123

Hon Tat Hui Antenna Arrays
NUS/ECE EE6832
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Antenna Arrays
1 Introduction
1. They can provide the capability of a steerable beam
(radiation direction change) as in smart antennas.
2. They can provide a high gain (array gain) by using
simple antenna elements.
3. They provide a diversity gain in multipath signal
reception.
4. They enable array signal processing.
Antenna arrays are becoming increasingly important in
wireless communications. Advantages of using antenna
arrays:
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2 Far-Field Expression of An Antenna Array
Observation
point P(x,y,z) at
infinity
x
y
z
r
1
r
2
r
N
r
0
r
i
1
,
2
,,
i
,,
N
=position vectors of the
antenna elements
r
1
, r
2
,, r
i
,, r
N
=distances of the antenna
elements from the
observation point
r
0
=distance of the origin from
the observation point
An arbitrary antenna array
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The sum of the far fields E radiated from the array is:
( ) ( )
( )
( )
1

where is the far field of the th antenagiven by:
, ,
, the component of the radiation pattern
, t
i
N
i
i
i
jkr
i i i i i
i
i
i
f f wK e
f
f
u u | |
u
|
u | u |
u | u
u |
=
=
= + (

=
=
E E
E
E a a
he component of the radiation pattern
the weighting factor of the excitation source
a constant accounting for the path loss
i
i
w
K
|
=
=
(1)
(2)
(for all ) antenna element located at the origin. i
( ) ( )
Note that , and , are obtained with the th
i i
f f i
u |
u | u |
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For identical antenna elements, the element radiation
patterns are the same and independent of i. Hence,
( ) ( )
1
, ,
i
N
jkr
i i
i
f f wK e
u u | |
u | u |

=
= + (

E a a
Furthermore, we assume that K
i
is approximately constant
such that
( )
0 0
,
i i
r
r r r r u | = A = a
1 2 N
K K K K = = = =
We can also write
(3)
(4)
(5)
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Then
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
0
0
,
1
, ,
, , ,
i
r
N
jk
jkr
i
i
jkr
array
Ke f f we
Ke f f f
u |
u u | |
u u | |
u | u |
u | u | u |
= + (

= + (

a
E a a
a a (6)
The result in (6) is known as the Pattern of
Multiplication, which states that the array pattern is the
product of the antenna element pattern multiplied with an
array factor . ( )
,
array
f u |
Hereafter, we focus on the study of the array factor.
NUS/ECE EE6832
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( )
( ) ,
1
1
,
i
r
i
N
jk
array i
i
N
jb
i
i
f we
we
u |
u |

=
=
=
=
a
Putting in the matrix form, we have
( )
,
T
array
f u | = w b
1
2
N
w
w
w
(
(
(
=
(
(

w
( )
( )
( )
1
1
2 2
,
,
,
r
r
N
N
r
jk
jb
jk jb
jb
jk
e
e
e
e
e
e
u |
u |
u |
(
(
(
(
(
(
= =
(
(
(
(
(

a
a
a
b

(7)
(8)
(9)
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Eq. (8) is an important expression which tells us that the
array radiation pattern (array factor) can be obtained from
a given array element weight vector w and vice versa. If
we consider the weight vector as an N dimensional
function w(x
i
,y
i
,z
i
), i =1, 2, ., N, then the array factor
and the weight function is related by a certain type of
transformation operation . That is,
( ) ( ) ( )
, , ,
array
f w x y z u | =
Similarly, the weight function w(x,y,z) can be determined
from a given required array factor function.
( ) ( )
( )
1
, , ,
array
w x y z f u |
=
(11)
(10)
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3 Uniform Liner Arrays (ULAs)
Far field
observation
point
d
r
r
N-1
|
y
x
Dipole N
Dipole 1
Dipoles are
parallel to the z
direction
An N-element uniform antenna array with an element
separation d and at the plane of u = t/2
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Uniform linear arrays (ULAs) mean that the array
elements are same as each other and they are aligned along
a straight line with equal element separations. If the
excitation currents have the same amplitude (I = 1) but the
phase difference between adjacent elements is | (the
progressive phase difference), then the weight vector is:
( )
1
2
2
3
1
j
j
j N
N
I
w
Ie
w
Ie
w
w
Ie
|
|
|
(
(
(
(
(
(
( = =
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

w
(12)
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The array factor (AF) for this array specified on the plane
u = t/2is:
( )
( ) ( )
( )
1 1 cos
1 1
( cos ) 2( cos ) ( 1)( cos )
1
( 1)
2
1
AF 2,
1
sin
2

sin
2
where cos and 0 , 2
i
N N
j i j i d jb
array i
i i
j kd j kd j N kd
N
j N
j n
n
f we I e e
e e e
N
e e
kd
| |
| | | | | |
u t |
| | | | t

= =
+ + +
=
= = = =
= + + + +
| |
|
\ .
= =
| |
|
\ .
= + s s

(13)
(14)
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( )
n
sin
1
2
AF
sin
2
N

I
| |
|
\ .
=
| |
|
\ .
The normalized array factor is:
The relation between |AF
n
|, +, d, and | is shown graphically
on next page. Note that |AF
n
| is a period function of +,
which is in turn a function of |. The angle | is in the real
space and its range is 0 to 2t. However, + is not in the real
space and its range can be greater than or smaller than 0 to
2t, leading to the problem of grating lobes or not achieving
the maximum values of the |AF
n
| expression.
(15)
where I is a constant to
make the largest value of
|AF
n
| equal to one. Note
that I is not necessarily
equal to N.
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The relation between AF
n
,+, d, and |
|AF
n
(+ )|
|
+ = kd cos| +|
kd
kdcos|
|
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3.1 Properties of the normalized array factor AF
n
:
1. |AF
n
| is a periodic function of , with a period of 2t.
This is because
|AF
n
( + 2t)| = |AF
n
()|.
2. As cos(|) = cos(-|), |AF
n
|is symmetric about the line of
the array, i.e., | = 0 & t. Hence it is enough to know
|AF
n
| for 0 s | s t.
3. The maximum values of |AF
n
| occur when (see
Supplementary Notes):
1
( cos ) , 0,1,2,
2 2
kd m m
| | t = + = =
1
max
main beam directions cos ( 2 )
2
m
d
| | t
t
(
= =
(

(16)
(17)
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Note that there may be more than one angles |
max
corresponding to the same value of m because cos
-1
(x) is
a multi-value function. If there are more than one
maximum angles |
max
, the second and the subsequent
maximum angles give rise to the phenomenon of grating
lobes. The condition for grating lobes to occur is that d >
(disregarding the value of |) as shown below:
Main lobe 1
st
grating lobe 2
nd
grating lobe 1
st
grating lobe 2
nd
grating lobe
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Main lobe 1
st
grating lobe 1
st
grating lobe
|AF
n
(+ )|
kd
=kdcos|
|
Visible region
+
2
nd
grating lobe 2
nd
grating lobe
(1) When d s 0.5, no
grating lobes can be
formed for whatever
value of |. (2) When d
> , grating lobe(s) is
(are) formed for
whatever value of |.
(3) When 0.5 <d<,
formation of grating
lobes depends on |.
General conditions to
avoid grating lobes
with |:[0,2t] and
d:[0.5,]:
1.For 0 s | <t, the
requirement is:
kd +| s 2t
2. For t s | <2t, the
requirement is:
kd - | s 0
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4. There are other angles corresponding to the maximum
values for the minor lobes (minor beams) but these angles
cannot be found from the formula in no. 3 above.
5. When | and d are fixed, it is possible that can never be
equal to 2mt. In that case, the maximum values of |AF
n
|
cannot be determined by the formula in no. 3.
6. The main beam directions |
max
are not related to N. They
are functions of | and d only.
7. The nulls of |AF
n
| occur when:
1,2,3,
,
2 ,2 ,3 ,
n
n
N n N N N
t
=
=

=
1
null
2
null directions cos ( )
2
n
d N
| | t
t
(
= =
(

(18)
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8. The null directions |
null
are dependent on N.
9. The larger the number N, the closer is the first null (n = 1)
to the first maximum (m = 0). This means a narrower
main beam and an increase in the directivity or gain of the
array.
10.The angle for the main beam direction (m = 0) can be
controlled by varying | or d.
Note that there may be more than one angles |
null
corresponding to a single value of n because cos
-1
(x) is a
multi-value function.
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Example 1
A uniform linear array consists of 10 half-wave dipoles with
an inter-element separation d = /4 and equal current
amplitude. Find the excitation current phase difference |
such that the main beam direction is at 60
(|
max
= 60
).
Solutions
( )
( ) ( )
1
max
main beam dirction 60 cos 2
2
2
2 cos 60 0.5
2 45 360 315 , when 1
4
m
d
m
m m
| | t
t
| t
t
t
| t
(
= = =
(

= =
= = + = =
d = /4, u
max
= 60
, N = 10
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Other values of | corresponding to other values of m are
outside the range of 0 s | s 2t and are not included.
n
sin 5 cos
1
2
AF
1
sin cos
2 2
10
t
| |
t
| |
(
| |
+
|
(
\ .
=
I (
| |
+
|
(
\ .
I =
NUS/ECE EE6832
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3.2 Phased (Scanning) Arrays
It was mentioned earlier that by controlling the values of d
or |, the maximum radiation direction of an array can be
arbitrarily pointed to any direction. In practice, the
element separation d is usually fixed while the excitation
current phase | between elements is controlled
electronically. The current amplitudes of the all the
elements are assumed to be the same. This kind of
steerable direction arrays is called uniform phased
scanning arrays. To accomplish this, the excitation
current phase | must be adjusted so that:
0
0
cos 0, cos kd kd
| |
| | | |
=
= + = = (19)
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For a phased scanning array, the length L = (N-1)d of the
array (where N is the number of elements) can be
determined from the graph on next page. The graph
shows the relation between the array length, the half-
power beamwidth, and the maximum radiation direction.
The half-power beamwidth is an alternative way to
specify the gain of the array. Once the half-power
beamwidth and the maximum radiation direction are
specified, the number of elements required to design such
an array can be calculated.
NUS/ECE EE6832
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M
a
x
i
m
u
m

r
a
d
i
a
t
i
o
n

d
i
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
NUS/ECE EE6832
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Example 2
Design a uniform linear phased scanning array whose
maximum radiation direction is in 30 (u = 30). The
desired half-power beamwidth is 2 while the element
separation is d = /4. Determine the excitation current phase
|, the length of the array L, and the number of elements N in
the array.
Solutions
Since the array is uniform, the current amplitude is same for
all elements. The excitation current phase | is found from:
0
2
cos cos30 1.36 77.94
4
o o
kd rad
t
| u
= = = =
NUS/ECE EE6832
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To find the length L of the array, we use the graph on page
24. From that graph with HPBW=2 and maximum
radiation direction u =30:
(L+d)/=50
Therefore with d = /4,
L = 49.75
49.75
1 1 200
0.25
L
N
d
= + = + =
The number of elements is then:
NUS/ECE EE6832
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4 Circular Arrays
( )
cos
sin cos
n n
n
r a
a
u | |
A =
=
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4.1 Advantages of Circular Arrays
1. Unlike linear arrays, circular arrays can provide a 2D
angular scan, both horizontal | and vertical u scans.
2. Unlike 2D planar arrays, circular arrays are basically
1D linear arrays but in a circular form.
3. Unlike linear arrays, a circular array can scan
horizontally for 360 with no distortions near the
end-fire directions.
4. Unlike linear arrays, distortions in the array pattern
of a circular array due to mutual coupling effect are
same for each element and this makes it easier to
deal with the mutual coupling effect.
NUS/ECE EE6832
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( ) | | ( ) | |
( ) | |
( ) | |
1 1 2 2
sin cos sin cos
sin cos
sin cos
1
AF
N N
n n
j ka j ka
j ka
N
j ka
n
e e
e
e
u | | | u | | |
u | | |
u | | |
+ +
+
+
=
= +
+ +
=
4.2 Array Factor

For a uniform circular array with N elements and an
equal excitation current amplitude I
0
and a current
phase of |
n
(reference to the central point of the array)
for the nth element (and |
n
=2tn/N), the array factor is:
(For a detailed derivation of the AF above, see ref. [1])
(20)
NUS/ECE EE6832
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Note that in the above expression, AF is a sum of N
complex exponentials. The magnitude of each complex
exponential is 1. Hence the maximum value of the
magnitude of |AF| is the addition of magnitudes of the
complex exponentials, i.e., N. The maximum radiation
direction (u
max
, |
max
) is therefore achieved when:
( )
( )
( )
max max 1
max max 2
max max
sin cos 2 2
sin cos 4 2

sin cos 2 2
0,1,2,
N
ka N q
ka N q
ka q
q
u | t | t
u | t | t
u | t | t
+ =
+ =
+ =
(21)
NUS/ECE EE6832
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Hence in a circular array, we first choose a desired
maximum radiation direction (u
max
, |
max
). Then the
excitation phase |
n
for each element is determined
according to the above formula. The |
n
so determined
may not be equally increasing from one element to the
next. This is different from the case of a linear array.
One excitation method to achieve the above maximum
radiation direction is:
( )
| )
max max
2 sin cos 2 , 1,2, ,
is choosen to make 0,2
n
n
q ka n N n N
q
| t u | t
| t
= =
e

(22)
NUS/ECE EE6832
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Example 3
A uniform circular array with a radius a = 0.5 and the
number of elements N = 8. The maximum radiation
direction of the array factor AF is at (60, 30). What should
be the excitation phases |
n
for the elements?
Solutions
Using the formula for |
n
, we have:
1
2 2
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
2 2.63
3.66
q
t t t t
| t
t
| |
=
|
\ .
=
=
NUS/ECE EE6832
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2
2 4
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
2 1.36
4.92
q
t t t t
| t
t
| |
=
|
\ .
=
=
3
2 6
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
0 0.70
0.70
q
t t t t
| t
| |
=
|
\ .
= +
=
4
2 8
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
0 2.36
2.36
q
t t t t
| t
| |
=
|
\ .
= +
=
NUS/ECE EE6832
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5
2 10
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
0 2.63
2.63
q
t t t t
| t
| |
=
|
\ .
= +
=
6
2 12
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
0 1.36
1.36
q
t t t t
| t
| |
=
|
\ .
= +
=
7
2 14
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
2 0.70
5.58
q
t t t t
| t
t
| |
=
|
\ .
=
=
NUS/ECE EE6832
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8
2 16
2 sin cos
2 3 6 8
2 2.36
3.92
q
t t t t
| t
t
| |
=
|
\ .
=
=
Azimuth pattern (u =60)
Vertical pattern (| =30)
NUS/ECE EE6832
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Note that in the above discussion on circular arrays, we
have only derived the array factor AF. The array pattern
of any circular array with practical antenna elements
must be obtained by multiplying the array factor with the
actually element radiation pattern. For example, if the
elements are half-wave dipole antennas, then the array
pattern F(u) is:
( ) | |
( ) | |
( ) | |
sin cos
1
cos 2 cos
( ) AF
sin
cos 2 cos
sin
n n
N
j ka
n
F
e
u | | |
t u
u
u
t u
u
+
=
=
=

(23)
NUS/ECE EE6832
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References:
1. C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory, Analysis and Design, J ohn Wiley
& Sons, Inc., New J ersey, 2005.
2. W. L. Stutzman and G. A. Thiele, Antenna Theory and Design,
Wiley, New York, 1998.
3. David K. Cheng, Field and Wave Electromagnetic, Addison-
Wesley Pub. Co., New York, 1989.
4. J ohn D. Kraus, Antennas, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1988.
5. Fawwaz T. Ulaby, Applied Electromagnetics, Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
New J ersey, 2007.

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Hon Tat Hui Antenna Arrays

4.2 Array Factor

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