UNIT II

RADIATION MECHANISMS AND DESIGN ASPECTS

Radiation Mechanisms of Linear Wire and Loop antennas, Aperture antennas, Reflector
antennas, Microstrip antennas and Frequency independent antennas, Design considerations
and applications.

Antennas have to be classified to understand their physical structure and functionality more clearly.
There are many types of antennas depending upon the applications.

Type of antenna Examples Applications

Dipole antenna, Monopole Personal applications, buildings,

Wire Antennas antenna, Helix antenna, Loop ships, automobiles, space crafts
antenna

Waveguide (opening), Horn Flush-mounted applications, air-

Aperture Antennas
antenna craft, space craft

Parabolic reflectors, Corner Microwave communication,

Reflector Antennas
reflectors satellite tracking, radio astronomy

Convex-plane, Concave-plane, Used for very high frequency

Lens Antennas Convex-convex, Concave applications
lenses

Circular-shaped, Rectangular Air-craft, space-craft, satellites,

Micro strip Antennas shaped metallic patch above missiles, cars, mobile phones etc.
the ground plane

Yagi-Uda antenna, Micro strip Used for very high gain

Array Antennas patch array, Aperture array, applications, mostly when needs to
Slotted wave guide array control the radiation pattern

Let us discuss the above-mentioned types of antennas in detail, in the coming chapters.
Wire Antennas
Wire antennas are the basic types of antennas. These are well known and widely used
antennas. To have a better idea of these wire antennas, first let us have a look at the
transmission lines.

Transmission Lines

The wire or the transmission line has some power, which travels from one end to the other
end. If both the ends of transmission line are connected to circuits, then the information will
be transmitted or received using this wire between these two circuits. If one end of this wire
is not connected, then the power in it tries to escape. This leads to wireless communication. If
one end of the wire is bent, then the energy tries to escape from the transmission line, more
effectively than before. This purposeful escape is known as Radiation.
For the radiation to take place effectively, the impedance of the open end of the transmission
line should match with the impedance of the free-space. Consider a transmission line of a
quarter-wave length size. The far end of it is kept open and bent to provide high impedance.
This acts as a half-wave dipole antenna. Already, it has low impedance at one end of the
transmission line. The open end, which has high impedance, matches with the impedance of
free space to provide better radiation.
Dipole
The radiation of energy when done through such a bent wire, the end of such transmission
line is termed as dipole or dipole antenna.
The reactance of the input impedance is a function of the radius and length of the dipole. The
smaller the radius, the larger the amplitude of the reactance. It is proportional to the
wavelength. Hence, the length and radius of the dipole should also be taken into
consideration. Normally, its impedance is around 72Ω.
This is better understood with the help of the following figure.
The figure shows the circuit diagram of a normal dipole connected to a transmission line. The
current for a dipole is maximum at the center and minimum at its ends. The voltage is
minimum at its center and maximum at its ends.
The types of wire antennas include Half-wave dipole, Half-wave folded dipole, Full-wave
dipole, Short dipole, and Infinitesimal dipole.
Loop antenna
An RF current carrying coil is given a single turn into a loop, can be used as an antenna
called as loop antenna. The currents through this loop antenna will be in phase. The
magnetic field will be perpendicular to the whole loop carrying the current.
Frequency Range
The frequency range of operation of loop antenna is around 300MHz to 3GHz. This antenna
works in UHF range.

Construction & Working of Loop Antennas

A loop antenna is a coil carrying radio frequency current. It may be in any shape such as
circular, rectangular, triangular, square or hexagonal according to the designer’s convenience.
Loop antennas are of two types.

 Large loop antennas

 Small loop antennas
Large loop antennas
Large loop antennas are also called as resonant antennas. They have high radiation
efficiency. These antennas have length nearly equal to the intended wavelength.
L=λL=λ

Where,
 L is the length of the antenna
 λ is the wavelength
The main parameter of this antenna is its perimeter length, which is about a wavelength and
should be an enclosed loop. It is not a good idea to meander the loop so as to reduce the size,
as that increases capacitive effects and results in low efficiency.
Small loop antennas
Small loop antennas are also called as magnetic loop antennas. These are less resonant.
These are mostly used as receivers.
These antennas are of the size of one-tenth of the wavelength.
Where,
 L is the length of the antenna
 λ is the wavelength
The features of small loop antennas are −
  A small loop antenna has low radiation resistance. If multi-turn ferrite core
constructions are used, then high radiation resistance can be achieved.
 It has low radiation efficiency due to high losses.
 Its construction is simple with small size and weight.
Due to its high reactance, its impedance is difficult to match with the transmitter. If loop
antenna have to act as transmitting antenna, then this impedance mis-match would definitely
be a problem. Hence, these loop antennas are better operated as receiver antennas.

Frequently Used Loops

Small loop antennas are mainly of two types −

 Circular loop antennas

 Square loop antennas
These two types of loop antennas are mostly widely used. Other types (rectangular, delta,
elliptical etc.) are also made according to the designer specifications.

Polarization of Loop

The polarization of the loop antenna will be vertically or horizontally polarized depending
upon the feed position. The vertical polarization is given at the center of the vertical side
while the horizontal polarization is given at the center of the horizontal side, depending upon
the shape of the loop antenna.
The small loop antenna is generally a linearly polarized one. When such a small loop
antenna is mounted on top of a portable receiver, whose output is connected to a meter, it
becomes a great direction finder.

Radiation Pattern

The radiation pattern of these antennas will be same as that of short horizontal dipole
antenna.
The radiation pattern for small, high-efficiency loop antennas is shown in the figure given
above. The radiation patterns for different angles of looping are also illustrated clearly in the
figure. The tangent line at 0° indicates vertical polarization, whereas the line with 90°
indicates horizontal polarization.
Advantages
The following are the advantages of Loop antenna −

 Compact in size
 High directivity
Disadvantages
The following are the disadvantages of Loop antenna −

 Impedance matching may not be always good

 Has very high resonance quality factor
Applications
The following are the applications of Loop antenna −

 Used in RFID devices

 Used in MF, HF and Short wave receivers
 Used in Aircraft receivers for direction finding
 Used in UHF transmitters

Aperture antenna

An Antenna with an aperture at the end can be termed as an Aperture antenna. Waveguide
is an example of aperture antenna. The edge of a transmission line when terminated with an
opening, radiates energy. This opening which is an aperture, makes it an Aperture antenna.
The main types of aperture antennas are −

 Wave guide antenna

 Horn antenna
 Slot antenna
Let us now have a look at these types of aperture antennas.

Waveguide Antenna

A Waveguide is capable of radiating energy when excited at one end and opened at the other
end. The radiation in wave guide is greater than a two-wire transmission line.
Frequency Range
The operational frequency range of a wave guide is around 300MHz to 300GHz. This
antenna works in UHF and EHF frequency ranges. The following image shows a waveguide.

This waveguide with terminated end, acts as an antenna. But only a small portion of the
energy is radiated while a large portion of it gets reflected back in the open circuit. It
means VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio, discussed in basic parameters chapter) value
increases. The diffraction around the waveguide provides poor radiation and non-directive
radiation pattern.

Radiation Pattern

The radiation of waveguide antenna is poor and the pattern is non-directive, which means
omni-directional. An omni-directional pattern is the one which has no certain directivity but
radiates in all directions, hence it is called as non-directive radiation pattern.
The above figure shows a top section view of an omni-directional pattern, which is also
called as non-directional pattern. The two-dimensional view is a figure-of-eight pattern, as
we already know.
Advantages
The following are the advantages of Aperture antenna −

 Radiation is greater than two-wire transmission line

 Radiation is Omni-directional
Disadvantages
The following are the disadvantages of Aperture antenna −

 VSWR increases
 Poor radiation
Applications
The following are the applications of Aperture antenna −

 Micro wave applications

 Surface search radar applications

Reflector Antenna
Parabolic Reflectors are Microwave antennas. For better understanding of these antennas,
the concept of parabolic reflector has to be discussed.
Frequency Range
The frequency range used for the application of Parabolic reflector antennas is above 1MHz.
These antennas are widely used for radio and wireless applications.

Principle of Operation

The standard definition of a parabola is - Locus of a point, which moves in such a way that its
distance from the fixed point (called focus) plus its distance from a straight line
(called directrix) is constant.
The following figure shows the geometry of parabolic reflector. The point F is the focus (feed
is given) and V is the vertex. The line joining F and V is the axis of symmetry. PQ are the
reflected rays where L represents the line directrix on which the reflected points lie (to say
that they are being collinear). Hence, as per the above definition, the distance between F and
L lie constant with respect to the waves being focussed.

The reflected wave forms a colllimated wave front, out of the parabolic shape. The ratio of
focal length to aperture size (ie., f/D) known as “f over D ratio” is an important parameter of
parabolic reflector. Its value varies from 0.25 to 0.50.
The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are equal.
This law when used along with a parabola, helps the beam focus. The shape of the
parabola when used for the purpose of reflection of waves, exhibits some properties of the
parabola, which are helpful for building an antenna, using the waves reflected.
Properties of Parabola
 All the waves originating from focus, reflects back to the parabolic axis. Hence, all
the waves reaching the aperture are in phase.
 As the waves are in phase, the beam of radiation along the parabolic axis will be
strong and concentrated.
Following these points, the parabolic reflectors help in producing high directivity with
narrower beam width.

Construction & Working of a Parabolic Reflector

If a Parabolic Reflector antenna is used for transmitting a signal, the signal from the feed,
comes out of a dipole or a horn antenna, to focus the wave on to the parabola. It means that,
the waves come out of the focal point and strike the Paraboloidal reflector. This wave now
gets reflected as collimated wave front, as discussed previously, to get transmitted.
The same antenna is used as a receiver. When the electromagnetic wave hits the shape of the
parabola, the wave gets reflected onto the feed point. The dipole or the horn antenna, which
acts as the receiver antenna at its feed, receives this signal, to convert it into electric signal
and forwards it to the receiver circuitry.
The following image shows a Parabolic Reflector Antenna.

The gain of the paraboloid is a function of aperture ratio (D/λ). The Effective Radiated
Power (ERP) of an antenna is the multiplication of the input power fed to the antenna and its
power gain.
Usually a wave guide horn antenna is used as a feed radiator for the paraboloid reflector
antenna. Along with this technique, we have another type of feed given to the paraboloid
reflector antenna, called as Cassegrain feed.

Cassegrain Feed

Casse grain is another type of feed given to the reflector antenna. In this type, the feed is
located at the vertex of the paraboloid, unlike in the parabolic reflector. A convex shaped
reflector, which acts as a hyperboloid is placed opposite to the feed of the antenna. It is also
known as secondary hyperboloid reflector or sub-reflector. It is placed such that its one of
the foci coincides with the focus of the paraboloid. Thus, the wave gets reflected twice.

The above figure shows the working model of cassegrain feed.

Working of a Cassegrain Antenna

When the antenna acts as a transmitting antenna, the energy from the feed radiates through a
horn antenna onto the hyperboloid concave reflector, which again reflects back on to the
parabolic reflector. The signal gets reflected into the space from there. Hence, wastage of
power is controlled and the directivity gets improved.
When the same antenna is used for reception, the electromagnetic waves strike the reflector,
gets reflected on to the concave hyperboloid and from there, it reaches to the feed. A wave
guide horn antenna presents there to receive this signal and sends to the receiver circuitry for
amplification.
Take a look at the following image. It shows a paraboloid reflector with cassegrain feed.

Advantages
The following are the advantages of Parabolic reflector antenna −
 Reduction of minor lobes
 Wastage of power is reduced
 Equivalent focal length is achieved
 Feed can be placed in any location, according to our convenience
 Adjustment of beam (narrowing or widening) is done by adjusting the reflecting
surfaces
Disadvantage
The following is the disadvantage of a Parabolic reflector antenna −
 Some of the power that gets reflected from the parabolic reflector is obstructed. This
becomes a problem with small dimension paraboloid.
Applications
The following are the applications of Parabolic reflector antenna −
 The cassegrain feed parabolic reflector is mainly used in satellite communications.
 Also used in wireless telecommunication systems.
Let us look at the other type of feed called as Gregorian feed for the parabolic reflectors.

Gregorian Feed

This is another type of feed used. A pair of certain configurations are there, where the feed
beamwidth is progressively increased while antenna dimensions are held fixed. Such a type
of feed is known as Gregorian feed. Here, the convex shaped hyperboloid of casssegrain is
replaced with a concave shaped paraboloid reflector, which is of course, smaller in size
These Gregorian feed type reflectors can be used in four ways −
 Gregorian systems using reflector ellipsoidal sub-reflector at foci F1.
 Gregorian systems using reflector ellipsoidal sub-reflector at foci F2.
 Cassegrain systems using hyperboloid sub-reflector (convex).
 Cassegrain systems using hyperboloid sub-reflector (concave but the feed being very
near to it.)
These are all just to mention because they are not popular and are not widely used. They have
got their limitations.

The figure clearly depicts the working pattern of all the types of reflectors. There are other
types of paraboloid Reflectors such as −

 Cut- paraboloid
 Parabolic cylinder
 Pill-box paraboloid
However, all of them are seldom used because of the limitations and disavantages they have
in their working conditions.
Hence, of all the types of reflector antennas, the simple parabolic reflectors and the
cassegrain feed parabolic reflectors are the most commonly used ones.
Micro strip or Patch Antenna

Micro strip antennas are low-profile antennas. A metal patch mounted at a ground level with
a di-electric material in-between constitutes a Micro strip or Patch Antenna. These are very
low size antennas having low radiation.
Frequency Range
The patch antennas are popular for low profile applications at frequencies above 100MHz.

Construction & Working of Micro strip Antennas

Micro strip antenna consists of a very thin metallic strip placed on a ground plane with a di-
electric material in-between. The radiating element and feed lines are placed by the process
of photo-etching on the di-electric material. Usually, the patch or micro-strip is choosen to be
square, circular or rectangular in shape for the ease of analysis and fabrication. The following
image shows a micro-strip or patch antenna.

The length of the metal patch is λ/2. When the antenna is excited, the waves generated within
the di-electric undergo reflections and the energyis radiated from the edges of the metal
patch, which is very low.

Radiation Pattern

The radiation pattern of microstrip or patch antenna is broad. It has low radiation power and
narrow frequency bandwidth.
The radiation pattern of a microstrip or patch antenna is shown above. It has lesser
directivity. To have a greater directivity, an array can be formed by using these patch
antennas.
Advantages
The following are the advantages of Micro strip antenna −

 Lightweight
 Low cost
 Ease of installation
Disadvantages
The following are the disadvantages of Micro strip antenna −

 Inefficient radiation
 Narrow frequency bandwidth
Applications
The following are the applications of Micro strip antenna −

 Used in Space craft applications

 Used in Air craft applications
 Used in Low profile antenna applications

Log-periodic antenna

The Yagi-Uda antenna is mostly used for domestic purpose. However, for commercial
purpose and to tune over a range of frequencies, we need to have another antenna known as
the Log-periodic antenna. A Log-periodic antenna is that whose impedance is a
logarithamically periodic function of frequency.
Frequency range
The frequency range, in which the log-periodic antennas operate is around 30 MHz to
3GHz which belong to the VHF and UHF bands.

Construction & Working of Log-periodic Antenna

The construction and operation of a log-periodic antenna is similar to that of a Yagi-Uda

antenna. The main advantage of this antenna is that it exhibits constant characteristics over a
desired frequency range of operation. It has the same radiation resistance and therefore the
same SWR. The gain and front-to-back ratio are also the same.
The image shows a log-periodic antenna.
With the change in operation frequency, the active region shifts among the elements and
hence all the elements will not be active only on a single frequency. This is its special
characteristic.
There are several type of log-periodic antennas such as the planar, trapezoidal, zig-zag, V-
type, slot and the dipole. The mostly used one is log-periodic dipole array, in short, LPDA.

The diagram of log-periodic array is given above.

The physical structure and electrical characteristics, when observed, are repetitive in nature.
The array consists of dipoles of different lengths and spacing, which are fed from a two-wire
transmission line. This line is transposed between each adjacent pair of dipoles.
The dipole lengths and seperations are related by the formula −
R1R2=R2R3=R3R4=T=l1l2=l2l3=l3l4R1R2=R2R3=R3R4=T=l1l2=l2l3=l3l4

Where
  т is the design ratio and т<1
 R is the distance between the feed and the dipole
 l is the length of the dipole.
The directive gains obtained are low to moderate. The radiational patterns may
be Unidirectional or Bi-directional.

Radiation Pattern

The Radiation pattern of log-periodic antenna can be of uni-directional or bi-directional,

depending upon the log periodic structures.
For uni-directional Log-periodic antenna, the radiation towards shorter element is of
considerable amount, whereas in forward direction, it is small or zero.

The radiational pattern for uni-directional log-periodic antenna is given above.

For bi-directional Log-periodic antenna, the maximum radiation is in broad side, which is
normal to the surface of the antenna.
The figure given above shows the radiational pattern for a bi-directional log-periodic antenna.
Advantages
The following are the advantages of Log-periodic antennas −

 The antenna design is compact.

 Gain and radiation pattern are varied according to the requirements.
Disadvantages
The following are the disadvantages of Log-periodic antennas −

 External mount.
 Installation cost is high.
Applications
The following are the applications of Log-periodic antennas −

 Used for HF communications.

 Used for particular sort of TV receptions.
 Used for all round monitoring in higher frequency bands.