Dr.V.

Thrimurthulu Lecture Notes Antenna & Wave Propagation

Antenna Array

INTRODUCTION
Usually a single element provides wide radiation and low directivity (gain).
In many applications it is necessary to design antennas with very directive characteristics to meet
the demands of long distance communication.
 Enlarging the dimensions of single elements.
 Enlarging the dimensions of the antenna, without 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).

 The total field of the array is determined by the vector addition of the
fields radiated by the individual elements
 During the summation, the current in each element is assumed to be the same as that of
the isolated element (neglecting coupling).
 This is usually not the case and depends on the separation between the elements.

In an array of identical elements, there are at least five controls that can be used to shape the
overall pattern of the antenna.
1. The geometrical configuration of the overall array (linear, circular, rectangular, spherical, etc.)
2. The relative displacement between the elements
3. The excitation amplitude of the individual elements
4. The excitation phase of the individual elements
5. The relative pattern of the individual elements

This is one of the common methods of combining the radiations from a group of similar antennas
in which the wave-interference phenomenon is involved. The field strength can be increased in
preferred directions by properly exciting group or array of antennas simultaneously, such as
arrangement is known as antenna array. Array of antenna is an arrangement, of several individual
antennas so spaced and phased that their individual contributions coming in one preferred
direction and cancel in all other directions, which will be going to increase the directivity of the
system.
The different types of arrays with regard to beam pointing direction are as follows,
1. Broadside array
2. End fire array
3. Collinear array.

1 . Broadside Array
Broadside array is one of the most commonly used antenna array in practice. The array in which
a number of identical parallel antennas are arranged along a line perpendicular to the line of
array axis is known as broadside array, which is shown in figure (2.1). In this, the individual
antennas are equally spaced along a line and each element is fed with current of equal
magnitude, all in the same phase.

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The radiation pattern of broadside array is bidirectional, which radiates equally well in either
direction of maximum radiation.

2 . End Fire Array

The array in which a number of identical antennas are spaced equally along a line and Individual
elements are fed with currents of unequal phases (i.e., with a phase shift of 180°) is known as
end fire array .This array is similar to that of broadside array except that individual elements are
fed in with, a phase shift of 180 .In this, the direction of radiation is coincides with the direction
of the array axis, which is shown in figure (2.2).

The radiation pattern of end fire array is unidirectional. But, the end fire array may be
bidirectional also. One such example is a two element array, fed with equal current, 180° out of
phase.

3. Collinear Array
The array in which antennas are arranged end to end in a single line is known as collinear array.
Figure (2.3), shows the arrangement of collinear array, in which one antenna is stacked over
another antenna. Similar to that of broadside array, the individual elements of the collinear array
are fed with equal in phase currents. A collinear array is a broadside radiator, in which the
direction of maximum radiation is perpendicular to the line of antenna. The collinear array is
sometimes called as broadcast or Omni directional arrays because its radiation pattern has
circular symmetry with its main to be everywhere perpendicular to the principal axis.

3. Arrays of two point sources with equal amplitude and opposite phase:
In this, point source 1 is out of phase or opposite phase (180°) to source 2 i.e. when there is

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maximum in source 1 at one particular instant, and then there is minimum in source 2 at that
instant and vice-versa.
Referring to Fig.1.1 the total far field at distant point P , is given by
E = (-Ei e - φ j / 2 ) + ( + E 2 e + φ i / 2 )
But E1=E2=E0 (say)
Then E=E0 2j

E=2jE0 sinφ/2……………. (1.1a)

E=2jE0sin
Cosθ ………. (1.1b)
Let d = λ/2 and 2E0 j = 1
Enorm, = sin (π/2 COS θ) …………………….. (1.2)
Maximum directions: Maximum value of sine function is ± 1
sin (π/2 cosθ) = ± 1
(П/2 cosθmax) = ± (2 n + 1) n / 2 where n = 0, 1, 2
(cosθmax) = ± 1 if n = 0
θmax= 0° and 180°…………….. (1.3 a)
Minima directions: Minimum value of a sine function is 0
sin (π/2 cosθ) = 0
π/2 cosθmin = ± nπ where n = 0, 1, 2……..
COS θmin = 0
Therefore θmin= 90° and -90° ……………….. (1.3b)
Half power point directions:
sin (П /2 cosθ) = ±
√�
П/2 cosθHPPD = ± ( 2 n + 1) π/4
П/2 cosθHPPD = ± π / 4 ifn=0
cosθHPPD = ±

θHPPD = 60°, ± 120° ………………………… (1.3c)

From these, it is possible to draw the field pattern which is as shown in Fig.1.2

It is seen that maxima have shifted 90° along X-axis in comparison to in-phase field pattern. The
figure is horizontal figure of 8 and 3-dimensional space pattern is obtained by rotating it along X
-axis. Once the arrangement gives maxima along line joining the two sources and hence this is
one of the simpl e s t t y p e o f "End fire" 'Array'.

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What is uniform linear array? Discuss the application of linear array? and also explain the
advantages and disadvantage of linear array?
Ans: In general single element antennas having non uniform radiation pattern are used in several
broadcast services. But this type of radiation pattern is not useful in point-to-point
communication and services that require to radiate most of the energy in one particular direction
i.e., there are applications where we need high directive antennas. This type of radiation pattern
is achieved by a mechanism called antenna array. An antenna array consists of identical antenna
elements with identical orientation distributed in space. The individual antennas radiate and their
radiation is coherently added in space to form the antenna beam.
In a linear array, the individual antennas of the array are equally spaced along a straight line.
This individual antennas of an array are also known as elements. A linear array is said to be
uniform linear array, if each element in the array is.fed with a current of equal magnitude with
progressive phase shift (phase shift between adjacent antenna elements).
Application of Linear Array
1. Adaptive linear arrays are used extensively in wireless communication to reduce interference
between desired users and interfering signals.
2. Many linear arrays spaced parallel on the common plane create a planar array antenna. These
are used in mobile radar equipment.
3. The linear array is most often used to generate-a fan beam and is useful where broad coverage
in one plane and narrow beam width in the orthogonal plane are desired.
4. Linear arrays can be made extremely compact and .are therefore very attractive for shipboard
applications.
The advantages and disadvantages of linear arrays are as follows.
Advantages
1. Increases the overall gain. .
2. Provide diversity receptions.
3. Cancel out interference from a particular set of directions.
4."Steer" the array so that it is more sensitive in a particular direction.
5. Determines the direction of arrival of the incoming signals.
6. It maximize the Signal to Interference plus Noise ratio
Disadvantages
1. Ray deflection only in a single plane possible.
2. Complicated arrangement and more electronically controlled phase shifter needed. ;
3. Field view is restricted.
4. Considerable minor lobes are formed.
5. Large power loss due to current flowing in all elements.
6. Overall efficiency decreases.
3. Costly to implement.

What is linear array? Compare Broad side array and End fire array?
Ans : Linear arrays: The arrays in which the individual antennas (called as elements) are
equally spaced along a straight line are called as linear arrays. Thus, linear antenna array is a
system of equally spaced elements.
Broad side array End fire array
1. The array is said to be broad side array, if 1. The array is said to be end fire array, if
the direction of maximum radiation is maximum radiation is along the array axis.
perpendicular to the array axis. 2. In end fire, phase difference between
2. In broad side, phase difference α = 0 adjacent element is α= -βd

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3.General equation for pattern maxima is 3. General expression for pattern maxima is,
(θmax)minor=cos-1 (θmax)minor=cos-
4.general Expression for pattern minima is,
(θmax)minor=cos-1 4.Genaral expression for pattern minima is,
П θ min =2sin-1

5.Half power beam width is given by, 5.Halfpower beam width is given by,
HPBW= HPBW=53.3

degree degree
6.Directivity of broad side array is , 6.Directivity of end fire array is,
D=2 D= 4

L=Length of array L=Length of array

3.Beam width between first nulls is, 3.Beam width between first nulls is
BWFN= BWFN=114.6�
degree degree
8. In broad side array, all elements are equally 8. In End fire array, all elements are equally
spaced along the array axis and fed with spaced along the array axis and fed with
current of current of
equal magnitude and same phase. equal magnitude but their phases are different.
9. Radiation pattern of broad side array is 9. Radiation pattern of broad side array is
bidirectional Unidirectional
10.In broad side array, 10.In end fire array,
φ =βdcosθ+α (since α=0) φ =βdcosθ+α (since α=-βd)
Therefore Therefore
φ =βdcosθ φ =βd(cosθ-1)

4. Explain the principal of pattern multiplication .What is the effect of earth of radiation
pattern of antennas?
Ans: Multiplication of Patterns ,
The total field pattern of an array of non-isotropic but similar sources is the multiplication of the
individual source pattern and the pattern of an array of isotropic point sources each located at the
phase centre of individual source and having the relative amplitude and phase, where as the total
phase patterns is the addition of the phase pattern of the individual sources and the array of
isotropic point sources. Total field by an array is defined as
E = { E0(θ,φ) x Ei(θ,φ)} x { Epi(θ,φ)+ Epa(θ,φ) }
= (Multiplication of field patterns) (Addition of phase patterns)
Where
E - Total field
E0(θ,φ) = Field pattern of individual source
Ei(θ,φ) = Field pattern of array of isotropic point source
Epi(θ,φ)= Phase pattern of individual source
Epa(θ,φ)= Phase pattern of array of isotropic point sources.
Hence, θ and φ are polar and azimuth angles respectively.
The principle of multiplication of pattern is best suited for any number of similar sources.
Considering a two dimensional case, the resulting pattern is given by the equation,
E = 2 E0 cosφ /2
E = 2 E1 sinθ cosφ /2.

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E = E (θ) cosφ /2
It can be seen that E0 is a function of E (θ). In the above equation the total field pattern is equal
to the product of primary pattern E (θ) and a secondary pattern cosφ/2.
Effect of Earth on the Radiation Pattern
The effect of earth on the radiation pattern can be obtained by using an image principle. In
image principle, earth is considered as an image antenna of same length and current as shown in
the figure (3.1).

For vertical antenna, currents in actual and image antennas are equal and have same direction,
whereas opposite direction for horizontal antenna. The resultant field is obtained by the addition
of field of an image antenna to that of an actual antenna. The shape of the vertical pattern is
affected more than the horizontal pattern

Effect of Earth on the Radiation Pattern of Vertical Antenna

The ground-effect factor of a perfectly conducting earth is given as,
2cos sinφ
Where,
h = Height of the center of antenna above earth
φ = Elevation angle above horizontal.
But, for the case of finite conducting of earth, the above given expression is valid for large
angles of φ0. Whereas, for low angles of φ0, less than 15° known as "Pseudo-Brewster angle",
the phase of the reflection factor is nearer to 180° than it is to 0° and the use of above equation
would lead to erroneous result.
The effect of earth on radiation pattern can be explained by taking different cases of
onductivities (σ). The function ‗n‘ is defined as,

n=

Where, x=σ/ω
σ = conductivity of the earth in mho/meter
��=15, Relative dielectric of the earth.\
The vertical radiation pattern of a vertical dipole is a shown in the fig 3.2

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Effect of Earth on the Radiation Pattern of Horizontal Antenna

The effect of ground is obtained by multiplying free-space pattern and ground factor, i.e.
2cos
Sinφ
The first maxima in this pattern occurs at,
Sinφ = λ/4h (h> λ/4)
The effect of earth on the vertical pattern perpendicular to the axis of dipole is as shown in
figure3.4.

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Antenna Measurements
Testing of real antennas is fundamental to antenna theory. All the antenna theory in the world
doesn't add up to a hill of beans if the antennas under test don't perform as desired. Antenna
Measurements is a science unto itself; as a very good antenna measurer once said to me "good
antenna measurements don't just happen".

What exactly are we looking for when we test or measure antennas?

Basically, we want to measure many of the fundamental parameters listed on the Antenna Basics
page. The most common and desired measurements are an antenna's radiation pattern including
antenna gain and efficiency, the impedance or VSWR, the bandwidth, and the polarization.

The procedures and equipment used in antenna measurements are described in the following
sections:
1. Required Equipment and Ranges
In this first section on Antenna Measurements, we look at the required equipment and types of
"antenna ranges" used in modern antenna measurement systems.

2. Radiaton Pattern and Gain Measurements

The second antenna measurements section discusses how to perform the most fundamental
antenna measurement - determining an antenna's radiation pattern and extracting the antenna
gain.

3. Phase Measurements
The third antenna measurements section focuses on determining phase information from an
antenna's radiation pattern. The phase is more important in terms of 'relative phase' (phase
relative to other positions on the radiation pattern), not 'absolute phase'.

4. Polarization Measurements
The fourth antenna measurements section discusses techniques for determining the polarization
of the antenna under test. These techniques are used to classify an antenna as linearly, circularly
or elliptically polarized.

5. Impedance Measurements
The fifth antenna measurement section illustrates how to determine an antenna's impedance as a
function of frequency. Here the focus is on the use of a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA).

6. Scale Model Measurements

The sixth antenna measurement section explains the useful concept of scale model
measurements. This page illustrates how to obtain measurements when the physical size of the
desired test is too large (or possibly, too small).

3. SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) Measurements

The final antenna measurement section illustrates the new field of SAR measurements and
explains what SAR is. These measurements are critical in consumer electronics as antenna
design consistently needs altered (or even degraded) in order to meet FCC SAR requirements.

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Required Equipment in Antenna Measurements

For antenna test equipment, we will attempt to illuminate the test antenna (often called an
Antenna-Under-Test) with a plane wave. This will be approximated by using a source
(transmitting) antenna with known radiation pattern and characteristics, in such a way that the
fields incident upon the test antenna are approximately plane waves. More will be discussed
about this in the next section. The required equipment for antenna measurements include:
 A source antenna and transmitter - This antenna will have a known pattern that can be used to
illuminate the test antenna
 A receiver system - This determines how much power is received by the test antenna
 A positioning system - This system is used to rotate the test antenna relative to the source
antenna, to measure the radiation pattern as a function of angle.

A block diagram of the above equipment is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Diagram of required antenna measurement equipment.

These components will be briefly discussed. The Source Antenna should of course radiate well
at the desired test frequency. It must have the desired polarization and a suitable beamwidth for
the given antenna test range. Source antennas are often horn antennas, or a dipole antenna with a
parabolic reflector.

The Transmitting System should be capable of outputing a stable known power. The output
frequency should also be tunable (selectable), and reasonably stable (stable means that the
frequency you get from the transmitter is close to the frequency you want).

The Receiving System simply needs to determine how much power is received from the test
antenna. This can be done via a simple bolometer, which is a device for measuring the energy of
incident electromagnetic waves. The receiving system can be more complex, with high quality
amplifiers for low power measurements and more accurate detection devices.

The Positioning System controls the orientation of the test antenna. Since we want to measure
the radiation pattern of the test antenna as a function of angle (typically in spherical coordinates),
we need to rotate the test antenna so that the source antenna illuminates the test antenna from
different angles. The positioning system is used for this purpose.

Once we have all the equipment we need (and an antenna we want to test), we'll need to place the
equipment and perform the test in an antenna range, the subject of the next section.

The first thing we need to do an antenna measurement is a place to perform the measurement.
Maybe you would like to do this in your garage, but the reflections from the walls, ceilings and

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floor would make your measurements inaccurate. The ideal location to perform antenna
measurements is somewhere in outer space, where no reflections can occur. However, because
space travel is currently prohibitively expensive, we will focus on measurement places that are
on the surface of the Earth. There are two main types of ranges, Free Space Ranges and
Reflection Ranges. Reflection ranges are designed such that reflections add together in the test
region to support a roughly planar wave. We will focus on the more common free space ranges.

Free Space Ranges

Free space ranges are antenna measurement locations designed to simulate measurements that
would be performed in space. That is, all reflected waves from nearby objects and the ground
(which are undesirable) are suppressed as much as possible. The most popular free space ranges
are anechoic chambers, elevated ranges, and the compact range.

Anechoic Chambers
Anechoic chambers are indoor antenna ranges. The walls, ceilings and floor are lined with
special electromagnetic wave absorbering material. Indoor ranges are desirable because the test
conditions can be much more tightly controlled than that of outdoor ranges. The material is often
jagged in shape as well, making these chambers quite interesting to see. The jagged triangle
shapes are designed so that what is reflected from them tends to spread in random directions, and
what is added together from all the random reflections tends to add incoherently and is thus
suppressed further. A picture of an anechoic chamber is shown in the following picture, along
with some test equipment:

The drawback to anechoic chambers is that they often need to be quite large. Often antennas
need to be several wavelenghts away from each other at a minimum to simulate far-field
conditions. Hence, it is desired to have anechoic chambers as large as possible, but cost and
practical constraints often limit their size. Some defense contracting companies that measure the
Radar Cross Section of large airplanes or other objects are known to have anechoic chambers the
size of basketball courts, although this is not ordinary. universities with anechoic chambers
typically have chambers that are 3-5 meters in length, width and height. Because of the size
constraint, and because RF absorbing material typically works best at UHF and higher, anechoic
chambers are most often used for frequencies above 300 MHz. Finally, the chamber should also
be large enough that the source antenna's main lobe is not in view of the side walls, ceiling or
floor.

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Elevated Ranges
Elevated Ranges are outdoor ranges. In this setup, the source and antenna under test are mounted
above the ground. These antennas can be on mountains, towers, buildings, or wherever one finds
that is suitable. This is often done for very large antennas or at low frequencies (VHF and below,
<100 MHz) where indoor measurements would be intractable. The basic diagram of an elevated
range is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Illustration of elevated range.

The source antenna is not necessarily at a higher elevation than the test antenna, I just showed it
that way here. The line of sight (LOS) between the two antennas (illustrated by the black ray in
Figure 2) must be unobstructed. All other reflections (such as the red ray reflected from the
ground) are undesirable. For elevated ranges, once a source and test antenna location are
determined, the test operators then determine where the significant reflections will occur, and
attempt to minimize the reflections from these surfaces. Often rf absorbing material is used for
this purpose, or other material that deflects the rays away from the test antenna.

Compact Ranges
The source antenna must be placed in the far field of the test antenna. The reason is that the wave
received by the test antenna should be a plane wave for maximum accuracy. Since antennas
radiate spherical waves, the antenna needs to be sufficiently far such that the wave radiated from
the source antenna is approximately a plane wave - see Figure 3.

Figure 3. A source antenna radiates a wave with a spherical wavefront.

However, for indoor chambers there is often not enough separation to achieve this. One method
to fix this problem is via a compact range. In this method, a source antenna is oriented towards a
reflector, whose shape is designed to reflect the spherical wave in an approximately planar
manner. This is very similar to the principle upon which a dish antenna operates. The basic
operation is shown in Figure 4.

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Figure 4. Compact Range - the spherical waves from the source antenna are reflected to be planar (collimated).

The length of the parabolic reflector is typically desired to be several times as large as the test
antenna. The source antenna in Figure 4 is offset from the reflector so that it is not in the way of
the reflected rays. Care must also be exercised in order to keep any direct radiation (mutual
coupling) from the source antenna to the test antenna.

1. Antenna Radiation Pattern measurement

Now that we have our measurement equipment and an antenna range, we can perform some
antenna measurements. We will use the source antenna to illuminate the antenna under test
with a plane wave from a specific direction. The polarization and antenna gain (for the fields
radiated toward the test antenna) of the source antenna should be known.
Due to reciprocity, the radiation pattern from the test antenna is the same for both the receive
and transmit modes. Consequently, we can measure the radiation pattern in the receive or
transmit mode for the test antenna. We will describe the receive case for the antenna under
test.
The test antenna is rotated using the test antenna's positioning system. The received power is
recorded at each position. In this manner, the magnitude of the radiation pattern of the test
antenna can be determined. We will discuss phase measurements and polarization
measurements later.
The coordinate system of choice for the radiation pattern is spherical coordinates.
Measurement Example
An example should make the process reasonably clear. Suppose the radiation pattern of a
microstrip antenna is to be obtained. As is usual, lets let the direction the patch faces
('normal' to the surface of the patch) be towards the z-axis. Suppose the source antenna
illuminates the test antenna from +y-direction, as shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. A patch antenna oriented towards the z-axis with a Source illumination from the +y-direction.
In Figure 1, the received power for this case represents the power from the angle:
. We record this power, change the position and record again. Recall that
we only rotate the test antenna, hence it is at the same distance from the source antenna. The
source power again comes from the same direction. Suppose we want to measure the
radiation pattern normal to the patch's surface (straight above the patch). Then the
measurement would look as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. A patch antenna rotated to measure the radiation power at normal incidence.
In Figure 2, the positioning system rotating the antenna such that it faces the source of
illumination. In this case, the received power comes from direction . So by
rotating the antenna, we can obtain "cuts" of the radiation pattern - for instance the E-plane
cut or the H-plane cut. A "great circle" cut is when =0 and is allowed to vary from 0 to
360 degrees. Another common radiation pattern cut (a cut is a 2d 'slice' of a 3d radiation
pattern) is when is fixed and varies from 0 to 180 degrees. By measuring the radiation
pattern along certain slices or cuts, the 3d radiation pattern can be determined.
It must be stressed that the resulting radiation pattern is correct for a given polarization of the
source antenna. For instance, if the source is horizontally polarized (see polarization of plane
waves), and the test antenna is vertically polarized, the resulting radiation pattern will be zero
everywhere. Hence, the radiation patterns are sometimes classified as H-pol (horizontal
polarization) or V-pol (vertical polarization). See also cross-polarization.
In addition, the radiation pattern is a function of frequency. As a result, the measured
radiation pattern is only valid at the frequency the source antenna is transmitting at. To obtain
broadband measurements, the frequency transmitted must be varied to obtain this
information.

2. Antenna Impedence Measurement

The impedance is fundamental to an antenna that operates at RF frequencies (high frequency). If
the impedance of an antenna is not "close" to that of the transmission line, then very little power
will be transmitted by the antenna (if the antenna is used in the transmit mode), or very little
power will be received by the antenna (if used in the receive mode). Hence, without proper
impedance (or an impedance matching network), out antenna will not work properly.

Before we begin, I'd like to point out that object placed around the antenna will alter its radiation
pattern. As a result, its input impedance will be influenced by what is around it - i.e. the
environment in which the antenna is tested. Consequently, for the best accuracy the impedance
should be measured in an environment that will most closely resemble where it is intended to
operate. For instance, if a blade antenna (which is basically a dipole shaped like a paddle) is to be

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utilized on the top of a fuselage of an aiprlane, the test measurement should be performed on top
of a cylinder type metallic object for maximum accuracy. The term driving point impedance is
the input impedance measured in a particular environment, and self-impedance is the impedance
of an antenna in free space, with no objects around to alter its radiation pattern.

Fortunately, impedance measurements are pretty easy if you have the right equipment. In this
case, the right equipment is a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). This is a measuring tool that can
be used to measure the input impedance as a function of frequency. Alternatively, it can plot S11
(return loss), and the VSWR, both of which are frequency-dependent functions of the antenna
impedance. The Agilent 8510 Vector Network Analyzer is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The popular Agilent (HP) 8510 VNA.

Let's say we want to perform an impedance measurement from 400-500 MHz. Step 1 is to make
sure that our VNA is specified to work over this frequency range. Network Analyzers work over
specified frequency ranges, which go into the low MHz range (30 MHz or so) and up into the
high GigaHertz range (110 GHz or so, depending on how expensive it is). Once we know our
network analyzer is suitable, we can move on.

Next, we need to calibrate the VNA. This is much simpler than it sounds. We will take the cables
that we are using for probes (that connect the VNA to the antenna) and follow a simple
procedure so that the effect of the cables (which act as transmission lines) is calibrated out. To do
this, typically your VNA will be supplied with a "cal kit" which contains a matched load (50
Ohms), an open circuit load and a short circuit load. We look on our VNA and scroll through the
menus till we find a calibration button, and then do what it says. It will ask you to apply the
supplied loads to the end of your cables, and it will record data so that it knows what to expect
with your cables. You will apply the 3 loads as it tells you, and then your done. Its pretty simple,
you don't even need to know what you're doing, just follow the VNA's instructions, and it will
handle all the calculations.

Now, connect the VNA to the antenna under test. Set the frequency range you are interested in
on the VNA. If you don't know how, just mess around with it till you figure it out, there are only
so many buttons and you can't really screw anything up.

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If you request output as an S-parameter (S11), then you are measuring the return loss. In this
case, the VNA transmits a small amount of power to your antenna and measures how much
power is reflected back to the VNA. A sample result (from the slotted waveguides page) might
look something like:

Figure 2. Example S11 measurement.

Note that the S-parameter is basically the magnitude of the reflection coefficient, which depends
on the antenna impedance as well as the impedance of the VNA, which is typically 50 Ohms. So
this measurement typically measures how close to 50 Ohms the antenna impedance is.

Another popular output is for the impedance to be measured on a Smith Chart. A Smith Chart is
basically a graphical way of viewing input impedance (or reflection coefficient) that is easy to
read. The center of the Smith Chart represented zero reflection coefficient, so that the antenna is
perfectly matched to the VNA. The perimeter of the Smith Chart represents a reflection
coefficient with a magnitude of 1 (all power reflected), indicating that the antenna is very poorly
matched to the VNA. The magnitude of the reflection coefficient (which should be small for an
antenna to receive or transmit properly) depends on how far from the center of the Smith Chart
you are. As an example, consider Figure 3. The reflection coefficient is measured across a
frequency range and plotted on a Smith Chart.

Figure 3. Smith Chart Graph of Impedance Measurement versus Frequency.

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In Figure 3, the black circular graph is the Smith Chart. The black dot at the center of the Smith
Chart is the point at which there would be zero reflection coefficient, so that the antenna's
impedance is perfectly matched to the generator or receiver. The red curved line is the
measurement. This is the impedance of the antenna, as the frequency is scanned from 2.7 GHz to
4.5 GHz. Each point on the line represents the impedance at a particular frequency. Points above
the equator of the Smith Chart represent impedances that are inductive - they have a positive
reactance (imaginary part). Points below the equator of the Smith Chart represent impedances
that are capacitive - they have a negative reactance (for instance, the impedance would be
something like Z = R - jX).

To further explain Figure 3, the blue dot below the equator in Figure 3 represents the impedance
at f=4.5 GHz. The distance from the origin is the reflection coefficient, which can be estimated
to have a magnitude of about 0.25 since the dot is 25% of the way from the origin to the outer
perimeter.

As the frequency is decreased, the impedance changes. At f = 3.9 GHz, we have the second blue
dot on the impedance measurement. At this point, the antenna is resonant, which means the
impedance is entirely real. The frequency is scanned down until f=2.7 GHz, producing the locus
of points (the red curve) that represents the antenna impedance over the frequency range. At f =
2.7 GHz, the impedance is inductive, and the reflection coefficient is about 0.65, since it is closer
to the perimeter of the Smith Chart than to the center.

In summary, the Smith Chart is a useful tool for viewing impedance over a frequency range in a
concise, clear form.

Finally, the magnitude of the impedance could also be measured by measuring the VSWR
(Voltage Standing Wave Ratio). The VSWR is a function of the magnitude of the reflection
coefficient, so no phase information is obtained about the impedance (relative value of reactance
divided by resistance). However, VSWR gives a quick way of estimated how much power is
reflected by an antenna. Consequently, in antenna data sheets, VSWR is often specified, as in
"VSWR: < 3:1 from 100-200 MHz". Using the formula for the VSWR, you can figure out that
this menas that less than half the power is reflected from the antenna over the specified
frequency range.
In summary, there are a bunch of ways to measure impedance, and a lot are a function of
reflected power from the antenna. We care about the impedance of an antenna so that we can
properly transfer the power to the antenna.
In the next Section, we'll look at scale model measurements.

3.Gain Measurement

On the previous page on measuring radiation patterns, we saw how the radiation pattern of an
antenna can be measured. This is actually the "relative" radiation pattern, in that we don't know
what the peak value of the gain actually is (we're just measuring the received power, so in a
sense can figure out how directive an antenna is and the shape of the radiation pattern). In this
page, we will focus on measuring the peak gain of an antenna - this information tells us how
much power we can hope to receive from a given plane wave.
We can measure the peak gain using the Friis Transmission Equation and a "gain standard"
antenna. A gain standard antenna is a test antenna with an accurately known gain and

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polarization (typically linear). The most popular types of gain standard antennas are the thin half-
wave dipole antenna (peak gain of 2.15 dB) and the pyramidal horn antenna (where the peak
gain can be accurately calculated and is typically in the range of 15-25 dB). Consider the test
setup shown in Figure 1. In this scenario, a gain standard antenna is used in the place of the test
antenna, with the source antenna transmitting a fixed amount of power (PT). The gains of both of
these antennas are accurately known.

Figure 1. Record the received power from a gain standard antenna.

From the Friis transmission equation, we know that the power received (PR) is given by:

If we replace the gain standard antenna with our test antenna (as shown in Figure 2), then the
only thing that changes in the above equation is GR - the gain of the receive antenna. The
separation between the source and test antennas is fixed, and the frequency will be held constant
as well.

Figure 2. Record the received power with the test antenna (same source antenna).

Let the received power from the test antenna be PR2. If the gain of the test antenna is higher than
the gain of the "gain standard" antenna, then the received power will increase. Using our
measurements, we can easily calculate the gain of the test antenna. Let Gg be the gain of the
"gain standard" antenna, PR be the power received with the gain antenna under test, and PR2 be
the power received with the test antenna. Then the gain of the test antenna (GT) is (in linear
units):

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The above equation uses linear units (non-dB). If the gain is to be specified in decibels, (power
received still in Watts), then the equation becomes:

And that is all that needs done to determine the gain for an antenna in a particular direction.

Efficiency and Directivity

Recall that the directivity can be calculated from the measured radiation pattern without regard to
what the gain is. Typically this can be performed by approximated the integral as a finite sum,
which is pretty simple.

Recall that the efficiency of an antenna is simply the ratio of the peak gain to the peak
directivity:

Hence, once we have measured the radiation pattern and the gain, the efficiency follows directly
from these.
antenna temperature

To estimate antenna temperature one should know the power at antenna terminals. For this, a
simple experiment is carried out using the spectrum analyzer and Low noise RF amplifier. The
low noise RF amplifier in front of spectrum analyzer reduces the noise temperature of the
receiving system, and then with this the estimated system temperature is mainly conributed by
antenna temperature.

Fig: - Antenna temperature measurement setup

The RF amplifier used here is actually two cascaded stages of J310 amplifier used in jove
receiver. The amplifier has gain of 18dB and noise figure of 3.71dB. Spectrum analyzer usually
has high noise figure of the order of 20dB.

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Let's assume the spectrum analyzer noise figure of 25dB. Then the overall receiving system (as
shown in figure) will have the noise figure of 8.66dB. This will lead to noise temperature of
1840.1 Kelvin@ 290Kelvin. Thus the main cotributor to the system temperature in this setup will
be the antenna itself!

It is observed that the Noise floor seen on spectrum analyzer is typically -94dBm.

So considering the 18dB gain of low noise amplifier in front of the spectrum analyzer,

power at antenna terminals = -94-18 = -112dBm = 6.3 x 10^-15 Watt.

Equating power to K*T*B we get,

Tsys= P/(K*B)= 0.152 x 10^6 Kelvin= 0.152 Million Kelvin.

Since the contribution to system temperature by the receiver is much less (~1800 Kelvin). so the
system temperature can be approximated as antenna temperature at 20.1MHz.
Tant=0.152 Million Kelvin.

The antenna temperature of 0.152 Million Kelvin is high, typically galactic background
contribution to antenna temperature can be 50000 Kelvin. The high temperature of 0.152 Million
Kelvin suggest some local noise causing increase in temperature. With this temperature one can
receive only strong bursts of Jupiter. As for 10^6 Jansky Jupiter bursts power at antenna
terminals will be -115dBm, still 3dB less than the antenna noise!

The proper way to measure antenna tempearture is the use of the noise sourses. So the above
method will give a rough estimate.

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