EE-402 WAVE PROPAGATION AND ANTENNAS

Chapter 02

Fundamental Parameters of Antennas

Antenna Theory, Analysis and design , C. A Balanis, 3rd Edition, John wiley & sons, inc., publication 2005, United States of America

Radiation Pattern
A mathematical function or a graphical representation of the radiation properties of the antenna as a function of space coordinates Radiation pattern is determined in the far eld region and is represented as a function of the directional coordinates Radiation properties include power ux density, radiation intensity, eld strength, directivity, phase or polarization

Radiation Pattern

Coordinate system for antenna analysis

Radiation Pattern
Often the eld and power patterns are normalized with respect to their maximum value, yielding normalized eld and power patterns Power pattern is usually plotted on a logarithmic scale or more commonly in decibels (dB) Field pattern(in linear scale) typically represents a plot of the magnitude of the electric or magnetic eld 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 eld as a function of the angular space. Power pattern(in dB) represents the magnitude of the electric or magnetic eld in decibels, as a function of the angular space

Radiation Pattern

Field Pattern (in linear scale)

Power Pattern (in linear scale)

Radiation Pattern

Power Pattern (in dB)

Radiation Pattern
Half-power (3 dB points), relative to the maximum value of the pattern: Field pattern at 0.707 value of its maximum Power pattern (in a linear scale) at its 0.5 value of its maximum Power pattern (in dB) at 3 dB value of its maximum Angular separation between the two half-power points is known as Half power beamwidth (HPBW)

Radiation Pattern Lobes

Radiation lobes and beam-widths of an antenna pattern

Radiation Pattern Lobes

Linear plot of power pattern and its associated lobes and beam-widths

Radiation Pattern Lobes

A radiation lobe is a portion of the radiation pattern bounded by regions of relatively weak radiation intensity A major lobe (also called main beam) is defined as the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum radiation A minor lobe is any lobe except a major lobe 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) A back lobe is a radiation lobe whose axis makes an angle of approximately 180 with respect to the beam of an antenna

Radiation Pattern Lobes

Minor lobes usually represent radiation in undesired directions, and they should be minimized Side lobes are normally the largest of the minor lobes The level of minor lobes is usually expressed as a ratio of the power density in the lobe relative to that of the major lobe. This ratio is often termed the side lobe ratio or side lobe level In most radar systems, low side lobe ratios are very important to minimize false target indications through the side lobes

Radiation Pattern Lobes

For an amplitude pattern of an antenna, there would be, in general, three electric-field components (Er ,E ,E) In the far eld, the radial Er component for all antennas is zero or vanishingly small compared to either one, or both, of the other two components In general, the magnitude of the total electric eld would be:

Isotropic, Directional and Omni-directional Patterns

An isotropic radiator is defined as a hypothetical lossless antenna having equal radiation in all directions A directional antenna is one having the property of radiating or receiving electromagnetic waves more effectively in some directions than in others Omni-directional pattern is defined as one having an essentially non-directional pattern in a given plane and a directional pattern in any orthogonal plane An omni-directional pattern is the a special type of a directional pattern

Isotropic, Directional and Omni-directional Patterns

Principle E- and H-plane patterns for a pyramidal horn antenna

Isotropic, Directional and Omni-directional Patterns

Omni-directional antenna pattern

Principle Patterns

The E-plane is defined as the plane containing the electricfield vector and the direction of maximum radiation The H-plane as the plane containing the magnetic-field vector and the direction of maximum radiation

Radian and Steradian

The measure of a plane angle is a radian One radian is dened 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 The circumference of a circle of radius r is C = 2r,so, there are 2 rad (2r/r) in a full circle The measure of a solid angle is a steradian One steradian is dened 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 area of a sphere of radius r is A = 4r2,so,there are 4 sr (4r2/r2) in a closed sphere

Radian and Steradian

Radian

Steradian

Radian and Steradian

The differential area dA on the surface of a sphere of radius r is given by:

Therefore, the element of solid angle d of a sphere can be written as: