagnetic Wave
Propagation & Antennas, Springer-Verlag, New York (1995)
Elmore, W. C. and M. A. Heald, Physics of Waves, Dover, NY
(1969)
Fusco, V. F., Foundations of Antenna Theory & Techniques,
Pearson Printice-Hall (2005)
Ishimaru, A., Electromagnetic Wave Propagation,
Radiation and Scattering, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
NJ (1991)
Jones, D. S., Acoustic and Electromagnetic Waves, Oxford
Science Publications, Oxford (1989)

References 2
Kraus, J. D., Antennas, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York
(1988)
Kraus, J. D. and R. J. Marhefka, Antennas, 3rd ed.,
McGraw-Hill, New York (2004)
Kraus, J. D., Electromagnetics, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, New
York (1983)
Ramo, S., J. R. Whinnery and T. Van Duzer, Fields and
Waves in Communication Electronics, Wiley NY (1965)
Skilling, H. H., Fundamentals of Electric Waves, 2nd ed.,
Wiley, NY (1948)
Ulaby, F., Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics, 5th
Ed., Pearson Printice-Hall (2007)