International Islamic University, Islamabad

Antennas and Wave Propagation Lab

LAB EXPERIMENT # 1: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Group Members:

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Lab Experiment 1: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Objective:
 To understand basic of wave propagation and to become familiar with different types of
antennas for forthcoming lab sessions.

Brief Theory:
The radiation pattern of the antenna is of principle concern when engineering a communications
system. Let’s assume that a signal needs to be sent from an antenna on the ground to a satellite in
orbit. This would require a radiation pattern with the majority of its radiated power focused into
orbit. If the antenna is not engineered to do so, contact cannot be established between the signal
source and its target. There are many different ways to manipulate a radiation pattern to meet the
demands of a specific task. These concepts are the principle focus of this lab assignment.
Implementing this lab assignment, students will examine the radiation patterns of several antennas
by hands on field testing. Only the most fundamental antennas were chosen for this lab assignment.
This allows us to see visually how the most common types of real-world antenna designs function.

Types of Antenna:
Antennas can be classified in several ways. One way is the frequency band of operation. Others
include physical structure and electrical/ electromagnetic design.

1. Wire Antennas:
Simple wire in form of dipole, loop or helix works as an antenna when change in
acceleration of current is introduced. The circular loop is most common due to simplicity
in its construction.
Fig-1shows some wire antennas.

Figure 1: Wire Antenna Configurations

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

2. Aperture Antennas:
Antennas of this type are very useful for aircraft and spacecraft applications, because they
can be very conveniently flush-mounted on the skin of the aircraft or spacecraft. In
addition, they can be covered with a dielectric material to protect them from hazardous
conditions of the environment. Fig.02 shows some aperture antennas.

Figure 2: Aperture Antenna Configurations

3. Array Antennas:
Many applications require radiation characteristics that may not be achievable by a single
element. It may, however, be possible that an aggregate of radiating elements in an
electrical and geometrical arrangement (an array) will result in the desired radiation
characteristics. The arrangement of the array may be such that the radiation from the
elements adds up to give a radiation maximum in a particular direction or directions,
minimum in others, or otherwise as desired. Fig.03 shows some array antennas.

Figure 3: Array Antenna Configurations

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

4. Dipole Antenna:
A dipole antenna refers to a radio antenna that can be made using a simple wire with a
center-fed driven element. It's made up of two metal conductors of rod or wire, oriented
parallel and in line with each other, with a small space between them. The frequency
voltage of the radio is applied to the antenna at the center, between the two conductors.
These dipole antennas are the simplest practical antennas from a theoretical point of view.
Detachment of waves from a dipole depends on its length w.r.t its λ or time period of the
input wave.

Figure 4: Detachment of field lines from a dipole

5. Basic Equipment:
Antenna trainer comprises of following instruments / components:
01 C-Band Transmitter
02 C-Band Receiver (motorized) with turn table
03 Slotted Line
04 Dipole Antenna
05 Double Dipole Antenna
06 Pyramidal Horn Antenna
07 Yagi-Uda Antenna
08 Helical Antenna
09 Microstrip Patch Antenna
10 Four Element Patch Array Antenna
11 Paraboloidal Reflector with dipole disk feed Antenna
12 Cables/ Adopter SMA (m) to SMA (m)
13 Antenna mounts, 30dB Attenuator and Calibration curve.

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

5.1 C-Band Transmitter

C-Band Transmitter delivers 10mW RF power at the carrier frequency of 5150MHz. For frequency
generation, a DRO (Dielectrics Resonator Oscillator) is used which generates higher frequency
stability and lower phase noise due to higher Q of the dielectric resonator. The output level of
DRO is not sufficiently high, so the output is fed to a two stage MMIC Amplifiers to amplify its
level up to +10dBm ±1dB. Output of the transmitter is fed to a pyramidal horn antenna, which act
as transmitting antenna. The antenna patterns in this trainer are therefore measured in the receive
mode only.

C-Band Transmitter with mounting stand

5.2 C-Band Receiver cum Power-meter

C-Band Receiver has sensitivity of about -30dBm. The received signal is first filtered by a micro-
strip line coupled resonator band pass filter tuned at the center frequency of 5.15 GHz. This filter
eliminates interfering signal from other communication equipments. The filtered signal is then
amplified by two stage MMIC amplifier with overall gain of 35dB. The goal of input amplifier is
to amplify signal with minimum noise figure. The amplified RF signal is then detected by a diode
detector. The detected signal is amplified by a DC amplifier and then applied to a digital voltmeter
(DVM) for display on a 3 digits seven segment display. The meter reading displays detected
voltage in millivolts which is needed to convert into received power (dBm) using a calibration
graph provided with the receiver.
ATC-5000 is completely computerized antenna trainer that performs PC based automated rotation
of receiving antennas at predefined angles and GUI-based polar plots of radiation patterns of each
antenna.
The rotation of receiving antenna is motor based with step of 1.25, 2.5 and 5 degrees in azimuth
angle range of -85 to +85 degrees for polar plots of radiation pattern of all type of antennas. There
are two methods of performing experiments of radiation pattern. One is done by software auto
sweep and the other with manually operating external push switch for each step rotation.

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Manual Motor
Control Button

C-Band Receiver cum RSSI meter with Turntable

Auto sweep is fully computerized operation where antenna starts to rotate from GUI instructions
with many features
 Azimuth angle step size 1.25°, 2.5° and 5°
 Polar Chart amplitude control with auto scale
 Radiation plotting up to four traces
 Printing of resultant Antenna pattern with name and field plane (E or H).
The interfacing of software with ATCR-5000 unit is through USB 2.0 protocol or USB cable.
Installation and using software is user friendly.
Manual operation provides a little bit more detailed margin of radiation pattern study with
controlled manner in which a push switch provided on top of receiver for each azimuth rotation
with fix 2.5° step. In this
case the detected true
power will be displayed
on the three digits seven
segment display with
5mV resolution and plot
it manually on polar
chart with the help of
angle and amplitude
information.
The maximum detected
voltage will be 1500mV
then over flow will
occur. Always place
receiver form transmitter
according to far field
region of mounted
antenna on receiver side. Graphic User Interface

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

5.3 Slotted Line with Probe and Carriage

A slotted line is a section of coaxial transmission line with a longitudinal slot in the outer conductor
through which a probe on a sliding carriage is able to sample the E field between the conductors
without any disturbance in field symmetry. The sampled signal is amplified and detected by C
band receiver.

Slotted Line
The use of slotted line allows measurement of frequency, VSWR and unknown load impedance
when connected between the source and the load. A scale is provided along the longitudinal slot
to measure distance moved by the carriage.
5.4 Dipole Antenna
Half-wavelength (λ/2) dipole antenna is most commonly used antenna. It has input impedance
equal to 73 ohms which is close to 75-ohm characteristics impedance of standard coaxial cable.
The dipole is fed by a coaxial port through a BALUN (Balance to Unbalance Converter).

λ/2 dipole antenna

The radiation pattern of a dipole antenna in E plane is shown in Fig.1.4. In H-plane the pattern is
omni in nature. Thus radiation pattern of dipole antenna are essentially omni-directional. The
directivity of the dipole antenna is 1.64.
The dipole provided with the trainer is fed from a coaxial line feed system. The slot cut in the outer
conductor of the coaxial line forms a BALUN. Further, the dipole has also a disk reflector which
makes the dipole pattern more directional.

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Fig. 1.4: E-plane radiation pattern of dipole antenna.

5.5 Horn Antenna
The horn antenna is designed to be an extension of the waveguide. One or both dimensions of the
waveguide are tapered outward to permit the transmission of microwave power from waveguide
into free space (through the radiating horn) with a minimum of transmission mismatch.

Horn Antenna
The gain (G) of the horn antenna depends on the ratio of the area of the horn aperture to the
operating wavelength. The directional gain can be increased by enlarging the horn area. Horn
antennas however, are usually limited to a gain of about 20 dB. The length and size of the horn
opening is enlarged beyond 5 to 7 inches. A sketch of the horn antenna is shown in Figure.
The gain and beam width of a horn antenna are determined by the product of the horn’s “a” and
“b” dimensions. Equation can be used for calculating the gain ratio of a horn when its wall lengths
and the operating wavelength are known,

10×𝑎×𝑏
𝐺= (λ)2
𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log 𝐺

The “a” side of the waveguide is in the H vector plane (magnetic field), and the “b” side is in the
E vector plane (electric field)

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5.6 Yagi- Uda Antenna

Yagi-Uda or simply Yagi antennas are high gain antennas. It consists of driven element, a reflector
and one or more directors i.e. Yagi-Uda antenna is an array of a driven element and one or more
parasitic elements (i.e. passive elements which are not connected directly to the transmission line
but electrically coupled). The driven element is a resonant half-wave dipole fed through gamma
match which has been implemented on microstrip line structure array.

Yagi-Uda Antenna
The parasitic elements receive their excitation from the voltages induced in them by the current
flow in the driven element. The phase and currents flowing due to the induced voltage depend on
the spacing between the elements and upon the reactance of the elements (i.e., length), the
reactance may be varied by the dimensioning the length of parasitic elements. The spacing between
driven and parasitic elements that are usually used, in practice, are of the order of λ/10 i.e. 0.10λ
to 0.15λ. The parasitic element in front of driven element is known as director and its number may
be more than one, whereas the element in back of it known as reflector. The reflector is 5% more
and director is 5% less than the driven element which is λ/2 at resonant frequency.

5.7 Helical Antenna

Helical antenna is another basic type of radiator and perhaps it is the simplest antenna to provide
circularly polarized waves. Helical antenna is broad band VHF and UHF antenna to provide
circular polarization characteristics. Is consists of a helix of thick copper wire or tubing wound in
the shape of screw thread and used as an antenna in conjunction with a flat metal plate called a
ground plane. It is fed between one end and a ground plane as shown in Figure.

Helical Antenna

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

The ground plane is simply disk of ½ wavelength diameter. The input impedance of helical antenna
is about 140 ohms at the center frequency of the helical antenna. In order to match helical antenna
a ¼ wavelength transformer of characteristic impedance 83 ohms is used. The helix is fed by
coaxial cable, generally. The one end of the helix is connected to the centre conductor of the cable
and the outer conductor is connected to the ground plane.

5.8 Microstrip or Patch Antenna

In spacecraft or aircraft applications, where size, weight, cost, performance, ease of installation
and aerodynamic profile are constraints, low profile antennas are required. In order to meet these
specifications Microstrip or patch antennas are used. These antennas are flush mounted to metal
or other existing surfaces and they only require space for the feed line which is normally placed
behind the ground plane. The major disadvantage of patch or Microstrip antennas are their
inefficiency and very narrow frequency bandwidth which is typically only a fraction of a percent.

Microstrip or patch antennas are popular for low profile applications at frequencies above 100MHz
(or λ< 3m). They usually consist of a rectangular metal patch on a dielectric-coated ground plane.
Microstrip antennas consists of a very thin metallic strip (t << λ) placed on small fraction of
wavelength (h << λ) above a ground plane. The strip (patch) and the ground plane are separated
by a dielectric sheet referred to as substrate. The radiating patch may be square, circular, elliptic,
rectangular or any shape.

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Microstrip Patch Antenna

The patch antenna acts as a resonant λ / 2 parallel plate Microstrip transmission line with
characteristic impedance equal to the reciprocal of number n of parallel field cell transmission
lines. Each field transmission line has characteristics impedance Zo equal to the intrinsic
impedance of the medium

𝑍𝑜 = 𝜂𝑖 = (𝜇/𝜀)1/2 = (𝜇𝑜 /𝜀𝑜 )1/2 . (𝜇𝑟 /𝜀𝑟 )1/2

µ = 𝜇𝑜 . 𝜇𝑟
𝜀 = 𝜀𝑜 . 𝜀𝑟
𝑍𝑜 = 120. 𝜋. (𝜇/𝜀)1/2

The radiation pattern of the patch is broad. The typical value of the beam area a is ½ of a half
space or about π steradian. Hence the directivity D of the patch is given by

4𝜋 4𝜋
𝐷= = =4
Ω𝑎 𝜋

𝐷(𝑑𝐵) = 10 log 4

𝐷 = 6.021 𝑑𝐵

The limitation of Microstrip antenna is its narrow frequency bandwidth which is mainly controlled
by the characteristics of the paralleled plate transmission line. The bandwidth can be increased by

 Increasing the thickness h of the parallel plate transmission line.

 Use of high dielectric constant 𝜀𝑟 substrate so that physical dimensions of parallel plate
line are decreased.
 Increasing the inductance of the Microstrip by cutting holes or slot in it.
 Adding reactive component to reduce the VSWR.

In order to increase the directivity of the antenna, multiple Microstrip radiators are used in cascade
to form any array.

5.9 Four Element Patch Antenna Array

Microstrip antennas are not used as single element only but are very popular in arrays. Arrays
can be used to
1. Synthesize a pattern
2. Scan the beam of an antenna system.
3. Increase the directivity

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

Four element Patch antenna planar array is supplied with the antenna trainer. The array is shown
below.

Four Element Patch Array Antenna

The pattern of the four element array is broadside. All elements are fed by in phase signal of same
amplitude with element spacing of λ/2.
5.10 Double Dipole Array Antenna
The dipole antenna is a very simple antenna suitable for use when a nearly Omni directional
pattern, is required. However, its gain is low. In many communication systems one is interested in
point to point communication, therefore a highly directive beam of radiation could be used. By
arranging several dipoles into an array, a directive beam of radiation and hence higher gain can be
obtained. In this experiment two dipole array antennas will be studied.

Double Dipole Array

Figure 1 shows two parallel half-wave antennas (D1 and D2) operating in the same phase and
located 1/2 λ apart. At any point far removed from the antennas, the antennas appear as a single
point. Energy radiating toward B from antenna D1 starts out in phase with the energy radiating
from antenna D2 in the same direction. Propagation from each antenna travels over the same
distance to point B, arriving there in phase. The antennas reinforce each other in this direction,
making a strong signal available at B. Field strength measured at B is greater than it would be if

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Lab01: Introduction to Antenna Design Lab

the total power supplied to both antennas had been fed to a single dipole. Radiation toward point
BI is built up in the same manner.

Fig.1: Double dipole radiation pattern

Consider a wave front traveling toward point A from antenna D2. By the time it reaches antenna
D1, 1/2 λ away, 1/2 cycle has elapsed. Therefore energy from antenna D2 meets the energy from
antenna D1 180 degrees out of phase.

As a result, the energy moving toward point A from the two sources cancels. In a like manner,
radiation from antenna D1 traveling toward point AI meets and cancels the radiation in the same
direction from antenna D2. As a result, little propagation takes place in either direction along the
AAI axis. Most of the energy is concentrated in both directions along the BBI axis. When both
antenna elements are fed from the same source, the result is the basic broadside array.

Note: The surroundings of an antenna are an important factor. Very often experimenting on
antennas is performed well away from objects perhaps in the middle of an open space or in a
special room that has been constructed so that EM waves are absorbed by walls (an anechoic
chamber). You are probably doing your experimentation with ATC-5000 in laboratory. There will
be other thing close by that affect the performance.

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