122 DECEMBER 2006 ELECTRONI CS FOR YOU WWW. E F Y MA G . C O M
the antenna to the source (DUT). Whereas for calibration of commercial testing, it is reckoned at a distance of 3 and 10 metres from the centre of the antenna to the source (FCC testing). Antenna manufacturers supply LPAs duly calibrated as described above for EMI measurement applica- tions. The standard dealing with an- tenna calibration for 1 metre is SAE APR 958. For 3 metres and 10 metres, antenna calibration is as per ANSIC63.5. Therefore any new development of an- tenna should conform to these stan- dards. Presently, commercially available LPAs conforming to these standards are usable only up to 5 GHz. Only a few manufacturers (including Antenna Re- P rinted-circuit antennae come in handy because of their light weight, ease of manufacture and quality production in bulk. At high fre- quencies, especially from 1 to 18 GHz, horn antennae are invariably used for electromagnetic interference (EMI) measurements. As a possible alterna- tive, log-periodic directional antennae are also used for EMI measurements. In this article, two log-periodic anten- nae (LPAs) using two different dielec- tric materials (glass epoxy and teflon) are described. The basics The basic requirements of a log-peri- odic antenna for making EMI measure- ments are: 1. It should be able to perform both emission and immunity measurements accurately or comparable to broadband horn antennae. 2. It should handle adequate RF power for generating high field strength (20V/m or above). 3. It should possess dual polarisation and exhibit high gain and low voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) besides good beam-width pat- tern. While using LPAs for EMI mea- surements, calibration factor is an im- portant aspect. This differs for MIL- STD testing and commercial testing. The initial calibration for military test- ing is performed at a distance of 1 metre as measured from the apex of S. SATHYAMURTHY search, USA) deliver wire-element LPAs for 18GHz applications and that too at reduced power levels (5 watts). AH Sys- tems, USA, supplies printed-circuit LPAs operating in the 1-18GHz range. This design has been indigenised here as a possible replacement. Two antennae experimented for the same band with two different dielectric sub- strates (Er=4 and Er=2.55) have been discussed here. Design parameters/ specifications The basic design requirements for the development of an LPA are: 1. Frequency coverage requirement is typically 100-1000 MHz and 1-10 GHz for the two different designs. Design of Printed-Circuit Log-Periodic Antennae for EMI Measurements Learn to construct printed-circuit log-periodic antennae, compare their measurement results and understand the effect of dielectric substrate on their performance TEST & MEASUREMENT 124 DECEMBER 2006 ELECTRONI CS FOR YOU WWW. E F Y MA G . C O M Both the ranges suit SAE and military standard testing. The 100-1000MHz range also suits commercial testing. 2. Power input is the ability of an LPA to handle directly from the RF amplifier with minimal mismatch. While 5GHz LPAs handle 100 watts, 1GHz LPAs can handle as high as 2 kW, both of them being wire-element antennae. For printed-circuit antennae, it is less than 5W. 3. The power gain should be at least 5 dB in the 200-1000MHz region. Some manufacturers produce LPAs with gain as high as 7.5 dB. For 1-18GHz range, printed-circuit LPAs offer 5 to 6 dB of gain. 4. Gain flatness required is 1 dB over the entire range of frequencies. While this is a desirable figure, practi- cally the antennae exhibit higher val- ues. 5. Average and maximum VSWR should not exceed 1.5 and 2, respec- tively, for the complete range of fre- quencies. 6. The average beam-width differs in E and H planes. The desirable val- ues are 127 to 152 cm (50 to 60 inches) in the E plane and 229 to 254 cm (90 to 100 inches) in the H plane. 7. Front-to-back ratio of 12 to 15 dB is an ideal requirement for LPAs. Unless asked for, these figures are not specified by the manufacturers. 8. Impedance is invariably 50 ohms (nominal), while polarisation is linear in all LPA requirements. 9. The size of LPAs in the 100- 1000MHz range comes to 6.374.974.9 cm (hwl). And for 1-18GHz printed- element LPAs, it is 26161 cm. 10. The average weight of a 1GHz antenna is 3.5 to 7 kg and for 18GHz it is less than a kilogram. All antennae are mounted, in tripod for height ad- justments and for rotation in azimuth plane. Construction The antennae are constructed as per Fig. 1. An LPA employs a number of dipoles. The dipole elements increase along the array by a current-scale fac- tor such that: (li+1)/li=(di+1)/di=k ............. (1) From the principle of scaling, it is evident that for this structure, extend- ing from 0 to infinity and energised at the apex, the properties repeat at n frequencies (kpif), where n takes in- teger values. When plotted on log scale, these frequencies are equally spaced at intervals of log k. Therefore the antenna is termed as log-periodic. In this PCB, trace width of 0.5 cm was chosen to get an impedance of 50 to 60 ohms for the substrate height of 2 mm. For a value of w/h= 5/2=2.5, Rin=60 ohms, for Er=2.5 (teflon) ........Eq. (2) Similarly, for glass epoxy, Er=4 and Rin=50 ohms. Accord- ingly, the transmission line was etched in both the antennae (Fig. 2(a) and (b), respectively). Performance of glass- epoxy-based LPA The EMI-frequency-receiving ca- pability of an indigenously de- veloped glass-epoxy-based LPA was compared with that of an imported LPA from AH Sys- tems, USA, and found to be in good agreement for practical measurements. The test results indicate that this antenna can be used for near-field diagnostic measurements in the 1-13GHz frequency range. A distance of 1 metre between the radiating and receiving antennae was main- tained throughout the experi- ment at a constant height of 1.5 metres from the levelled floor of the shielded room. The results are shown in Table I. Performance of teflon- based LPA The teflon-based antenna was found to be much superior to the printed-circuit-version (glass-ep- oxy) antenna. Also, unlike the printed-circuit version, its perfor- mance is comparable to that of the test antenna throughout the frequency range. Repeatable mea- surement results are possible with both versions of the antennae. Effects of dielectrics The relative dielectric constant of the substrate plays an important role Fig. 1: Log periodic array Fig. 2: Design of LPAs Fig. 3: Impedance characteristics of various substrates (a) Glass-epoxy based (PCB) LPA (b) Teflon-based LPA TEST & MEASUREMENT 126 DECEMBER 2006 ELECTRONI CS FOR YOU WWW. E F Y MA G . C O M TABLE II Performance of Commercially Available LPAs Parameter AT1000 RF Amp 3145 DP EMCO 96005 EATON 3147 EMCO LPD118 Ant. Resch. Frequency 150-1000 80-1000 200-1000 200-5GHz 1-18GHz Power Input 750-200W 1300W 1000W 100W 5W Power gain 7.5 dB (average) NA 5 dB (min.) NA Excellent Gain flatness 1 dB NA NA NA NA VSWR 1.5-1.8 <1.2 2:1 1.2 Excellent Beam-width E-152 cm NA NA NA NA (60 inches), H-267 cm (105 inches) Front-to- 15 dB NA NA NA High back ratio Ant. factor 7.5-22.5 dB 9-24.8 dB NA 11.7-42 NA Polarisation Linear Dual Linear Linear Linear TABLE I EMI-frequency Received by the Indigenously Developed Glass-Epoxy- based LPA and the Reference Antenna Frequency Frequencies received Frequencies received in GHz by the reference by the test antenna (dBm) antenna (dBm) 1 46.4 46.8 2 57 58 3 54.5 55.5 4 55 52.7 5 64.7 66 6 64 62.8 7 68 71.5 8 67 65 9 81 79.1 10 73.8 71.6 11 74.4 75.5 12 79 79 13 80 80 in the impedance of the transmission line. Therefore to achieve a feed-point impedance of 50 ohms, the width-to-height (w/h) ratio of the micro-strip patch has to be prop- erly adjusted. To meet the required impedance, h is invariably kept constant. Therefore width is the only parameter that the designer can alter or choose a different thickness of the substrate. The resulting matching completely depends on the material and accuracy of the artwork. The impedance curve w.r.t. w/h ratio of the substrate is shown in Fig. 3. Therefore dielectric constant has a definite role in the design of the printed-circuit LPA. Besides, antennae should be adequately transportable and mountable at the test location (open site, shielded room, etc). The performance of commercially avail- able LPAs is shown in Table II. Suggestions for making EMI measurements For diagnostic mea- surements, teflon- based printed LPA is the best option and it can directly replace the test antenna. For less accurate measure- ments, or just probing the field strength, the printed-circuit version is recom- mended. In both the cases, accurate calibration of the antenna factor is a must prior to EMI measurements. Also, accurate positioning and mount- ing of the antenna are necessary. The author is Scientist G and additional director (L) at Combat VEHS Research & Development Estt, Ministry of Defence, Avadi, Chennai