Dipole versus Patch structures

Advantages of Kathreins dipole antennas

compared to
typical printed board solutions

Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Construction

Patch antenna
printed board technology, instead
of a dipole a patch above a ground
plane creates the electrical field lines

Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

High CPR

Cross polar ratio (+/- 45 polarization)

Cross polar ratio describes the correlation between two orthogonal
polarizations measured in the farfield (accurate +/- 45)

Ratio between the co-polar and the cross-polar signal

(identical compared to opposite polarization)

orthogonal polarizations
high cross polar ratio
excellent diversity
performance

CPR

Excellent cross-polar ratio (CPR)

values for the complete sector,
performed by a complete new
dipole element (patent pending)
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Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

High CPR

recommended values: main direction >20 dB

sector +/- 60 degree >10 dB
measured CPR values of Kathrein antennas :

Antenna 800 10305 : Xpol Panel 806-960 65 17 dBi 0- 8 T

Antenna 742 215 : Xpol Panel 1710-2170 65 18 dBi 0- 10 T

Since they have no seperate structures for plus and minus system,
good CPR values are often hard to achieve with patch structures
Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

High isolation

High isolation
required because both terminations of a Xpol antenna
are used for Rx and Tx

Due to patented decoupling elements Kathrein antennas

provide an isolation of > 30 dB between
- the different polarizations
- the frequency bands
Examples :
742 215 (1710-2170 MHz / variable downtilt)
800 10305 (824-960 MHz / variable downtilt)

-45

Decoupling elements usually not usable on PCB

+45

Isolation
(Decoupling)
Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Low intermodulation

Low intermodulation products

> -150 dBc for 3rd order products at 2 x 20 W (43 dBm)

research on intermodulation
since 15 years

100 % final test during

production

Often Intermodulation problems with PCBs due to:

bad PCB material
glue between patch radiator and substrate

Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Low internal losses

Low internal losses (gain optimized dipole design)

The low loss cable harness enables to reduce the
antenna height by about 20% compared to
printed circuit harnesses
(bigger cross-section of the cable inner conductor
compared to the printed board strip line)

Cable
feeding
Strip line feeding
Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Low internal losses

Higher internal losses have to be compensated by additional

stacking of radiators
Comparison of lengths
900 MHz
739 632
65/15dBi/6DT
length 1296mm

900 MHz
739 623
65/17dBi
length 1936mm

Huber&Suhner 1309.41.0033 Racal 1730

65/15dBi/6DT
65 16.5dBi
length 1655mm (+27%)
length 2340mm (+21%)

1900 MHz
741 794
65/18dBi
length 1302mm
Dezibel DB932DD65
65/18dBi
length 1829 mm (+40%)

Smaller length is smaller windload

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Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Environment

Constant electrical performance under environmental conditions

Kathrein antennas :
Rain, snow, ice do not
significantly effect the
electrical parameters

Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Environment

Rain, snow or ice create a load on the radiating elements; this additional
capacitance depends on the surface area of the radiators

dipole design
Patch design

Due to the slim structure of dipoles and small surface (e.g. compared to patches), the
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created additional capacitance is relatively low
Kathrein Kohl 02/09

Dipole versus Patch structures

Summary

Dipole technique provides:

Excellent Cross Polar Ratio over azimuth

High isolation with special elements
Low intermodulation products
Low internal losses
Constant electrical performance even under bad weather

Conclusion:
PCBs are no bad technology
but should be used where
appropriate
Kathrein Indoor Panel with PCB feeding
Kathrein Kohl 02/09

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