Unit 1 :Antennas

Part 1: Fundamental concept

DoECE, SVNIT
 Introduction

 Antennas are an indispensable part of any wireless

communication system.
 The rf energy is transmitted into space in the form of an
electromagnetic field.
 As the travelling electromagnetic field arrives at the
receiving antenna, a voltage is induced into the antenna
(usually a conductor).
 So, antennas can be thought of as a “transducer” that
converts radio waves into electrical currents and voltages
and vice versa.
 Types of Antennas

 There are different of antennas. They are

 Wire antennas:
 dipole, monopole, loop antenna, helix
 Usually used in personal applications,
automobiles, buildings, ships, aircrafts.
 Aperture antennas:
 Horn antennas, waveguide opening
 Usually used in aircrafts and space crafts, because these
antennas can be flush mounted.
Types of Antennas
Aperture antennas:
Wire antennas:
 Types of Antennas

 Reflector antennas:
 parabolic reflectors, corner reflectors
 These are high gain antennas usually used in radio
astronomy, microwave communication and satellite tracking.
 Lens antennas:
 convex-plane, convex-convex, convex-cooncave and concave-
plane lenses
 These antennas are usually used for very high frequency
applications.
Types of Antennas

Reflector antennas:
Typical lens antenna configurations
 Types of Antennas

 Microstrip antennas:
 rectangular, circular etc. shaped metallic patch above a
ground plane
 Used in aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, misssiles, cars, mobile
phones etc.
 Array antennas:
 Yagi-Uda antenna, microstrip patch arrray, aperture array,
slotted waveguide array.
 Used for very high gain applications with added advantage,
such as, controllable radiation pattern.
 Types of Antennas

Microstrip antennas Array antennas

 Antennas in Wireless Communication
Systems

The role of an antenna in communication system

 Antennas for Various Applications
 MW Radio – Frequency : 530 to 1620 kHz (use λ/4
monopole antenna)
 Cell Phones – CDMA, GSM900, GSM1800, 3G, 4G, Wi-
Fi/Bluetooth (use monopole, normal mode helical,
microstrip antenna, etc.)
 Cell Towers (use monopole, dipole, microstrip antenna
arrays, etc.)
 Satellite and Defense Communications (use microstrip,
horn, spiral, helical, reflector, Yagi-Uda, log-periodic
antennas, etc.)
 Radiation Mechanism:

 When electric charges undergo acceleration or

deceleration, electromagnetic radiation will be
produced.
 Hence it is the motion of charges, that is currents, is the
source of radiation.
 Here it may be highlighted that, not all current
distributions will produce a strong enough radiation for
communication.
 Radiation Mechanism:

 As shown in these equations, to create radiation

(electric field), there must be a time-varying current
dI/dt or an acceleration (or deceleration) a of a charge
q.

 Hence If the charge is not moving, a current is not

created and there is no radiation.
 Radiation Mechanism:

 If the charge is moving with an uniform velocity,

 there is no radiation if the wire is straight, and
infinite in extent.
 there is radiation if the wire is curved, bent,
discontinuous, terminated, or truncated.
 If the charge is oscillating in a time-motion, it
radiates even if the wire is straight.
 Radiation Mechanism:

 Wire configurations for radiation.

 Radiation Mechanism:

 So, it is the current distribution on the antennas that

produce the radiation.
 Usually these current distributions are excited by
transmission lines and waveguides.
 Radiation Mechanism:
 Source, transmission line, antenna,
and detachment of electric field
lines.
 Poynting vector and steradian (sr):

 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.
 Poynting vector and steradian (sr):
 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.

 The small surface area dA is

 𝒅𝑨 = 𝒓𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝒅𝜽 𝒅∅ (𝒎𝟐 )
𝒅𝑨
 𝒅Ω = = 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝒅𝜽 𝒅∅ (𝒔𝒓)
𝒓𝟐
 Poynting vector
 Mathematically the Instantaneous Poynting Vector is given by

 𝒑 = 𝑬 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕 × 𝑯 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛, 𝒕
= 𝑹𝒆 𝑬 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛 𝒆𝒋𝝎𝒕 × 𝑹𝒆 𝑯 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛 𝒆𝒋𝝎𝒕 𝑾Τ𝒎𝟐
 And the Average Poynting Vector as:
𝟏 ∗
 𝑷𝒂𝒗 = 𝑹𝒆 𝑬 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛 × 𝑯 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛 𝑾Τ𝒎𝟐
𝟐
 The magnitude of the Poynting vector gives the instantaneous
or average power density of the electromagnetic wave.
 Its direction gives the direction of the power flow at that
particular point.
 Power Intensity
 It is the power radiated in a given direction per unit solid
angle and has units of Watts per steradian (W/sr).
 Mathematically it is given by
 𝑼 = 𝒓𝟐 𝑷𝒂𝒗 𝑾Τ𝒔𝒓
 Note: U is a function of direction (θ, Φ) only and not distance
(r).
 Steradian (sr): a measure of solid angle.
 Solid angle Ω is the ratio of that part of a spherical surface
area S subtended at the centre of a sphere to the square of
the radius of the sphere.
 Power Intensity
 The solid angle subtended by a whole spherical surface is
𝟒𝝅𝒓𝟐
 𝜴= = 𝟒𝝅 (𝒔𝒓)
𝒓𝟐
 In Fig, a small surface is in spherical polar coordinate system
is shown as
 𝒅𝑨 = 𝒓𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝒅𝜽 𝒅∅

 This information will be

used later for calculation of
radiated power of antennas.
 𝒅𝜴 = 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝒅𝜽 𝒅∅ (𝒔𝒓)
 ANTENNA
 The IEEE Standard Definitions of Terms
for Antennas defines the antenna or
aerial as “a means for radiating or
receiving radio waves.”
 Antenna: That part of a transmitting or

receiving system that is designed to

radiate or to receive electromagnetic
waves.
 Antenna Parameters (Radiated Power)
 With this information, now we are in a
position to calculate the total radiated power
from an antenna.
 For antennas, mostly we are interested in its
far-field radiation.
 So, the integration in the above equation is
over a closed surface with the antenna inside
and the surface is sufficiently far from
antenna.
 Antenna Parameters (Radiated Power)
 Radiated Power
1
𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑 = ඾ 𝑃𝑎𝑣 ∙ 𝑑𝑠 = ඾ 𝑅𝑒 𝐸 × 𝐻∗ ∙ 𝑑𝑠 𝑊
2
𝑠 𝑆
 RADIATION PATTERN
 An antenna radiation pattern or antenna pattern
is defined as “a mathematical function or a
graphical representation of the radiation properties
of the antenna such as
 Amplitude (|E| or|H|)

2 2
 Power (|E| or|H| )

 Phase ( Angle of E or H)

 Polarisation

of the antenna as a function of space

coordinates
 RADIATION PATTERN
 A typical antenna radiation pattern is shown in Fig.
The characteristics to note down from this pattern
are:
 (i)Main (major) lobe

 (ii) Minor lobe (includes side lobes and back

lobe)
 (iii) Half-power beamwidth (HPBW)

 (iv) Beamwidth between first nulls (BWFN)

 RADIATION PATTERN

 A radiation pattern shows only

the relative values but not the
absolute values of the field or
power quantity.
 Hence the values are usually
normalized (i.e., divided) by the
maximum value.
 In Fig. 16, mark the maximum
of the main lobe that is 1
 RADIATION PATTERN

 The size of the minor lobes is

much smaller than that of the
major lobe.
 In order to clearly visualize the
minor lobes, sometimes the
scales of the radiation pattern
are expressed in dB, as shown
in Fig. 16 (b).
 Half-power Beamwidth(HPBW
 Fisrt Null Beamwidth(FNBW)
 RADIATION PATTERN

 Half-power Beamwidth
(HPBW
 Fisrt Null Beamwidth
(FNBW)
 Main lobe or Major
lobe
 Side lobe
 Minor lobe
 Back lobe
 RADIATION PATTERN
 An isotropic radiator is defined as “a
hypothetical lossless antenna having equal
radiation in all directions.
 Characteristics
 Completely non-directional antenna
 Radiates and receives equally well in all directions
 Radiation pattern is spherical
 Exists only as a mathematical concept
 Used as a reference
 RADIATION PATTERN
 A directional antenna is
one “having the property
of radiating or receiving
electromagnetic waves
more effectively in some
directions than in others.
 RADIATION PATTERN
 Omnidirectional is
defined as one “having an
essentially non directional
pattern in a given plane (in
this case in azimuth) and a
directional pattern in any
orthogonal plane (in this
case in elevation).”
 An omnidirectional
pattern is then a special
type of a directional
pattern.
 RADIATION PATTERN
 Omnidirectional is the pattern of a Hertzian dipole.
 Along the ends of the dipole there is no radiattion
(nulls)
 Maximum radiation is along the broadside direction
 Sometimes used a reference
 Principal Patterns
 The E-plane is defined as
“the plane containing the
electric field vector and the
direction of maximum
radiation,”
 The H-plane as “the plane
containing the magnetic-
field vector and the
direction of maximum
radiation.”
 Field Regions
 The space surrounding an antenna is
usually divided into two regions: (i)
near field region and (ii) far field
region.
 Far field is defined as that region of the

field of an antenna where the angular

field distribution is independent of the
distance from the antenna.
 Field Regions
 This region is commonly taken to exist at
distances greater than 2D2/λ from the antenna,
where D is the overall dimension of the antenna.
 This region is also called as the Fraunhofer
region.
 In Fraunhofer region region,
 The field components are essentially transverse and
 The angular distribution is independent of the radial
distance where the measurements are made.
 Field Regions
 The field immediately surrounding the
antenna and the far field region is
known as the near field region.
 This region is again divided into two

sub regions as
 (a) reactive near field and
 (b) radiating near field,

according to their characteristics.

 Field Regions of Antenna
 Reactive near-field region
is defined as “that portion of
the near-field region
immediately surrounding the
antenna wherein the reactive
field predominates.
 Radiating near Field regions:
Radiation fields predominate
and wherein the angular field
distribution is dependent upon
the distance from the
antenna.
 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.
 Antenna Parameters (Directivity)
 Therefore directivity of an antenna

defined as “the ratio of the radiation

intensity U(θ,Φ) in a given direction
from the antenna to the radiation
intensity averaged over all directions
U0.
𝑈 𝜃,∅ 𝑈 𝜃,∅ 4𝜋𝑈 𝜃,∅
 𝐷 𝜃, ∅ = = =
𝑈0 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑 Τ4𝜋 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑
 Antenna Parameters (Directivity)
 If the direction is not specified, it implies the direction
of maximum radiation intensity (maximum directivity)
expressed as
𝑈 𝜃,∅ |𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑈𝑚𝑎𝑥 4𝜋𝑈𝑚𝑎𝑥
 𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐷0 = = =
𝑈0 𝑈0 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑
 D = directivity (dimensionless)
 D0 = maximum directivity (dimensionless)
 U = radiation intensity (W/unit solid angle)
 Umax = maximum radiation intensity (W/unit solid angle)
 U0 = radiation intensity of isotropic source (W/unit solid angle)
 Prad = total radiated power (W)
 Antenna Parameters (Directivity)
 For an isotropic source, the directivity is unity
since U, Umax, and U0 are all equal to each other.
 whereas it (Umax) is more than 1 for any other
antenna.
 Antenna Parameters (Gain)
 Gain of an antenna (in a given direction) is
defined as “the ratio of the intensity, in a given
direction, to the radiation intensity that would be
obtained if the power accepted by the antenna
were radiated isotropically.
radiation intensity
𝐺𝑎𝑖𝑛 = 4𝜋
total input (accepted)power
𝑈 𝜃, ∅
= 4𝜋 (𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠)
𝑃𝑖𝑛
 where Pin is the input power to the antenna and is
related to the radiated power Prad as: Pinξ=Prad
 Antenna Parameters (Gain)
 ξ is the efficiency of the antenna.
 It account various losses in the antenna, such as
reflection loss, dielectric loss, conductive loss,
and polarization loss.
 Taking efficiency into account, the gain and
directivity are related as:
G(θ,Φ)= ξ D(θ,Φ)
 Antenna Parameters (Gain)
 Similar to the maximum directivity, a maximum
gain G0 can be defined and which is related to the
maximum directivity D0 by:

4𝜋𝑈𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐺0 = = ξD0 (𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠)
𝑃𝑖𝑛
 Antenna Parameters
(radiation efficiency)
 If an antenna has a radiation resistance Rr, and a
loss resistance RL, then its (radiation) efficiency
factor ξ
1
𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑅𝑟 𝐼02 𝑅𝑟
 ξ= =1 2
=
𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑑 𝑅𝑟 +𝑅𝐿 𝐼02 𝑅𝑟 +𝑅𝐿
2
 Antenna Parameters (BANDWIDTH)
 The bandwidth of an antenna is defined as “the
range of frequencies within which the performance
of the antenna, with respect to some characteristic,
conforms to a specified standard.”
 The bandwidth can be considered to be the range
of frequencies, on either side of a center frequency,
where the antenna characteristics (such as input
impedance, pattern, beamwidth, polarization, side
lobe level, gain, beam direction, radiation
efficiency) are within an acceptable value of those
at the center frequency.
 Antenna Parameters (Polarization)
 The polarization of an antenna in a given
direction is defined as the polarization of the
plane wave transmitted by the antenna in
that direction.
 The polarization of a wave transmitted (or
received) by an antenna is the locus of the
tip of the instantaneous electric field vector E
traces out with time at a fixed observation
point.
 If the locus is a straight line→ linear
polarization
 If the locus is a circle → circular polarization
 If the locus is an ellipse → elliptical polarization
 Antenna Parameters (Polarization)
 (a) linear polarization
 (b)circular polarization
 (c)elliptical polarization
 Antenna Parameters (Linear
Polarization)
 A uniform plane wave traveling in the z direction with the 𝐸෨ and
𝐻෩ vectors lying in the x-y plane.
 If 𝐸෨𝑦 = 0 and only 𝐸෨𝑥 is present, the wave is said to be polarized
in the x direction:
 A similar statement holds for polarization in the y direction.
 If both 𝐸෨𝑥 and 𝐸෨𝑦 are present and are in phase, the
resultant electric field has a direction dependent on the
relative magnitude of𝐸෨𝑥 and𝐸෨𝑦 .
 The angle which this direction makes with the x axis is
𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (𝐸෨𝑦 /𝐸෨𝑥 ).
 This angle will be constant with time .
 In all the above cases in which the direction of the resultant
vector is constant with time, the wave is said to be linearly
polarized.
 Antenna Parameters (Linear,
elliptical and circular polarization )
 Antenna Parameters
(circularly polarized)
 If 𝐸෨𝑥 and 𝐸෨𝑦 are not in phase, that is, if they
reach their maximum values at different
instants of time, then the direction of the
resultant electric vector will vary with time.
 In this case it can be shown that the locus of
the endpoint of the resultant 𝐸෨ will be an
ellipse and the wave is said to be elliptically
polarized.
 If 𝐸෨𝑥 and 𝐸෨𝑦 have equal magnitudes and a 90
degree phase difference, the locus of the
resultant E is a circle and the wave is circularly
polarized.
 Antenna Parameters
(polarization)
 The electric field of a uniform plane wave
traveling in the z direction may be expressed in
phasor form as
𝐸 𝑧 = 𝐸0 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧
in time-varying form as
෨ 𝑡) = 𝑅𝑒 𝐸0 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽𝑧 𝑒 𝑗ω𝑡
𝐸(𝑧,
 Since the wave travels in the z direction, 𝐸෨ lies
in the x-y plane.
 In general 𝐸0 is a vector whose components are
complex numbers, or in other words, 𝐸0 is a
complex vector.
 Antenna Parameters
(polarization)
 𝐸0 may be written in the form
𝐸0 = 𝐸𝑟 + 𝑗𝐸𝑖
 in which 𝐸𝑟 and 𝐸𝑖 are both real vectors having different
directions.
 At some point in space (say z = 0) the resultant time
varying electric field is
෨ 𝑡) = 𝑅𝑒 (𝐸𝑟 +𝑗𝐸𝑖 )𝑒 𝑗ω𝑡
𝐸(0,
=𝐸𝑟 cos 𝜔t −𝐸𝑖 sin 𝜔t
 It is clear that 𝐸෨ not only changes its magnitude but also
changes its direction as time varies.
 Antenna Parameters
(Circular Polarization)
 Consider the case in which the x and y
components of the electric field are equal
in magnitude.
 If the y component leads the x
component by 90 degrees and if both
components have amplitude 𝐸0 , then the
electric field at z = 0 is given by the
complex vector
𝐸0 = (𝑥ො + 𝑗𝑦)𝐸
ො 𝑎
 Antenna Parameters
(Circular Polarization)
 The corresponding time-varying field is given
by
෨ 𝑡)=(𝑥cos
𝐸(0, ො 𝜔t −𝑦sin
ො 𝜔t)𝐸𝑎
The components are
𝐸෨𝑥 = 𝐸𝑎 cos 𝜔t 𝐸෨𝑦 = −𝐸𝑎 sin 𝜔t
These components satisfy the relation
2 2
𝐸𝑥 + 𝐸𝑦 = 𝐸𝑎 2
෨ ෨
which indicates that the endpoint of E(0, 𝑡)
traces out a circle of radius Ea as time
progresses.
 Antenna Parameters
(Circular Polarization)
 Furthermore it may be seen that the sense
or direction of rotation is that of a left-
handed screw advancing in the z direction
(the direction of propagation).
 Thus the wave is said to be left circularly
polarized.
 Similar remarks hold for right circular
polarization represented by the complex
vector.
𝐸0 = (𝑥ො − 𝑗𝑦)𝐸
ො 𝑎
 Antenna Parameters
(Circular Polarization)
 It is apparent that a reversal of the sense of
rotation may be obtained by a 180-degree
phase shift applied either to the x
component or to the y component of the
electric field
 Antenna Parameters
(Elliptical Polarization)
 A somewhat more general example arises
when the x and y components of the electric
field differ in amplitude.
 Assuming again that the y component leads
the x component by 90 degrees, such a field
may be represented by the complex vector
𝐸0 = 𝑥𝐴ො + 𝑗𝑦𝐵
ො
A and B are positive real constants.
 Antenna Parameters
(Elliptical Polarization)
 The corresponding timevarying field is given by
෨ 𝑡)=𝑥Acos
𝐸(0, ො 𝜔t −𝑦Bsin
ො 𝜔t
The components of the time-varying field are
𝐸෨𝑥 = Acos 𝜔t 𝐸෨𝑦 = −Bsin 𝜔t
from which it is evident that
2 2
෨
𝐸𝑥 ෨
𝐸𝑦
2
+ 2 =1
𝐴 𝐵
 Thus the endpoint of the 𝐸(0, ෨ 𝑡) vector traces out an
ellipse and the wave is said to be elliptically polarized.
 Inspection of the equations indicates that the sense of
polarization is again left-handed
 Antenna Parameters
(Elliptical Polarization)
 Elliptical polarization is in fact the most general
form of polarization.
 The polarization is completely specified by the
orientation and axial ratio of the polarization ellipse
and by the sense in which the endpoint of the
electric field vector moves around the ellipse.
 Antenna Polarization
(Axial Ratio).
 Axial Ratio:The
polarization state of an
EM wave can also be
indicated by Axial Ratio
(AR). It is defined as
𝑶𝑨
 𝑨𝑹 = , 𝟏 ≤ 𝑨𝑹 ≤ ∞,
𝑶𝑩
𝒐𝒓 𝟎 ≤ 𝑨𝑹 ≤ ∞ (𝒅𝑩)
 where OA and OB are the
major and minor axes of
the polarization ellipse
respectively
 Antenna Polarization
(Axial Ratio).
 Very often, we use the AR bandwidth and
the AR beamwidth to characterize the
polarization of an antenna.
 The AR bandwidth is the frequency
bandwidth in which the AR of an antenna
changes less than 3-dB from its minimum
value.
 The AR beamwidth is the angle span over
which the AR of an antenna changes less
than 3-dB from its minimum value
 Antenna Polarization
(Axial Ratio).
 AR can be measured experimentally and the
concept has been explained pictorially in Fig.
 AR=1, Circular Polarisation
 1<AR<∞, Elliptical Polarisation
 AR=∞, Linear Polarisation
 Antenna Parameters
(Input Impedance ).
 AR can be measured experimentally and the concept
has been explained pictorially in Fig.

A transmitting antenna system

 The input impedance ZA of a transmitting antenna is

the ratio of the voltage to current at the terminals of
the antenna.
 Antenna Parameters
(Input Impedance ).
 ZA=RA+jXA
 RA: input resistance, XA: input reactance
 RA=Rr+RL
 Rr: radiation resistance, RL: loss resistance

Antenna input impedance concept

 Antenna Parameters
(Input Impedance ).
 If we know the input impedance of a
transmitting antenna, the antenna can be
viewed as an equivalent circuit, as shown in
Fig.
 Zg=Rg+jXg
 Zg : internal impedance of the excitation
source
 Rg: internal resistance of the excitation
source
 Xg: internal reactance of the excitation source
 Ig: antenna terminal current
 Antenna Parameters
(Input Impedance ).
 The knowledge of ZA is required when
connecting an antenna to its driving
circuit.
 If ZA=Z*g , Antenna is matched
 If ZA≠Z*g, Antenna is not matched, and
matching circuit is required.
 The radiation resistance Rr can be
calculated from the power radiated Prad as:
1 2
 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 𝐼𝑔 𝑅𝑟
2
 Antenna Parameters
(Input Impedance ).
 Power loss as heat in the antenna:
1 2
 𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 = 𝐼𝑔 𝑅𝐿
2

 Power loss in the internal resistance of the

excitation source:
1 2
 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 = 𝐼𝑔 𝑅𝑔
2

 Maximum power transfer from the excitation

source to the antenna occurs if the antenna is
matched. That is,
 ZA=Z*g, Rr+RL=Rg , XA=-Xg
 Antenna Parameters
(Input Impedance ).
 If the antenna is connected to the driving circuit via a
transmission line with a characteristics impedance Z0, then
the antenna should be matched to the characteristic
impedance of transmission line. That is,
 ZA=Z0 , Rr+RL=Z0 , XA=0
 The impedance looking into the terminals of a receiving
antenna is called internal impedance Zin.
 In general Zin≠ZA.
 The internal impedance is used to model the equivalent
circuit of a receiving antenna as the input impedance is
used to model the equivalent circuit of a transmitting
antenna.
 Antenna Parameters
(Reflection Coefficient)
 The reflection coefficient of a transmitting antenna is
defined by Z A  Z0
  dimensionless 
Z A  Z0
 Reflection coefficient can be calculated or measured.
 The magnitude of reflection coefficient is from 0 to 1.
 When the transmitting antenna is not match, that is,
ZA≠Z0, there is a loss due to reflection (return loss) of
the wave at the antenna terminals.
 Sometimes we use S11 to represent ρ.
 Antenna Parameters
(Return Loss)
 The return loss of a transmitting antenna is defined as:
 𝑅𝐿 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 = −20𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝜌 ( in dB)
 Possible values of return loss are from 0 dB to ∞ dB.
 Return loss is always a positive number.
 Antenna Parameters
(VSWR )
 The voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is also a
common parameter used to characterize the matching
property of a transmitting antenna.
 The VSWR of a transmitting antenna is defined as:
1+ ρ
 𝑉𝑆𝑊𝑅 = (dimensionless)
1+ ρ
 Possible values of VSWR are from 1 to ∞.
 VSWR = 1  perfectly matched,
 VSWR =∞ completely unmatched.
 Antenna Parameters
(Impedance Bandwidth )
 Impedance bandwidth is defined as
𝑓𝑈 −𝑓𝐿
 Impedance bandwidth = × 100 ( %)
𝑓𝐶
 The symbols in the above equation are depicted in Fig.
bellow
 When ρ=-10dB,
 Then ρ=0.3162 (abs)
1+ ρ
 𝑉𝑆𝑊𝑅 = =
1− ρ
1+0.3162
= 1.93 ≈ 2
1−0.3162
 Antenna Parameters
(Effective Aperture )
 It is a measure of the ability of an antenna to collect
power from an incident wave and deliver it to its
terminals.
 Effective Aperture (area) of an receiving antenna
looking from a certain direction (θ,Φ) is the ratio of the
average power PL deliver to a matched load to the
magnitude of the average power density Pavi of the
incident electromagnetic wave at the position of the
antenna multiplied by the normalized power pattern
|Pav(θ,Φ)|
 Antenna Parameters
(Effective Aperture )
 Effective Aperture is
𝑃𝐿
𝐴𝑒 𝜃, ∅ =
𝑃𝑎𝑣𝑖 𝑃𝑎𝑣 𝜃,∅
 Effective Aperture is related to Gain as:
λ2
𝐴𝑒 𝜃, ∅ = 𝐺 𝜃, ∅
4𝜋
 A maximum effective area Aem can be defined when the
antenna is receiving in its maximum gain direction. That
is
λ2 λ2
𝐴𝑒 𝜃, ∅ = 𝐺0 = ξ𝐷0
4𝜋 4𝜋
 Antenna Parameters
(aperture efficiency)
 The aperture efficiency 𝜀ap of an antenna, which is
defined as the ratio of the maximum effective area Aem
of the antenna to its physical area Ap, or
𝐴𝑒𝑚 maximum effective area
 𝜀𝑎𝑝 = =
𝐴𝑝 physical area
 Antenna Parameters
(Effective Length )
 The effective length represents the antenna in its transmitting and
receiving modes, and it is particularly useful in relating the open-
circuit voltage Voc of receiving antennas.
 𝑉𝑂𝐶 = 𝐸 𝑖 𝓁𝑒
 Voc = open-circuit voltage at antenna terminals
 Ei = incident electric field
 𝓵e = vector effective length
 The effective length of a linearly polarized antenna receiving a
plane wave in a given direction is defined as “the ratio of the
magnitude of the open-circuit voltage developed at the terminals
of the antenna to the magnitude of the electric-field strength in the
direction of the antenna polarization.
 Communication Link and Friis
Transmission Equation
 The Friis Transmission Equation relates the power received
to the power transmitted between two antennas separated by
a distance R > 2D2∕λ, where D is the largest dimension of
either antenna.
 If Pt is the input power to the transmitting antenna, then the
isotropic power density at a distance R from the antenna can
𝑃𝑡
be given by: 𝑊0 = 𝑒𝑡 2 4𝜋𝑅

Transmitting and receiving antennas for derivation off Friis transmission equation
 Communication Link and Friis
Transmission Equation
 where et: efficiency of the transmitting antenna.
 For a directional transmitting antenna, this value
changes to
𝑃𝑡
 𝑊0 = 𝑒𝑡 𝐷
4𝜋𝑅 2 𝑡
 Where Dt: directivity of the transmitting antenna.
 Not all of the transmitted power density is received by
the receiving antenna.
 In order to find the value of that, we need to consider
the effective aperture of the antenna and the absorption
losses in the atmosphere.
 Communication Link and Friis
Transmission Equation
 Thus the received power can be expressed as:
 𝑃𝑟 = 𝐴𝑒𝑟 𝑊0
λ2
 But, 𝐴𝑒𝑟 = 𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑟
4𝜋
λ2 𝑃𝑡 𝐷𝑡 λ 2
 So, 𝑃𝑟 = 𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑟 ∙ 𝑒𝑡 = 𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑡 𝐷𝑟 𝐷𝑡 𝑃𝑡
4𝜋 4𝜋𝑅 2 4𝜋𝑅
 This equation is known as the Friis Transmission Equation
and it relates the power Pr (delivered to the receiver load) to
the input power of the transmitting antenna Pt.
 The term (λ/4πR)2 is called the free-space loss factor, and it
takes into account the losses due to the spherical spreading of
the energy by the antenna.
 Communication Link and Friis
Transmission Equation
 Friis transmission equation is the basis to find the
RADAR range equation.
 At this point, we are in a position to define the term
effective(or equivalent) isotropically radiated power (
EIRP), a term frequently used in communication
systems.
 It is defined as the power gain of a transmitting antenna
in a given direction multiplied by the net power accepted
by the antenna from the connected transmitter.
 Suppose an observer is located in the direction of
maximum radiation from a transmitting antenna with
input power Pt, then EIRP=PtGt.