EXPERIMENT NO.

Title

Introduction to different types of Antenna Elements and Arrays

Antenna Propagation

Dipole Antenna
In radio and telecommunications a dipole antenna or doublet is the simplest and
most widely used class of antenna. It consists of two identical conductive elements
such as metal wires or rods, which are usually bilaterally symmetrical. The driving
current from the transmitter is applied, or for receiving antennas the output signal
to the receiver is taken, between the two halves of the antenna. Each side of the
feed-line to the transmitter or receiver is connected to one of the conductors. This
contrasts with a monopole antenna, which consists of a single rod or conductor with
one side of the feed-line connected to it, and the other side connected to some type
of ground. A common example of a dipole is the "rabbit ears" television antenna
found on broadcast television sets.

The most common form of dipole is two straight rods or wires oriented end to end
on the same axis, with the feed-line connected to the two adjacent ends. This is the
simplest type of antenna from a theoretical point of view. Dipoles are resonant
antennas, meaning that the elements serve as resonators, with standing waves of
radio current flowing back and forth between their ends. So the length of the dipole
elements is determined by the wavelength of the radio waves used. The most
common form is the half-wave dipole, in which each of the two rod elements is
approximately 1/4 wavelength long, so the whole antenna is a half-wavelength long.

Figure: Simple Dipole Antenna with BALUN

BALUN:
A Balun is used to "balance" unbalanced systems - i.e. those where power flows
from an unbalanced line to a balanced line (hence, balun derives from balance to
unbalanced). As an example, consider a coaxial cable connected to a half-wave
dipole antenna shown in figure.

Illustration of unbalanced coax connected to a balanced dipole antenna

Figure: An unbalanced transmission line (coaxial cable) connected to a dipole
antenna.

In figure, a coaxial cable is connected to a dipole antenna. For a dipole antenna to

operate properly, the currents on both arms of the dipole should be equal in
magnitude. When a coaxial cable is connected directly to a dipole antenna however,
the currents will not necessarily be equal. To see this, note that the current along a
transmission line should be of equal magnitude on the inner and outer conductors,
as is typically the case. Observe what happens when the coax is connected to the
dipole. The current on the center conductor (the red/pink center core of the coax,
labeled IA) has nowhere else to go, so must flow along the dipole arm that is
connected to it. However, the current that travels along the inner side of the outer
conductor (IB) has two options: it can travel down the dipole antenna, or down the

reverse (outer) side of the outer conductor of the coaxial cable (labeled IC in
Figure).

Ideally, the current IC should be zero. In that case, the current along the dipole arm
connected to the outer conductor of the coax will be equal to the current on the
other dipole arm - a desirable antenna characteristic. Because the dipole wants
equal or balanced currents along its arms, it is the balanced section. The coaxial
cable does not necessarily give this however - some of the current may travel down
the outside of the outer coax, leading to unbalanced operation - this is the
unbalanced section.

The solution to this problem, however you come up with it, is a balun. A balun forces
an unbalanced transmission line to properly feed a balanced component. In figure,
this would be done by forcing IC to be zero somehow - this is often called choking
the current or a current choke.

Folded Dipole Antenna:

A folded dipole is a dipole antenna with the ends folded back around and connected
to each other, forming a loop as shown in figure.

Figure: A Folded Dipole Antenna of length L

Typically, the width d of the folded dipole antenna is much smaller than the length
L. Because the folded dipole forms a closed loop, one might expect the input
impedance to depend on the input impedance of a short-circuited transmission line

of length L. However, you can imagine the folded dipole antenna as two parallel
short-circuited transmission lines of length L/2 (separated at the midpoint by the
feed in Figure). It turns out the impedance of the folded dipole antenna will be a
function of the impedance of a transmission line of length L/2. Also, because the
folded dipole is "folded" back on itself, the currents can reinforce each other instead
of cancelling each other out, so the input impedance will also depend on the
impedance of a dipole antenna of length L.

Loop Antenna
A loop antenna is a radio antenna consisting of a loop (or loops) of wire, tubing, or
other electrical conductor with its ends connected to a balanced transmission line.
Within this physical description there are two very distinct antenna designs: the
small loop (or magnetic loop) with a size much smaller than a wavelength, and the
resonant loop antenna with a circumference approximately equal to the wavelength.
Small loops have a poor efficiency and are mainly used as receiving antennas at low
frequencies. Except for car radios, almost every AM broadcast receiver sold has
such an antenna built inside it or directly attached to it. These antennas are also
used for radio direction finding. Loop antennas are relatively easy to build. Ferrite
loop antennas are used for AM signals.

Figure: Loop Antenna

Horn Antenna
A horn antenna or microwave horn is an antenna that consists of a flaring metal
waveguide shaped like a horn to direct radio waves in a beam. Horns are widely
used as antennas at UHF and microwave frequencies, above 300 MHz. They are
used as feeders (called feed horns) for larger antenna structures such as parabolic
antennas, as standard calibration antennas to measure the gain of other antennas,
and as directive antennas for such devices as radar guns, automatic door openers,
and microwave radiometers. Their advantages are moderate directivity (gain), low

standing wave ratio (SWR), broad bandwidth, and simple construction and
adjustment

Figure: Horn Antenna

Dielectric rod Antenna

Input of this type of antenna is also waveguide like that of horn antenna. Dielectric
rod antennas provide significant performance advantages and are a low cost
alternative to free space high-gain antennas at millimeter-wave frequencies and the
higher end of the microwave band.

Figure: Dielectric Rod Antenna

Microstrip Rectangular Patch Antenna

The most commonly employed microstrip antenna is a rectangular patch. The
rectangular patch antenna is approximately a one-half wavelength long section of
rectangular microstrip transmission line. When air is the antenna substrate, the
length of the rectangular microstrip antenna is approximately one-half of a freespace wavelength. As the antenna is loaded with a dielectric as its substrate, the
length of the antenna decreases as the relative dielectric constant of the substrate
increases. The resonant length of the antenna is slightly shorter because of the
extended electric "fringing fields" which increase the electrical length of the
antenna slightly. An early model of the microstrip antenna is a section of microstrip
transmission line with equivalent loads on either end to represent the radiation loss.

Figure: Microstrip rectangular patch antenna

Parabolic Reflector Antenna

The most well-known reflector antenna is the parabolic reflector antenna, commonly
known as a satellite dish antenna. Parabolic reflectors typically have a very high
gain (30-40 dB is common) and low cross polarization. They also have a reasonable
bandwidth, with the fractional bandwidth being at least 5% on commercially
available models, and can be very wideband in the case of huge dishes (which can
operate from 150 MHz to 1.5 GHz). The smaller dish antennas typically operate
somewhere between 2 and 28 GHz. The large dishes can operate in the VHF region
(30-300 MHz), but typically need to be extremely large at this operating band.
Unlike resonant antennas like the dipole antenna which are typically approximately

a half-wavelength long at the frequency of operation, the reflecting dish must be

much larger than a wavelength in size. The dish is at least several wavelengths in
diameter, but the diameter can be on the order of 100 wavelengths for very high
gain dishes (>50 dB gain). The distance between the feed antenna and the reflector
is typically several wavelengths as well. This is in contrast to the corner reflector,
where the antenna is roughly a half-wavelength from the reflector.

Figure: Parabolic Reflector Antenna

Array Antennas
Enlarging the dimensions of single elements often leads to more directive
characteristics. Another way to enlarge the dimensions of the antenna, without
necessarily increasing the size of the individual elements, is to form an assembly of
radiating elements in an electrical and geometrical configuration. This new antenna,
formed by multi-elements, is referred to as an array. In most cases, the elements of
an array are identical. This is not necessary, but it is often convenient, simpler, and
more practical. The individual elements of an array may be of any form (wires,
apertures, etc.).

Yagi-Uda Array:
A Yagi-Uda array, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna, is a directional
antenna consisting of a driven element (typically a dipole or folded dipole) and
additional parasitic elements (usually a so-called reflector and one or more

directors). The reflector element is slightly longer (typically 5% longer) than the
driven dipole, whereas the so-called directors are a little shorter. This design
achieves a very substantial increase in the antenna's directionality and gain
compared to a simple dipole.

Figure: Yagi-Uda Array

Linear Slot Antenna Array:

Slot antennas are used typically at frequencies between 300 MHz and 24 GHz. The
slot antenna is popular because they can be cut out of whatever surface they are to
be mounted on, and have radiation patterns that are roughly omnidirectional
(similar to a linear wire antenna, as we'll see). The polarization of the slot antenna is
linear. The slot size, shape and what is behind its (the cavity) offer design variables
that can be used to tune performance.

Broadside Linear Slot Antenna Array:

All the elements are fed in phase here. Slots are at alternate positions to finish 180
degree phase shift.

Narrow side Antenna Array:

The narrow-wall slot array is a popular microwave frequency antenna, which is
especially useful for RADAR applications, where mechanical robustness, low-loss
and the ability to withstand high power are advantageous. A single instance of the
linear array produces a fan beam, while a pencil beam may be created by stacking a
number of them to realize a planar array configuration.

Figure: Narrow Side Antenna Array

Phased (Scanning) Array

By controlling the progressive phase difference between the elements, the
maximum radiation can be squinted in any desired direction to form a scanning
array. This is the basic principle of electronic scanning phased array operation. Since

in phased array technology the scanning must be continuous, the system should be
capable of continuously varying the progressive phase between the elements. In
practice, this is accomplished electronically by the use of ferrite or diode phase
shifters. For ferrite phase shifters, the phase shift is controlled by the magnetic field
within the ferrite, which in turn is controlled by the amount of current flowing
through the wires wrapped around the phase shifter.