ECE - 413

▪ Describe an antenna and its function

▪ Determine the different fundamental parameters of an
antenna
▪ Compare different types of antenna in terms of
construction and function
▪ Explain the different antenna applications
▪ Introduction to Antenna
▪ Fundamental Parameters of Antenna
▪ Types of Antenna
▪ Applications
▪ If a parallel-wire transmission line is left open, the
electric and magnetic fields escape from the end of the
line and radiate into space.
▪ This radiation, however, is inefficient and unsuitable for
reliable transmission or reception.
▪ The radiation from a transmission line can be greatly
improved by bending the transmission line conductors
so that they are at a right angle to the transmission line.
▪ The magnetic fields no longer cancel and, in fact, aid
one another. The electric field spreads out from
conductor to conductor. The result is an antenna.
▪ Optimum radiation occurs if the segment of
transmission wire converted to an antenna is one-
quarter wavelength long at the operating frequency.
▪ An antenna can be defined as an electrical conductor
or system of conductors used either for radiating
electromagnetic energy or for collecting
electromagnetic energy.
▪ An antenna is basically a transducer that converts
electrical alternating current oscillations at a radio
frequency to an electromagnetic wave of the same
frequency.
▪ For transmission of a signal, radio-frequency electrical
energy from the transmitter is converted into
electromagnetic energy by the antenna and radiated
into the surrounding environment (atmosphere, space,
water).
▪ Reception occurs when the electromagnetic signal
intersects the antenna, where the electromagnetic
energy is converted into radio-frequency electrical
energy and fed into the receiver.
▪ In two-way communication, the same antenna can be
and often is used for both transmission and reception.
▪ Antenna characteristics are essentially the same
whether an antenna is sending or receiving
electromagnetic energy.
▪ In wireless communication, often the same antenna is
used for both transmission and reception.
▪ An antenna radiates power in all directions but,
typically, does not perform equally well in all
directions. A common way to characterize the
performance of an antenna is the radiation pattern,
which is a graphical representation of the radiation
properties of an antenna as a function of space
coordinates.
▪ The simplest pattern is produced by an idealized
antenna known as the isotropic antenna.
▪ An isotropic antenna, also called an omnidirectional
antenna, is a point in space that radiates power in all
directions equally.
▪ The actual radiation pattern for the isotropic antenna is
a sphere with the antenna at the center.
▪ An isotropic antenna, also called an omnidirectional
antenna, is a point in space that radiates power in all
directions equally.
▪ The actual radiation pattern for the isotropic antenna is
a sphere with the antenna at the center.
▪ The electric and magnetic fields radiated from an
antenna form the electromagnetic field, and this field is
responsible for the transmission and reception of
electromagnetic energy through free space.
▪ An antenna, however, is also part of the electrical
circuit of a transmitter (or a receiver); because of its
distributed constants, it acts as a circuit containing
inductance, capacitance, and resistance.
▪ When RF energy from a transmitter is supplied to an
antenna, the effects of charge, voltage, current, and the
electric and magnetic fields are taking place
simultaneously.
▪ These effects have definite time and space relationships
to each other.
▪ The electric and magnetic fields about the antenna are
in space and time quadrature.
▪ The distribution of field strength about an antenna in
general is a function of both distance from the antenna
and the angular coordinates.
▪ In the region closed to the antenna, the field will
include a reactive component. The strength of this
reactive component, however, will decays rapidly with
distance from the antenna so that it soon become
insignificant compared to the strength of the radiation
component.
▪ The region in space in which the reactive component of
the field predominates is called the reactive-near field
region, and beyond this region is the radiating field
predominates.
▪ That region in which the radiating field predominates is
further subdivided into the radiating near-filed region
and the radiating far-field region.
▪ Thus, the space surrounding an antenna is composed of
three regions: the reacting near-field, the radiating
near-field, and the radiating far-field.
▪ Reactive near-field region is defined as that portion of
the near-field region immediately surrounding the
antenna wherein the reactive field predominates.
▪ For most antennas, the outer boundary of this region is
commonly taken to exist at a distance 𝑹 < 𝟎. 𝟔𝟐 𝑫𝟑 /𝝀
from the antenna surface, where λ is the wavelength and
D is the largest dimension of the antenna.
▪ For a very short dipole, or equivalent radiator, the
outer boundary is commonly taken to exist at a distance
𝑹 = 𝝀/𝟐𝝅 from the antenna surface.
▪ Radiating near-field (Fresnel) region is defined as
that region of the field of an antenna between the
reactive near-field region and the far-field region
wherein radiation fields predominate and wherein the
angular field distribution is dependent upon the
distance from the antenna.
▪ For an antenna focused at infinity, the radiating near-
field region is sometimes referred to as the Fresnel
region on the basis of analogy to optical terminology.
▪ The inner boundary is taken to be the distance 𝑹 <
𝟎. 𝟔𝟐 𝑫𝟑 /𝝀 and the outer boundary the distance 𝑹 <
𝟐𝑫𝟐 /𝝀 where D is the largest dimension of the antenna.
This criterion is based on a maximum phase error of 𝜋∕8.
▪ In this region the field pattern is, in general, a function
of the radial distance and the radial field component
may be appreciable.
▪ Far-field (Fraunhofer) region is defined as that region
of the field of an antenna where the angular field
distribution is essentially independent of the distance
from the antenna.
▪ If the antenna has a maximum overall dimension D, the
far-field region is commonly taken to exist at 𝑹 > 𝟐𝑫𝟐 /𝝀
from the antenna.
▪ The far-field patterns of certain antennas, such as
multibeam reflector antennas, are sensitive to variations
in phase over their apertures.
▪ The amplitude
pattern of an antenna,
as the observation
distance is varied
from the reactive near
field to the far field,
changes in shape
because of variations
of the fields, both
magnitude and phase.
ECE - 413
Velocity of Propagation and Antenna Length
▪ The RF energy on an antenna, however, moves at a
velocity considerably less than that of the radiated
energy in free space because the antenna has a
dielectric constant greater than that of free space.
▪ The formula for the velocity of electromagnetic waves,

𝑽 = 𝒇𝝀
where V is the velocity, ƒ is the frequency, and λ is the wavelength.
Velocity of Propagation and Antenna Length
▪ The actual difference between the physical length and
the electrical length of the antenna depends on several
factors such as antenna cross section.
▪ Other factors involved is stray capacitance because it
increases the dielectric constant and lowers wave
velocity. The change in velocity resulting from stray
capacitance is called end effect because the ends of the
antenna are made farther apart electrically than they
are physically.
Velocity of Propagation and Antenna Length
▪ End effect is counteracted by making the physical
length about 5 percent shorter than the electrical
length, as expressed in the formula
𝟎. 𝟗𝟓𝒄
𝑳=
𝟐𝒇
▪ This formula is accurate for all practical purposes in
determining the physical length of a half-wavelength
antenna at the operating frequency.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ The antenna is a circuit element having distributed
constants of inductance, capacitance, and resistance,
which can be made to form a resonant circuit.
▪ The half-wave antenna is the shortest resonant length of
antenna.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ A current flowing in the antenna must contend with
three kinds of resistance.
▪ With the antenna considered as a radiator of energy, the
power expended in the form of radiation can be thought
of as an 𝐼 2 𝑅𝑡 loss. 𝑹𝒕 is called the radiation resistance.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ The purpose of the antenna is to dissipate as much
energy as possible in the form of radiation. The energy
dissipated by the radiation resistance, therefore, is the
useful part of the total power dissipated.
▪ In the halfwave antenna, the radiation resistance is
large compared to the ohmic resistance, and most of the
available energy is radiated.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ Because the half-wave antenna has different conditions
of voltage and current at different points, and because
impedance is equal to the voltage across a circuit
divided by the current through it, the impedance will
vary along the length of the antenna.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ The impedance of the half-wave antenna usually is
considered to be the impedance as seen by the
transmitter at the input terminals. This impedance
consists of both resistance and reactance.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ If the antenna is cut to a length of exact resonance, the
reactance is zero and the impedance is purely resistive.
However, if the antenna is longer or shorter than
resonance, reactance is present.
▪ When the antenna is made shorter, capacitive
reactance is present; when the antenna is made longer,
inductive reactance is present.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ The impedance at the antenna input terminals is
important in terms of power efficiency. If the transmitter
is feeding a nonresonant antenna, a power loss is
caused by the reactive component of the antenna
impedance.
▪ If the frequency of the transmitter is changed, the
electrical length of the antenna also changes.
Resonance, Resistance, and Impedance
▪ If the frequency is made somewhat higher, the
electrical length is made greater, and inductive
reactance is added to the impedance.
▪ If the frequency is lowered, the electrical length is
shortened, and capacitive reactance is added to the
impedance.
Radiation Pattern
▪ An antenna radiation pattern or antenna pattern is
defined as a mathematical function or graphical
representation of the radiation properties of antenna as
a function space coordinates.
▪ Radiation properties include power flux density,
radiation intensity, field strength, directivity phase or
polarization.
Radiation Pattern
▪ The radiation property
of most concern is the
two- or three-
dimensional spatial
distribution of radiated
energy as a function of
the observer’s position
along a path or surface of
constant radius.
Radiation Pattern
▪ A trace of the received electric (magnetic) field at a
constant radius is called the amplitude field pattern. On
the other hand, a graph of the spatial variation of the
power density along a constant radius is called an
amplitude power pattern.
▪ Often the field and power patterns are normalized with
respect to their maximum value, yielding normalized
field and power patterns.
Radiation Pattern
▪ For an antenna, the
▪ field pattern (in linear scale) typically represents a plot of the
magnitude of the electric or magnetic field as a function of the
angular space.
▪ power pattern (in linear scale) typically represents a plot of the
square of the magnitude of the electric or magnetic field as a
function of the angular space.
▪ power pattern (in dB) represents the magnitude of the electric
or magnetic field, in decibels, as a function of the angular space.
Radiation Pattern
Radiation Pattern
▪ Various parts of a radiation pattern are referred to as
lobes, which may be subclassified into major or main,
minor, side, and back lobes.
▪ A radiation lobe is a “portion of the radiation pattern
bounded by regions of relatively weak radiation
intensity.”
Radiation Pattern
Radiation Pattern
▪ A major lobe (also called main beam) is defined as
“the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum
radiation.” In some antennas, such as split-beam
antennas, there may exist more than one major lobe.
▪ A minor lobe is any lobe except a major lobe. All the
lobes with the exception of the major can be classified
as minor lobes.
Radiation Pattern
▪ A side lobe is “a radiation lobe in any direction other
than the intended lobe.” Usually a side lobe is adjacent
to the main lobe and occupies the hemisphere in the
direction of the main beam.
▪ A back lobe is “a radiation lobe whose axis makes an
angle of approximately 180◦ with respect to the beam of
an antenna.” Usually it refers to a minor lobe that
occupies the hemisphere in a direction opposite to that
of the major (main) lobe.
Radiation Pattern
▪ For an amplitude pattern of an antenna, there would be,
in general, three electric-field components (𝐸𝑟 , 𝐸𝜃 , 𝐸∅ ) at
each observation point on the surface of a sphere of
constant radius 𝑟 = 𝑟𝑐 .
▪ In the far field, the radial 𝐸𝑟 component for all antennas
is zero or vanishingly small compared to either one, or
both, of the other two components.
Radiation Pattern
▪ Some antennas, depending
on their geometry and also
observation distance, may
have only one, two, or all
three components. In general,
the magnitude of the total
electric field would be
𝑬 = 𝑬𝒓 𝟐 + 𝑬𝜽 𝟐 + 𝑬∅ 𝟐 .
Radiation Pattern
▪ An isotropic radiator is defined as “a hypothetical
lossless antenna having equal radiation in all
directions.” Although it is ideal and not physically
realizable, it is often taken as a reference for expressing
the directive properties of actual antennas.
Radiation Pattern
▪ A directional antenna is one “having the property of
radiating or receiving electromagnetic waves more
effectively in some directions than in others. This term is
usually applied to an antenna whose maximum
directivity is significantly greater than that of a half-wave
dipole.”
Radiation Pattern
▪ An omnidirectional antenna is defined as one “having
an essentially nondirectional pattern in a given plane
(in this case in azimuth) and a directional pattern in any
orthogonal plane (in this case in elevation).”
Radiation Pattern
▪ For a linearly polarized antenna, performance is often
described in terms of its principal E- and H-plane
patterns.
▪ The E-plane is defined as “the plane containing the
electric-field vector and the direction of maximum
radiation,” and the H-plane as “the plane containing the
magnetic-field vector and the direction of maximum
radiation.”
Radiation Pattern
Radian and Steradian
▪ The measure of a plane angle is
a radian. One radian is defined
as the plane angle with its
vertex at the center of a circle of
radius r that is subtended by an
arc whose length is r.
▪ Since the circumference of a
circle of radius r is C = 2𝜋r,
there are 2𝜋 rad in a full circle.
Radian and Steradian
▪ The measure of a solid angle is a
steradian. One steradian is defined
as the solid angle with its vertex at
the center of a sphere of radius r that
is subtended by a spherical surface
area equal to that of a square with
each side of length r.
▪ Since the area of a sphere of radius r
is A = 4𝜋r2, there are 4𝜋 sr in a
closed sphere.
▪ For a sphere of radius r, find the solid angle ΩA (in
square radians or steradians) of a spherical cap on the
surface of the sphere over the north-pole region defined
by spherical angles of 0 ≤ 𝜃 ≤ 30°, 0 ≤ 𝜙 ≤ 360°.

ANS: Ω𝑨 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟑𝟓𝟕 𝒔𝒓; Ω𝑨 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟒𝟏𝟗 𝒔𝒓

Radiation Power Density
▪ The quantity used to describe the power associated with
an electromagnetic wave is the instantaneous Poynting
vector defined as
Radiation Power Density
▪ Since the Poynting vector is a power density, the total
power crossing a closed surface can be obtained by
integrating the normal component of the Poynting
vector over the entire surface. In equation form
Radiation Power Density
▪ The time average Poynting vector (average power
density) can be written as

▪ Then, the average power radiated by an antenna

(radiated power) can be written as
Radiation Power Density
▪ An isotropic radiator is an ideal source that radiates equally in
all directions. Although it does not exist in practice, it provides a
convenient isotropic reference with which to compare other
antennas.
▪ The total power radiated by it is given by

and the power density by

▪ The radial component of the radiated power density of
an antenna is given by

where A0 is the peak value of the power density, 𝜃 is the

usual spherical coordinate, and ̂a r is the radial unit
vector. Determine the total radiated power.
▪ For a closed surface, a sphere of radius r is chosen. To
find the total radiated power, the radial component of
the power density is integrated over its surface. Thus
Radiation Intensity
▪ Radiation intensity in a given direction is defined as
“the power radiated from an antenna per unit solid
angle.” The radiation intensity is a far-field parameter,
and it can be obtained by simply multiplying the
radiation density by the square of the distance.
▪ In mathematical form it is expressed as

𝑼 = 𝒓𝟐 𝑾𝒓𝒂𝒅
Radiation Intensity
▪ The power pattern is also a measure of the radiation
intensity. The total power is obtained by integrating the
radiation intensity over the entire solid angle of 4𝜋.
𝟐𝝅 𝝅
𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒅 = ඾ 𝑼𝒅Ω = න න 𝑼𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝒅𝜽 𝒅∅
𝟎 𝟎
Ω
Radiation Intensity
▪ For an isotropic source 𝑈 will be independent of the
angles 𝜃 and 𝜙, as was the case for 𝑊𝑟𝑎𝑑 or the radiation
intensity of an isotropic source as

𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒅
𝑼𝟎 =
𝟒𝝅
Beamwidth
▪ The beamwidth of a pattern is defined as the angular
separation between two identical points on opposite
side of the pattern maximum.
▪ One of the most widely used beamwidths is the Half-
Power Beamwidth (HPBW), which is defined by IEEE
as: “In a plane containing the direction of the maximum
of a beam, the angle between the two directions in
which the radiation intensity is one-half value of the
beam.”
Beamwidth
▪ Another important beamwidth is the angular separation
between the first nulls of the pattern, and it is referred to
as the First-Null Beamwidth (FNBW).
▪ Other beamwidths are those where the pattern is −10
dB from the maximum, or any other value. However, in
practice, the term beamwidth, with no other
identification, usually refers to HPBW.
Beamwidth
▪ The beamwidth of an antenna is a very important
figure of merit and often is used as a trade-off between
it and the side lobe level; that is, as the beamwidth
decreases, the side lobe increases and vice versa.
▪ The normalized radiation intensity of an antenna is
represented by 𝑼 𝜽 = 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝜽 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝟑𝜽 , the half-power
beadwidth and first-null beamwidth are equal to:
Beamwidth
▪ Find the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) and first-null
beamwidth (FNBW), in radians and degrees, for the
following normalized radiation intensities at ሺ0 ≤ 𝜃 ≤
90°, 0 ≤ ∅ ≤ 360°ሻ.
1. U(𝜃) = cos(2𝜃) cos(3𝜃)
2. U(𝜃) = cos2(2𝜃) cos2(3𝜃)
Directivity
▪ The directivity of an antenna defined as “the ratio of
the radiation intensity in a given direction from the
antenna to the radiation intensity averaged over all
directions.”
▪ The average radiation intensity is equal to the total
power radiated by the antenna divided by 4𝜋.
▪ Stated more simply, the directivity of a nonisotropic
source is equal to the ratio of its radiation intensity in a
given direction over that of an isotropic source.
Directivity
▪ Mathematically,
𝑼 𝟒𝝅𝑼
𝑫= =
𝑼𝟎 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒅
▪ If the direction is not specified, it implies the direction
of maximum radiation intensity (maximum directivity)
expressed as
𝑼𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝟒𝝅𝑼𝒎𝒂𝒙
𝑫𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝑫𝟎 = =
𝑼𝟎 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒅
Directivity
▪ For antennas with orthogonal polarization components,
we define the partial directivity of an antenna for a
given polarization in a given direction as “that part of
the radiation intensity corresponding to a given
polarization divided by the total radiation intensity
averaged over all directions.”
Directivity
▪ With this definition for the partial directivity, then in a
given direction “the total directivity is the sum of the
partial directivities for any two orthogonal
polarizations.”
▪ For a spherical coordinate system, the total maximum
directivity 𝐷0 for the orthogonal 𝜃 and 𝜙 components of
an antenna can be written as
𝑫𝟎 = 𝑫𝜽 + 𝑫∅
Directivity
▪ The directivity of an isotropic source is unity since its
power is radiated equally well in all directions.
▪ For all other sources, the maximum directivity will
always be greater than unity, and it is a relative “figure
of merit” which gives an indication of the directional
properties of the antenna as compared with those of an
isotropic source.
Antenna Efficiency
▪ The total antenna efficiency 𝑒0 is used to take into
account losses at the input terminals and within the
structure of the antenna. Such losses may be due:
1. reflections because of the mismatch between the
transmission line and the antenna
2. 𝐼 2 𝑅 losses (conduction and dielectric)
Antenna Efficiency
▪ In general, the overall efficiency can be written as
𝒆𝟎 = 𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒄 𝒆𝒅
Antenna Efficiency
▪ Usually 𝒆𝒄 and 𝒆𝒅 are very
difficult to compute, but they
can be determined
experimentally. Even by
measurements they cannot be
separated, and it is usually
more convenient to write as:
𝟐
𝒆𝟎 = 𝒆𝒄𝒅 𝟏 − 𝜞
 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask
God, who gives generously to all without
reproach, and it will be given him.”
JAMES 1:5 ESV
 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask
God, who gives generously to all without
reproach, and it will be given him.”
JAMES 1:5 ESV