Chapter-1

ANTENNA FUNDAMENTALS

PREPARED BY: BEWNET GETACHEW

1.1 Introduction
 The electric charges are the sources of the electromagnetic (EM) fields.
When these sources are time varying, the EM waves propagates away
from the source and the radiation takes place.
 In general, the radiation can be considered as a process of transmitting
energy.
 The radiation of the electromagnetic wave into the space is effectively
achieved by using a conducting or dielectric structure called antennas or
radiators.
 A metallic device used for radiating or receiving radio waves is called
antenna.
 According to IEEE, antenna is defined as a means for radiating or
receiving radio waves. Thus antenna is regarded as a transition between
the free space and transmission line.
 The antenna is a matching device between free space and the transmission
line.
The antenna converts radio frequency electrical energy fed to it
(via the transmission line) to an electromagnetic wave propagated
into space.
Antenna is a transducer which converts electrical energy into EM
wave and vice versa.
 Two main purposes of Antenna
Impedance matching: matches impedance of transmission
line to the intrinsic impedance of free space to prevent
unwanted reflection back to source.
Directivity: Antenna must be designed to direct the radiation
in the desired direction.
 Since the start of communications Engineering over 100 years ago,
thousands of antennas have been developed. They can be
categorized by various criteria:
 in terms of the bandwidth, antennas can be divided into narrowband
and broadband antennas;
 in terms of the polarization, they can be classified as linearly
polarized or circularly polarized antennas (or even elliptically
polarized antennas);
 in terms of the resonance, they can be grouped as resonant or
traveling wave antennas;
 in terms of the number of elements, they can be organize as
element antennas or antenna arrays.
 The type of system you are installing will help determine
the type of antenna used. Generally speaking, there are
two ‘types’ of antennae:
1. Directional
- this type of antenna has a narrow beamwidth; with the power
being more directional, greater distances are usually achieved but
area coverage is sacrificed
- Yagi, Panel, Sector and Parabolic antennas

2. Omni-Directional
- this type of antenna has a wide beamwidth and radiates 360 0;
with the power being more spread out, shorter distances are
achieved but greater coverage attained
- Isotropic antenna
 dBd and dBi

2.15dB

isotropic radiator

eg: 0dBd = 2.15dBi

half-wave dipole
wire-type antennas

Yagi Uda

Log-Periodic Dipole Antennas

Parabolic Reflector Antenna

Horn antennas Lens antenna

Sectoral Antenna
microstrip antenna
Antenna array
 Antenna Fundamentals
 Antenna can be used as transmitting antenna or receiving antenna. It
has directional properties. It is the important component of a
wireless communication system.
 Different antennas are used in different systems. But all the
antennas possess basic fundamental properties which are same for
all.

-radiation pattern -radiation intensity

- gain -directivity
-power gain -antenna efficiency
-effective aperture - radiation resistance,
- beamwidth - bandwidth, etc.
- Polarization
 1. Radiation Pattern

Practically any antenna cannot radiate energy with same strength uniformly
in all directions. It is found that the radiation is large in one direction while
zero or minimum in other directions.

In general, the radiation pattern is nothing but a graph which shows the
variation of actual field strength of electromagnetic field at all points
equidistant from the antenna.

If the radiation of the antenna is represented graphically as a function of

direction it is called radiation pattern.
If the radiation of the antenna is expressed in terms of the field strength E(v/m), then
the graphical representation is called field strength pattern or field radiation pattern.

Similarly, if the radiation of the antenna is expressed in terms of the power per unit
solid angle, then the graphical representation is called power radiation pattern or
simply power pattern.
Direction E(v/m)
0o
15o
30o
45o
60o
75o
90o
Direction E(v/m)

345o
330o
315o
300o
285o
270o
The major part of the radiated field,
which covers a larger area, is the main
lobe or major lobe. This is the portion
where maximum radiated energy
exists. The direction of this lobe
indicates the directivity of the antenna.

The other parts of the pattern where

the radiation is distributed side wards
are known as side lobes or minor
lobes. These are the areas where the
power is wasted.

There is other lobe, which is exactly

opposite to the direction of main lobe.
It is known as back lobe, which is also
a minor lobe. A considerable amount of
energy is wasted even here.
Antenna Radiation pattern

Horizontal plane Vertical plane

Directional Antenna Radiation Pattern
uku@stttelkom.ac.id
• Log periodic dipole array Directional Radiation
(LPDA) Dipoles
Transmission Pattern
line

- very wide BW, with constant SWR

- typical gain 10 dBi

• Yagi antenna
main lobe
Reflector Driven element (dipole) Directors

back lobe
- BW is smaller than LPDA side lobe main lobe
- typical gain 12 – 14 dBi

uku@stttelkom.ac.id
 2. Beamwidth
Basically antenna beam width is the measure of the directivity of the antenna.
The antenna beam width is an angular width in degrees. It is measured on a
radiation pattern on a major lobe and defined as the angular width in degrees
between the two points on a major lobe of a radiation pattern where the
radiated power decreases to half of its maximum value.

3dB Beamwidth

Peak - 3dB

60° (eg) Peak

Peak - 3dB
Beam width is the aperture angle from where most of the power is
radiated. The two main considerations of this beam width are:

 Half Power Beam Width (HPBW) and

 First Null Beam Width (FNBW).

Half-Power Beam Width

According to the standard definition, “The angular separation, in

which the magnitude of the radiation pattern decreases by 50% (or
-3dB) from the peak of the main beam, is the Half Power Beam
Width.”

In other words, Beam width is the area where most of the power is
radiated, which is the peak power. Half power beam width is the
angle in which relative power is more than 50% of the peak power,
in the effective radiated field of the antenna.
First Null Beam Width

According to the standard definition, “The angular span between

the first pattern nulls adjacent to the main lobe, is called as
the First Null Beam Width.”

Simply, FNBW is the angular separation, quoted away from the

main beam, which is drawn between the null points of radiation
pattern, on its major lobe.
5. Antenna Gain
Antenna Gain is a parameter which measures the degree of directivity of the
antenna’s radiation pattern.
A high-gain antenna will preferentially radiate in a particular direction. The
gain of an antenna is a passive phenomenon – power is not added by the
antenna, but simply redistributed to provide more radiated power in a certain
direction than would be transmitted by an isotropic antenna.
The gain is measured in dBi and dBd.
dBi is gain with reference to Isotropic Antenna
dBd is gain with reference to Dipole Antenna
An antenna designer must take into account the application for the antenna
when determining the gain.
 High-gain antennas have the advantage of longer range and better signal
quality, but must be aimed carefully in a particular direction
 Low-gain antennas have shorter range, but the orientation of the antenna
is relatively inconsequential

Measuring Antenna Gain

We can measure the peak gain using the Friis Transmission Equation and a

"gain standard" antenna. A gain standard antenna is a test antenna with an
accurately known gain and polarization (typically linear).
The most popular types of gain standard antennas are the 
thin half-wave dipole antenna (peak gain of 2.15 dBi) and the 
pyramidal horn antenna (where the peak gain can be accurately calculated and
is typically in the range of 15-25 dBi). 
 Figure 1. Record the
received power from a gain
standard antenna.

Consider the test setup shown in Figure 1. In this scenario, a gain standard
antenna is used in the place of the test antenna, with the source antenna
transmitting a fixed amount of power (PT). The gains of both of these
antennas are accurately known.
From the Friis transmission equation, we know that the power
received (PR) is given by:

If we replace the gain standard antenna with our test antenna (as shown in
Figure 2), then the only thing that changes in the above equation is GR - the
gain of the receive antenna. The separation between the source and test
antennas is fixed, and the frequency will be held constant as well.
Figure 2. Record the received
power with the test antenna
(same source antenna).
Let the received power from the test antenna be PR2. If the gain of the test
antenna is higher than the gain of the "gain standard" antenna, then the
received power will increase. Using our measurements, we can easily
calculate the gain of the test antenna. Let Gg be the gain of the "gain
standard" antenna, PR be the power received with the gain antenna under test,
and PR2 be the power received with the test antenna. Then the gain of the test
antenna (GT) is (in linear units):

The above equation uses linear units (non-dB). If the gain is to be specified
in decibels, (power received still in Watts), then the equation becomes:
6. Power Gain
7. Polarization
An antennas polarization is relative to the E-field of antenna.
– If the E-field is horizontal, than the antenna is Horizontally
Polarized.
– If the E-field is vertical, than the antenna is Vertically Polarized.

No matter what polarity you choose, all antennas in the same RF

network must be polarized identically regardless of the antenna
type.
 Polarization

Vertical Horizontal

Vertical Polarization:
The electric field is vertical to the ground (In the maximum gain
direction)

Horizontal Polarization:
The electric field is parallel to the ground (In the maximum gain
direction)
Polarization Requirements for various frequencies
Polarization may deliberately be used to:
– Increase isolation from unwanted signal sources (Cross
Polarization Discrimination (x-pol) typically 25 dB)
– Reduce interference
– Help define a specific coverage area

Horizontal

Vertical
Polarization Measurements
To perform the measurement, we will use our test antenna as the source. Then
we will use a linearly polarized antenna (typically a half-wave dipole antenna)
as the receive antenna. The linearly polarized receive antenna will be rotated,
and the received power recorded as a function of the angle of the receive
antenna. In this manner, we can gain information on the polarization of the test
antenna. This received information only applies to the polarization of the test
antenna for the direction in which the power is received.
The basic setup for polarization measurements is shown in Figure 1.
vertically linearly polarized horizontally polarized
8. Effective Length
The effective length of an antenna is a quantity that is used to
determine the voltage induced on the open-circuit terminals of
the antenna when a wave impinges upon it.
9. Effective Area (Aperture) Ae
The effective antenna aperture is the ratio of the available power
at the terminals of the antenna to the power flux density of a
plane wave incident upon the antenna, which is matched to the
antenna in terms of
polarization. If there is no specific direction chosen, the
direction of maximum radiation intensity is implied.

where
Ae= is the effective aperture, m2,
PL =is the power delivered from the antenna to the load, W,
Wi =is the power flux density (Pointing vector magnitude) of the incident
wave, W/m2
.
10. Antenna Bandwidth
1. (a) Distinguish between Directive Gain and Power Gain.
(b) An antenna has a radiation resistance of 73 Ω and a lossy resistance of
7 Ω. If the power gain is 20, calculate the directivity and the efficiency of
the antenna.

2. Define the terms:

i. Beam Width
ii. Effective Aperture Area.
iii. Polarization

3. Write a note on antenna band width and antenna efficiency.

4. (a) Define antenna beam width and directivity and obtain the relation
between them. (b) Calculate the electric field due to an isotropic radiator
radiating 3KW power at a distance of 2 Km from it.
5. Explain different field zones around antenna?
6. Write the significance of notations dBi and dbd.
7. Compute the effective area and directive gain for a half wave dipole.