MODULE 2 2013

Jimma University
Jimma Institute of Technology
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Communication Stream

Antennas and Radio Wave Propagation

Module 2

Antenna Characteristics

Antenna Reciprocity
 A basic antenna is a passive reciprocal device – passive in the sense that it cannot actually amplify a
signal, at least not in the true sense of the word (however, it could be seen later that an antenna could
have gain)
 An antenna is a reciprocal device in that the transmit and receive characteristics and performance are
identical (i.e., gain, directivity, frequency of operation, bandwidth, radiation resistance, efficiency, and so
on)
 Transmit antennas must be capable of handling high powers and, therefore, must be constructed with
materials that could withstand high voltages and currents. Receive antennas however, produce very small
`voltages and currents and can be constructed from small-diameter wire.
 In many radio communications systems, however, the same antenna is used for transmitting and
receiving. If this is the case, the antenna must be constructed from heavy-duty materials, and some
means must be used to prevent the high power transmit signals from being coupled into the relatively
sensitive receiver.
 Standard antennas have no active components (diodes, transistors, FETs, and so on); therefore they are
passive and reciprocal.
 In practice an active antenna does not exist. What is commonly called an active antenna is actually the
combination of a passive antenna and a low-noise amplifier.
 Active antennas are not reciprocal.

Antenna Coordinate System

 The directional characteristics of an electromagnetic wave radiated or received by an antenna are
generally described in terms of spherical coordinates.
 Imagine an antenna placed in the center of a sphere; the distance to any point on the surface of the
sphere can be defined in respect to the antenna by using the radius of the sphere and included angles

Antenna Radiation Pattern

 A radiation pattern is a polar diagram or graph representing field strengths or power densities at various
angular positions relative to an antenna.
 If the radiation pattern is plotted in terms of electric field strength or power density, it is called it is called
an absolute radiation pattern.
 If it plots field strength or power density with respect to the value at a reference point, it is called a
relative radiation pattern.

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 An absolute radiation pattern is characterized as having variable distance and fixed power.
 A relative radiation pattern is characterized as having variable power and fixed distance.

 The primary beam is in a 90o direction and is called the major lobe.
 Lobes in a direction other than the major lobe are called secondary beam or minor lobes. They represent
undesired radiation or reception
 Lobes adjacent to the front lobe are called side lobes and lobes in a direction exactly opposite the front
lobes are called back lobes

• Half-power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between two vectors from the pattern’s origin to the points
of the major lobe where the radiation intensity is half its maximum
• Often used to describe the antenna resolution properties
» Important in radar technology, radioastronomy, etc.
• First-null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angle between two vectors, originating at the pattern’s origin and
tangent to the main beam at its base.
» Often FNBW ≈ 2*HPBW

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 The ratio of the front lobe power to the back lobe power is simply called the front-to-back ratio and the
ratio of the front lobe to a side lobe is called the front-to-side ratio.
 The line bisecting the major lobe, or pointing from the center of the antenna in the direction of maximum
radiation is called the line of shoot, or sometimes point of shoot

Example of a radiation pattern of a practical antenna

Near Field and Far field

 Near field refers to the field that is close the to the antenna, and the term far field refers to the field
pattern that is at great distance.
 During one-half of a cycle, power is radiated from an antenna where some of the power is stored
temporarily in the near field. During the second half of the cycle, power in the near field is returned to
the antenna.
 The near field is sometimes called the induction field
 Power that reaches to the far field continues to radiate outward and is never returned to the antenna.
Therefore, the far field is sometimes called the radiation field.
 Radiation power is usually the more important of the two; therefore, antenna radiation patterns are
generally given for the far field.

Radiation Resistance
 Radiation resistance is an ac antenna resistance and is equal to the ratio of the power radiated by the
antenna to the square of the current at its feedpoint. Mathematically,

where: Rr = radiation resistance (ohms)

Prad = power radiated by the antenna (w)
i = antenna current at the feedpoint (A)
 Radiation resistance is the resistance that, if it replaced the antenna, would dissipate exactly the same
amount of power that the antenna radiates.
 It is common practice to refer the radiation resistance to the current maximum point or sometimes the
current at the feedpoint, although in many cases the two points are one in the same.

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 When referenced to the current maximum point, radiation resistance is sometimes called loop radiation
resistance because a current maximum is also called a current loop.

Antenna Efficiency
 Antenna efficiency is the ratio of the power radiated by the antenna to the sum of the power radiated and
the power dissipated or the ratio of the power radiated by the antenna to the total input power.
Mathematically,

where: ƞ = antenna efficiency (%)

Prad = radiated power (w)
Pin = input power (w)
Pin = Prad + PD
PD = power dissipated (w)
 Some of the power is dissipated in the effective resistance (ground resistance, corona, imperfect
dielectrics, eddy currents, and so on), and the remainder is radiated.
 In terms of resistance and current,

Antenna Gain
 Directive gain is the ratio of the power density radiated in a particular direction to the power density
radiated to the same point by a reference antenna, assuming both antennas are radiating the same
amount of power.
 The maximum directive gain is called directivity. Mathematically,

where: D = directive gain

P = power density at some point with a given antenna (w/m2)
Pref = power density at the same point with a reference antenna (w/m2)

 Power gain is the same as directive gain except that the total power fed to the antenna is used (i.e.,
antenna efficiency is taken into account)
 It is assumed that the given antenna and the reference antenna have the same input power and that the
reference antenna is lossless (ƞ=100%). Mathematically;

 If an antenna is lossless, it radiates 100% of the input power, and the power gain is equal to the directive
gain.

 For an isotropic reference, the power gain (dB) of a half-wave dipole is approximately 1.64 (2.15 dB).

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Effective Isotropic Radiated Power

 Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) is defined as an equivalent transmit power and is expressed
mathematically as

where: Prad = total radiated power (w)

Dt = transmit antenna directive gain

 In dBm,

 EIRP equation can also be rewritten using antenna input power and power gain as

 EIRP is the equivalent power that an isotropic antenna would have to radiate to achieve the same power
density in the chosen direction at a given point as another antenna.
 For instance:
If a given transmit antenna has a power gain of 10, the power density a given distance from the antenna is
10 times greater than it would have been had the antenna been an isotropic radiator.

 To determine the power density at a given point distance R from a transmit antenna:

where: P = power density (W/m2)

Pin = transmit antenna input power (W)
Prad = power radiated (W)
At = transmit antenna power gain
Dt = directive power gain

 Example 1: (Explained on the Board)

For a transmit antenna with a power gain At = 10 and and input power Pin=100W, determine
a. EIRP in watts, dBm, and dBW
b. Power density at a point 10 km from the transmit antenna
c. Power density had an isotropic antenna been used with the same input power and efficiency
 Example 2: (Explained on the Board)
For a transmit antenna with a radiation resistance Rr = 72 Ω, an effective antenna resistance Re = 8 Ω, a
directive gain D = 20, and an input power Pin = 100 W, determine
a. Antenna efficiency
b. Antenna gain (absolute and dB)
c. Radiated power in watts and dBm
d. EIRP in watts and dBm
 Example 3: (Explained on the Board)
Given a free-space radio transmission system with the following characteristics:

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- transmitter power out = 40 dBm

- transmission line loss Lf = 3 dB
- free-space path loss Lp = 50 dB
a. Determine the antenna input power (Pin), radiated power (Prad), EIRP, and receive power density for an
isotropic transmit antenna with a directivity of 1 and an efficiency of 100%
b. Determine the required parameters as in (a) for a transmit antenna with a directivity of 10 and an
efficiency of 50%
c. Determine the required parameters as in (a) for a transmit antenna with a power gain At = 5.

Capture Power Density

 Antennas are reciprocal devices; thus, they have the same radiation resistance, efficiency, power gain,
and directivity when they used to receive electromagnetic waves as they have when transmitting
electromagnetic waves.
 Therefore, power density from a transmit antenna can be expanded to include the power gain of the
receiver antenna and rewritten as

where: C = captured power density (W/m2)

Pin = transmit antenna input power (W)
At = transmit antenna power gain
Ar = receive antenna power gain
R = distance between transmit and receive antenna (m)

 Captured power density is the power density in space and a somewhat misleading quantity. What is more
important is the actual power (in watts) that a receive antenna produces at its output terminals which, of
course, depends on how much power is captured by the receive antenna and the antenna’s efficiency.

Antenna Capture Area and Captured Power

 Whereas power gain is the natural parameter for describing the increased power density of a transmitted
signal due to the directional properties of a transmitting antenna, a quantity called capture area is a more
natural parameter for describing the reception properties of an antenna
 The capture area is an effective area.
 A transmit antenna radiates an electromagnetic wave that has a power density at the receive antenna’s
location of w/m2. This is not the actual power received but rather the amount of power incident on, or
passing through, each unit area of any imaginary surface that is perpendicular to the direction of
propagation of the electromagnetic waves.
 In principle, the power available at the antenna’s output terminals (in watts) is the capture power.
 For a captured power to appear at the antenna’s output terminals, the antenna must have captured
power from a surface in space immediately surrounding the antenna.
 Captured power is directly proportional to the received power density and the effective capture area of
the receive antenna.
 The physical cross-sectional area of an antenna and its effective capture area are not necessarily equal. In
fact, sometimes antennas with physically small cross-sectional areas may have effective capture areas
that are considerably larger than their physical areas.
 In these instances, it is as though the antenna is able to reach out and capture or absorb power from an
area larger than its physical size.
 There is an obvious relationship between an antenna’s size and its ability to capture electromagnetic
energy. This suggests that there must be a connection between antenna gain and the antenna’s receiving
cross-sectional area. Mathematically, the two quantities are related as follows:

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where: Ac = effective capture area (m2)

λ = wavelength of receive signal (m)
Ar = receive power antenna gain

Rearranging:

 Because the antenna are reciprocal devices, the power received or captured by an antenna is the product
of the power density in the space immediately surrounding the receive antenna and the antenna’s
effective area. Mathematically, captured power is

Substituting the equations for power density and capture area

Rearranging:

 Captured Power can be written as

where: Lp = path loss

 In dB units,

 Example: (Explained)
A transmitter has a power output of 150W at a carrier frequency of 325 MHz. It is connected into an
antenna with a gain of 12 dBi. The receiving antenna is 10 km away and has a gain of 5 dBi. Calculate the
power captured by the antenna and delivered to the receiver, assuming free-space propagation. Assume
also that there are no losses or mismatch in the system.

Antenna Polarization
 Polarization refers to the orientation of the electric field with respect to the earth.
 If the electric field is parallel to the earth, the electromagnetic wave is said to be horizontally polarized.

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 If the electric field is perpendicular to the earth, the wave is vertically polarized.
 Antennas that are horizontal to the earth produce horizontal polarization, and antennas that are vertical
to the earth produce vertical polarization

 Some antennas produce circular polarization, in which the electric fields rotate as they leave the antenna.
 There can be right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) and left-hand circular polarization (LHCP)
 RHCP gives a clockwise rotation to the electric field and LHCP gives a counterclockwise rotation.
 For optimal transmission and reception, the transmitting and receiving antennas must both be of the
same polarization.
 Theoretically, a vertically polarized wave will produce 0 V in a horizontal antenna and vice versa. But
during transmission over long distances, the polarization of waves changes slightly because of the various
propagation effects in free space. Thus even when the polarization of the transmitting and receiving
antennas is not matched, a signal is usually received
 A vertical or horizontal antenna can receive circular polarized signals, but the signal strength is reduced.
 When circular polarization is used at both transmitter and receiver, both must use either left- or right-
hand polarization if the signal is to be received.

Antenna Resonance
 Because the antenna is one-half wavelength at only one frequency, it acts as a resonant circuit.
 To the generator, the antenna looks like a series resonant circuit. The inductance represents the
magnetic field, and the capacitance represents the electric field. The resistance is the radiation
resistance. As always, this resistance varies depending on antenna conductor thickness and height.
 If the signal applied to the antenna is such that the antenna is exactly one-half wavelength long, the
equivalent circuit will be resonant and the inductive reactance will cancel the capacitive reactance. Only
the effect of the radiation resistance will be present, and the signal will radiate.
 If the frequency of operation and the antenna do not match, the equivalent circuit will not be resonant.
Instead, like any resonant circuit, it will have a complex impedance made up of resistive and reactive
components.

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 If the frequency of operation is too low, the antenna is too short and the equivalent impedance will be
capacitive because the capacitive reactance is higher at the lower frequency.
 If the frequency of operation is too high, the antenna will be too long and the equivalent circuit will be
inductive because the inductive reactance is higher at the higher frequency.
 If the dipole is used at a frequency different from its design frequency, the antenna impedance no longer
matches the transmission line impedance, so the SWR rises and power is lost.

Antenna Beamwidth
 Antenna beamwidth is simply the angular separation between the two half-power (-3 dB) points on the
major lobe of an antenna’s plane radiation pattern.
 Antenna beamwidth is sometimes called -3 dB beamwidth or half-power beamwidth.
 Antenna gain is inversely proportional to beamwidth (i.e., the higher the gain of an antenna, the narrower
the beamwidth)

Antenna Q and Bandwidth

 The bandwidth of an antenna is determined by the frequency of operation and the Q of the antenna
according to the familiar relationship

 The higher the Q, the narrower the bandwidth. Lowering Q widens bandwidth.
 For an antenna, low Q, and hence wider bandwidth, is desirable so that the antenna can operate at wide
range of frequencies with reasonable SWR.
 If the antenna has too high a Q and its bandwidth is too narrow, the SWR will be higher than 2:1 and
sideband clipping can occur.
 The Q and thus the bandwidth of an antenna are determined primarily by the ratio of the length of the
conductor to the diameter of the conductor.
 When larger diameters are used to construct an antenna, the larger plate area causes the inductance of
the conductor to decrease and the capacitance to increase.
 Lowering L lowers the inductive reactance, which directly affects Q.
 Since

and

Lowering XL reduces Q and increases the bandwidth.

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 Bandwidth is sometimes expressed as a percentage of the resonant frequency of the antenna. A small
percentage means a higher Q, and a narrower bandwidth means a lower percentage.
 A typical wire antenna has a bandwidth in the range of 3 to 6 percent of the resonant frequency. If
thicker conductors are used, this percentage can be increased to the 7 to 10 percent range, which gives
lower Q and wide bandwidth.

Antenna Input Impedance

 The feedpoint presents an ac load to the transmission line called the antenna input impedance.
 If the transmitter’s output impedance and the antenna’s input impedance are equal to the characteristic
impedance of the transmission line, there will be no standing waves on the line, and maximum power is
transferred to the antenna and radiated.

Ground Effects
 When an antenna is installed within a few wavelengths of the ground, the earth acts as a reflector and has
a considerable influence on the radiation pattern of the antenna
 Ground effects are important up through the HF range. At VHF and above, the antenna is usually far
enough above the earth that reflections are not significant
 Ground effects are complex because the characteristics of the ground are variable
 Phase shift at ground of 180 degrees
 Perfectly conductive ground would reflect all the power that hits it
 Real ground is not perfectly conductive
 conductivity depends largely on moisture content
 Effect of combining reflected and direct signals depends on distance from ground

 The figure shows the effects of ideal ground on the vertical radiation pattern of a horizontal dipole. The
first figure shows the dipole in free space. The second figure shows the dipole one-quarter wavelength
above the ground. Radiation in the upward direction is increased because the reflected wave reinforces
the incident wave. On the other hand, the situation in the third figure, where the antenna is one-half
wavelength above the ground, results in cancellation of radiation toward the zenith, with a corresponding
increase in low-angle radiation. The latter is generally more useful than high-angle radiation for HF
communications.

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