ANTENNAS AND WAVE PROPAGATION

Objective: To study the concepts of Antenna Characteristics.

UNIT – I: Antenna Fundamentals

Definition and function of Antenna, Characteristics of Antenna- Radiation Pattern, Radiation
intensity, Beam solid angle, Directivity, Gain, Polarization, efficiency, Equivalent areas,
Radiation Resistance, Effective length, antenna temperature, Relation between Maximum
Directivity and effective area.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed the unit, the student will be able to:
 understand the antenna characteristics.
 evaluate the antenna parameters.
Intellectual Skills
Having successfully completed the unit, the student will be able to:
 Know and apply the fundamental physics behind antennas.
General transferable (key) skills
Having successfully completed the unit, the student will be able to:
 Prepare short notes in certain topics of the unit.
 Work in groups to solve a particular problem.
Relationship between the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods and the Planned
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes related to knowledge, understanding the antenna theory, problem solving
related to directivity, radiation pattern and gain of antennas are tested in the written
examinations, assignments and tutorials.
Major Learning Outcomes (Course Outcomes in Cognitive Domain according to NBA
terminology)
Antenna Terminologies (Antenna Fundamentals)
 Identify basic antenna parameters
 Distinguish between antenna and aerial.
 Calculate the basic antenna parameters using standard formulas.
 Identify antenna specifications required from standard handbooks.

ANTENNA FUNDAMENTALS
 QUESTION Blooms Taxonomy Level
1. Define an antenna? Remembering
2. What is meant by radiation pattern? Understanding
3. Define Radiation intensity? Remembering
4. Define Beam efficiency? Understanding
5. Define Directivity? Remembering
6. What are the different types of aperture? Understanding
7. Define different types of aperture? Understanding
8. Define Aperture efficiency? Understanding
9. What is meant by effective height? Understanding
10. What are the field zones? Understanding
11. What is meant by Polarization? Understanding
12. What is meant by front to back ratio? Understanding
13. Define antenna efficiency? Analysis
14. What is radiation resistance? Understanding
15. What is meant by antenna beam width? Understanding
16. What is meant by reciprocity Theorem? Understanding
17. What is meant by isotropic radiator? Application
18. Define gain? Understanding
19. Define self impedance? Understanding
20. Define mutual impedance? Remembering
21. What is FRIIS transmission formula and explain its significance?
Understanding
22. Explain effective aperture area with its types in detail? Understanding
23. Define axial ratio? Remembering
24. Define radian and steradian? Understanding
25. What is meant by Beam Area? Analysis
Specific Objectives
In this Unit you will learn the following
 Radiation pattern.
 E and H-plane radiation pattern.
 Main beam and nulls of an antenna.
 Side lobe level of antenna.
 HPBW and BWFN for an antenna.
 Directivity.
 Gain and efficiency of an antenna.
 Effective aperture of antenna.
 Relative between Directivity and effective aperture.

Antenna Fundamentals:
1.1 Introduction
Antennas are an indispensable part of any wireless communication system. In today’s
scenario, although, antenna as a device is not new to common man, but understanding the
background concept involved in the working of this device will certainly help in designing new
versatile antennas, in order to meet the stringent requirements of wireless communication
engineers.
1.1.1 Definition
 An antenna (plural antennae or antennas), or aerial, is an electrical device which converts
electric power into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or
radio receiver.
 An antenna is a specialized transducer that converts radio-frequency (RF) fields into
alternating current (AC) or vice-versa.
There are two basic types:
 The receiving antenna, which intercepts RF energy and delivers AC to electronic equipment.
 The transmitting antenna, which is fed with AC from electronic equipment and generates an
RF field.

Fig.1.1 Antenna Radiation Mechanism

1.1.2 Functions of Antenna:

The two functions of an antenna are:
 For transmission of a signal, radiofrequency electrical energy from the transmitter is
converted into electromagnetic energy by the antenna and radiated into the surrounding
environment (atmosphere, space, water);
 For reception of a signal, electromagnetic energy impinging on the antenna is converted into
radio-frequency electrical energy and fed into the receiver.
An antenna has dual nature.
 When seen from the space side, it has properties of electromagnetic waves like the radiation
pattern, polarization, Poynting vector etc,
 When seen from the terminal side it has circuit like properties like the impedance, bandwidth
and so on.
The antenna therefore has to be characterized from circuit as well as the waves perspective.
1.2 Characteristics of Antenna:

1.2.1 Radiation Pattern

 Radiation pattern is one of the important characteristic of an antenna as tells the spatial
relative distribution of the electromagnetic wave generated by the antenna.
 The radiation pattern is a plot of the magnitude of the radiation field as a function of direction
(,).
 The radiation pattern is essentially a 3-D surface.
 Since the radiation pattern is supposed to provide relative distribution of the fields, the
absolute size of the 3-D surface does not have any significance. In practice therefore the
maximum amplitude is normalized to unity.
 At times a full 3-D description of the radiation pattern may not be needed. Invariably
therefore two principal sections of the 3-D radiation patterns are given as the radiation
patterns.
 The two principle sections are obtained by planes one containing the electric field vector and
the other containing the magnetic field vector. Consequently, the two planar radiation patterns
are called the E-plane and H-plane radiation patterns respectively.
 In a radiation pattern the physical shape and size of the antenna do not get reflected. The
antenna is merely a point at the origin of the radiation pattern.

A typical radiation pattern for a general antenna is shown in Fig.1.2

Fig.1.2: Radiation pattern

Direction of Maximum Radiation (Main Beam)

The direction along which the field strength is maximum is called the direction of maximum
radiation. The angular zone around the direction of maximum radiation is called the main beam
of the antenna.

Direction of Nulls
The directions along which the field strength is zero, i.e. along which no power is radiated, are
called the directions of nulls.

Beam Width between First Nulls (BWFN)

 At times the effective width of the main beam is given by the angular separation between the
nulls around the direction of the maximum radiation is called the BWFN.
 For any antenna the BWFNs are to be defined in E and H-planes.

Half Power Beam Width (HPBW) of an antenna

 The main beam is the angular region where primarily the radiation goes. The effective width
of the antenna main beam called the HPBW is defined as the angular separation between

directions where the field strength reduces to 1/ of its maximum value.

 Since the power density of a wave is proportional to the square of the electric field, when the
electric field reduces to 1/√2 of its maximum value, the power density reduces to1/2 of its
maximum value. That is, the power density reduces by 3-dB. The HPBW therefore is also
referred to as the 3-dB Beam width.
 There two HPBWs, one for the E-plane pattern and other for the H-plane pattern. For the
Hertz dipole, the E-plane HPBW and the H-plane HPBW is not defined since the radiation
pattern is constant in the H-plane.
 The HPBW is a better measure of the effective width of the main beam of the antenna
compared to BWFN because there are situations when the effective width of the antenna beam
changes but the BWFN remains same.

Side-Lobe Level (SLL)

 The local maxima in the radiation pattern are called the side-lobes of the radiation pattern.
Since ideally the antenna should radiate along the direction of the main beam the side-lobes
essentially indicate the leakage of power in undesired directions.
 The side-lobes in general is an undesirable feature in a radiation pattern.
 The ratio of the main beam to the highest side-lobe is called the SSL of the radiation pattern.
 For a good communication antenna the SLL lies in the range of 30-40 dB.

Types of Pattern:

 The radiation pattern (RP) (or antenna pattern) is the representation of the radiation
properties of the antenna as a function of the angular coordinates.
 The trace of the angular variation of the received/radiated power at a constant radius from the
antenna is called the power pattern.
 The trace of the angular variation of the magnitude of electric (or magnetic) field at a constant
radius from the antenna is called the amplitude field pattern.

Usually, the pattern describes the normalized field (power) values with respect to the maximum
value.

Plotting the pattern: the trace of the pattern is obtained by setting the distance from the origin

in the direction to be proportional to the strength of the field (in the

case of an amplitude field pattern) or proportional to the power density (in the case of

a power pattern).

Fig.1.3: Pattern

Some concepts related to the pattern terminology

a) Isotropic pattern is the pattern of an antenna having equal radiation in all directions. This is an
ideal (not physically achievable) concept. However, it is used to define other antenna parameters.
It is represented simply by a sphere whose center coincides with the location of the isotropic
radiator.
b) Directional antenna is an antenna, which radiates (receives) much more efficiently in some
directions than in others. Usually, this term is applied to antennas whose directivity is much
higher than that of a half-wavelength dipole.
c) Omnidirectional antenna is an antenna, which has a non-directional pattern in a given plane,
and a directional pattern in any orthogonal plane (e.g. single-wire antenna). The pattern in the
figure below is that of a dipole – it is omnidirectional.
d) Principal patterns are the 2-D patterns of linearly polarized antennas, measured in the E-
plane (a plane parallel to the E vector and containing the direction of maximum radiation) and in
the H-plane (a plane parallel to the H vector, orthogonal to the E-plane, and containing the
direction of maximum radiation).
 Fig.1.4: Omnidirectional Pattern

2-D patterns can be polar or rectangular, depending the way the angle is depicted, and linear or
logarithmic (in dB), depending on the chosen pattern value. The plots below show the same 2-D
pattern in 4 different formats.

Fig 1.5.Polar Pattern

Fig.1.6.Rectangular Pattern
e) Pattern lobe is a portion of the RP whose local radiation intensity maximum is relatively
weak. Lobes are classified as: major, minor, side lobes, back lobes.

Fig.1.7: Radiation Pattern

Pattern Beamwidth
Half-power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle between two vectors, originating at the pattern’s
origin and passing through these points of the major lobe where the radiation intensity is half its
maximum.

First-null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angle between two vectors, originating at the pattern’s
origin and tangent to the main beam at its base. Often, the approximation FNBW ≈ 2⋅HPBW is
used.
The HPBW is the best parameter to describe the antenna resolution properties. In radar
technology as well as in radio-astronomy, the antenna resolution capability is of primary
importance.
 Fig.1.8. Beamwidth from Radiation Pattern

1.2.2. Radiation Intensity:

 Radiation intensity in a given direction is defined as the power radiated from an antenna per
unit solid angle.
 Radiation intensity in a given direction is the power per unit solid angle radiated in this
direction by the antenna.

• The radiation intensity is a far-field parameter.

• It can be obtained by simply multiplying the radiation density by the square of the distance.

U = r 2Wrad.

Total Radiated Power Using Radiation Intensity The total power is obtained by integrating the
radiation intensity over the entire solid angle of 4π. Thus
Where dΩ is the element of solid angle = sinθdθdφ

a) Solid angle

One steradian (sr) is the solid angle with its vertex at the center of a sphere of radius r, which is
subtended by a spherical surface area equal to that of a square with each side of length r. In a
closed sphere, there are 4π steradians.

Fig.1.9. the infinitesimal area ds on a surface of a sphere of radius r in spherical coordinates is

b) Radiation intensity U
The radiation intensity is the power radiated within unit solid angle:

From now on, we will denote the radiated power simply by Π. There is a direct relation between
the radiation intensity U and the radiation power density P (that is the Poynting vector magnitude
of the far field). Since
Then U=r2.P

 It was already shown that the power density of the far field depends on the distance from the
source as 1/r2, since the far field magnitude depends on r as 1/r. Thus, the radiation intensity
U depends only on the direction (,)but not on the distance r.
 The power pattern is a trace of the function |(,,)|usually normalized to its maximum value.
The normalized pattern will be denoted as U(θ,ϕ).

 In the far-field zone, the radial field components vanish, and the remaining transverse
components of the electric and the magnetic far field vectors are in phase and have
magnitudes related by η=E/H.
That is why the far-field Poynting vector has only a radial component and it is a real number
showing the radiation power flow density:

Then, for the radiation intensity, we obtain in terms of the electric field

This Equation leads to a useful relation between the power pattern and the amplitude field
pattern:

Here, and denote the far-zone field patterns.

1.2.3. Directivity Of An Antenna (D)

Directivity of an antenna (in a given direction) is the ratio of the radiation intensity in this
direction and the radiation intensity averaged over all directions. The radiation intensity averaged
over all directions is equal to the total power radiated by the antenna divided by 4 . If a
direction is not specified, then the direction of maximum radiation is implied.

It can be also defined as the ratio of the radiation intensity (RI) of the antenna in a given
direction and the RI of an isotropic radiator fed by the same amount of power:

The directivity is a dimensionless quantity. The maximum directivity is always ≥ 1.

The directive gain of an antenna is defined as

Where U(,) is the radiation intensity defined as the power per unit solid angle, and U avg is the
average value the radiation intensity over 4 solid angle. We then have

The maximum value of the directive gain is called the directivity of an antenna. The Directivity
therefore is

The directivity is parameter solely defined by the radiation pattern of an antenna.

If the radiation pattern is normalized, the maximum field strength is unity and the directivity can
be written as

The directivity is generally given in dB (= 10 log D).

Example:
1) Directivity of an isotropic source=1

The partial directivity of an antenna is specified for a given polarization of the field. It is
defined as that part of the radiation intensity, which corresponds to a given polarization,
divided by the total radiation intensity averaged over all directions.

Directivity in terms of relative radiation intensity

Beam solid angle A

 The beam solid angle of an antenna is the solid angle through which all the power of the
antenna would flow if its radiation intensity were constant and equal to the maximum
radiation intensity UO for all angles within A .
 The relation between the maximum directivity and the beam solid angle is

1.2.4. Antenna Gain

 The gain G of an antenna is the ratio of the radiation intensity U in a given direction
and the radiation intensity that would be obtained, if the power fed to the antenna were
radiated isotropically.

The gain is a dimensionless quantity, which is very similar to the directivity D. When the antenna
has no losses, i.e. when Pin=Π, then G (θ, ϕ) =D (θ,ϕ) . Thus, the gain of the antenna takes into
account the losses in the antenna system. It is calculated using the input power Pin, which can be
measured directly. In contrast, the directivity is calculated via the radiated power Π.
There are many factors that can worsen the transfer of energy from the transmitter to the antenna
(or from the antenna to the receiver):
 mismatch losses,
 losses in the transmission line,
 losses in the antenna: dielectric losses, conduction losses, polarization losses.
 The power radiated by the antenna is always less than the power fed to it, i.e., ≤ Pin ,
unless the antenna has integrated active devices. That is why, usually ,G≤D
 The radiated power Π is related to the input power Pin through a coefficient called the
radiation efficiency e:

1.2.5. Antenna Efficiency

The total efficiency of the antenna is used to estimate the total loss of energy at the input
terminals of the antenna and within the antenna structure. It includes all mismatch losses and the
dielectric/conduction losses (described by the radiation efficiency as defined by the IEEE
Standards):

Here: er is the reflection (impedance mismatch) efficiency,

ep is the polarization mismatch efficiency,
ec is the conduction efficiency,
ed is the dielectric efficiency.

The reflection efficiency can be calculated through the reflection Coefficient Γ at the
antenna input:

Γ can be either measured or calculated, provided the antenna impedance is known:

Zinis the antenna input impedance and Zc is the characteristic impedance of the feed line.
If there are no polarization losses, then the total efficiency is related to the radiation efficiency as

Beam Efficiency

The beam efficiency is the ratio of the power radiated in a cone of angle2Θ 1 and the total
radiated power. The angle2Θ1 can be generally any angle, but usually this is the first-null beam
width.
If the antenna has its major lobe directed along the z-axis (Θ=0), formula defines the main beam
efficiency. If Θ1 is the angle where the first null (or minimum) occurs in two orthogonal planes,
then the BE will show what part of the total radiated power is channeled through the main beam.
Very high beam-efficiency antennas are needed in radars, radiometry and astronomy.

Frequency Bandwidth (FBW)

This is the range of frequencies, within which the antenna characteristics (input
impedance, pattern) conform to certain specifications.

Antenna characteristics, which should conform to certain requirements, might be: input
impedance, radiation pattern, beamwidth, polarization, side-lobe level, gain, beam direction and
width, radiation efficiency. Separate bandwidths may be introduced: impedance bandwidth,
pattern bandwidth, etc.
The FBW of broadband antennas is expressed as the ratio of the upper to the lower
frequencies, where the antenna performance is acceptable:

Broadband antennas with FBW as large as 40:1 have been designed. Such antennas are referred
to as frequency independent antennas.
For narrowband antennas, the FBW is expressed as a percentage of the frequency
difference over the center frequency:

Input Impedance

Here, R A is the antenna resistance and XA is the antenna reactance. Generally, the antenna
resistance has two terms:

whereRr is the radiation resistance and R l is the loss resistance.

1.2.6. Radiation Resistance:
The radiation resistance relates the radiated power to the voltage (or current) at the
antenna terminals. For example, in the Thevenin equivalent of the antenna, the following holds:

Fig.1.10. Equivalent circuits of the transmitting antenna

In the above model, it is assumed that the generator is connected to the antenna directly.
If there is a transmission line between the generator and the antenna, which is usually the case,
then Zg=Rg+jXg represents the equivalent impedance of the generator transferred to the input
terminals of the antenna. Transmission lines themselves often have significant losses.

Using circuit theory, we can derive the following formulas in the case of matched impedances:
a) power delivered to the antenna
b) power dissipated as heat in the generator

c) radiated power

d) power dissipated as heat in the antenna

 Fig.1.11 Equivalent circuits of the receiving antenna

The incident wave induces voltage VA at the antenna terminals (measured when the antenna is
open circuited). Conjugate impedance matching is required between the antenna and the load
(the receiver) to achieve maximum power delivery:

For the case of conjugate matching, the following power expressions hold:
a) power delivered to the load

b) power dissipated as heat in the antenna

c) scattered (re-radiated) power

d) total captured power

When conjugate matching is achieved, half of the captured power Pc is delivered to the load (the
receiver) and half is antenna loss. The antenna losses are heat dissipation Pl and reradiated
(scattered) power Pr. When the antenna is non-dissipative, half of the power is delivered to the
load and the other half is scattered back into space. Thus a receiving antenna is also a scatterer.

1.2.7. Polarization

Introduction and Definition

The polarization of the EM field describes the orientation of its vectors at a given point and how
it varies with time. In other words, it describes the way the direction and magnitude of the field
vectors (usually E) change in time. Polarization is associated with TEM time-harmonic waves
where the H vector relates to the E vector simply by H= r ^xE /η . In antenna theory, we are
concerned with the polarization of the field in the plane orthogonal to the direction of
propagation—this is the plane defined by the vectors of the far field. Remember that the far field
is a quasi-TEM field.

The polarization is the locus traced by the extremity of the time-varying field vector at a
fixed observation point.

According to the shape of the trace, three types of polarization exist for harmonic fields: linear,
circular and elliptical. Any polarization can be represented by two orthogonal linear
polarizations, ( Ex Ey ) the fields of which may, in general, have different magnitudes and may
be out of phase by an angle δ L .

Fig.1.12.Types of Polarization


If , then linear polarization results.
 Fig.1.13.Linear Polarization

Linear Polarization, δ L = 0, Ex =Ey


If and |Ex| = |Ey| , then circular polarization results.

Fig.1.14.Clockwise Circular Polarization

 In the most general case, elliptical polarization is defined.

Fig.1.15.Counter-clockwise Elliptical Polarization

1.2.8. Effective Area (Effective Aperture) Ae:

The effective antenna aperture is the ratio of the available power at the terminals of the antenna
to the power flux density of a plane wave incident upon the antenna, which is matched to the
antenna in terms of polarization. If no direction is specified, the direction of maximum radiation
is implied.

Ae=PA/Wi Where Ae is effective aperture,m2 PA is the power delivered from the antenna to the
load,W Wi is the power flux density of the incident wave,W/m2

Using the Thevenin equivalent of a receiving antenna

Under conditions of conjugate matching,

For aperture type antennas, the effective area is smaller than the physical aperture area. Aperture
antennas with constant amplitude and phase distribution across the aperture have the maximum
effective area, which is practically equal to the geometrical area. The effective aperture of wire
antennas is much larger than the surface of the wire itself. Sometimes, the aperture efficiency of
an antenna is estimated as the ratio of the effective antenna aperture and its physical area:
ap=Ae/Ap

It can be shown by the reciprocity theorem that an antenna has same radiation characteristics
while transmitting and receiving. That is

1) The direction in which an antenna radiates maximally and the direction from which the
antenna receives maximum power are the same.

2) The antenna does not receive any power from the radiation arriving from the direction of
a null.

3) An antenna maximally responds to that polarization which it generates while

transmitting.


Effective aperture of an antenna is a parameter defined for the receiving antenna. It tells
the capability of an antenna to tap power from a radiation arriving from certain direction.

If an antenna is placed in a radiation field with power flow density S, and if the power
transferred to a matched load connected to the terminals of a receiving antenna under
matched polarization condition is PL, the effective aperture is given as Ae=PL/S

Effective aperture in general is direction dependent, however when there is no specific
mention, it is its maximum value.

The effective aperture has dimensions of area and generally has units m2.

The Effective aperture and the Directivity of an antenna are related through a relation,
G=4π Ae/λ2

The effective aperture is directly proportional to the directivity. Higher the directivity
higher is the effective aperture.

The effective aperture has no direct relation to the physical aperture of an antenna.
However, for aperture type antenna like horns, parabolic dishes, the effective aperture is
equal to the physical aperture weighted by the aperture field distribution.

1.2.9. Effective Length/Height Of The Antenna:

When a receiving antenna intercepts incident electromagnetic waves, a voltage is induced across
the antenna terminals. The effective length he of a receiving antenna is defined as the ratio of the
open circuit terminal voltage to the incident electric field strength in the direction of antennas
polarization.

he=Voc/E
where Voc = open circuit voltage
 E = electric field strength
Effective length he is also referred to as effective height.

Fig.1.16.Equivalent circuit of receiving antenna

he = effective length
E = incident field strength
Voc = heE open circuit voltage
Zload = Input impedance of the receiver.

1.2.10.Antenna Temperature:

(TA) is a parameter that describes how much noise an antenna produces in a given environment.
This temperature is not the physical temperature of the antenna. Moreover, an antenna does not
have an intrinsic "antenna temperature" associated with it; rather the temperature depends on its
gain pattern and the thermal environment that it is placed in. Antenna temperature is also
sometimes referred to as Antenna Noise Temperature.

1.3.Relation Between Maximum Directivity And Effective Area:

The effective aperture of an antenna is uniquely related to its directivity. By using the directivity
and effective aperture of a short dipole, which are relatively easily calculated, a general
interrelation between effective aperture and directivity, valid for any antenna, will be derived.

Consider the two-antenna communication system of Figure 1.17. System 1 can be the
transmitter, while system 2 is the receiver, or the other way around. The antennas are displaced a
distance r apart and are assumed to be lined up with respect to polarization and directivity. The
directivity of antenna 1 is DT, its maximum effective aperture is AemT. Directivity and maximum
effective area of antenna 2 are, respectively, DR and AemR. We start by considering the first option:
antenna 1 is transmitting and antenna 2 is receiving. The total radiated power by antenna 1 is P T .
If antenna 1 were an isotropic radiator, the power density, So, at distance r from antenna 1 would
be S0=PT/4r2

Due to the directive properties of antenna 1 , the actual power density, ST at distance r is
ST=S0DT=PTDT/4r2

The power received by antenna 2 , PR is then PR=STAemR=PTDTAemR/4r2

Fig.1.17. Two-antenna communication system.

The antennas are displaced a distance r and are assumed to be lined up with respect to
polarization and directivity. The directivity of antenna 1 is D T , its effective aperture is A emT .
Directivity and effective area of antenna 2 are, respectively, DR and AemR.

where AemR is the maximum effective aperture of antenna 2. Rearranging this equation gives
DTAemR=(PR/PT )(4r2)

If we now let antenna 2 transmit PT and we look at the received power at antenna 1 , which, by
virtue of reciprocity, is equal to PR, we find

DRAemT=PR/PT(4r2) DT/AemT=DR/Aemr

If we now assume that in the two-antenna system, the transmitting antenna is an isotropic
radiator, then DT = 1 and the above equation transforms into
Aemiso=AemR/DR

which means that the maximum effective aperture of an isotropic radiator is equal to the ratio of
effective aperture and directivity of any antenna.

If we now take, for example, a short dipole, we may relatively easily calculate the effective area
and directivity as, Aem=32/8

D=3/2

where λ is the used wavelength. Therefore the maximum effective area of an isotropic radiator is
Aemiso=2/4

and thus for any antenna 2/4=Aem/D

This gives us the sought-after relation between maximum effective aperture, Aem, and directivity,
D, of an antenna D=4 Aem/2

THEOREMS

The properties of antenna elements can be proved using network theorems. The theorems are
basically applicable to circuits which are linear and bilateral. The network theorems commonly
employed to obtain antenna properties are

(a) Thevinin’s theorem

(b) Superposition theorem
(c) Maximum power transfer theorem
(d) Compensation theorem
(e) Reciprocity theorem

(a) Thevenin’s theorem: In a linear network containing one or more voltage or current
sources, the current in ZL connected between any two terminals is the same when ZL is
connected to a single voltage source. This source is equal to the open circuit voltage
across the terminals of interest and its impedance is equal to the impedance of the
network looking back from the terminals when all the sources are replaced by their
internal impedances.

(b) Superposition theorem: In a linear and bilateral network containing more than one source,
the current at any point is equal to the sum of the currents which flow when each source
 is considered to be present separately while the remaining sources are replaced by their
internal impedances.

(c) Maximum power transfer theorem: The power transfer to impedance connected to two
terminals of a network is maximum from the network if the impedance is the complex
conjugate of the impedance seen looking back into the network from the two terminals.

(d) Compensation theorem: Impedance in a network is equal to an ideal voltage source if the
generated voltage is equal to the instantaneous voltage which exists across the impedance
due to flow of current in it.

(e) Reciprocity theorem: In a linear and bilateral network, if V is the applied voltage across
any two terminals, and if I is current in any branch, the ratio of V and I is the same as the
ratio of V and I when the generator and ammeter are interchanged. The V/I is called as
Transfer impedance. According to reciprocity theorem, Z12 = Z21 or Y12 = Y21.
 Assignment-Cum-Tutorial Questions

A. Questions testing the remembering / understanding level of students

I) Objective Questions

1. Antennas convert ---------------------- to ---------------------

a) Photons to electrons b) electrons to photons c) Both a and b d) none
2. Antennas are of -------------- types
a) Two b) four c) Infinite d) none
3. Which of the following is true
a) Time changing current radiates b) accelerated charges radiates
c) Both a and b d) none
4. Radiation pattern is ---------------- dimensional quantity
a) Two b) three c) Single d) none
5. ------------- is also called as 3-dB bandwidth
a) FNBW b) HPBW c) Both a and b d) none
6. One steradian is equal to ---------------square degrees
a) 360 b) 180 c) 3283 d) 41,253
7. --------------is independent of distance
a) Poynting vector b) radiation intensity c) Both a and b d) none
8. The minimum value of the directivity of an antenna is……….
a) Unity b) zero c) Infinite d) none
9. Directivity is inversely proportional to………
a) HPBW b) FNBW c) Beam area d) Beam width
10. Gain is always -------------than directivity
a) Greater b) lesser c) Equal to d) none
11. Directivity and Resolution are------------
a) Different b) same c) Both a and b d) none
12. Effective aperture is always ----------- than Physical aperture.
a) Higher b) lower c) Both a and b d) none
13. --------------Theorem can be applied to both circuit and field theories
a) Equality of patterns b) Equality of impedance

c) Equality of effective lengths d) Reciprocity theorem

14. Antenna temperature considers--------parameter into account

a) Directivity b) gain c) Beam area d) beam efficiency
15. Radiation resistance of antenna is-------------
a) Physical resistance b) Virtual Resistance c) Both a and b d) none
16. Antenna aperture is same as-----------
a) Length b) width c) Area d) volume
17. The source of scalar potential is
a) Charge density b) Current density c) Both a and b d) none
18. The source of vector potential is
a) Charge density b) Current density c) Both a and b d) none

II) Descriptive Questions

1. Explain the following terms related to antenna –

a) Directive gain b) Directivity and power c) Radiation resistance
d) Beam width e) Bandwidth f) Antenna efficiency.
2. Define Polarization? Explain the different types of polarization in detail.
3. Explain effective apertures of an antenna.
4. Define Antenna and enlist its functions. Compare Antenna and Transmission line
5. Define gain and directivity of an antenna and bring relation between directivity, gain and
effective area
6. An antenna has a radiation resistance of 73 ohms and dissipative resistance of 2 ohms.
Calculate the antenna efficiency.
7. An antenna has a directivity of 900 at a frequency of 1 GHz. Calculate the
Effective aperture area of the antenna.
8. An antenna has field pattern given by E(θ)= Cos θ Cos 2θ for 0≤ θ≤90 0 . Find the half
power beam width.
9.State and prove reciprocity theorem for antennas.

B. Question testing the ability of students in applying the concepts.

I) Multiple choice
1. The gain of a current element is
(a) 3dB (b) 0dB (c) 1.761 dB (d) 1.67dB
2. The length of an antenna is 2m, its effective length is
(a) 0.3183 m (b) 3.14m (c) 0.6366 m (d) none
3. The gain of an isotropic radiator is
(a) 3dB (b) 0dB (c) 10 dB (d) 1 dB
4. The radiation resistance of a λ/8 dipole wire in free space
(a)7.2232 ohm (b) 12.3370 ohm (c) 10.3251 ohm (d) 11.0101 ohm
5. The radiation resistance of a loss less antenna is 7.2356, its efficiency is
(a) 0 (b) 0.5 (c) 0.75 (d) 1
6. An antenna having an efficiency of 75% had its directivity of 40, its power gain is
(a) 25 (b) 60 (c) 30 (d) 20.52
7. An antenna receives a maximum power of 3 µW, its average power density is 4.74 µ W. Its
effective aperture area is
(a) 0.633 (a) 0.565 (c) 1.58 (d) 0.158
8. The directivity of an antenna having effective aperture area of 0.525 is (assume operating
wavelength is 3 m)
 (a) 0.52 (c) 0.073 (c) 0.052 (d) 0.73
9. Find the half power beam width (HPBW) of an antenna which has a field given by E (θ) =cos2
θ ,00 ≤θ ≤ 900
(a) 300 (b) 330 (c) 660 (d) 600
II) Level Two Questions:

1. Calculate the radiation intensity of a current element with a corresponding field strength in the

direction of maximum radiation of .

2. The power radiated by a loss less antenna is 10 W. the directional characteristics of the
antenna are given by the radiation intensity of U=B 0 Cos3 θ w/sr for 0 ≤ θ ≤ Π/2, 0 ≤ ø ≤ 2Π.
Find the maximum radiating intensity Umax.
3. The maximum radiation intensity of a 90% efficiency antenna is 200 mW/sr. Find the
directivity and gain when (a) input power is 125.66 mW.
4. Find the directivity , efficiency and effective area of an antenna if its Rr = 80 Ω , R l= 10Ω,
power 10db and antenna operates at a frequency of 100MHz.
5. If the transmitting power is 10kW, find the power density at distance 10km, 50 km and 100
km, assuming that the radiator is isotropic.
6. Calculate the radiation resistance of a λ/4 wire dipole in free space. It has 30 power gain, 4 Ω
loss resistance. Calculate antenna efficiency and directivity.

GATE Questions:

1. The radiation pattern of an antenna in spherical co-ordinates is given by

F()  cos4 ; 0   /2

The directivity of the antenna is [GATE-2012]

(A) 10 dB (B) 12.6 dB (C) 11.5 dB (D) 18 dB

3. For a Hertz dipole antenna, the half power beam width (HPBW) in the E-plane is

(A) 360º (B) 180º (C) 90º (D) 45º [GATE-2008]

4. A mast antenna consisting of a 50 meter long vertical conductor operates over a perfectly

conducting ground plane. It is base-fed at a frequency of 600 kHz. The radiation

resistance of the antenna in Ohms is: [GATE-2006]

(A) 2 π2/ 5 (B) π2/ 5 (C) 4π2/5 (D) 20π2

5. Two identical and parallel dipole antennas are kept apart by a distance of 4 λ in the H-

plane. They are fed with equal currents but the right most antenna has a phase shift of

+90°. The radiation pattern is given as [GATE-2005]

6. Consider a lossless antenna with a directive gain of +6db. If 1mW of power is fed to it the

total power radiated by the antenna will be [GATE-2004]

(a) 4mW (b) 1mW (c) 7mW (d) 1/4 mW

7. A medium wave radio transmitter operating at a wavelength of 492 m has a tower

antenna of height 124m. What is the radiation resistance of the antenna? [GATE-2001]

(a) 25Ω (b) 36.5Ω (c) 50Ω (d) 73Ω

8. The frequency range for satellite communication is [GATE-2000]

(a) 1 KHz to 100 KHz (b) 100 KHz to 10 KHz

(c) 10 MHz to 30 MHz (d) 1 GHz to 30 GHz

9. A transmitting antenna radiates 251 W isotropically. A receiving antenna, located 100 m

away from the transmitting antenna, has an effective aperture of 500 cm2. The total

received by the antenna is [GATE-1999]

(a) 10µW (b) 1µW (c) 20µW (d) 100µW

10. The average power of an omni directional antenna varies as the magnitude of cosθ,

where θis the azimuthal angle. Calculate the maximum Directive Gain of the antenna

and the angles at which it occurs. [GATE-1999]

11. The radiation resistance of a circular loop of one turn is 0.01Ω. The radiation resistance

of five turns of such a loop will be [GATE-1998]

(a) 0.002Ω (b) 0.01Ω (c) 0.05Ω (d) 0.25Ω

12. An antenna in free space receives 2µW of power when the incident electric field is 20

mV/m rms. The effective aperture of the antenna is [GATE-1998]

(a) 0.005 m2 (b) 0.05 m2 (c) 1.885 m2 (d) 3.77 m2