ISSN (Print) : 2320 3765

ISSN (Online): 2278 8875

International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

Design and Analysis of Parabolic Reflector

Using MATLAB
Kirti Chaurasiya 1, Satish Kumar2
Student of Master of Technology, Dept. of ECE, Amity University, Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh, India1
Professor, Dept. of ECE, Amity University, Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh, India2
ABSTRACT: The far field radiation pattern from a parabolic reflector depends on the primary radiation pattern which
is the radiation pattern of the feed element placed and also on the type and dimensions of reflector used. Therefore in
this paper analysis of the E-plane and H-plane normalized radiation patterns in dB by using MATLAB programming
2010a. In addition the beam width and efficiency patterns for different center frequencies, focal lengths and diameters
were also calculated. A parabolic reflector has been picked as the reflector because it produces high gain pencil beam
with small side lobes. Using aperture approximation methods the radiation patterns have been plotted and elevation
planes. The simplest reflector antenna consists of two components: a reflecting surface and a much smaller feed
antenna, which frequently is located at the reflectors focal point. Paraboloidal reflector is entirely defined by the
respective parabolic line, i.e., by three basic parameters: the center frequency the diameter and the focal length.
KEYWORDS parabolic reflector, beam width, efficiency, gain
I.INTRODUCTION
A parabolic antenna is used for microwave radio communications. It is frequently referred to as a dish antenna. It lie of
a parabolic reflector which collects and concentrates an incoming parallel beam of radio waves and focuses them onto
the actual antenna placed at its focal point or focus.[1] The actual antenna at the focus is sometimes referred to as the
antenna feed. See Figure 1. In this paper, the term antenna will refer to the actual antenna at the focal point of the
parabolic reflector and parabolic antenna refers to its antenna together with its parabolic reflector.
Satellite television dish antennas are an example of popular parabolic microwave antennas. A parabolic antenna is
similar to a reflecting telescope where a parabolic concave mirror gathers incoming light and focuses it into the eye
piece. Another optical example is the vehicle headlight. A parallel beam of light is reflected off the parabolic mirror
behind the light bulb placed at its focus.
In this paper, the design and the experimental verifications of matched feeds have been presented. Investigations on a
multi-mode matched feed using parabolic wave guide structure may be carried out as an advancement of this work.
This type of Paraboloidal matched feed will be useful for an application where different beamwidths are required in
both E and H planes, and maintaining the low cross-polarization in the secondary radiation pattern. An improved
design of a tri-mode matched feed with improved cross-polar bandwidth has been discussed in the paper. Further
investigations can be carried out to enhance the cross-polar bandwidth of a rectangular as well as a corrugated matched
feed. To achieve the improvement in the cross polar bandwidth, it will be important to maintain the required amplitudes
and the phases of all the essential waveguide modes over a wide frequency range. Paper will be a challenging work and
will need a new design concept and efficient modelling tools to implement the concept. In this paper, matched feed
designs have been proposed for a single offset parabolic reflector antenna. A unique matched feed can also be designed
for a shaped offset reflector in which the offset reflector profile is deformed to generate a contoured beam or a shaped
beam.

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ISSN (Print) : 2320 3765

ISSN (Online): 2278 8875

International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

Fig.1. Mathematical diagram of parabolic reflector

The following terminology is used in describing a parabolic reflector. The focus is where all the incoming radio waves
are concentrated.[2] The vertex is the innermost point at the center of the parabolic reflector. The focal length of a
parabola is the distance from its focus to its vertex. The aperture length of a parabolic reflector is its opening and is
described by its diameter. Also of interest is the depth of the parabolic reflector which is discussed below. The two
dimensions that describe a parabolic reflector are the focal length f and the diameter D of its aperture. The industrial
practice is to use the f/D ratio to specify the shape of the parabolic reflector and the diameter D of its aperture. For a
given parabolic reflector, the focal length f is directly obtained by multiplying its f/D ratio by its diameter D.
II.METHODOLOGY
A. Design and analysis formulas for a parabolic reflector
The following design formulas are useful for designing a parabolic reflector.
Equation of a parabola
The equation of a parabola in terms of focal length f is
Y = ax 2
Depth of a parabolic reflector
In designing a parabolic reflector, it is frequently convenient to use its depth d instead of its focal length. The formula
for getting the depth is
d=

D2
16f

Conversely, given a parabolic dish and its measurements for the diameter D and the depth d, then its focal length f is
obtained with
f=

D2
16d

A dish antenna may be shallow or deep depending on the slice of the parabolic envisaged during manufacture.
Practically speaking, it is difficult to illuminate the dish uniformly with the feed inside the aperture plane. This is
because waves arriving from opposite directions tend to cancel through superposition. So our eye peers in one direction
only. And next, placing the focal point well outside the aperture plane modifies the chance of receiving unnecessary
signals and noise. The feed point is not well protected, and this configuration increases the chance of loss. Signals from
the feed horn may lose the edge of the dish. The ratio of the focal distance to the dish diameter, denoted f /D is a
standard component parameter used by systems installers.[3]

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ISSN (Print) : 2320 3765

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

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(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

efficiecny =

f
focal length
=
D Diameter of dish

Parabolic antenna beam width calculation:

The gain of the parabolic antenna, increases, so the beam width falls.
Normally the beam width is defined as the points where the power falls to half of the maximum, i.e. the -3dB points on
a radiation pattern polar diagram.[4]
It is possible to estimate the beam width reasonably accurately from the following formula.
Beam width = 70 /D
An antenna placed at the focal point of a parabolic reflector is said to illuminate the parabolic reflector. The antenna has
a beam width which is the how wide an angle the antenna would make if it were radiating a beam of radio waves.[5]
The beam width is a property of the antenna itself and is the same regardless if the antenna is used for receiving or
transmitting. In design of parabolic antenna, the antenna needs to properly illuminate its parabolic reflector; that is, the
beam width of the antenna needs to match the f/D ratio of the parabolic reflector. Similarly , an under illuminated
parabolic reflector does not use its total surface area to focus a signal on its antenna.
Gain of a parabolic reflector
Using the formula for the circle area, the aperture area of a parabolic reflector is
A=

D2
4

This area is used in calculating the gain of a parabolic reflector. The gain G of a parabolic reflector is directly
proportional to the ratio of the area of the aperture to the square of the wavelength l of the incoming radio waves
4A
G = 10 log10 ( 2 )

is the efficiency of the parabolic reflector and has a practical value of 50%. In electrical engineering, it is common
practice to express gain ratios such as G in terms of decibels which is 10 times the common logorithm of the gain
formula. The unit of G is in dB.[6]
III.RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The antenna radiation pattern is the display of the radiation properties of the antenna as a function of the (, )
spherical coordinates. In most cases, the radiation pattern is determined in the Far-Field region for constant radial
distance and frequency. A distinctive radiation pattern is characterized by a main beam with 3 dB beam width and side
lobes at different positions. The antenna performance is frequently described in terms of its principal E-plane and Hplane patterns. For a polarized antenna, the E-plane and H-planes are defined as the planes containing the direction of
maximum radiation and the electric and magnetic field vectors, accordingly.

Fig.2. input values of reflector

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

Fig.3.normalized radiation pattern of E-plane and H-plane

This is a normalized antenna and produces a pointed beam. The reflector has an elliptical shape. It will produce a beam.
Radars use two different curvatures in the horizontal and vertical planes to achieve the required pencil beam in azimuth
and the classical beam in elevation.
This ideal case shown in the figure 3 doesn't happen in the practice. The practical parabolic antennas pattern has a
conical form because of irregularities in the production. Main lobe may vary in angular width from one or two degrees
in some radar to 15 to 20 degrees in other radars.

Fig.4. E-plane normalized radiation pattern

This shift in operating frequency may be attributed to the gain enhancing feature of such antenna with air or any other
low dielectric constant substrate. The next step is to examine the radiation pattern for two identical antennas; one with
conventional substrate and the other with air substrate. Therefore, the radiation patterns are compared between the
antennas separately at E and H plane as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5. It is evident from the figure that, E plane 3 dB
beam width is doubled than H plane beam width for conventional antenna with substrate while, those for same antenna
with air substrate show no changes in beam widths between its E and H planes. Along with this the gain of this present
antenna with air substrate is greater than conventional structure as expected.

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ISSN (Print) : 2320 3765

ISSN (Online): 2278 8875

International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

Fig.5. H-plane normalized radiation pattern

In this table frequencies are varied while the focal length and diameters are kept constant. Frequency variation does not
affect efficiency but give sharper beam width with varying frequency to produce better beam width.
Table.1.constant focal length and diameter and variable frequency
Frequency
(GHz)

Focal
Length
(m)

Diameter
(m)

Efficiency
= f/D

Beam width
= 70 /D

2.79

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.27

3.00

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.26

3.25

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.23

3.50

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.22

3.75

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.21

In this table focal lengths are varied while the frequency and diameter are kept constant. Focal length variation does not
affect beam width but produce a better efficiency according to requirement.
Table.2.constant frequency and diameter and variable focal length
Frequency
(GHz)

Focal Length
(m)

Diameter
(m)

Efficiency
= f/D

Beam width
= 70 /D

2.79

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.27

2.79

20.4

26.9

0.75

0.27

2.79

18.4

26.9

0.68

0.27

2.79

16.4

26.9

0.60

0.27

2.79

14.4

26.9

0.53

0.27

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ISSN (Print) : 2320 3765

ISSN (Online): 2278 8875

International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

In this table diameters are varied while the frequency and focal length are kept constant. Diameter decrement affects
both the efficiency and beam width increase but produce a poor result according to requirement.
Table.3.constant frequency and focal length and variable diameter
Frequency
(GHz)

Focal Length
(m)

Diameter
(m)

Efficiency
= f/D

Beam Width
= 70 /D

2.79

22.4

26.9

0.83

0.27

2.79

22.4

24.9

0.89

0.30

2.79

22.4

22.9

0.97

0.32

2.79

22.4

20.9

1.07

0.35

2.79

22.4

18.9

1.18

0.39

IV.CONCLUSION
The fundamental antenna concepts and a brief introduction to the types of feeds have been discussed. Analysis of the
parabolic reflector typically like f/D, gain, radiation patterns has been done and the corresponding results were plotted.
The E-plane and H-plane normalized radiation patterns in dB of parabolic reflector were calculated and then the beam
width and efficiency was calculated by using general formula. By calculating these different values of beam width and
efficiency this paper is conclude that center frequency is 2.79GHz, focal length is 14.4mm and diameter of the
parabolic dish is 26.9mm gives the better response of this reflector.
REFERENCES
1. Hartzell, S.D. ; Tran, T.M. ; Black, J.T. ; Marhefka, R.J. ; Terzuoli, A.J. Analysis and feed design of a sparse aperture parabolic reflector in
IEEE Radio Science Meeting, 2013 USNC-URSI
2. Chuan Liu; Shiwen Yang ; Zaiping Nie Design of a parabolic reflector antenna with a compact splash-plate feed in IEEE Cross Strait QuadRegional Radio Science and Wireless Technology Conference (CSQRWC), 2013
3. Gorobets, N.N. ; Kiyko, V.I. ; Gorobets, V.N. Dependence of the lateral and cross-polarized radiation reflector antennas on their size and focal
length in IEEE 2013 Antenna Theory and Techniques (ICATT), 2013 IX International Conference
4. Yurduseven, O. Compact parabolic reflector antenna design with cosecant-squared radiation pattern in IEEE 2011 Microwaves, Radar and
Remote Sensing Symposium (MRRS)
5. Yurduseven, O. Turk, A.S. Convex parabolic reflector antenna design with cosecant-squared radiation pattern for microwave radar systems in
IEEE 2010
6. Ali, S.M ; Zakariya, M.A. ; Baharudin, Z. ; Adz, J.J. Parabolic reflector fed by Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna with high gain in IEEE
Intelligent and Advanced Systems (ICIAS), 2014 5th International Conference

BIOGRAPHY
Ms Kirti Chaurasiya is presently pursuing M.Tech in Eletronics and Communication Engineering from Amity
University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. She has done B.Tech degree course in Electronics & Communication Engineering
from Dr Ram Manhor Lohia Avadh University Faizabad Uttar Pradesh in 2013. Presently, she has focused her working
area within of parabolic reflector. Her research interests also include Efficiency Improvement of Solar Cell Using
Compound Parabolic Concentrator and Sun Tracking System using MATLAB.
Sh. Satish Kumar, M.Tech, FIETE is an alumnus and gold medalist of IIT Roorkee (Erstwhile University of Roorkee).
He has worked as General Manager and Chief Vigilance Officer in Indias first PSU, ITI Ltd. Bangalore. He has more
than 34 years of industrial experience on state-of-the-art telecom equipment and infrastructure dealing with turn-key
projects. His professional experience covers the whole spectrum of switching, transmission, access, telemetry and
subscriber premises equipment. He also worked for providing design, system integration and Value Engineering
solutions for various network based turn-key projects like Army Static Communication Network (ASCON), Integrated
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ISSN (Print) : 2320 3765

ISSN (Online): 2278 8875

International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,

Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 4, Issue 3, March 2015

Electronic Warfare System (IEWS), Defence Communication Network (DCN), Tactical Communication System
(TCS), Network For Spectrum (NFS) etc., Presently he is working as Professor, (Electronics & Communication
Engineering) Amity University Lucknow campus.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank Maj. General K. K. Ohri (AVSM, Retd.) Pro-VC & Director General, Amity
University, Uttar Pradesh Lucknow, Wg. Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Kumar (Retd.) (Director ASET, Lucknow Campus), Brig. U.
K. Chopra (Director AIIT & Dy. Director ASET) and Prof. O. P. Singh (HOD, Electronics) for their valuable
comments and suggestions that helped to improve this paper.

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