In mobile communications two main categories of antennas used are Omni and

Directional antenna here I write about antenna characteristics and use.

ANTENNA TYPES
Omni directional antenna
These antennas are mostly used in rural areas.

In all horizontal direction these antennas radiate with equal power.

In the vertical plane these antennas radiate uniformly across all azimuth angles and have a
main beam with upper and lower side lobes.

Directional antenna
These antennas are mostly used in mobile cellular systems to get higher gain compared to
Omni directional antenna and to minimize interference effects in the network.
In the vertical plane these antennas radiate uniformly across all azimuth angles and have a
main beam with upper and lower side lobes.

In these types of antennas, the radiation is directed at a specific angle instead of uniformly
across all azimuth angles in case of Omni antennas.

ANTENNA CHARACTERISTICS
Radiation Pattern
The main characteristics of antenna are the radiation pattern.

The antenna pattern is a graphical representation in three dimensions of the radiation of the
antenna as a function of angular direction.

Antenna radiation performance is usually measured and recorded in twoorthogonal principal

planes (E-Plane and H-plane or vertical and horizontal planes).

The pattern of most base station antennas contains a main lobe and several minor lobes,
termed side lobes.

A side lobe occurring in space in the direction opposite to the main lobe is called back lobe.

Antenna Gain
Antenna gain is a measure for antennas efficiency.

Gain is the ratio of the maximum radiation in a given direction to that of a reference antenna
for equal input power.

Generally the reference antenna is an isotropic antenna.

Gain is measured generally in decibels above isotropic (dBi) or decibels above a dipole
(dBd).

An isotropic radiator is an ideal antenna which radiates power with unit gain uniformly in all
directions. dBi = dBd + 2.15

Antenna gain depends on the mechanical size, the effective aperture area, thefrequency band
and the antenna configuration.
Antennas for GSM1800 can achieve some 5 to 6 dB more gain than antennas for GSM900
while maintaining the same mechanical size.

Front-to-back ratio
It is the ratio of the maximum directivity of an antenna to its directivity in a specified
rearward direction.

Generally antenna with a high front-to-back ratio should be used.

First Null Beamwidth

The first null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angular span between the first pattern nulls adjacent
to the main lobe.

This term describes the angular coverage of the downtilted cells.

Antenna Lobes
Main lobe is the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum radiation.

Side lobes

Half-power beamwidth
The half power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between the points on the main lobe that are
3dB lower in gain compared to the maximum.

Narrow angles mean good focusing of radiated power.

Polarization
Polarization is the propagation of the electric field vector.

Antennas used in cellular communications are usually vertically polarized or cross polarized.

Frequency bandwidth
It is the range of frequencies within which the performance of the antenna, with respect to
some characteristics, conforms to a specified standard.

VSWR of an antenna is the main bandwidth limiting factor.

Antenna impedance
Maximum power coupling into the antennas can be achieved when the antenna impedance
matches the cables impedance.

Typical value is 50 ohms.

Mechanical size
Mechanical size is related to achievable antenna gain.

Large antennas provide higher gains but also need care in deployment and apply high torque
to the antenna mast.