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TRs SPIRBL AwTZNNA*

R. Bawer and J. J. Wolfe


Aero Geo Astro Corporation
Alexandria,Virginia
The purpose of this paper i s four-fold:

summary

-(1) To presentexperimentaldata canp i l e d fran many antennas operating under a wide


v a r i e t y of conditions and t o i n t e r p r e t t h e s e results i n l i g h t of t h e band theory,
(2) To emphasize thoseaspects and
parameters which s i g n i f i c a n t l y a f f e c t t h e opera t i o n of t h e antenna,
(3) To place the spiral antenna i n its
proper perspective with regard t o w h a t characteri s t i c s may be reasonably expected in p r a c t i c a l
situations, and f i n a l l y ,
(4) To emphasize some of thequestions
which arise in explaining the antenna behavior in
t h e hope t h a t sane of the readers may p a r t i c i p a t e
in furthering the understanding and c l a r i f y i n g
some of t h e u n c e r t a i n t i e s i n t h e d e s i g n of these
antennas.

A simplified description of the radiation mechanism of t h e s p i r a l a n t e n n a i s given, and t h e


e f f e c t s of the various parameters on t h e charact e r i s t i c s of t h e cavity-backed Archimedian spiral
arediscussed.Experimentaldataillustratingthe
e f f e c t of cavity diameter, cavity depth, conductor
loading, and s p i r a l r a t e of growth are offered as
designguides.Finally,aspiralantenna
and bal
u
n feedaredescribed.
Over anoctavefrequency
range, e l l i p t i c i t y r a t i o s of l e s s t h a n 3 dbhave
than
teen maintained over azimuth angles greater
-60 degrees, boresight errors havebeen v i r t u a l l y
eliminated, and standing wave r a t i o s of l e s s t h a n
2:l have been realized.

-I.

Introduction

11.
-

The s p i r a l h a s been extensively used in arrays and sc anning12tennas as well as an i s o l a t e d


I ns p i t e of i t s wideuse,
radiating element
however, t h e r e are many f a c e t s of i t s o eration
which s t i l l remain unexplained.
Curtis
and more
recently Rumsey7, have attempted a mathematical
results
description of these antennas, but their
a r e f a r from t h e form which might be readily used
by engineers.

Theory

O f t h e v a r i e t y of possible spiral configurations, only three have received wide attention:


the logarithmic or equiangular spiral, t h e Archimedian o r a r i t h m e t i c s p i r a l , and the rectangular
counterpart of t h e Archimedian s p i r a l . These
shapes, formed by photo-etching the geometric
form
on a copper-clad d i e l e c t r i c base material, are ill u s t r a t e d in Figure l. The radiating element may
consist of e i t h e r one o r two conductors t o form a
singleordouble
spiral. "he dual-ann s p i r a l is
samewhatmore predictable, having better charact e r i s t i c s t h a n t h e s i n g l e ann antenna, and i s
generally preferred at frequencies below about
5000 mc. A s theoperatingfrequency
i s increased,
however,.the physical size of the antenna becomes
so s m a l l t h a t mechanical considerations finally
favor the single arm configuration.

E,

Since the spiral antenna was introduced by


E. M. Turner a t WADC i n 1954, i t s development has
been completely empirical
and i t s theorg i s almost
e n t i r e l yi t a t i v e
andbased
on t h e band theory
of B u r d i n e I n r e c e n t y e a r s , numerous a r t i c l e s
on spiral antennas have appeared i n t h e l i t e r a t w e .
With the exception of Eysonb9 workon the logaall of the investigators
rithmic spiral antenna,
have been primarily concerned with applications
which make use of t h e unique properties of the
Archimedian s p i r a l antennas.

When excited frm a balanced two-wire transmission line, these configurations exhibit
broadband c h a r a c t e r i s t i c w i t h r e s p e c t t o i n p u t impedance, radiation pattern, and c i r c u l a r p o l a r i a a t k n
of the radiated field. Since the
dual-annArchimedian s p i r a l p o s s e s s e s t h e g r e a t e s t symmetrg,
o n l y this form i s discussed; many of the results,
however, a r e d i r e c t l y a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e o t h e r
shapes.

After studying the available literature,


it
soon becomes evident that some of the basic chara c t e r i s t i c s and l i m i t a t i o n s have been overlooked
and t h e r e e x i s t s a d e f i n i t e need t o review the
s t a t u s of t h e s p i r a l antenna. It shouldbe c l e a w
ly understood that manyof the ideas presented are
not new, but have appeared in one form or other
h
a
t
among t h e c o l l e c t i v e works of many authors. W
i s new, however, i s t h e a t t e m p t t o j u s t i f y t h e experimental results i n t e r n of t h e s p i r a l antenna
band theory. The m a i n j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r this
action (and possibly the only v a l i d one) is t h e
i n t u i t i v e i n s i g h t i n t o t h e o p e r a t i o n and t h e design problems which results.

Although there i s no mathematical basis f o r


t h e % a n d 1 ' description of radiation from t h e
Archimedian s p i r a l , two f a c t o r s have contributed
t o i t s acceptance. First, the theorg i s i n good
accord with experimental observation; and second,
the theory.is easily understood and compatible
with intuitive reasoning.
The point of view i s
taken that t h e dual-ann spiral antenna behaves as
though it were a two-wire transmission line which%
gradually transfonned into a radiating structure.
Allowable radiation bands exist f o r all c i r c l e s
whose circumference is a n i n t e g r a l number of wavelengths; only two radiation modes will be

....................
*"hework reported i n this paper was sponsored @
t h e Airborne Instruments Laboratory, Division of
Cutler-iIammer,Inc.,
P.O.No.
6468 under Air Force
Contract No. AF'33(600)-37829.

84

discussed, one which produces a single lobe radia t i o n p a t t e r n w i t h a maximum along the axis of t h e
s p i r a l , w h i l e t h e second produces a split-beam
pattern with a n u l l on-axis.
The fundamental or
normal mode will be described first.

opposite are out of phase since the elements are


now separatedby one wavelength. Moreover, t h e
primed and unprimed current elements are out of
phase, hence t h e r a d i a t i o n p a t t e r n h a s a n u l l
along the a x i s normal t o t h e plane of t h e spiral.
And f i n a l l y , t h e r a d i a t i o n i s c i r c u l a r l y p o l a r i z e d
i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e spiral a x i s and e l l i p t i cally polarized for off-axis angles.

Consider an isolated, tightly


wound, dualarm s p i r a l element i n which t h e two arms are exc i t e d by currents of equal amplitude and 180 degreesout of phase(Figure2).
I n t h e v i c i n i t y of,
and f o r some distance removed from the origin, the
currents in adjacent conductors are out
of phase
so t h a t l i t t l e o r no radiationoccurs.
As one
proceeds f u r t h e r away from the origin along the
curves, t h e phase relationship between the currents in adjacent conductors becomes random s o
that the net radiated energy in this region
is
small. T h i s s i t u a t i o n p e r s i s t s u n t i l a diameter
corresponding t o a c i r c l e of circumference equal
t o one wavelength i s approached. I n t h e neighborhoodof t h i s diameter the current i n adjacent arms
are i n phase . a n d t h e c o n d i t i o n f o r e f f i c i e n t r a d i ation exists.

111. Antenna Parameters

For t h e dual-arm Archimedian spiral, f o u r


curves define the boundaries of t h e two conductors.
The equations are of the fonn
p = a e + b

where p and 8 are conventionalpolarcoordinates, and a and barearbitraryconstants.


A l l four curves have the
same v a l u e f o r t h e rate
of growth parameter a, b u td i f f e r e n tv a l u e s
of
theparameter
b. Ingeneral,the
second conduct o r i s generated by r o t a t i n g t h e first conductor
180 degreesabouttheorigin.
If b l and b2
are the parameters of two curves which define one
ann of t h e s p i r a l , t h e n
W = b2
is the
width of t h e conductor. In generaltheparameters
a r e chosen s o t h a t t h e antenna i s s e l f complementary, i.e., the conductor width i s equal t o t h e
a and
spacing between conductors.For
t h i sc a s e
kr s a t i s f yt h er e l a t i o n s h i p
a = 2W/n.

Let t h ev e c t o r s
A and A' of Figure 2
represent differential current elements a t two
diametrically opposite points on t h e same conducA A I
i s exactly
t o r , such t h a tt h ea r cl e n g t h
equal t o one-halfwavelength.
The currentvectors
A and AI a r ei n phasesincethevector
A' is
d i r e c t e do p p o s i t et ot h ev e c t o r
A by v i r t u e of
t h e geometry plus an additional 180 degrees due t o
AA'. Corresponding t o t h e c u r r e n t
t h ea r cl e n g t h
element A, t h e r e i s an
element
B on t h e second
conductorhaving t h e same r e l a t i v e phase. The
A
element B i s diametricallyoppositeelement
and equidistant from theorigin.
It therefore
A,
followsthatthedifferentialcurrentvectors
B, and B' a r ec o l i n e a r and of t h e same
A',
direction. On .extending this reasoning, it f o l lows t h a t t h e r e i s a band of f i n i t e breadth having
a mean diameter of X/n i n which the current elements in adjacent conductor are in phase, or nearl y so. This i s t h e first radiation band.

-bli

The most common applications of s p i r a l antennas have occurred where f l u s h mounting, l a r g e


bandwidths, c i r c u l a r p o l a r i z a t i o n , and small s i z e
a r e needed. I n n e a r l y all of these applications
t h e b i d i r e c t i o n a l r a d i a t i o n p a t t e r n of t h e s p i r a l
this reason, t h e most
element i s undesirable.For
familiar configuration consists of a spiral element mounted a t t h e mouth of a closed-back cavity.
From a design point of view t h e problem is t o est a b l i s h t h e optimum parameters,i.e.,conductor
spacing, spiral r a t e of growth, s p i r a l diameter,
Unfortucavity dimensions, and feedstructure.
nately, a complete solution has not been obtained;
i n s t e a d , t h e e f f e c t s of the various parameters are
described i n terms of t h e band theorg, and sane
experimentalverification i s given. The experimental data, together with consistent explanations,
should serve as a guide t o f u r t h e r performance improvements.

To eachgroup of d i f f e r e n t i a l c u r r e n t e l e ments lying within the radiating band and on a


diameter, there exists
a corresponding group which
is i n time and space quadrature t o t h e first;
therefore, the radiation
i s circularly polarized.

In summary, a s p i r a l antenna i n which the two


arms are excited by currents having 180 degree
phase relationship will r a d i a t e from a band of
theradiationpatmean diameter equal t o X/n,
t e r n will be b i d i r e c t i o n a l and c i r c u l a r l y p o l a r ized according t o t h e winding sense of t h e
i s t h e normal o r fundamental mode
spirals.This
and i s t h e one i n which nearly all spiral antennas
are designed t o operate.

CavityorSpiral
Eiameter
- --A.

For s p i r a ld i a n e t e r s smaller t h v l X/n,


the
simple band theory t e l l s us t h a t t h e antenna gain
shouldbe low, increasing with diameter, and
assymptotically approaching some upper limit f o r
diameters much g r e a t e rt h a n X/n.
This i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e hA i n which the absolute on-axis
s p i r a l antenna gain, r e l a t i v e t o a l i n e a r i s o t r o pic source and normalized t o t h e average axial
r a t i o , i s shown for various diameter over
wavel e n g t hr a t i o s .
The curverepresents a compila t i o n of data taken on a l a r g e number of s p i r a l
antennas operating over the frequency range
of
about 200 t o 4000 mc/sec.

A similar l i n e of reasoning can be used t o


This mode of
describethesecondradiation
radiation w i l l be dominant when the input terminals of t h e s p i r a l a r e e x c i t e d i n phase as i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 3. For t h i s case, efficient
radiation will first occur from a bandwhosemean
In c o n t r a s tt ot h ep r e v i o u s
circumference i s
case, differential current elements diametrically

band.

2h.

85

( 3 ) Too great a cavity diameter results


i n p a t t e r n d i s t o r t i o n due t o h i g h e r o r d e r mode ex-

When t h e s p i r a l o u t e r t e r m i n a l s are e i t h e r
short-circuited or l e f t open-circuited the band
theory t e l l s us t h a t t h e axial r a t i o should become
progressively larger as t h e s p i r a l d i a m e t e r is reduced, approaching l i n e a r p o l a r i z a t i o n as t h e spiral d e g e n e r a t e s t o a simpledipole.
This e f f e c t
i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e b.

c i t a t i o n of t h e c a v i t y a n d / o r t h e t h i r d r a d i a t i n g
band.
Cavity Depth
-B. -The e f f e c t of cavity depth on the gain of t h e
spiral antenna i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 6; again
t h e measured gain has been normalized t o t h e average axial r a t i o and i s corrected for input V W R .
This data clearly illustrates the
second limitat i o n of the operating bandwidth of a cavity-backed
s p i r a l antenna.Interms
of tolerablereduction
i n g a i n a t t h e band edges, say 3 db, the usable
antenna bandwidth i s limited t o about 3.3:1 due t o
t h e c a v i t y depth.

By way of explanation, recall that energy


t r a v e r s i n g t h e s p i r a l outward from t h e o r i g i n will
be radiated as circular polarization, say
clockwise.
The percentage of the input energy which is
radiated on this "first pass" i s r e l a t e d t o t h e
physicaldiameter of t h e s p i r a l .
That energy
which i s not radiated proceeds on t o t h e t e r m i n a l s
where it i s r e f l e c t e d and directed back t o t h e
some is again
origin. O f theenergyreflected,
or counter-clockwise
radiated (but in the reverse
sense) and t h e remainder appears a t t h e i n p u t
terminals. The s i t u a t i o n now exists i n which t h e
s p i r a l i s r a d i a t i n g c i r c u l a r l y p o l a r i z e d energy of
a clockwise sense and at t h e same tine i s radiatingenergy of a counter-clockwisesense.
The net
e f f e c t i s t h a t t h e r e s u l t a n t f i e l d w i l l be e l l i p t i c a l l y p o l a r i z e d , o r i n t h e extreme case in which
D .e X/n,
e s s e n t i a l l yl i n e a r .

The e f f e c t of the cavity depth on t h e behavi o r of t h e spiral antenna i s seen t o be analogous


a ground plane. I n terms of
tothedipoleover
is proporthe dipole behavior, the on-axis gain
D i s t h ed i p o l et o
t i o n a lt o
sin(2rrD/X),
where
ground-planespacing.
Thus, thegaingradually
i n c r e a s e s t o a maximum a t a spacing of Xh and
t h e r e a f t e r d e c r e a s e s t o a minimum a t a spacing of
X/2
corresponding t o a split beam pattern with a
null on-axis.

It i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o c o n s i d e r t h e e f f e c t of
terminating the spiral outer ends with resistors
orabsorbing material. The most dramatic result
i s t h e improvement i n a x i a l r a t i o f o r small D/X
r a t i o s as shown i n Figure 5. Note t h a t t h e anT h i s retennagain i s unaffected by the loading.
sult i s primarily due t o t h e manner i n which t h e
gain was normalized; i.e.,
it was normalized t o
theaverage axial r a t i o . The explanation of these
r e s u l t s f o l l o w s d i r e c t l y from the previous discussion. The poor a x i a l r a t i o results from"second
pass" radiation which i s of the reverse sense. For
a given polarization, this f i e l d e i t h e r adds t o o r
subtracts from t h e main o r first pass radiation,
a l t e r i n g t h e axial ratio while leaving the nomalized gain unchanged.

S p i r a l Rate ofGrowth
-C. ----

It will be r e c a l l e d t h a t t h e development of
t h e simple theory merely required that t h e spiral
be t i g h t l y wound; i.e., a small r a t e of growth.
Intuitively, one might e x p e c t t h a t f o r an annular
r i n g of given width and mean diameter equal t o
X/.,
an increasepercentage of the input power
w i l l be radiated f r m this r i n g as t h e numberof
t u r n s i s increased. Less power i s thenavailable
a t t h e mter terminals of t h e spira3, and consei n the radiated field
quently, the total energy
having a reversedsense i s reduced. The axial
r a t i o should, therefore, be
reduced as t h e s p i r a l
i s woundmore t i g h t l y .

Thus f a r no mention has been made of t h e


actualcavitydiameter.
Certainly, t h ec a v i t y
diameter must be equal t o o r g r e a t e r t h a n t h e s p i r a l diameter and, i n f a c t , n e a r l y a l l s p i r a l antennas are built with equal spiral
and cavity
diameters. If the cavity diameter i s made t o o
large, higher order coaxial and/or
waveguide modes
nay be e x c i t e d i n t h e c a v i t y which would result i n
p a t t e r n d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e cavit y resonances. S t i l l + o t h e r l i m i t a t i o n
on t h e
spiral diameter i s t h e t h i r d r a d i a t i n g band which
appears when thecircumference i s 3X. Using t h e
same reasoning as before, one can describe i t s
radiation, and then determine the nature
of t h e
n e t p a t t e r n which would result if both first and
third band radiation exist.

The reduced a x i a l r a t i o h a s been experimentallyverified.


The chiefquestion which still
remains relates t o t h e e f f e c t of increasing the
numberof t u r n s on the antenna gain; the reduced
axial r a t i o could a l s o be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e add i t i o n a l loss a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e i n c r e a s e i n t h e
e l e c t r i c a l l e n g t h of t h e antenna. Measurements
madeon s e v e r a l s p i r a l s h a v i n g d i f f e r e n t rates of
growthhave not shown s u f f i c i e n t l y d i f f e r e n t g a i n s
t o warrant a positive conclusion.

It appears that a conclusion compatible with


the intuitive reasoning canbe drawn f r o m t h e d a t a
shown i n Figure 7. These curves were obtained by
very carefully probing the electric field along
the surface of two s p i r a l antennas. Note t h a t f o r
a given radial distance, more energy i s associated
with the spiral having the greatest
number of
turns; therefore, the reduction in
axial r a t i o is
not associated with a corresponding reduction i n
gain.

I n summary, it can be s t a t e d t h a t :
(1) The cavitydiametershould
be chosen equal t o t h e s p i r a l diameter.
( 2 ) Too small a cavity diameter results
i n reduced gain,increased VS'&
and increased
ellipticity ratio.

86

-D.

Dielectric

fed from a 50 ohm l i n e , it appears that a r a t i o


other than unity would be more d e s i r a b l e . I n
other words, t h e impedance matching problem might
be greatly simplified if the input impedance of
t h e s p i r a l a n t e n n a were reduced by making t h e rat i o of conductor width t o conductor spacing somewhat greater than unity.

Material

There has been some confusion as to the chara c t e r i s t i c s of t h e d i e l e c t r i c b a s e material which


should be used for these printed circuit antennas.
I n p a r t i c u l a r , it was observed that f o r a given
a p e r t u r e s i z e and numberof turns, lower axial rat i o s are obtained using epoxy f i b e r g l a s s
(tan 6 = .02) as opposed t o t e f l o n f i b e r g l a s s
( t a n 6 = .002).

-F.

The entire operation of t h e s p i r a l a n t e m a i n


i t s noma1 mode was postulated on t h e b a s i s of an
Kow
ideal, balanced, two-wire feedstructure.
c o n s i d e r t h e e f f e c t s of a p r a c t i c a l f e e d system
and assume t h a t t h e f e e d itself does not radiate.
For i f the feed does radiate as a monopole, t h e
f a r f i e l d p a t t e r n will consist of the feed radia t i o n ( l i n e a r p o l a r i z a t i o n ) and t h e spiral radiation (circular polarization); the resultant patt e r n will be elliptically polarized, asymmetrical
axis, and with appreciwith respect to the spiral
able boresight error.

One explanation of these observations follows


d i r e c t l y from the previous discussion.
We have
already noted that axial r a t i o s g r e a t e r t h a n unity
have been a t t r i b u t e d t o r e f l e c t i o n s from the spiral outer terminals which a r e r a d i a t e d w i t h t h e
loss
"wrong" sense.Consequently,increasingthe
i n t h e p a r a l l e l t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e w i l l reduce the
energy available for reflection.
S t i l l a n o t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n i s based on t h e
fact that an increased l o s s tangent i s generally
associated with an increased dielectric constant.
Consequently, t h e phase velocity of t h e s u r f a c e
wave might be reduced, thereby effectively enlargi n g t h e e l e c t r i c a l s i z e of t h e antenna.

There are two cases which should be considered: (a)


The case i n which t h e two-wire l i n e s
are carrying currents 180 degrees out o f phase but
of unequalamplitudes; and (b) The case i n which
a
t h e c u r r e n t s are of equal amplitude but with
phase relationship other than 180 degrees. Both
of these can be t r e a t e d by r e c a l l i n g t h e first two
s p i r a l r a d i a t i n g modes: the noma1 mode a r i s i n g
from an odd excitation (plus-minus) and t h e s p l i t beammode a r i s i n g from an even excitation (plusplus). Two currentvectors of a r b i t r a r y amplitude
and phase can always be resolved
i n t o f o u r vect o r s , two which a r e i n phase, and two which a r e i n
phaseopposition.Therefore,anyamplitudeor
phase e r r o r i n t h e f e e d can be treated as a l i n e a r
superposition of even and odd excitations.

There are two f a c t o r s which tend t o f a v o r t h e


First, data on spiralantennas
formerpostulate.
printed on high dielectric constant material have
indicated only very small reductions in antenna
size. And second, thephasevelocity
of t h e
printed two-wire transmission line formed by t h e
s p i r a l conductors i s n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t
from t h a t of free space regardless of the dielect r i c c o n s t a n t of the base material.
If t h e conductors were completely embedded i n t h e d i e l e c t r i q
t h e s i t u a t i o n would be somewhat d i f f e r e n t ; however, any improvement would probably be more than
o f f s e t by the decrease in antenna gain.

The energy i n t h e odd e x c i t a t i o n w i l l r a d i a t e


a t a diameter of X/n,
whiletheenergy
in the
even e x c i t a t i o n will r a d i a t e a t a diameter of
2X/n.
If the diameter of the spiral
i s l a r g e enough t o support both modes, the resulting radia t i o n f i e l d will be t h e s u p e m o s i t i o n of a nom-al
beam and a two-lobed beam with a n u l l on-axis.
Since the relative phase of t h e e l e c t r i c f i e l d i n
the lobes of the two-lobed p a t t e r n i s 180 degrees,
t h e f i e l d s of t h e two modes will tend t o add on
The
one s i d e of t h e axis and cancel on theother.
e f f e c t i s that t h e p a t t e r n c u t s a r e no longer spmetrical with respect t o t h e axis, but are skewed
t o produce a boresight error or pattern squint.

In order to obtain experimental verification


of t h e above reasoning, a check was made a t 1000
mc on two s p i r a l antennas which were i d e n t i c a l exceptforthedielectricbasematerial.
The t e f l o n
1/2 db
fiberglass antenna appeared to have about
more gain than the epoxy f i b e r g l a s s unit (X?D!A
grade G10). Since t h i s measured difference might
well be w i t h i n t h e limits of experimental error, a
t h i r d antenna was f a b r i c a t e d i n which t h e s p i r a l
was printed on both sides of t h e t e f l o n b a s e
material. The r e s u l t i n g i n c r e a s e i n g a i n
of one
db over the epoxy unit i s s i g n i f i c a n t and lends
f u r t h e r credence t o t h e f i r s t explanation.

-E.

Antenna Feed
--

In t h e e v e n t t h a t t h e s p i r a l d i a m e t e r
i s not
l a r g e enough t o support the split-beam radiation
mode, t h a t p o r t i o n of t h e energy contained i n t h e
even e x c i t a t i o n will be reflected and appear a t
the input as an increased VSWR unless it i s absorbed a t t h e s p i r a l o u t e r t e n n i n a l s .

Conductor FJidth and Spacing

O f all t h e s p i r a l antenna parameters, t h e


conductor width and conductor spacing appear t o be
t h e least c r i t i c a l ; t h e major consideration being
t o o b t a i n t h e m a x i m u m number of turns within the
are conallocated space. I ng e n e r a l ,t h es p i r a l s
structed s o that t h e r a t i o of conductor width t o
conductor spacing i s unity; i.e., the antenna
is
self-ccnnplementary.
For the most p a r t , it seems
t h i s c h o i c e i s based on precedent, and probably
stems from t h e f a c t t h a t t h e i n p u t impedance of
t h i s c l a s s of antennas has been calculated
t o be
about 180 ohms. Sincetheantenna i s generally

In summary, improper e x c i t a t i o n of t h e spiral


antenna can give rise t o p a t t e r n dissymmetry and
w i l l occur i f the feed
patternsquint.Squint
l i n e s themselves radiate or i f t h e two-wire feed
l a t t e r case, however,
l i n e i s notbalanced.Inthe
squint will be observed only i f t h e s p i r a l diamet e r is s u f f i c i e n t l y l a r g e t o s u p p o r t t h e s p l i t 87

beammode.
T h i s s i t u a t i o n i s easily recognized by
noting a sylrrmetrical p a t t e r n a t t h e low frequenc i e s w i t h a gradual dissymmetry occurring a t the
higher frequencies.
Square Versus Round S p i r a l
-G. ----

In all of the previous discussions only t h e


conventional Archimedian o r round spiral was considered. It i s w e l l known, however, that similar
arguments can be used
t o describe the behavior of
the square counterpart of t h e Archimedian s p i r a l .
'Zistorically, workon square spirals considerably
This resulted,
lagged thecircularconfiguration.
no doubt, from t h e p e r f e c t l y normal aversion t o
t h e tremendous number of apparent discontinuities
i n t h e squareconfiguration.
However, the magnitude of t h e s e d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s i s small, and t h e
spacing between them i s small and progressively
distributed in the region prior to the radiating
band. Within the radiating band, the discontinuities are spaced very nearly one-quarter wavelength
a p a r t so that t h e r e f l e c t e d components cancel.
A comparison of a square and round s p i r a l i s
shown i n Figure 8. The d i f f e r e n c e i n measured
gains may be explained by r e c a l l i n g t h a t t h e first
radiation band occurs when the circumference of
t h e s p i r a l i s one wavelength, corresponding t o a
diameter D = h/n f o r t h e c i r c u l a r spiral and a
width W = l./L f o rt h es q u a r es p i r a l .
Comparable
gains are obtained when t h e width of the square
s p i r a l i s about 75 per cent of the diameter of t h e
c i r c u l a r s p i r a l as can be v e r i f i e d from t h e figure.

IV. Antenna Characteristics


A.

Experimental Results

W
e have previously considered the various design parameters as they affect the behavior of t h e
cavity-backed Archimedian spiral antenna. I n this
section experimental data are presented t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e t y p e of performance which might reasonably be expected from these antennas operating i n a
r e a l environment, and subjected t o t h e c o n s t r a i n t s
imposed by fabrication techniques and mechanical
considerations. The spiral datapresented are
t y p i c a l of that obtained on many d i f f e r e n t models
a t frequencies ranging from 200 mc t o LOOO mc;
frequency bands considered were of the order of
two t o one.The
specific data presented were obtained with a unit three inches in diameter,
one
inch i n depth, and printed on epoxg f i b e r g l a s s
NEMA grade G10.
Data showing the frequency dependence of t h e
input impedance, axial r a t i o , and beamwidth of an
S-band s p i r a l antenna are given i n Figure 9. It
should be noted that over the octave range the
ona x i s e l l i p t i c i t y r a t i o i s less than 3 db, t h e i n put VSWR is l e s s t h a n 2:l and t h e beamwidth varies
between 60 and 80 degrees. These values appear t o
represent a comfortable goal f o r t h e antenna de&
e
m
signer and a reasonable specification for q
designpurposes.
One shouldnotconcludethat
more stringent requirements could not
be met, but
r a t h e r that any f u r t h e r improvement would require
appreckably greater mechanical tolerances and uni-

formity of t h e d i e l e c t r i c base material.


Figure 10 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e t s p e of r a d i a t i o n
p a t t e r n s which have been obtained. The data were
imt a k e n f o r two orthogonal cuts with the antenna
mersed i n microwave absorbing material t o simulate
freespaceoperatingconditions.
There are t h r e e
importantpoints which should be emphasized. The
first r e l a t e s t o t h e range of azimuth angles over
(E@/Ee) remains
which t h ee l l i p t i c i t yr a t i o
comparable t o t h e on-axis r a t i o ; f o r the case illustrated, the ellipticity ratio
remains l e s s t h a n
1 db over an azimuth angle
of g r e a t e r t h a n 2 60
degrees. In l i g h t of t h e d a t a shohm i n Figure 9,
it i s obvious t h a t t h e r e are o t h e r p a t t e r n c u t s
which are not quite s o dramatic as t h e ones selectedforillustration.
However, i n no casedid
the ellipticity ratio within the angles
of 2 60
degrees exceed t h e on-axis r a t i o shown i n t h e
figure

In most l i t e r a t u r e d e a l i n g w i t h c i r c u l a r l y
i s taken as
polarized antennas, ellipticity ratio
oneof t h e primary c r i t e r i a f o r judging the qualit y of t h e antenna; reference i s seldom madeof t h e
Tlhereas
corresponding f i g u r e f o r off-axisangles.
this p r a c t i c e might be adequate f o r many t p e s of
be very misleadantennas, on-axis data alone can
ing when a p p l i e d t o t h e flush-mounted s p i r a l antenna. It i s q u i t e c m o n t o observe a low onaxis r a t i o while having excessively high ellipt i c i t y r a t i o s f o r off-axLs angles well within the
usableantenna beamwidth. Lvproper feed,'higher
order band radiation, or a combination of t h e two
w i l l coctribute t o this effect.
The second p o i n t r e l a t e s t o t h e symmetry of
t h e p a t t e r n s a b o u t t h e a x i s of the antenna; the
beam i s aligned with the antenna boresight
axis.
The importance of a well-designed balanced feed
in
mbimizing boresight cannot be
overemphasized.
Without a well balanced, non-radiating balun,
it
is vifiually impossible to achieve zero boresight
error.
Finally, a word of caution. The symmetrical
p a t t e r n s shown were obtained i n a simulated free
spaceenvironment.
The presence of even a l a r g e
ground plane may adversely affect these patterns.
For example, t h e same antenna when f l u s h mounted
i n a square ground plane approximately 10 wavelengths on a side exhibited non-symmetrical diff r a c t i o n l o b e s a t an azimuth angle of about 60
degrees. Increasing the size
of t h e ground plane
or using a c y l i n d r i c a l s t r u c t u r e w i l l , of course,
move t h e a s p m e t r y t o even greater angles.
The
important point, however, i s t o recognize that the
spiral antenna i s a broad beam radiator, and as
such i t s p a t t e r n can be adversely affected by t h e
presence of a ground plane.

-B.
By f a r t h e most important single parameter i n
obtaining satisfactory spiral antenna performance
i s the antenna feed or balun. The discussion
would, therefore, be incompletewithout somement i o n of t h e t y p e of b a l m s which can be used; and
i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e b a l u n which was used i n t h e

88

It i s s u f f i c i e n t t o say that the feed has


been
a t frequensuccessfully used with spiral antennas
cies ranging from 200 mc t o over bo00 mc with exc e l l e n tr e s u l t s .
Over anoctavefrequencyrange,
e l l i p t i c i t y r a t i o s o f less than 3 db havebeen
maintained over azimuth angles greater than
2 60
degrees, boresight errors havebeen v i r t u a l l y eliminated, and standing wave ratios of less than
2:l have been realized.

experimental antenna described.


The l l i n f i n i t e balun1t, widely used with equiangular spirals, i s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y a p p l i c a b l e
here but i s worthy of mention because of i t s u t t e r
simplicity and excellent performance. It c o n s i s t s
of nothing more than a coaxial l'ine which follows
t h e curve of one s p i r a l am; the outer conductor
i s soldered t o this ann and the center conductor
i s s o l d e r e d t o t h e second arm which generally cont a i n s a dummy c o a x i a l l i n e f o r symmetry.

References

The most comon methodof e x c i t i n g t h e Archimedian s p i r a l i s from a small section o f r i g i d coaxial transmission line extending into the cavity
i s fastened t o one
structure; the center conductor
arm of t h e s p i r a l and the outer conductor i s fastened t ot h eo t h e rp. r o p e r l yt a p e r i n gt h i s
ccaxial l i n e , s u y r i s i n g l y g o d impedance and a x i a l
r a t i o c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s can be obtained over an octavefrequencyrange.
The main d i f f i c u l t y , however,stems from t h e f a c t t h a t t h e f e e d i t s e l f
radiates, giving rise to considerable pattern dissymmetry and correspondingly large ellipticity rat i o within the beamwidth of t h e antenna. Bores i g h t e r r o r s i n t h e o r d e r of 15 degrees f o r some
p o l a r i z a t i o n s a r e n o t a t a l l uncmxon.

1. J. A. Kaiser,tlScanningArrays
Using F l a t Spiral Antenna,!! Naval Research Laboratories Rep o r t 5103, March 1958.
2.

J. A. Kaiser,!!Spiral
Antennas Applied t o
Scanning Arrays,l! Electronic Scanning Symposium, Air Force Cambridge ResearchCenter, A p r i l

1958.

Obviously,any and all baluns such as might


be used t o e x c i t e a dipole o r a two-wire transmission l i n e canbeused
with a spiral. These baluns are well described in available literature
a novel
and will not be discussedhere.Instead,
p r i n t e d c i r c u i t b a l d @ i s briefly described which
affords much i n t h e way of ease of fabrication,
miniaturization, and f l e x i b i l i t y . The exploded
view of a s p i r a l antenna assembly shoTm i n Figure
11 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e s i m p l i c i t y and compactness of
the feed design, while a simplified
draming of t h e
balun i s s h a m i n Figure 12.
A s seen from the figures, the balun
is fabricated in unshielded strip transmission line; the
photo-etched c i r c u i t i s sheared t o t h e p r o p e r s i z e
and s o l d e r e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e s p i r a l and balun
holder. The e n t i r e assembly i s thendroppedinto
a keyed h o l e i n t h e b o t t m of the cavity.

3.

J. R. Donnellan, "An EightSpiralDoublet


Electromechanical Scanning Array,"
Naval Research Laboratories Report 5383, April 1959.

11.

S. R. Jones and E.
Turner,rlPolarization
Control with Oppositely Sensed Circularly
Polarized Antennas,!! NationalConference on
AeronauticalElectronics, Dayton, Ohio,1959.

5.

E. M. Turner, '!The Impact of t h e Spiral Antenna and Its Derivatives on t h e Design of


Antennas and t h e Weapon System,!! National
Conference on Aeronautical Electronics, Dayton,
@hio, 1958.

6.

W. L.

7.

V. H. Rumsey, InformalPresentationgiven
at
t h e URSI International Symposium on Electro-

M.

Curtis, !!Spiral Antennas,11 K.S.E.E.


Thesis, University of Washington, June 1958.

magnetic Theory, University of Toronto, June


1959.

It can be s e e n t h a t two types of transmission


l i n e s a r e involved. First,theconventional
unbalanced, unshielded s t r i p t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e cons i s t i n g of the thin ccnductor over the
ground
plane. And second, thebalancedline
formed by
t h e s p l i t ground plane,

8.

B. -H. Burdine, "The S p i r a l Antenna,11 Massachus e t t s I n s t i t u t e of Technology, Research


Laboratory Technical R e D O r t , April 1955.

9.

J. D. Dyson,"The
EquiangularSpiral Antenna,!!
University of I l l i n o i s Antenna Laboratory
TechnicalReport KO. 21, September 195'7.

10. R. Eawer and J. J. I+Jolfe, "A Printed Circuit


Balun f o r Use with Spiral Antennas,!! i n t e r n a l
report, Aero Geo A s t r o Corporation, t o be publ i s h e d i n IFE Trans on Microwave Theory and
Techniques.

The r e s u l t s of t h e workon t h e s e p r i n t e d c i r cuit baluns will soonbe published i n t h e PSfTT.

89

Fig. 1. Dual a r m spiral antenna geometries.

Fig. 2 . The normal mode or first radiation band.


90

ry

- 2

91

0
e TeminalsOpen-Circuited
-2

- X

X Terminals Loaded

8 -h

3e

-6

-12
.23

.25

.29

-27

.31

cavity nismeter

.23

.25

.29

.27

.31

cavity Diameter

.33

.35

.33

.35

(nh)

( ~ h )

Fig. 5. Effect of loading the spiral conductors at the


outer terminals.

0.0

0.3

0.2

0.1

Cavity Depth

(Sh)

Fig, 6. Effect of cavity depth.

92

.5

.?

.9

1.1

1.5

1.3

1.9

1.7

2 ;1

P.adial Distance (Inches)

Fig. 7. Field distribution along spiral surface for two growth rates.

.25

.23

.29

.27

'23

.a5

.27

.33

.35

.31

.37

3 -0
2.5

2.0

1.5
1.0
.29

Cndty Mameter ( O h )

-31.35

.33

or A d t h (Wh)

Fig. 8. Comparison of square and round spiral


antennas.

93

37

R
N

<

94

Fig. 11. Exploded view of spiral antenna showing


printed-circuit balun.

Dielectric
conductor

SECTIm' A-A

Fig. 12. Simplified drawing of the printed circuit


balun.
95

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