Topic 7_4 Antennas

Antenna Gain

antennas  passive devices, the power radiated by the

transmitting antenna cannot be greater than the power entering
from the transmitter.

It is always less because of losses.

Antenna gain in one direction results from a concentration of

power in that direction and is accompanied by a loss in other
directions.

Antenna gain
A high gain is achieved by increasing the aperture area, A, of the
antenna.

Antennas obey reciprocity; the transmit gain and receive gain are
the same.

The amount of power captured by an antenna is given as:

P = pA eqn 1

p = power density (power per unit area)

A = aperture area

The gain of an antenna in a given direction is the ratio of power

density produced by it in that direction divided by the power
density that would be produced by an isotropic antenna.

dBi  gain with respect to the isotropic antenna.

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

dBd  gain with respect to a half-wave dipole

0 dBd = 2.1 dBi

For an isotropic antenna in free space, the received power density

is given as

𝑃𝑇
𝑝𝑅 = eqn 2
4𝜋𝑑 2

PT = transmitter power
pR = receiver power density
d = distance between transmitter and receiver

When a directional transmitting antenna with power gain factor,

GT is used

𝑃𝑇
𝑝𝑅 = 𝐺𝑇 eqn 3
4𝜋𝑑 2

The amount of power captured by the receiver is pR times the

aperture area, AR, of the receiving antenna.

The aperture area is related to the gain of the receiving antenna

by
4𝜋𝐴𝑅
𝐺𝑅 = eqn 4
𝜆2

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

AR : the effective area of aperture, which is less than the

physical area by an efficiency factor ρR, typical value for ρR
ranges from 60 to 80%

The total received power,

PR = AR ρR eqn 5

Substituting eqn 3, 4 into eqn 5

𝜆 2
𝑃𝑅 = [ ] 𝑃𝑇 𝐺𝑇 𝐺𝑅 eqn 6
4𝜋𝑑

Considering other losses, such as atmospheric absorption or ohm

losses of the waveguides leading to antennas, Equation 6 can be
modified as:

𝜆 2 𝑃𝑇 𝐺𝑇 𝐺𝑅
𝑃𝑅 = [ ]
4𝜋𝑑 𝐿0

𝑃𝑅 𝜆 2 𝐺 𝐺
𝑇 𝑅
⇒
𝑃𝑇
=[
4𝜋𝑑
]
𝐿0
eqn 7

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

𝑃𝑅 𝐺𝑇 𝐺𝑅
⇒
𝑃𝑇
=
𝐿0 𝐿𝑃
eqn 8

4𝜋𝑑 2
𝐿𝑝 =[ ]
𝜆

Lp denotes the loss associated with propagation of

electromagnetic waves from the transmitter to the receiver

L0 depends on carrier frequency and separation distance d.

This loss is always present.

Performance Criteria of Antenna Systems

parameters :

 Antenna pattern
 Main and side lobe
 Radiation efficiency
 Antenna bandwidth
 Horizontal beam width
 Vertical beam width
 Gain (G)
 Directivity (D)
 Antenna polarization
 Input impedance

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

 Front-to-back ratio (RFB)

 Front-to-side ratio (RFS)
 Power dissipation
 Intermodulation
 Construction
 Cost

 The antenna pattern chosen should match the coverage

requirements for the base station.

 The radiation efficiency is a ratio of total power radiated by

an antenna to net power accepted by an antenna from the
transmitter.

 The bandwidth defines the operating range of the

frequencies for the antenna. It is the angular separation
between two directions in which radiation interest is
identical.

 The half power point for the beam width is the angular
separation where there is 3 dB reduction off the main lobe.
Normally, the wider the beam width, the lower the gain of
the antenna.

 The directivity is the gain calculated assuming a lossless

antenna. Real antennas have losses, gain is the directivity
multiplied by the efficiency of the antenna.

 Polarization is important for an antenna because wireless

mobile systems use vertical polarization. A vertical antenna

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

is easiest to mount on a vehicle; therefore vertical

polarization has been standardized.

 Most cables used as feed line from the transmitter/receiver

to the antenna are either 50 or 72/75 ohms. If the input
impedance of the antenna is far removed from either of these
values, it will be difficult to get an antenna to accept the
power delivered to it and its radian efficiency will be low.

 The front to back ratio is a ratio in respect to how much

energy is directed in the exact opposite direction of the main
lobe of the antenna.

 The power dissipation is a measure of the total power the

antenna can accept at its input terminals. The antenna
chosen should be able to handle the maximum envisioned
power load without any problem.

 The construction attributes are associated with physical

dimensions, mounting requirements, material used, wind
loading, and connectors.

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

Relationship between Directivity, Gain, and Beam Width of

an Antenna

primary beam or main/ front lobe  the direction for maximum

power

secondary beams  minor lobes (back and side lobes)

The pattern of the antenna has two desired effects:

1) concentration of the power in a desired direction to
improve the signal strength at the receiver and

2) weakening the power in an undesired direction to reduce

interference from or to other receivers.

Minor lobes  undesired radiation or reception.

The front-to-back ratio of an antenna is defined as:

𝑝𝑚𝐹
𝑅𝐹𝐵 = 10 log
𝑝𝑚𝐵

pmF = maximum power density of the front lobe

pmB = maximum power density of the back lobe

The front-to-side ratio of an antenna is defined as:

𝑝𝑚𝐹
𝑅𝐹𝑆 = 10 log
𝑝𝑚𝑆

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

Half-wave dipole

The half-wave dipole antenna has two parts.

The half-wave length is handy for impedance matching. Since the

dipole antenna is the simplest one to build, it is often used as the
reference to describe the gain of other antennas.

The average power density for the dipole vertical antenna is given
as:

3𝑃𝑇
𝑝𝑎𝑣𝑔 = (sin 𝜃 )2 eqn 9
8𝜋𝑑 2

Note:
power density at any point depends on the direction and distance
d from the dipole.

Since there is no dependence on Φ, the antenna pattern is

directional in x-z and y-z planes, but omnidirectional in the x-y
plane.

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

A dipole mounted in a vertical direction provides an

omnidirectional pattern that is useful for the base station antenna
of cellular systems.

The Relationship between Directivity and Gain

The directivity of an antenna is the ratio of the maximum power

density from the antenna and power density from an isotropic
antenna

|𝑝|𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐷=
𝑃
[ 𝑇 2]
4𝜋𝑑

The gain of an antenna is the ratio of maximum power density

from the antenna and input power density if the antenna is
isotropic.

|𝑝|𝑚𝑎𝑥 |𝑝|𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐺= =
𝑃𝐼 𝑃𝑇
[ ] [ ]
4𝜋𝑑 2 4𝜋𝑑 2 𝜂

𝐺
⇒ 𝐷=
𝜂

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

Relation between Gain and Beam Width

The receiver gain GR is related to its half-power beam width as

θHP and ΦHP are the half-power beam widths in the θ and Φ planes

The factor 4π is the solid angle subtended by a sphere in

steradians (square radians)

180 2
4π steradians = 4𝜋 × [ ] = 41250 degree2
𝜋

= solid angle in a a sphere

For an ideal gain antenna, where power density is uniform inside

the 3-dB beam width (for both θ and Φ) and zero outside the 3-
dB beam width, the gain

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

where:
and θ and Φ are in degrees

For a real antenna with side lobes, the gain is calculated using
Equation below, which includes the effect of side lobes.

If an antenna is designed with a circular pattern in one direction,

i.e., a linear element is used, the approximate gain can be
obtained for the vertical 3-dB beam width from Equation below
as:

The corresponding gain equation for a linear element including

side lobes is given as :

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

Helical Antennas

Helical antennas provide circular polarized waves in the same

direction as that of the helix.

A helical antenna can be used to receive circular polarized waves

and also receive plane polarized waves with the polarization in
any direction.

Helical antennas are often used with VHF and UHF satellite
transmissions. The gain of a helical antenna is proportional to the
number of turns (N).

An approximate expression for the gain with respect to an

isotropic antenna is given as:

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

The radian pattern for this antenna type has one major lobe and
several minor lobes.

For the major lobe, the 3 dB beam width (in degrees) is

approximately:

Ex 1

We consider an antenna in which 12 W of power results in 3 W of

power being dissipated as resistive losses in the antenna and the
rest radiated by the antenna. If the directivity of the antenna is
7 dB (i.e., 5), what is its gain?

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Topic 7_4 Antennas

Ex 2
What is the 3-dB beam width of a linear element antenna with a
gain of 12 dBi?

Ex 3
Consider a helical antenna, which has 12 turns and is designed
for a frequency of 1.8 GHz.
a) calculate the optimum diameter (DH), spacing (S) for the
antenna and total length of the antenna,
b) calculate the antenna gain, and
c) calculate the beam width of the antenna.

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