LOOP ANTENNA

Introduction:

Loop antennas feature simplicity, low cost and versatility. They may have various shapes:
circular, triangular, square, elliptical, etc. They are widely used in communication links up to the
microwave bands (up to ≈ 3 GHz). They are also used as electromagnetic (EM) field probes in
the microwave bands. Electrically small loops are widely used as compact transmitting and
receiving antennas in the low MHz range (3 MHz to 30 MHz). Loop antennas are usually
classified as electrically small (C ¿ λ / 3) and electrically large (C λ ). Here, C
denotes the loop’s circumference. The small loops of a single turn have small radiation resistance
(< 1 Ω) usually comparable to their loss resistance. Their radiation resistance, however, can be
improved by adding more turns. Also, the small loops are narrowband. Typical bandwidths are
less than 1%.
Small Loop Antennas
The small loop antenna is a closed loop as shown in the following figure. These antennas
have low radiation resistance and high reactance, so that their impedance is difficult to match to
a transmitter. As a result, these antennas are most often used as receive antennas, where
impedance mismatch loss can be tolerated. The radius is a, and is assumed to be much smaller
than a wavelength (a<<λ). The loop lies in the x-y plane. Since the loop is electrically small, the
current within the loop can be approximated as being constant along the loop, so that I= I0.

Fig. Small Loop antenna.

 The fields from a small circular loop are given by:

2 2 − jβr
η β a I0 e sin θ
EΦ =
4r

−EΦ
H θ=
η

The variation of the radiation pattern with direction is given by Sinθ, so that the radiation
pattern of a small loop antenna has the same power pattern as that of a short dipole. However, the
loop field’s polarization is orthogonal to that of the dipole.
The small loop is often referred to as the dual of the dipole antenna, because if a small
dipole had magnetic current flowing (as opposed to electric current as in a regular dipole), the
fields would be similar to that of a small loop. While the short dipole has a capacitive impedance
(imaginary part of impedance is negative), the impedance of a small loop is inductive (positive
imaginary part).

( )
2
8 3 S
Rr =η π 2
3 λ
The radiation resistance (and ohmic loss resistance) can be increased by adding more
turns to the loop. If there are N turns of a small loop antenna, each with a surface area S (we don't
require the loop to be circular at this point), the radiation resistance for small loops can be
approximated by

( ) ( )
2 2
8 3 NS 177 NS
Rr =η π 2
= 2 Ohms
3 λ λ
For a small loop, the reactive component of the impedance can be determined by finding
the inductance of the loop, which depends on its shape (then X=2πfL). For a circular loop with
radius a and wire radius p, the reactive component of the impedance is given by:

X =2 πfμa ln
[ ( 8pa )−1.75]
Examples of their use include in pagers, and as field strength probes used in wireless
measurements. Directivity is the same as that of an infinitesimal dipole. The loop antenna feed
point does not matter too much - it can be anywhere along the loop perimeter.
 As loop antennas get larger, they become better antennas. A loop antenna will be
resonant (with purely real impedance) as the perimeter of the loop approaches one wavelength in
size. Hence, a 300 MHz loop antenna should have a perimeter of 1 meter or larger; a 2.4 GHz
loop antenna will only need to be about 12 centimeters in perimeter.
The one-wavelength perimeter loop antenna behaves like a folded dipole antenna, with
impedance that is higher than that of a half-wavelength dipole antenna.
Advantages:
Compact in size and High directivity
Disadvantages:
Impedance matching may not be always good.
Has very high resonance quality factor.
Applications:
Used in RFID devices.
Used in MF, HF and Short wave receivers.
Used in Aircraft receivers for direction finding.
Used in UHF transmitters.
 SLOT ANTENNA

Slot antennas are used typically at frequencies between 300 MHz and 24 GHz. The slot
antenna is popular because they can be cut out of whatever surface they are to be mounted on,
and have radiation patterns that are roughly omnidirectional (similar to a linear wire antenna).
The polarization of the slot antenna is linear. The slot size, shape and what is behind it (the
cavity) offer design variables that can be used to tune performance.

Consider an infinite conducting sheet, with a rectangular slot cut out of

dimensions a and b, as shown in the following figure. If we can excite some reasonable fields in
the slot (often called the aperture), we have a slot antenna.

Fig.1 Rectangular Slot antenna with dimensions a and b.

To gain an intuition about slot antennas, first we'll learn Babinet's principle. This
principle relates the radiated fields and impedance of an aperture or slot antenna to that of the
field of its dual antenna. The dual of a slot antenna would be if the conductive material and air
were interchanged - that is, the slot antenna became a metal slab in space. An example of dual
antennas is shown in the following figure.
 Fig.2 Dual antennas - (left) the slot antenna, (right) the dipole antenna.

Note that a voltage source is applied across the short end of the slot antenna. This induces
an E-field distribution within the slot, and currents that travel around the slot perimeter, both
contributed to radiation. The dual antenna is similar to a dipole antenna. The voltage source is
applied at the center of the dipole, so that the voltage source is rotated.

Babinet's principle relates these two antennas. The first result states that the impedance of
the slot antenna (ZS) ) is related to the impedance of its dual antenna (ZC)) by the relation:

2
ZC Z S = η
4

In the above, ‘η’ is the intrinsic impedance of free space. The second major result of
Babinet's/Booker's principle is that the fields of the dual antenna are almost the same as the slot
antenna (the fields components are interchanged, and called "duals"). That is, the fields of the
slot antenna (given with a subscript S) are related to the fields of it's complement (given with a
subscript C) by:

EθS =H θC

E φS=H φC

−EθC
H θS =
η
 −EφC
H φS =
η

Hence, if we know the fields from one antenna we know the fields of the other antenna.
Hence, since it is easy to visualize the fields from a dipole antenna, the fields and impedance
from a slot antenna can become intuitive if Babinet's principle is understood.

Note that the polarization of the two antennas are reversed. That is, since the dipole
antenna on the right in Figure 2 is vertically polarized, the slot antenna on the left will be
horizontally polarized.

Duality Example (1):

As an example, consider a dipole similar to the one shown on the right in Figure 2.
Suppose the length of the dipole is 14.4 centimeters and the width is 2 centimeters, and that the
impedance at 1 GHz is 65+j15 Ohms. The fields from the dipole antenna are given by
Eθd =E0 sin θ. What are the fields from a slot at 1 GHz, with the same dimensions as the dipole?

Solution:

Using Babinet's principle, the impedance can be easily found:

Given that Zdipole = 65+j15 Ohms and Eθd =E0 sin θ

2
η2 ( 120 π )
Then Z Slot = = = ( 519− j120 ) Ω
4 Z Dipole 4 ( 65+ j 15 )

The impedance of the slot for this case is much larger, and while the dipole's impedance
is inductive (positive imaginary part), the slot's impedance is capacitive (negative imaginary
part). The E-fields for the slot can be easily found:

Eθ dipole E0 sin θ
E φslot = =
η η
 We see that the E-fields only contain a phi (azimuth) component; the slot antenna is
therefore horizontally polarized.

Duality Example (2): In the following figure a half wave dipole antenna and its complimentary
half wavelength slot antenna are shown. For infinitesimally thin dipole antenna Zdipole = (73+j42)
ohms. Then the input impedance of the λ/2 slot antenna is (363-j 211) ohms.

Advantages:
It can be fabricated and concealed within metallic objects
It can provide covert communications with a small transmitter
Disadvantages:
Higher cross-polarization levels
Lower radiation efficiency
Applications:
Usually for radar navigational purposes
Used as an array fed by a wave guide
 MICRO STRIP ANTENNAS
In high-performance aircraft, spacecraft, satellite, and missile applications, where size,
weight, cost, performance, ease of installation, and aerodynamic profile are constraints, low-
profile antennas may be required. Presently there are many other applications, such as mobile
radio and wireless communications that have similar specifications. To meet these requirements,
microstrip antennas can be used.
Microstrip antennas are low profile, conformable to planar and non planar surfaces,
simple and inexpensive to manufacture using modern printed-circuit technology, mechanically
robust when mounted on rigid surfaces and when the particular patch shape and mode are
selected, they are very versatile in terms of resonant frequency, polarization, pattern, and
impedance.
Major operational disadvantages of microstrip antennas are their low efficiency, low
power, high Quality factor ‘Q’ (sometimes inexcess of 100), poor polarization purity, poor scan
performance, spurious feed radiation and very narrow frequency bandwidth, which is typically
only a fraction of a percent or at the most a few percent.
Microstrip antennas, as shown in the following fig.1.a, consist of a very thin (t << λ 0,
where λ0 is the free-space wavelength) metallic strip (patch) placed a small fraction of a
wavelength (h << λ0, usually 0.003 λ0 ≤ h ≤ 0.05 λ0) above a ground plane. The microstrip patch
is designed so its pattern maximum is normal to the patch (broadside radiator). This is
accomplished by properly choosing the mode (field configuration) of excitation beneath the
patch. End-fire radiation can also be accomplished by judicious mode selection. For a
rectangular patch, the length L of the element is usually λ0/3 <L λ0/2
The strip (patch) and the ground plane are separated by a dielectric sheet (referred to as
the substrate), as shown in the figure 1.a. There are numerous substrates that can be used for the
design of microstrip antennas, and their dielectric constants are usually in the range of
2.2 ≤ εr ≤ 12.
 Fig.1.a Microstrip antenna

Fig.1.b Side view of patch antenna

Often microstrip antennas are also referred to as patch antennas. The radiating elements
and the feed lines are usually photo etched on the dielectric substrate. The radiating patch may be
square, rectangular, thin strip (dipole), circular, elliptical, triangular, or any other configuration.
These and others are illustrated in Figure 2.

Fig.2 .Representative shapes of microstrip patch antennas

Square, rectangular, dipole (strip), and circular are the most common because of ease of
analysis and fabrication, and their attractive radiation characteristics, especially low cross-
polarization radiation. Microstrip dipoles are attractive because they inherently possess a large
bandwidth and occupy less space, which makes them attractive for arrays. Linear and circular
polarizations can be achieved with either single elements or arrays of microstrip antennas. Arrays
of microstrip elements, with single or multiple feeds, may also be used to introduce scanning
capabilities and achieve greater directivities.
As the thickness of the microstrip is normally very small, the waves generated within the
dielectric substrate (Between the patch and the ground plane) undergo reflections to some extent
when they arrive at the edge of the microstrip, resulting radiation of only a small fraction of the
incident energy. Therefore the antenna is considered to be very inefficient and it behaves like a
cavity rather than a radiator.
The patch antenna acts as a resonant λ/2 parallel plate microstrip transmission line with
characteristic impedance equal to the reciprocal of the number of n parallel field cell
transmission lines. Each field transmission line has a characteristic impedance equal to the Z 0
equal to the intrinsic impedance of the medium.

Z 0=ηi=
√ √ √
μ
ε
μ
= 0
ε0
μr
εr
μ
= 120π r
√
εr