A Design of MultiBand Antenna using Three

Orthogonal Half-Wave Dipole with Meandering

Effect
Shridhar K Galande #1, B.C.Joshi*2, R.A.Patil #3
Second Year M.Tech Wired and Wireless communication
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication,
College of Engineering Pune,
Wellesely Road, Shivaji Nagar, Pune 411005 Maharashtra, India
1

galandeshridhar@gmail.com
3 rap.extc@coep.ac.in

*
National Centre for radio Astrophysics, Pune
Pune University Campus, Post Bag 3, Ganeshkhind P.O., Pune 411007
Maharashtra, India
2

bcj@ncra.tifr.res.in

Abstract At low-frequencies antenna physical size are high in

terms of tens of meter and bandwidth is significantly low as
compared to operating frequency. In case of dipole antennas,
bandwidth is nearly 7% of central frequency. For wide band
operation at the low frequencies, use of different half-wave dipole
antennas and design at different operating frequencies is
preferred. Fundamentally dipoles resonate at odd harmonics, so
using this property of dipole a prototype is designed to improve
antenna bandwidth. For physical size, meandering concept of
dipole is used to adjust the resonant frequency while preferably
maintaining the physical size as a means of improving the
antenna radiation resistance, which in turn improves the
radiation efficiency. Addition of bends is one such technique for
increasing the electrical size of a dipole antenna as well as
shifting the resonant frequency while maintaining the same
overall physical length of the dipole. This paper presents the
simulation analysis done through CAD-FEKO software for
detection of coronal mass ejections from the sun.
Keywords - Coronal mass ejections, Dipole antenna, harmonic
frequency, meanders.

I. INTRODUCTION
Antenna designers have a challenge to design an antenna
at low-frequency applications. As the frequency is inversely
proportional to the wavelength, antenna operating in the MF,
HF and VHF frequency band can be up to several meters in
length [1]. Such antennas are impractical to use for indoor
applications. Practically electrical length of resonant dipole is
slightly less than half of the wavelength of frequency of
operation. A dipole resonance occurs at the length at which its
impedance has no reactance only resistance at the frequency
of operation [2]. Low-frequency antennas are electrically
small with low radiation resistance and narrow bandwidth as
compared to its centre frequency [3].
Dipole antennas have been widely used since the early
days of radio applications because of simplicity and

effectiveness. The lowest frequency at which dipole is

resonant is known as its fundamental frequency. The property
of half-wavelength dipole is resonant at odd multiples of the
fundamental resonant frequency. These higher frequency
resonances are known as harmonic resonances. Generally
bandwidth of dipole antenna has significantly lower. Proposed
design is of three dipole antennas with bends, shifting the
resonant frequency downward to get a wide frequency band
with same overall physical length but increased electrical
length [2]. These all dipole antennas are resonant at their odd
harmonics to get multi band frequency pattern. The
cumulative pattern of these multi band forms a wide band or
cover a large frequency range.
II. BACKGROUND
In this case, considered three dipole antennas are
orthogonal to each other and operating each at different
frequencies. This is easy to place three dipole antennas in 3dimensional view.
A.

Three dipoles
In the design of three dipole antennas orthogonal to each
other and symmetric about origin, excitation of each antenna
is independent of others. Physical size of dipole antenna at the
frequency of operation is high with narrower bandwidth.

Fig.1.Structure of three dipole antenna orthogonal to each other

Also, the design consisting of three dipole antennas have

quadrature phase shift in one of the dipole and others have no
phase shift in excitation to achieve circular polarization at
radiation pattern. The physical structure is as shown in fig 1.
B.

Meandering Effect
A meandering concept comes from the basic folded antenna
to include a large number of fold elements in various linear
patterns. Folding the elements in a meander produces
resonances at frequencies much lower than the resonances of a
single-element antenna of equal length [2]. Simply adding
bends to a straight line dipole antenna (SLDA), produces a
meandered-line dipole antenna (MLDA). It is an effective way
to shift the resonant frequency of an antenna downwards
without increasing its overall mechanical size. Fig 2 shows the
SLDA and MLDA with a single arm. Instead of designing
straight dipoles the meandered dipoles are designed with each
antenna operating at different frequencies.
Kraus and others have also shown that the radiation resistance
and the input impedance of a bending antenna can be quite
high and made even higher by the addition of more bend
elements [2],[3].

Fig.2. One arm of SLDA (length L) compared to one arm of MLDA

(segment length l) [1]

This is a method to improve radiation resistance as well as

the radiation efficiency of electrically small antenna while
maintaining the same physical length of the antenna. By
increasing the number of bends in straight line the resonant
frequency shifts downwards and increases radiation resistance
[1]. The same meandering concept used in three dipole
antenna to get multi band frequencies.
CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS (CMEs)
Coronal Mass Ejections are massive burst of solar wind
and magnetic field rising above the solar corona being
released into space, in which large amount of superheated
particles are emitted at speed varies from 20 Km/s to 3200
Km/s with average speed is of 489 Km/s of light. Most
Ejections originate from the active regions on the Sun's
surface. Frequency range of Ejection of CMEs from the sun is
up to 30 MHz. Designers have a challenge to design antenna
to detect the CMEs.

A. Three dipole antenna without considering meandering

effect
They all are resonant at their odd harmonics up to several
MHz to get multiband frequencies. The dipoles designed at
1MHz, 2MHz, and 3MHz successively to get multi band of
frequencies, Reflection coefficients of designing antennas are
as shown in fig. 3.

Fig.3. Reflection coefficient of three dipole antennas without meandering

effect.

B. Three dipole antennas with considering meandering effect

The strongest effect on the resonant frequency is observed
at low values of N [2]. This will shift resonant frequency
downwards up to 60% of operating frequency.For design
simplicity purpose, we used one meander (N=1) and they are
resonant at their odd harmonics up to several MHz to get
multiband frequencies. Suppose, dipole designed at 5 MHz it
will resonate at 3 MHz due to meandering effect (N=1), same
technique used here to design all three dipoles. Reflection
coefficients of designing antennas are not perfectly resonating.
It will resonate after keeping some distance between two
dipole antennas. Reflection coefficients of designing antennas
are as shown in fig. 4

C.

III. SIMULATIONS
Proposed design of three dipole antennas at three different
operating frequencies with and without considering
meandering effect are shown below.

Fig.4. Reflection coefficient of three dipole antennas with meandering

effect

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Required reflection coefficient of antenna below -10 dB
means good matching .This paper shows the multi band
antenna with a reflection coefficient below the -10dB. In
above case of meandering effect the antennas dont resonate
perfectly because of mutual coupling between successive

meandering dipole segments. There is a need to arrange dipole

as well as number of meanders in such a way to get resonant
at operating frequencies. Arrangements of the dipoles are
most crucial part of this paper to achieve wide band, gain,
radiation pattern as well as circular polarization.
V. CONCLUSION
For detection of CMEs at low frequencies up to 30MHz,
dipole antenna is the best choice but dipole has narrow
bandwidth as well large physical size at those frequencies. To
overcome these inconveniences by using three dipoles with
meandering effect is a good solution. Three dipole antennas
are resonating at their odd harmonics to get multiband of
frequencies. Use of meandering is more beneficial for shifting
the resonant frequency while preferably maintaining the
physical size as a means of improving the antenna radiation
resistance as well electrical length.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is supported in part by the National Center for
Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune.
REFERENCES
[1] Constantine A. Balanis, ANTENNA THEORY ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN, 3rd ed, Published by John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
[2] Olusola O. Olaode, Member, IEEE, W. Devereux Palmer, Senior
Member, IEEE, and William T. Joines, Life Fellow, IEEE Effects of
meandering on dipole antenna resonant frequency IEEE ANTENNAS
AND WIRELESS PROPAGATION LETTERS, VOL. 11, 2012
[3] Thomas J. Warnagiris, Senior Member, IEEE, and Thomas J. Minardo
Performance of a Meandered Line as an Electrically Small
Transmitting Antenna IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS
AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 46, NO. 12, DECEMBER 1998
[4] Olusola O. Olaode, Member, IEEE, W. Devereux Palmer, Fellow,
IEEE, and William T. Joines, Life Fellow, IEEE Characterization of
Meander Dipole Antennas with a Geometry-Based, FrequencyIndependent Lumped Element Mode IEEE ANTENNAS AND
WIRELESS PROPAGATION LETTERS, VOL. 11, 2012