7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas

with Uniform Current

• The D directivity is defined as the ratio of
Maximum radiation intensity to the average
Radiation intensity
• The maximum radiation intensity for a loop
antenna is given by r2 times (7-7-3) .The
average radiation intensity is given by (7-7-5)
divided by 4π, thus D is
 7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
• This is Fosters expression for the directivity of
a circular loop with uniform in phase current
of any circumference Cλ . The angle θ in (1) is
the value for which the field is maximum
• For a small loop (Cλ <1/3) , the D expression
reduces to
 7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
• Since the field is maximum at θ=90 degrees .
The value of 3/2 is same as far a short electric
dipole .This is to be expected since the pattern
of short dipole is the same for a small loop.
• For large loop Cλ > 5, (1) reduces to

• From fig 7-6 we note that for any loop with

Cλ > 1.84, the maximum value of =.58
 7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
• Thus the directivity expression (3) for a large
loop becomes

• The directivity of a loop antenna as a function

of the loop circumference is shown in fig.7-
11.Curves based on the approximate relations
2 and 4 for small and large loop are indicated
by dashed lines
 7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
• Fig 7-11
7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
7-8 Directivity of Circular Loop Antennas
with Uniform Current
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• Applications:-Especially where low-profile or
flush mountings are required for ex- aircraft.
• Any slot has its complementary form in wires
or strips, so that pattern and impedance data
of these forms can be used to predict the
patterns and impedances of the
corresponding slots.(Babinets principle)
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• The antenna shown in fig 7-21 a , consisting of
two resonant λ/4 stubs connected to a 2-wire
transmission line, is an inefficient radiator.
• The long wires are closely spaced (w«λ) and
carry currents in opposite phase so that their
fields tend to cancel
• The end wires carry currents in the same
phase ,are too short to radiate efficiently. Hence
large currents may be required to radiate.
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• The antenna in fig 7-1b, on the other hand, is a very
efficient radiator.
• In this arrangement a λ/2 slot is cut in a flat metal
sheet.
• Although (w«λ), the currents are not confined to the
edges of the slot but spread out over the sheet.(Simple
type of slot antenna)
• It radiates equally from both sides of the sheet.
• If the slot is horizontal, as shown , the radiation normal
to the sheet is vertically polarized.
7-13 Slot Antennas
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• The slot may be energized with coaxial
transmission line fig.7-22a.The outer conductor
of the cable is glued to the metal sheet
• Since the terminal resistance at the center of
the resonant λ/2 slot in large sheet is about
500 ohms and the characteristic impedance of
the coaxial Tr line is usually much less, an off
center shown in fig 7-22b may be used to
provide a better impedance match.
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• For a 50 ohm coaxial cable the distance s
should be about λ/20
• The radiation normal to the sheet with
horizontal slot fig 7-22c is vertically polarized
while radiation normal to the sheet with
vertical slot fig 7-22d is horizontally polarized
7-13 Slot Antennas
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• A flat sheet with λ/2 slot radiates equally on both sides
of the sheet. However, if the sheet is very large and
boxed as in fig 7-23a, radiation occurs only from one
side,
• If the depth d of the box is approximately equal to
λ/4(for a thin slot,) no appreciable shunt susceptance
appears across the terminals.
• With such a zero susceptance box, the terminal
impedance of the resonant λ/2 is non reactive and
approximately twice its value without the box, or about
1000 ohms
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• The boxed in slot antenna can be applied even at relatively
long wavelength by using ground as the flat conducting sheet
and excavating a trench λ/2 long by λ/4 deep as in fig 7-23b .
• The absence of any structure above ground level might make
this type of an antenna attractive in application near airports.
• To improve the ground conductivity, the walls of the trench
and the ground surrounding the slot can be covered by
copper sheet or screen.
• Radiation is max in all direction at right angle to the slot and is
zero along the ground in the directions of the ends of sheet.
• The radiation along ground is vertically polarized.
7-13 Slot Antennas
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• Radiation from only one side of a large flat sheet may also be
achieved by a slot fed with a wave guide as in fig 7-24a,the
direction of electric field is as shown.
• The width L of the guide must be greater than λ/2 to transmit
energy but should be less than λ to suppress higher order
modes.
• With the slot horizontal , the radiation normal to the sheet is
vertically polarized.
• The slot opening constitutes an abrupt termination to the
waveguide. It has been found that the resulting mismatch at
least over a wide frequency band if the ratio L/w is less than 3
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• A compact wide band method for feeding a
boxed in slot is shown in fig 7-24b
• In this T fed arrangement the bar
compensates the impedance characteristic so
as to provide a VSWR on a 50 ohm of less than
2 over a frequency range of nearly 2 to 1.
• The ratio L/w(Length/width) of the slot is less
than 3
7-13 Slot Antennas
 7-13 Slot Antennas
• Array of slots may be cut in the wave guide as in fig 7-25 so as
to produce directional pattern(Watson-1)
• With the transmission in the wave guide in the TE10 Mode ,
the instantaneous direction of electric field E inside the guide
is indicated by dashed arrows.
• By cutting inclined slots as shown in interval λg/2 (λgGuide
wavelength).The slots are energized in phase and produce a
directional pattern with max radiation broadside to the guide.
• If the guide is horizontal and E inside the guide is vertical , the
radiated field is horizontally polarized as shown in fig 7-25
7-13 Slot Antennas
7-15 Babinets Principle and
Complementary Antennas
7-15 Babinets Principle and
Complementary Antennas
7-16 The Impedance of Complementary
screens
7-16 The Impedance of Complementary
screens
7-17 The Impedance of Slot Antennas
 Unit 5
HF, VHF and UHF Antennas
 6.2 Isotropic Radiators
Isotropic Radiators: An isotropic radiator is defined as a
hypothetical element which radiates equally in all directions.
Examples: 1) a point source .2) a Star
It is an ideal antenna but it is not realisable practically. It is
useful as a reference antenna for determining directive
properties of practical antenna.
If Pi is the input power to a loss less isotropic radiator the power
density is

Here r= radius of a sphere

 6.5 Resonant Antennas
The features of these antenna are
• The length of a resonant antenna is in exact multiple of λ/2.
• These antenna are open at both ends.
• These are not terminated by any resistance.
• They are used at a fixed frequency.
• In these antennas forward/incident and backward/reflected
waves exist.
• A standing wave exists in these antennas.
• The radiation pattern of these antennas are multi directional
• The current distribution in resonant antennas are shown in
below figures
6.5 Resonant Antennas
 6.5 Resonant Antennas
• the half wave antenna has distributed inductance and
capacitance and it acts like a resonant circuit.
• the voltage and current on it are not in phase.
• the voltage distribution on half wave dipole is shown in
below figure
• the length of a resonant antenna is found from

F= velocity factor, the velocity factor of wire

compared to air, F=0.95.
V0=velocity of propagation.
6.5 Resonant Antennas
6.5 Resonant Antennas
 6.6 Non Resonant Antennas(travelling wave
antennas)
The features of these antennas are:
• the length of a non resonant antenna is other than in multiple of λ/2.
• it operates over a range of frequencies.
• It has a wide bandwidth.
• There are no reflected waves on this antenna.
• There are no standing waves.
• It is a travelling wave antenna.
• It is terminated by characteristic impedance.
• It produces uni-directional radiation patterns.
• Examples of non resonant antennas are long wire ,V, inverted V and
Rhombic antenna.
• Non resonant antennas can also be called directional antenna
• aperiodic antennas.
6.6 Non Resonant Antennas(travelling wave
antennas)
 6.6 Non Resonant Antennas(travelling wave
antennas)
• The pattern expression of a travelling wave antennas is given
by

Where Im=maximum current in the element

r=distance from the source , k=(2*π)/λ
L=length of the element
6.6 Non Resonant Antennas(travelling wave
antennas)
• The pattern is not symmetric about θ=900
 6.7 LF antennas
• These antennas operate at low
Frequencies(75-160 meter band)
• Inductance loaded vertical antennas.
• Inductance loaded horizontal antennas.
• Tower antenna.
• Inverted-L antenna.
• A short vertical monopole with top
capacitance.
6.7 LF antennas
6.7 LF antennas
• This is in terms of standing wave antennas and travelling wave
antennas
• It is evident from the previous section that a standing wave
antennas is nothing but a resonant antenna similarly travelling
wave antennas is nothing but a non resonant antenna
• standing wave is defined as a wave in which the ratio of
the instantaneous value of any component of the wave at
one point of that at any other point does not vary with
time.
• travelling wave is defined as a wave whose frequency
component have exponential variation of amplitude and
linear variation of phase with distance.
• This is on the basis of frequency range over
which the antenna can be used these are
LF,HF,VHF,UHF and microwave frequency
antenna.
• The range of frequency and applications are
shown in Table 6.1.
Fourth classification
 6.8 Antennas for HF,VHF,UHF
In these frequency ranges the following antennas are used they
are described in details
• Dipole arrays
• Folded dipole
• V antennas
• Inverted V antennas.
• Rhombic antennas
• Yagi Uda antennas
• Log periodic antennas
• Loop antennas
 6.8 Antennas for HF,VHF,UHF

• Helical antennas
• Whip antennas
• Ferrite Rod antennas
• Turnstile antennas
• Super Turnstile antennas
• Discone antennas
• Notch antennas
 6.9 Dipole array
• Dipole array can be divided into
• Broad Side array
• End fire array
 6.10 Broad Side array

• Broad Side array is an array which gives a radiation pattern whose

main beam is perpendicular to the axis of the array.
• In a wider sense, broadside array is linear or a planar array
antenna whose direction of maximum radiation is perpendicular
to the line or plane of the array.
• Salient feature of Broad Side array
• A number of dipoles of equal size are used.
• The element are spaced equally.
• All the dipoles are fed in the same phase.
• Null-to-Null beam width of Broad Side array, beam width between
nulls is
 6.10 Broad Side array
Where λ= wavelength
N=number of elements
d=spacing between the elements
• The length of the broadside array can be 2 to 10 λ.
• Typical spacing between the elements vary from
λ/2 to λ.
• The number elements to be used depends on the
beam width requirement cost and space available.
6.10 Broad Side array
6.10 Broad Side array
 6.11 End Fire array
• End Fire array is an array which gives a radiation pattern
whose main beam is along the axis of the array.
• In a wider sense end fire array is a linear or planar antenna
whose direction of maximum radiation is along the line or in
the plane of the array.
• Salient feature of end fire array
• A number of dipoles or elements of equal size are used.
• The elements are equally spaced.
• The elements are fed with different phases.
• Null-to-Null beam width is given by
 6.11 End Fire array
Where λ= wavelength
N=number of elements
d=spacing between the elements
• The pattern is uni directional.
• The physical arrangements of the elements in
the end fire array is same as that of broadside
array.
6.11 End Fire array
6.11 End Fire array
 6.12 Folded Dipole
• It is an antenna composed of two or more parallel and closely spaced
dipole antenna connected together at their ends with one of the
dipole antenna being centre fed.
• salient feature of folded dipole
• It is a single antenna but consists of two elements.
• The first is fed directly and the second is inductively coupled at the
ends.
• Its radiation pattern is the same as that of a straight dipole.
• If the current fed is I, then the current in each arm is I/2 provided the
two arms have the same dimensions if it is a straight dipole the total
current I flows.
• Rr=4*73=292Ω
• Folded dipole is used in yagi uda antenna.
6.12 Folded Dipole
6.12 Folded Dipole
6.12 Folded Dipole
6.12 Folded Dipole
6.12 Folded Dipole
6.12 Folded Dipole
 6.13 V antenna
• It is an antenna in which the conductors are arranged in V
shape. It is balanced fed at the apex and the included angle,
length, and elevation are chosen to obtain the desired
directional properties.
• Salient feature of V antenna
• It consists of two long wire antenna arranged in the form of
V and it is fed at the apex.
• The excitation to each wire is out of phase.
• It offers greater gain and directivity when length of each leg
or wire is increased.
• Its radiation pattern is bi-directional.
• V antennas are of two types: resonant and non resonant.
6.13 V antenna
6.13 V antenna
6.13 V antenna
6.13 V antenna
 6.14 Inverted V antenna

• It is an antenna in which the conductors are arranged in the shape of an

inverted V.
• Salient feature of inverted V antenna.
• It is travelling wave antenna.
• The direction of maximum radiation is towards the terminated end.
• Feeding is done through transmission lines with respect to radial earth wires.
• The angle φ is the tilt angle.
• The terminating resistance is about 400Ω.
• Angle of main lobe corresponds to l/λ
• Gain is a function of angle of tilt, leg length and terminating resistance.
• These antennas are useful in HF bands
• They have considerable bandwidth
• The length of the leg equal to λ is used
• Inverted V antenna with its image looks like a rhombus.
• Array can be used for high gain.
• Its radiation pattern contains high side lobes.
6.14 Inverted V antenna
 6.15 Rhombic Antenna
• This is an antenna which is in the shape of a
rhombus.
• It is usually terminated in a resistance.
• The side of the rhombus, the angle between
the sides, the elevation, termination and height
above the earth are chosen to obtain the
desired radiation characteristics.
• The typical Rhombic antenna and radiation
pattern are shown in Fig. 6.26
 6.15 Rhombic Antenna
• Salient features of Rhombic antenna
• It is a long wire antenna and consists four non-
resonant wires.
• It provides greater directivity than V antenna.
• Its band width is high.
• It is a HF non-resonant antenna.
• It is very useful for point-to-point communications.
• It is a travelling wave antenna and there are no
reflections.
 6.15 Rhombic Antenna
• The directivity of each wire is

D(θ)=(60I/r ) sinθ [sin[πl/λ(1-cosθ)] / (1-cosθ)]

........6.11
• Design equations
Rhombic height , H=λ/4sinΔ........6.12
Δ=elevation angle
l= λ/2cos²φ=λ/2sin²Δ........6.13
6.15 Rhombic Antenna
6.15 Rhombic Antenna
 6.16 Yagi-Uda Antenna
• This antenna was developed by Prof Yagi and Prof Uda.
• It is an array antenna which consists of one active element and a few
parasitic elements.
• Salient feature
• It consists of a driven element, a reflector and one or more directors.
• Driven element is usually a folded dipole which is excited.
• Director is a straight conductor placed in front of the driven element
towards transmitter.
• Reflector is also straight conductor place behind the driven element.
• Directors and reflectors are called parasitic elements.
• The length of the folded dipole is about λ/2 and it is at resonance.
• Length of the director is less than λ/2 and length of the reflector is
greater than λ/2
• The optical equivalent of yagi uda antenna is shown in below figure
6.16 Yagi-Uda Antenna
 6.16Yagi-Uda Antenna
• Its radiation pattern is almost unidirectional and gives
a gain of about 7db.
• It is used as a transmitting antenna at HF and used for
TV reception at VHF.
• Although it is compact, its gain is not high.
• The purpose of reflector and directors is to increase
the gain but they load the driven element.
• Yagi uda antenna has exceptional sensitivity.
• It has a good front to back ratio.
• Its bandwidth is limited.
6.16 Yagi-Uda Antenna
6.16 Yagi-Uda Antenna
6.16 Yagi-Uda Antenna
 6.17 Log-Periodic Antenna
• It is an array antenna which has structural geometry such that its impedance is
periodic with the logarithm of the frequency
• it is non linear array in which the spacing of the elements as well as their dimensions
are unequal.
• However, excitation is uniform it is basically called a frequency independent antenna
• It can be used to receive a good number of TV channels with out any deterioration of
the received field strength
• Salient feature
• It is a frequency independent antenna
• it is an array of non identical dipoles which are all excited equally.
• The gain of a well designed antenna lies between 7.5 and 12 db
• It is a broad band antenna
• It has unidirectional characteristics
• They are used in UHF and VHF bands
• It is more efficient than the rhombic antenna
 6.17 Log-Periodic Antenna
• Design Equations
• Scale factor,
τ= Dn / Dn-1 = Ln / Ln-1 , n=1,2,3 ...6.30
• Spacing factor,
σ=Sn / Sn-1 = Sn /2Ln ........6.31
• α =wide angle=2tan‐1 (1-τ/4σ)
6.17 Log-Periodic Antenna
 6.18 Loop Antenna
• It is an antenna which is in the form of a loop.
• An antenna that consists of one or more turns of wire forming a DC
short circuit is called a loop antenna.
• The loop antenna can be of circular, square or rectangular shape.
• Typical loop antennas are shown in fig.
• Salient features of loop antenna
• Small loops, whose circumferences are less than 0.1λ at the highest
frequencies, are suitable up to about 30MHz.
• The loop antennas are characterized by a null along the axis of the
loop.
• Directional characteristics of loop antennas are improved by
shielding them electrostatically.
 6.18 Loop Antenna
• Induced RMS voltage, VRMS in the loop is given
by
VRMS =2πERMS AN cosφ/λ .........6.36
• The field expressions of small loop antennas
are
Eφ=120π²IA sinθ/rλ² , V/m .......6.37
Hφ=πI sinθA/ rλ² , V/m ...........6.38
 6.18 Loop Antenna
• The radiation of small loop antenna
R=31,171 (NA/λ²) Ω ...........6.40
Here N=number of turns
A=area of the loop
λ=wavelength
• The radiated power of loop antenna is
PT =10K⁴A²Im² , watts
• Radiation resistance of a loop antenna is
Rr=3,720 a/λ , Ω
6.18 Loop Antenna
 6.19 Helical Antenna
• It is an antenna which is in the shape of a
helix.
• Its polarization and radiation properties
depend on the diameter, pitch, number of
turns, wavelength, excitation and spacing
between the helical loops.
• A typical structure of helical antenna as shown
in fig
 6.19 Helical Antenna
• Helical antenna consists of helical loops made
of thick conductor which have the apperances
of a screw thread it is associated with a
ground plane made of conductor.
• The ground plane is often made of screen or
of radial and concentric conductors.
• This antenna is fed by a coaxial cable this can
be operated in normal and axial modes.
 6.19 Helical Antenna
• In normal mode the radiation is maximum in
the broadside direction this can be called
broadside mode. This mode happens if NL<<λ,
• In this beam width is small and efficiency is
low these two parameter can be increased if
the helix is large.
 6.19 Helical Antenna
• Salient feature of helical antenna
• Used for circular polarization, used in VHF and UHF
bands.
• Used in axial mode.
• In normal mode beam width and efficiency are small.
• It is a wide band antenna in axial mode.
• Used for extra terrestrial communication, satellite
and space probe communication, radio astronomy
and so on.
 6.19 Helical Antenna
• Application of helical antenna
• It is used to transmit and receive VHF wave for
ionospheric propagation.
• It is used for satellite, space communication.
• Space telemetry at HF and VHF bands.
• Radio astronomy.
6.19 Helical Antenna
6.19 Helical Antenna
 6.20 Whip Antenna
• It is a short vertical monopole used for mobile communication purposes. A
few typical whip antenna structures are shown in below figure

• Salient feature of whip antenna

• It gives a gain of three with respect to isotropic radiator in a direction
perpendicular to its axis.
• Its length can be reduced by loading.
• It can be used in HF and VHF bands.
• It is used mostly for mobile communication.
• A continuously wound step tapered helical conductor with a uniform current
distribution gives a 50Ω match at its resonant frequency its standard length
is 4 feet for most of the application.
6.20 Whip Antenna
 6.21 Ferrite Rod Antenna
• It is an antenna which consists of a ferrite rod
on which a coil with a number of turns are
wound.
• This is commonly used in all transistorised
radio receiver.
• It has a ferrite rod with one or more coils.
 6.21 Ferrite Rod Antenna
• Salient feature of ferrite rod antenna
• It is used in all radio receiver
• It is compact
• Its quality factor is high
6.21 Ferrite Rod Antenna
 6.22 Turnstile Antenna
• It is an antenna composed of two dipole antenna perpendicular to each other.
• They intersect at their mid points.
• The currents on the two dipole are equal and in phase quadrature.
• Salient features of turnstile antenna
• Turnstile antenna consists of two half wave dipole which are perpendicular to each
other. The dipoles are excited with a phase difference of 90 0 with equal currents.
• The excitation is provided by different non resonant lines of unequal length.
• It produces almost an omni-directional pattern.
• Directivity is improved by the array of turnstile antennas.
• This antenna is best suited to match 70Ω dual co-axial line.
• This produces horizontal polarization.
• Polarization is distributed due to loss of power. However the purity of polarization
is improved by super turnstile antennas.
• VSWR of 1.1 is possible over 30% bandwidth.
6.22 Turnstile Antenna
 6.23 Discone Antenna
• It is an antenna which consists of a disc and a cone. The disc is fixed at the
centre conductor of coaxial feed line so that it is perpendicular to its axis.
• The apex of the cone is connected to the outer shield of the coaxial line.
• Its variation of impedance and radiation characteristics as a function of
frequency is much less when compared with those of a dipole of constant
length.
• A disc and a cone together form a discone.
• It is a ground plane antenna and is evolved from the vertical dipole.
• It has a radiation pattern similar to that of vertical dipole.
• A typical discone antenna is shown in Fig. 6.40. It is fed by a coaxial cable.
• The cone semi-angle is about 30ᵒ, disc diameter is about three-fourth of the
diameter of the base of the cone.
• It acts as if the disc is a reflector.
• It is a broad-band antenna.
6.23 Discone Antenna
 6.24 Notch Antenna
• It is an antenna which consists of a notch in a metallic
sheet.
• It consists of a notch in the edge of a metallic surface.
• It is an open ended slot antenna(Fig. 6.41).
• It is a broad-band antenna.
• A typical radiation pattern of notch antenna is shown in Fig.
6.42.
• Notch antennas can be easily made on the body of an
aircraft.
• The notches are filled with dielectric materials to avoid
aerodynamic drag.
6.24 Notch Antenna
 Unit 6
Microwave Antennas
 7.3 Plane Reflector
• It is the simplest reflector to direct electromagnetic
energy in a desired direction but it is difficult to
collimate the energy in the forward direction.
• In fact, polarisation of the primary antenna and its
position with respect to the reflecting surface is used to
control the pattern characteristics, impedance, power
gain and directivity of the complete system.
• Infinitely large reflector is ideal.
• It is difficult to collimate the energy by a plane reflector.
• A typical plane reflector is shown in below figure.
7.3 Plane Reflector
 7.4 Corner Reflector
• A corner reflector is a reflecting object which
consists mutually intersecting, conducting flat
surfaces.
• Dihedral forms of corner reflectors are frequently
used in antennas.
• However, trihedral forms with mutually
perpendicular surfaces are used as radar targets.
• A typical corner reflector is shown in below figure.
7.4 Corner Reflector
 7.4 Corner Reflector
• For the corner reflector
Da = aperture size
l= length
h=height
d=spacing between the vertex and feed point location
dg= spacing between grid wires
α= included angle
• λ˂Da˂2λ
• l= 2d
• λ/3˂d˂2λ/3 .....................7.1
• h is 1.2 to 1.5 times greater than the total length of feed element
• Dg≤λ/10
 7.4 Corner Reflector
• Salient features of corner reflector:
• It is simple to construct.
• It is also used in home television antennas.
• The most preferred value of α is 90⁰.
• When α is small , gain is increased by increasing the
length of the sides of the reflector.
• The array factor of corner reflector antenna is
E=2[cos (Kd sinθ cosφ-cos (Kd sinθ sinφ))] ...7.2
Here, K= 2π/λ
 7.5 Parabolic Reflector
• It is a reflector which has the shape of paraboloid and
employs the properties of parabola.
• It can also defined as a reflector which is part of a
paraboloid of revolution.
• A paraboloid is a three dimensional surface obtained
by revolving the parabola about its axis .
• The paraboloid is called the parabolic reflector or dish
antenna.
• The geometry of a parabolic reflector in transmitting
mode is shown in Fig. 7.3.
7.5 Parabolic Reflector
 7.5 Parabolic Reflector
• Here AB=axis of the parabola
CD=mouth diameter , Da
AF=focal length=lf
F=focus
CAD=parabola
The line CD=directrix
AF/CD=aperture of the parabola
• From the definition of a parabola we have,
FP+PP1=FQ+QQ1=FS+SS1=constant (K)
K varies with shape.
The equation of the parabola is
y²=4lf x ........................7.3
And the equation of the paraboloid is
y²+z²= 4lf x ....................7.4
• A parabolic reflector in receiving mode is shown in Fig.7.4.
7.5 Parabolic Reflector
7.5 Parabolic Reflector
7.5 Parabolic Reflector
7.5 Parabolic Reflector
7.5 Parabolic Reflector
 7.5 Parabolic Reflector
• Salient feature of paraboloid reflectors:
• The directional beam has a sharp main lobe surrounded by
several side lobes.
• The three dimensional shape of the main lobe resembles a fat
cigar in the direction of the axis of the paraboloid.
• If the primary antenna is non-directional,
BWFN=140(λ/Da)
And HPBW=70(λ/Da)
• The gain of the antenna with parabolic reflector is influenced by
aperture ratio (Da / λ) and type of illumination.
• For tapered illumination, the power gain, gp =6.4(Da / λ)².
• Directivity with respect to isotropic antenna is D=6.4 6.4(Da / λ)².
 7.6 Types of Parabolic Reflectors
• Apart from full paraboloid reflectors, there are other
types of reflectors:
• Cut or truncated paraboloid.
• Parabolic cylinder.
• Pill box and cheese antenna.
• Offset paraboloid reflector.
• Torus antenna.
• The advantages of these are low cost and small size.
• The main disadvantage is that the beam is not
directional in both azimuth and elevation.
 7.6.1Cut or Truncated Paraboloid
• It is not circular in appearance when viewed
from a point on the parabolic axis.
 7.6.2 Parabolic cylinder
• This is formed by moving the parabola sideways.
• A plane sheet is curved in one dimension to obtain a
parabolic cylinder.
• It is characterised by a focal point and a vertex line instead
of a vertex.
• When a radiating line source is on the focal line, the
parabolic cylinder is illuminated uniformly.
• This results in the vertical plane.
• Its beam width is slightly less than that of a full paraboloid.
• It gives rise to a wide beam in E-plane and narrow beam in
H-plane.
7.6.2 Parabolic cylinder
 7.6.3 Pill box and cheese antenna
• Pillbox antenna
• This is a reflector antenna which has a cylindrical plates
perpendicular to the cylinder, spaced less than one
wavelength apart.
• typical pillbox structure is shown in Fig.7.8.
• It looks like a pillbox and hence the name
• Cheese antenna
• This is also a reflector antenna which has a cylindrical reflector
enclosed by two parallel conducting plates perpendicular to
the cylinder but spaced more than one wavelength apart.
• Pillbox and Cheese antenna have similar applications.
7.6.3 Pill box and cheese antenna
 7.6.4 Offset Paraboloid
• This is one form of cut-paraboloid in cross-
section.
• In this, the focus is located outside the aperture
(Fig.7.9).
• If the feed antenna is kept at the focus, the
reflected and collimated rays will be produced
without any interference.
• This reflector is very useful when the size of the
feed antenna will not block the reflected rays.
7.6.4 Offset Paraboloid
 7.6.5 Torus antenna
• It is better version of an offset reflector.
• It is similar to cut paraboloid.
• It is parabolic along one axis and circular along
the other.
• This antenna is useful to transmit or receive a
number of beams simultaneously to or from a
geostationary satellite orbit.
• This is possible by placing several feeds at the
focus.
7.7 Feed System for Parabolic Reflectors
• It is possible to feed the reflector in several
ways. Some of them are.
• Half-wave dipole
• An array of collinear dipoles
• Yagi-uda antenna
• Centre-fed with spherical reflector
• Horn
• Cassegrain feed
 7.7.1 Half-wave dipole

• This has bi-directional radiation

characteristics.
• Ideally, uni-directional antenna is required as
feed antenna.
• In this case the reflected rays will interfere
with the backward radiated rays and disturb
the plane wave-front because of phase
difference.
 7.7.2 Yagi-uda antenna

• Although this produces a uni-directional

pattern, the size of the antenna is a common
problem.
• It blocks the reflected rays.
 7.7.3 An array of collinear dipoles

• This is another possible primary feed antenna.

• But feeding with a dipole array involves
changing from unbalanced system to a
balanced system.
 7.7.4 Centre-fed with spherical reflector

• This is shown in Fig.7.10.

• Salient features:
• The primary antenna is kept at the focus of the
paraboloid for better reception or transmission.
• Direct radiation from the feed spoils the
directivity.
• To prevent direct radiation, a small spherical
reflector is used which redirects the direct
radiations back to the paraboloid.
7.7.4 Centre-fed with spherical reflector
 7.7.5Horn Feed

• Salient features:
• Horn has moderate directional characteristics
towards the reflector.
• There is no direct radiation.
• Horn obstructs the reflected rays when it is
placed at the focus.
• But obstruction is not high.
• It may be one or two percent of the total
reflected energy.
7.7.5Horn Feed
 7.7.6 Cassegrain Feed
• It is named after the early eighteenth century
astronomer.
• The feed mechanism is shown in Fig.7.12.
• It uses:
• A parabolic reflector,
• A hyperbolic reflector,
• A feed antenna, horn with wavelength.
7.7.6 Cassegrain Feed
 7.7.6 Cassegrain Feed
• Applications:
• It is used when it is required to keep the primary
antenna in a convenient position.
• It is used for low-noise receiver applications.
• Advantages:
• Spill over and minor lobe radiation less.
• Feed antenna can be kept at a convenient location.
• Disadvantage:
• Large paraboloid is expensive.
 7.8 Shaped Beam Antennas
• Antennas that produce shaped beams are
called shaped beam antennas.
• Some of the popular shaped beams are:
• Fanned beams
• Sector beams
• Cosecant beams
 7.8.1 Fanned Beams
• The fan beam is a radiation pattern which exhibits broad beam
characteristics in one of the principal planes.
• Fanned beam antennas are of the following forms.
• An array antenna with optimally designed amplitude and
phase distributions.
• A section of parabolic reflector with the point source at its
focus.
• Applications:
• Air search from ground-based or ship-borne antennas.
• Surface search from air-borne antennas.
• Typical fanned antenna beam are shown in Figs. 7.13 and 7.14.
7.8.1 Fanned Beams
7.8.1 Fanned Beams
 7.8.2 Sector Beam
• This beam is basically broad over a desired
angular region as shown in Fig. 7.15.
• This beam is again in azimuth and is broad in
elevation to accommodate roll and pitch.
• This type of beam provides a more constant
illumination of the target and is also more
conservative.
• Typical sector beams are shown in Figs. 7.15
and 7.16.
7.8.2 Sector Beam
7.8.2 Sector Beam
 7.8.3 Cosecant Beams
• These are used for ground mapping, airport
surveillance purpose and so on.
• Typical cosecant beams are shown in Figs. 7.17
and 7.18.
• These shaped beams can be precisely
produced from array antennas with
appropriate amplitude and phase
distributions.
7.8.3 Cosecant Beams
 7.9 Horn Antenna
• It is a radiating element which has the shape
of a horn.
• It is a waveguide one end of which is flared
out.
• Types of horns:
• Sectoral horn
• Pyramidal horn
• Conical horn
7.9 Horn Antenna
7.9 Horn Antenna
7.9 Horn Antenna
7.9 Horn Antenna
7.9 Horn Antenna
 7.9 Horn Antenna
• Applications:
• Horns are used at microwave frequencies where moderate gains are
sufficient.
• They are used as feed elements.
• Used in laboratory application
• Salient features:
• Horn becomes small if the flare angle is small.
• Its radiation pattern is directive, wave front is spherical, mouth area
is small and its directivity is small.
• Flare angle is related to axial length.
• The directivity of a loss-less horn antenna is its gain and it is given by
D= 4πAe /λ² = (4πηa /λ²) Aa
 7.9 Horn Antenna
• The gain of the conical antenna is optimum for
a given slant length of flare, l and
d≈(3/λ)⅟2 .....................7.14
Here d is diameter of the aperture
• If aperture efficiency is about 0.6,
D≈ 7.5Aa/λ²
Corrugated Horn Antenna
 7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna
• These are antennas made from patches of conducting material
on a dielectric substrate above a ground plane.
• The side view of a patch antenna is shown in Fig. 7.46.
• Typical path parameters:
• Dielectric constant of substrate, ϵr ≈ 2.
• The thickness of the patch, t ≈ λ/100.
• The height of the substrate, h˂˂λ.
• λ= 3m.
• f≈100MHz.
• l ≤ λ/2.
• W˂λ.
 7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna
• Applications:
• They are used in spacecrafts and aircrafts.
• They are used in applications where aerodynamic drag due to
antennas should be nil.
• Advantages:
• Small size.
• Low weight.
• Low cost.
• Ease of installation.
• Disadvantages:
• Their efficiency is less.
• Their band width is small and is typically a few percent.
 7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna
• Shapes of patch antennas:
• Square
• Circular
• Elliptical
• Rectangular
• Triangular
• Diamond
• These are shown in Fig. 7.47.
7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna
7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna
 7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna
• Zi = √(µ/ϵ) = η0 √(µr / ϵr )Ω .............7.40
• An end view of the patch antenna from the left side is shown in Fig.
7.48.
• The characteristic impedance of patch antenna
Zp = Z0 / n√ϵr ............7.41
If n=10 Zp= 26.63Ω
As n=w/t, Zp = Z0t / w√ϵr ............7.42
Zp (for microstrip line) = η0 / √ϵ ((w/t)+2)..7.43
The effective height he of the antenna is
he = √ (2Rr Ae / η0)..........7.44
Ae =λ²/π ....................7.45
7.19 Microstrip or Patch Antenna