5/20/24, 11:45 AM Dipole antenna - Wikipedia

Dipole antenna
(Redirected from Half-wave dipole)

In radio and telecommunications a dipole antenna or doublet[1] is one of the two

simplest and most widely-used types of antenna; the other is the monopole.[2][3] The
dipole is any one of a class of antennas producing a radiation pattern approximating
that of an elementary electric dipole with a radiating structure supporting a line
current so energized that the current has only one node at each far end.[a] A dipole
antenna commonly consists of two identical conductive elements[5] such as metal
wires or rods.[2][6][7](p 3 (https://books.google.com/books?id=UYpV8L8GNCwC&pg=SA2-PA3))
The driving current from the transmitter is applied, or for receiving antennas the
output signal to the receiver is taken, between the two halves of the antenna. Each UHF half-wave dipole
side of the feedline to the transmitter or receiver is connected to one of the
conductors. This contrasts with a monopole antenna, which consists of a single rod or
conductor with one side of the feedline connected to it, and the other side connected to some
type of ground.[7] A common example of a dipole is the "rabbit ears" television antenna
found on broadcast television sets. All dipoles are electrically equivalent to two monopoles
mounted end-to-end and fed with opposite phases, with the ground plane between them
made "virtual" by the opposing monopole.
Dipole antenna used by the
The dipole is the simplest type of antenna from a theoretical point of view.[1] Most radar altimeter in an
commonly it consists of two conductors of equal length oriented end-to-end with the airplane
feedline connected between them. [8][9] Dipoles are frequently used as resonant antennas. If
the feedpoint of such an antenna is shorted, then it will be able to
resonate at a particular frequency, just like a guitar string that is
plucked. Using the antenna at around that frequency is advantageous
in terms of feedpoint impedance (and thus standing wave ratio), so its
length is determined by the intended wavelength (or frequency) of
operation.[2] The most commonly used is the center-fed half-wave
dipole which is just under a half-wavelength long. The radiation
pattern of the half-wave dipole is maximum perpendicular to the
conductor, falling to zero in the axial direction, thus implementing an
Animated diagram of a half-wave dipole antenna
omnidirectional antenna if installed vertically, or (more commonly) a
receiving a radio wave. The antenna consists of two
weakly directional antenna if horizontal.[10] metal rods connected to a receiver R. The electric field
(E, green arrows) of the incoming wave pushes the
Although they may be used as standalone low-gain antennas, dipoles electrons in the rods back and forth, charging the ends
are also employed as driven elements in more complex antenna alternately positive (+) and negative (−). Since the
designs[2][5] such as the Yagi antenna and driven arrays. Dipole length of the antenna is one half the wavelength of the
antennas (or such designs derived from them, including the wave, the oscillating field induces standing waves of
monopole) are used to feed more elaborate directional antennas such voltage (V, represented by the red band) and current in
the rods. The oscillating currents (black arrows) flow
as a horn antenna, parabolic reflector, or corner reflector. Engineers
down the transmission line and through the receiver
analyze vertical (or other monopole) antennas on the basis of dipole (represented by the resistance R).
antennas of which they are one half.

History
German physicist Heinrich Hertz first demonstrated the existence of radio waves in 1887 using what we now know as a
dipole antenna (with capacitative end-loading). On the other hand, Guglielmo Marconi empirically found that he could
just ground the transmitter (or one side of a transmission line, if used) dispensing with one half of the antenna, thus
realizing the vertical or monopole antenna.[7](p 3 (https://books.google.com/books?id=UYpV8L8GNCwC&pg=SA2-PA3)) For the low

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frequencies Marconi employed to achieve long-distance communications, this form was more practical; when radio
moved to higher frequencies (especially VHF transmissions for FM radio and TV) it was advantageous for these much
smaller antennas to be entirely atop a tower thus requiring a dipole antenna or one of its variations.

In the early days of radio, the thus-named Marconi antenna (monopole) and the doublet (dipole) were seen as distinct
inventions. Now, however, the "monopole" antenna is understood as a special case of a dipole which has a virtual
element "underground".

Dipole variations

Short dipole
1
A short dipole is a dipole formed by two conductors with a total length ℓ substantially less than a half wavelength ( 2 λ ).
Short dipoles are sometimes used in applications where a full half-wave dipole would be too large. They can be analyzed
easily using the results obtained below for the Hertzian dipole, a fictitious entity. Being shorter than a resonant antenna
(half wavelength long) its feedpoint impedance includes a large capacitive reactance requiring a loading coil or other
matching network in order to be practical, especially as a transmitting antenna.

To find the far-field electric and magnetic fields generated by a short dipole we use the result shown below for the
Hertzian dipole (an infinitesimal current element) at a distance r from the current and at an angle θ to the direction of
the current, as being:[11](p 213)

where the radiator consists of a current of over a short length ℓ and in electronics replaces the
customary mathematical symbol i for the "square root of −1". ω is the radian frequency ( ) and k is the
wavenumber ( ). ζ0 is the impedance of free space ( ), which is the ratio of a free space plane wave's
electric to magnetic field strength.

The feedpoint is usually at the center of the dipole as shown in the diagram. The current along
dipole arms are approximately described as proportional to where z is the distance to
the end of the arm. In the case of a short dipole, that is essentially a linear drop from at the
feedpoint to zero at the end. Therefore, this is comparable to a Hertzian dipole with an effective
current Ih equal to the average current over the conductor, so With that substitution,
the above equations closely approximate the fields generated by a short dipole fed by current

From the fields calculated above, one can find the radiated flux (power per unit area) at any point as the magnitude of the
real part of the Poynting vector, S, which is given by With E and H being at right angles and in phase, there
is no imaginary part and is simply equal to with the phase factors (the exponentials) cancelling out leaving:

We have now expressed the flux in terms of the feedpoint current I0 and the ratio of the short dipole's length ℓ to the
wavelength of radiation λ. The radiation pattern given by is seen to be similar to and only slightly less
directional than that of the half-wave dipole.

Using the above expression for the radiation in the far field for a given feedpoint current, we can integrate over all solid
angle to obtain the total radiated power.

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From that, it is possible to infer the radiation resistance, equal to the resistive (real)
part of the feedpoint impedance, neglecting a component due to ohmic losses. By
setting Ptotal to the power supplied at the feedpoint we find:
Radiation pattern of the short dipole
(dashed line) compared to the half-
wave dipole (solid line)

1 1
Again, these approximations become quite accurate for ℓ ≪ 2 λ . Setting ℓ = λ despite its use not quite being valid for
2
so large a fraction of the wavelength, the formula would predict a radiation resistance of 49 Ω, instead of the actual value
of 73 Ω produced by a half-wave dipole when more correct quarter-wave sinusoidal currents are used.

Dipole antennas of various lengths

The fundamental resonance of a thin linear conductor occurs at a frequency whose free-space wavelength is twice the
1
wire's length; i.e. where the conductor is 2 wavelength long. Dipole antennas are frequently used at around that
frequency and thus termed half-wave dipole antennas. This important case is dealt with in the next section.

Thin linear conductors of length are in fact resonant at any integer multiple of a half-wavelength:

where n is an integer, is the wavelength, and c is the reduced speed of radio waves in the radiating conductor

(c ≈ 97%×co, the speed of light). For a center-fed dipole, however, there is a great dissimilarity between n being odd or
being even. Dipoles which are an odd number of half-wavelengths in length have reasonably low driving point
impedances (which are purely resistive at that resonant frequency). However ones which are an even number of half-
wavelengths in length, that is, an integer number of wavelengths in length, have a high driving point impedance (albeit
purely resistive at that resonant frequency).

For instance, a full-wave dipole antenna can be made with two half-wavelength conductors placed end to end for a total
length of approximately This results in an additional gain over a half-wave dipole of about 2 dB. Full wave
dipoles can be used in short wave broadcasting only by making the effective diameter very large and feeding from a high
impedance balanced line. Cage dipoles are often used to get the large diameter.
5
A 4 -wave dipole antenna has a much lower but not purely resistive feedpoint impedance, which requires a matching
network to the impedance of the transmission line. Its gain is about 3 dB greater than a half-wave dipole, the highest gain
of any dipole of any similar length.

Gain of dipole antennas[11]

Length, Directive
in gain Notes
wavelengths (dBi)

≪ 0.5 1.76 Poor efficiency

0.5 2.15 Most common

1.0 4.0 Only with fat dipoles

1.25 5.2 Greatest gain

1.5 3.5 Third harmonic

2.0 4.3 Not used

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Other reasonable lengths of dipole do not offer advantages and are seldom used. However the overtone resonances of a
half-wave dipole antenna at odd multiples of its fundamental frequency are sometimes exploited. For instance, amateur
3
radio antennas designed as half-wave dipoles at 7 MHz can also be used as 2 -wave dipoles at 21 MHz; likewise VHF
television antennas resonant at the low VHF television band (centered around 65 MHz) are also resonant at the high
VHF television band (around 195 MHz).

Half-wave dipole
A half-wave dipole antenna consists of two quarter-wavelength
conductors placed end to end for a total length of approximately
1
ℓ = 2 λ . The current distribution is that of a standing wave,
approximately sinusoidal along the length of the dipole, with a
node at each end and an antinode (peak current) at the center
(feedpoint):[12](pp 98–99)

Animation of a transmitting half wave dipole showing the

2π 1 1 voltage (red, ) and current (blue, ) due
where k = and z runs from − ℓ to + ℓ. to the standing wave on the antenna. Since the standing
λ 2 2
wave is mainly storing energy, not transporting power, the
In the far field, this produces a radiation pattern whose electric current is not in phase with the voltage but 90° out of
field is given by[12](pp 98–99) phase. The transmission line applies an oscillating voltage
from the transmitter between the two antenna
elements, driving the sinusoidal oscillation. The feed
voltage step has been increased for visibility; typical
dipoles have a high enough Q factor that the feed voltage
is much smaller in relation to the standing wave. Since the
antenna is fed at its resonant frequency, the input voltage
The directional factor is very nearly the same as is in phase with the current (blue bar), so the antenna
sin θ applying to the short dipole, resulting in a very similar presents a pure resistance to the feedline. The energy
radiation pattern as noted above.[12](pp 98–99) from the driving current provides the energy radiated as
radio waves. In a receiving antenna the phase of the
voltage at the transmission line would be reversed, since
A numerical integration of the radiated power over all solid the receiver absorbs energy from the antenna.
angle, as we did for the short dipole, obtains a value for the total
power Ptotal radiated by the dipole with a current having a peak
value of I0 as in the form specified above. Dividing Ptotal by supplies the flux at a large distance, averaged over all
directions. Dividing the flux in the θ = 0 direction (where it is at its peak) at that large distance by the average flux, we
find the directive gain to be 1.64 . This can also be directly computed using the cosine integral:

(2.15 dBi)

( The Cin(x) form of the cosine integral is not the same as the Ci(x) form; they differ by a logarithm. Both MATLAB
and Mathematica have inbuilt functions which compute Ci(x), but not Cin(x). See the Wikipedia page on cosine
integral for the relationship between these functions. )

We can now also find the radiation resistance as we did for the short dipole by solving:

to obtain:

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Using the induced EMF method,[11](p 224)

the real part of the driving point impedance can also be written in terms of the
cosine integral, obtaining the same result:

If a half-wave dipole is driven at a point other the center, then the feed point resistance will be higher. The radiation
resistance is usually expressed relative to the maximum current present along an antenna element, which for the half-
wave dipole (and most other antennas) is also the current at the feedpoint. However, if the dipole is fed at a different
point at a distance x from a current maximum (the center in the case of a half-wave dipole), then the current there is not
I0 but only I0 cos( k x ) .

In order to supply the same power, the voltage at the feedpoint has to be similarly increased by the factor sec( k x ) .
Consequently, the resistive part of the feedpoint impedance is increased[11](p 227) by the factor sec2( k x ) :

This equation can also be used for dipole antennas of any length, provided that Rradiation has been computed relative to
the current maximum, which is not generally the same as the feedpoint current for dipoles longer than half-wave. Note
that this equation breaks down when feeding an antenna near a current node, where cos( k x ) approaches zero. The
driving point impedance does indeed rise greatly, but is nevertheless limited due to higher order components of the
elements' not-quite-exactly-sinusoidal current, which have been ignored above in the model for the current
distribution.[11](p 228)

Folded dipole
A folded dipole is a half-wave dipole with an additional parallel wire connecting its two ends. If the additional wire has
the same diameter and cross-section as the dipole, two nearly identical radiating currents are generated. The resulting
far-field emission pattern is nearly identical to the one for the single-wire dipole described above, but at resonance its
feedpoint impedance is four times the radiation resistance of a single-wire dipole.

A folded "dipole" is, technically, a folded full-wave loop antenna, where the loop has been bent at opposing ends and
squashed into two parallel wires in a flat line. Although the broad bandwidth, high feedpoint impedance, and high
efficiency are characteristics more similar to a full loop antenna, the folded dipole's radiation pattern is more like an
ordinary dipole. Since the operation of a single halfwave dipole is easier to understand, both full loops and folded dipoles
are often described as two halfwave dipoles in parallel, connected at the ends.

The high feedpoint impedance at resonance is because for a fixed amount of power, the total radiating current
is equal to twice the current in each wire separately and thus equal to twice the current at the feed point. We equate the
average radiated power to the average power delivered at the feedpoint, we may write

where is the lower feedpoint impedance of the resonant halfwave dipole. It follows that

Half-wave folded dipoles are often used for FM radio antennas; versions made with twin lead which can be hung on an
inside wall often come with FM tuners. The T2FD antenna is a folded dipole. They are also widely used as driven
elements for rooftop Yagi television antennas.

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