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EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation

Course Overview
Basic antenna concepts; antennas for low, medium and high frequencies; terrestrial and satellite propagation links;
environmental effects on electromagnetic radiation. [3-0-0]

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson

Why Wireless?

Wireless technology is an obvious choice:

when users are either mobile or nomadic (land, sea, air, and space)

when take rates are low

when traffic is unidirectional or broadcast

when a cable right-of-way is not available

when cable or wireline attenuation would be too great

when rapid deployment is required

for convenience!

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson
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Course Scope
EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation focuses on the design and
implementation of the airlink portion of wireless systems at both the
systems and device levels.

SYSTEMS DEVICES

MOD PA LNA DEMOD

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson

Levels of Abstraction in Antenna Design

systems level - specification of antennas in terms of radiation pattern,
gain, beamwidth, bandwidth, sidelobe levels, polarization, impedance,
etc.
handbook level - use of standard antenna configurations with appropriate
dimensions selected using tables, graphs, design formulas, and other
empirical methods
device level - detailed analysis of antenna configurations using
electromagnetic theory, numerical methods (e.g., MoM, FDTD, UTD)
and other rigorous methods
mechanical level - detailed specification of materials and manufacturing
details
cf., analysis and design (or synthesis)

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson
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Course Outline

1. Survey of Wireless Communications Technologies

role of antennas and propagation in wireless communications
survey of broadcast, satellite, cellular, wireless LAN and personal area
networking technologies of current interest

2. The Smith Chart and Vector Network Analyzers

review of transmission line and Smith Chart concepts
architecture, function, calibration and operation of VNAs
S-parameters and signal flow graph techniques
applications of VNAs in antennas and propagation

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson

3. Electromagnetic Waves and Radiation

review of Maxwells equations, electromagnetic boundary conditions,
and plane waves
description of cylindrical and spherical waves, Rayleigh criterion
scattering and diffraction of electromagnetic waves

4. Radiation from Current Elements

prediction of radiation from a current element using the magnetic
vector potential
radiation and terminal properties of infinitesimal dipole antennas

5. Properties of Antennas
system level abstractions vs. implementation specific details
radiation pattern, gain, polarization, input impedance, directivity,
efficiency, beamwidth, sidelobe level

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson
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reciprocity theorem, energy flow, equivalent circuits, Friis transmission

formula, Helmholtzs theorem

6. Practical Wire Antennas

resolving practical wire antennas into the superposition of many
infinitesimal dipoles
determination of the current distribution on common wire antenna
configurations
properties of the short dipole, half-wave dipole, standing wave antenna,
travelling wave antenna, folded dipole and loop antenna

7. Computational Electromagnetics
development, implementation, and validation of mathematical
algorithms that approximate Maxwells equations
use of the method of moments to solve wire antenna problems
historical development of computational electromagnetics
EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson

8. Array Antennas
use of antenna arrays as alternatives to single physically large antennas
analysis of antenna arrays: array factor; visible region; effect of changes
in element space, amplitude, or phase excitation
broadside, endfire and Hansen-Woodyard arrays
9. Radiation from Apertures
result of plane wave incidence upon an aperture in an otherwise opaque
screen; plane wave spectrum
non-uniform aperture excitation, applications to antenna design
10. Antennas in Systems
role of antennas in the design of practical wireless communications
and radar systems; radiowave propagation and channel modelling
antenna test and measurement

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson
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Some Canadian Firms with an Interest in

Antennas and Propagation

Manufacturers Service Providers and Others

Nokia Canada TELUS Mobility

Sierra Wireless Bell Mobility

VTech Rogers Wireless

Norsat Planetworks

Infosat HN Telecom

Research in Motion Industry Canada

Nortel BC Hydro

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson

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Noteworthy Aspects of
EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation

In order to ensure relevance, the course syllabus has been developed with
assistance from an industry advisory panel
While emphasis on antenna fundamentals remains, the course focus has
shifted to antennas for personal wireless communications
MATLAB and SuperNEC-based homework assignments provide students
with practical experience in the use of industry standard tools for
computational electromagnetics
EECE 483 lab assignments provide students with practical experience in
the assembly and test of antennas and characterization of the propagation
environment

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson
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Instructor Qualifications - Prof. Dave Michelson

Senior Member, IEEE

Extensive industry/consulting experience related to antennas and

propagation: AT&T Labs Research, AT&T Wireless Services, Sierra
Wireless, Industry Canada, Echostar Communications, ....

Chair, IEEE VT-S Committee on Propagation and Channel Modelling

Associate Editor for Propagation and Channel Modelling, IEEE Trans.

Veh. Technol.

Associate Editor for Mobile Channels, IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag.

More information about the Radio Science Lab: http://propagation.ece.ubc.ca

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson

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Who should take

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation?

You should take EECE 483 if, at some point in your career, you anticipate:

working in aerospace, defence, telecommunications, or broadcasting

working for a wireless equipment manufacturer

working for a wireless service provider

designing or testing wireless systems

specifying or procuring antennas

designing or testing antennas

EECE 483 - Antennas and Propagation (Fall 2005) Prof. David G. Michelson